HCM Business Analyst at a tech services company with 201-500 employees
Real User
A stable, time-saving, and customizable solution with useful features, automations, and chatbots
Pros and Cons
  • "It is a good product, and it is suitable for different client requirements. It has customization options and flexibility. You can customize a report or configure the workflow based on your requirements. Everything is there in the product, and you can customize it as per your requirement. Our clients found the automation of the payroll, leave attendance, and onboarding modules the most valuable. The Time and Attendance module is fully integrated with this solution and supports multiple data entry modes, such as barcode, biometric device, fingerprints, and face reading. Its core HR module includes features like movement, expense management, exit, and separation. The compensation and benefits module includes features like welfare, retirement, and superannuation. It also has analytical tools. You can create a real-time report based on your requirements. You can also publish that report in different formats, such as Excel, PDF, HTML, etc. It has a chatbot feature, which is using machine learning and natural language. You can ask questions about your leave balance, attendance, or things like that, and you will get an immediate reply from the chatbot. It also supports approval through email."
  • "They can improve the configuration time because it takes more time than other products to configure the system. It could be because they are managing this single product for all countries, but it would be good if they improve the implementation time because we need to implement the solutions within a timeline. They should provide some kind of auto-configuration so that the system can be configured and implemented within a certain timeline. Implementors should have a provision to configure the system in a short time. There should also be an option to move the setup or configuration from staging to production to save time. These types of automation should be there."

What is our primary use case?

I have implemented Indian payroll for some of the clients. I have used SaaS and on-premises versions of this solution. It is also deployed on the AWS Cloud server for a client in Singapore.

How has it helped my organization?

It is a time-saving solution. It has saved a lot of time for our clients. With the chatbot feature, there is no need for a one-to-one reply to each employee. In addition, employees don't need to log in to the ESS portal and MSS portal to see their payslip and leave attendance. They can ask the chatbot about the leave balance, upcoming holiday, or other things, and they can get an immediate response and see the information, which also saves manpower. There is no need to manage a help desk team to reply to an employee's query.

It has also been helpful in eliminating errors and doing the calculations. For example, when you manually calculate things like salary, there are chances of error. The clients are using Ramco HCM to process salary with the fully-integrated Time and Attendance module. No manual intervention is required.

What is most valuable?

It is a good product, and it is suitable for different client requirements. It has customization options and flexibility. You can customize a report or configure the workflow based on your requirements. Everything is there in the product, and you can customize it as per your requirement. 

Our clients found the automation of the payroll, leave attendance, and onboarding modules the most valuable. The Time and Attendance module is fully integrated with this solution and supports multiple data entry modes, such as barcode, biometric device, fingerprints, and face reading.

Its core HR module includes features like movement, expense management, exit, and separation. The compensation and benefits module includes features like welfare, retirement, and superannuation. It also has analytical tools. You can create a real-time report based on your requirements. You can also publish that report in different formats, such as Excel, PDF, HTML, etc. 

It has a chatbot feature, which is using machine learning and natural language. You can ask questions about your leave balance, attendance, or things like that, and you will get an immediate reply from the chatbot. It also supports approval through email. 

What needs improvement?

They can improve the configuration time because it takes more time than other products to configure the system. It could be because they are managing this single product for all countries, but it would be good if they improve the implementation time because we need to implement the solutions within a timeline. 

They should provide some kind of auto-configuration so that the system can be configured and implemented within a certain timeline. Implementors should have a provision to configure the system in a short time. There should also be an option to move the setup or configuration from staging to production to save time. These types of automation should be there.

Buyer's Guide
Ramco HCM
April 2024
Learn what your peers think about Ramco HCM. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: April 2024.
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For how long have I used the solution?

I worked with Ramco as a business analyst for the HCM products for almost one year.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

It has good stability, reliability, and performance.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

It has good scalability. 

How are customer service and support?

They are definitely supportive. They have some timelines based on the category of the issue like bugs, enhancements. They have defined some types in their helpdesk module, and they are providing support.

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

I have worked on multiple HCM products. In my last organization, I worked with PeopleStrong's Alt HCM. I am also currently working with another HCM product. Some of the features available in Ramco, such as chatbots or capturing attendance through face reading, are not available in other products. Ramco is also managing a single application for all countries, which is a plus point. Because they are managing a single application, it is easy to maintain and apply the patch. 

Ramco is an old company in the HCM domain. What is special about Ramco is that they have implemented all the modules in-house. They do not buy any other product from the market and integrate it with their system. They do not buy any third-party source code.

How was the initial setup?

It is straightforward. For its end-to-end implementation from hire to retirement, it will take a minimum of six months. This includes requirements gathering, UAT, training, and hand over.

During my role as a business analyst with Ramco, I was involved in gathering all the requirements from a client as per the system template and preparing the blueprint document as per the client requirements. My involvement was there from the initial stages of the project to the handover to the clients. The entire process involved project kickoff, process mapping, preparation, customization of the development or personalization, staging installation, product configuration, end-user training, rollout preparation, live installation, and post go-live support.

The number of people required for the deployment varies based on the project. Generally, two or three people are sufficient, but if the headcount is more than 1,000 or 2,000, then you would need five people.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

I am not aware of the price because I was working in the implementation team, but pricing is generally based on the requirement, modules, headcount, and country.

What other advice do I have?

If you are going to implement it in multiple countries, you should definitely implement it in phases. If you are going for parallel implementation, you should see if the same data is going to be used in all countries or if it is country-specific. You should also carefully work on data migration and make sure all the mandatory and required data is available in the system. It should not fail at the time of processing.

I would rate Ramco HCM an eight out of ten. It is a good product. There are a lot of solutions available in the market, and it is definitely a competitor.

Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer:
PeerSpot user
Business Analyst at a tech services company with 51-200 employees
Real User
A good performance management system that comes with an excellent dashboard
Pros and Cons
  • "The performance management system is really good."
  • "The product itself sometimes feels inconsistent because it comes with bugs."

What is our primary use case?

We use Ramco HCM to help clients manage their employee data, manage time and attendance, performance, learning portal, expenses, payroll, and more.

How has it helped my organization?

The most recent client I brought in was a leading telecommunications company in India. They weren't capturing all the data. We replaced their existing Oracle HCM, but they were still using the Oracle ERP. We had to move everything into Ramco, including the ERP, the Rewards Management System, and more.

They also had a learning portal that provided content online, and it was pretty easy to integrate with the other system because they have the APIs. Their fully functional mobile app with notifications works well. Their previous system was very basic and just stored information on their portal.

What is most valuable?

Ramco HCM's performance management system is really good and supports assessments, appraisals, and more. You can set your objectives and have multiple levels of authorizations while you have submitted your objectives. Your manager approves them, or you can skip the manager. 

It was pretty smooth and did all that out of the box. The best part is that you don't need any customization and the interface is very good. It's user friendly, and it looks good. Their dashboard is one of the best dashboards that I have seen in my eight-year career.

Ramco HCM has a pretty functional mobile app, and it is also very good at integrating with other systems.

What needs improvement?

I would say that there is a lot of room for improvement. They should improve their consistency. The product itself sometimes feels inconsistent because it comes with bugs. 

The company has a lot of features listed on their roadmap, and they're still developing them. Putting them on there as phase presentations somehow set the wrong expectations and created many misunderstandings regarding business expectations.

Performance can be better. It could be smoother like Microsoft. Technical support can also be better.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using Ramco HCM for 18 months.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

If I remember correctly, Ramco HCM is reliable. 

There are things like bugs and client expectations, which result from a gap between the sales team and the client, where the initial expectations are set. 

For example, if I'm looking for SMS integration, every time I want to apply thoroughly, I should be able to do that from my mobile phone without the internet. But you have to build that, and it won't be as compatible as they would have expected. You'll need an SMS gateway, and you need expertise on that. It would help if you had someone who is a product expert.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

They have yearly updates with new features and addons, so in that sense, the product is scalable.

How are customer service and technical support?

Technical support is good, but there's room for improvement. You have to rely heavily on the support team during the implementation. It would also be better if the Ramco support team were based closer to us.

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

Before Ramco HCM, I used quite a few systems like Microsoft 365 for talent and an Oracle HCM. I compared Microsoft 365 for talent and Ramco, and Ramco is a fully-fledged HR dynamic. Microsoft still needs time to get to that level because they're quite simple. 

Ramco does offer a lot of customization, and even if you don't do any coding, you can still customize it a lot, including rules and more. Microsoft 365 for talent still needs that. Ramco HCM is a very mature system because with a proper HR dynamic, and the dashboard is excellent.

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup is pretty straightforward. They have a user-friendly tool. You just need to answer a few questions to set it up. It just asks you simple questions like how many departments are there, and you just name the department. Once you fill in the information, the product is ready and can be used. It doesn't require a lot of technical knowledge. You just have to attend a few training sessions on how they set it up.

It's an out of the box system that has some things that are easy to set up at first. But I haven't met any client that's satisfied with the out of the box system. Usually, there are different payroll rules, and you need to do some customizations and do some back-end coding. You have set it up, and you have to write logical rules with a title that leans accordingly.

Similarly, there are time rules, time management attendants, and capturing systems you have to integrate with. If you want to use an out of the box system and don't have a problem with it, I think it should be ready within a week. If it needs to be configured as per your organization's unique requirements, it will take a month or two.

What about the implementation team?

Ramco HCM requires a team to implement it. The solution is best for those who follow waterfall methodologies. Ramco follows LDLC, and they send their business analysts to the customer to gather information on requirements. Once that is done, the technical team comes in and starts implementing it. 

If it's a non-cloud version, the technical team will move their office on-premise and work within the client's offices. They'll do all the customization and implementation from there. If there are integrations involved, they will do the system integration testing and user acceptance testing. Once that is done, they will have a soft launch and go live for a few people. Once that is running okay, and everything is good, then they go fully live.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

Ramco's customized solution is pretty expensive but much cheaper than its competitors. 

With proper planning, documentation of requirements, you can avoid delays and keep costs down. The more you customize, the higher the costs as you'll need a team to build it. 

What other advice do I have?

I recommend Ramco HCM to the other users because I think it's a good system. But make sure to choose the right partner with the necessary experience.

Once Ramco HCM is live and integrated with many other systems, you have to have someone there taking care of integrations and more. But if you go with a vanilla system and it's on the cloud, I don't think you need to worry about maintenance because everything will be taken care of by them.

On a scale from one to ten, I would give Ramco HCM an eight.

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

Public Cloud
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
PeerSpot user
Buyer's Guide
Ramco HCM
April 2024
Learn what your peers think about Ramco HCM. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: April 2024.
768,857 professionals have used our research since 2012.
it_user613545 - PeerSpot reviewer
Human Resources Information System Product Specialist (Ramco HCM) at a tech services company with 501-1,000 employees
Consultant
With Mail It, we can do our transactions through email-based requests.

What is most valuable?

Ramco HCM has these main features, which they call Mail It, Thumb It, Hub It, and Bot It:

  • Mail It: We can do our transactions through simple email-based requests.
  • Thumb It: HCM Apps that can be completed by following the thumb’s natural, sweeping arc.
  • Hub It: Consolidate multiple screens into one powerful user experience.
  • Bot It: Do your transactions using chat with a bot that is assigned to your company. (Bots.ramco.com)

What needs improvement?

I would like to see the flexibility to create reports suitable to the company because the standard reports from Ramco are so conservative. People usually will do modifications and it takes quite a lot of man-days just to create a report.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have used it for around 6-7 months.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

We have not yet encountered any stability issues.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

We have not yet encountered any scalability issues.

How are customer service and technical support?

Technical support is 6.5 out of 10.

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

We previously were using several different Oracle solutions, and it didn’t work effectively.

How was the initial setup?

If the implementation is without modification for any of the modules, it’s really simple using their QiK tool; the implementation takes around 2-3 months to go live.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

For pricing, they count based on your user admin, ESS (MSS) without payroll, or ESS (MSS) with payroll.

Which other solutions did I evaluate?

Before choosing this product, we did not evaluate other options.

What other advice do I have?

The information about your company data, workflow, all of it must come out with details.

Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
PeerSpot user
it_user616047 - PeerSpot reviewer
Functional Consultant-IT Services at a tech services company with 51-200 employees
Consultant
It is a flexible product that you can mold to fit your business needs.

What is most valuable?

It is a complete HCM suite from hire to retire that streamlines business requirements.

It is a very robust system.

It is a flexible product that you can mold to fit your business needs.

Modules include: Core HR, Leave, Time, Recruitment, PMS, Training, Payroll, Travel, etc.

How has it helped my organization?

I am working as an analyst in Ramco HCM implementations. I have worked for quite a few companies in the Indian market and I can say that the product has streamlined the company’s processes to a great extent.

What needs improvement?

It can improve on the Comp Off and On Duty leave management process and can include real time Google Maps instead of geo-tagging to track the real location of employees. Workflow Mailers can be improved as well.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using this for two years to date.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

The product is very stable if there are no big customizations.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

The product can accommodate the requirements of even a very vast and dynamic organization.

How are customer service and technical support?

Ramco has improved technical support a lot. Having said that, they have a technical team in Chennai who receive the bug reports and they deliver the fix within the given TAT.

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

I haven't had a different solution, but I have had customers like DHFL saying that they replaced Oracle with Ramco HCM because Oracle was not able to cater their customized requirements.

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup is pretty easy to configure through the front end. Only the customizations are a little complex.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

I consider this product in HCM as the best buy as despite the vanilla implementation it also handles customizations at a very reasonable cost.

Which other solutions did I evaluate?

Frankly, I haven’t worked on any other products apart from Ramco.

What other advice do I have?

I would say, “just go for it”.

Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: My employer is a partner with Ramco.
PeerSpot user
Buyer's Guide
Download our free Ramco HCM Report and get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions.
Updated: April 2024
Buyer's Guide
Download our free Ramco HCM Report and get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions.