Cornerstone HR Suite vs IBM Kenexa comparison

Cornerstone OnDemand and IBM are both solutions in the Talent Management category. Cornerstone OnDemand is ranked #45, while IBM is ranked #15 with an average rating of 6.0. Cornerstone OnDemand holds a 0.3% mindshare in TM, compared to IBM’s 0.9% mindshare. Additionally, 66% of Cornerstone OnDemand users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 90% of IBM users who would recommend it.

Cornerstone HR Suite

Read 3 Cornerstone HR Suite reviews

260 Views
218 Comparison Views

66% willing to recommend

IBM Kenexa

Read 30 IBM Kenexa reviews

745 Views
603 Comparison Views

90% willing to recommend

Cornerstone HR Suite

IBM Kenexa

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Nov 4, 2024

IBM Kenexa and Cornerstone HR Suite compete in the HR software market. Cornerstone HR Suite is noted for its comprehensive features, while IBM Kenexa stands out with competitive pricing and reliable support.

Features: IBM Kenexa is valued for its robust talent management capabilities, intuitive design, and seamless integration with existing HR systems. Cornerstone HR Suite offers extensive performance management tools, learning modules, and analytics that provide deep insights into workforce capabilities. Users note Cornerstone's advanced training features compared to IBM Kenexa's focus on talent management.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: IBM Kenexa is praised for its straightforward deployment with minimal disruption and solid support. Cornerstone HR Suite offers a flexible cloud-based deployment with extensive resources for customer support, allowing for tailored implementation. However, users find IBM Kenexa's deployment more time-efficient.

Pricing and ROI: IBM Kenexa is considered cost-effective with a lower initial setup cost and steady ROI through streamlined HR processes. Cornerstone HR Suite involves higher setup costs but is seen as offering substantial long-term ROI due to its advanced functionalities and scalability. Businesses considering budget may prefer IBM Kenexa, but those seeking comprehensive capability may justify the investment in Cornerstone.

To learn more, read our detailed Cornerstone HR Suite vs. IBM Kenexa Report (Updated: July 2025).

Buyer's Guide

Cornerstone HR Suite vs. IBM Kenexa

July 2025

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Review summaries and opinions

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:

Categories and Ranking

Cornerstone HR Suite

Ranking in Talent Management

45th

Average Rating

6.6

Reviews Sentiment

6.1

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Cloud HCM (34th), HR Analytics Software (8th)

IBM Kenexa

Ranking in Talent Management

15th

Average Rating

7.6

Reviews Sentiment

5.3

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Benefits Administration (21st), Applicant Tracking and Recruiting Software (14th)

Mindshare comparison

As of July 2025, in the Talent Management category, the mindshare of Cornerstone HR Suite is 0.3%, up from 0.3% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of IBM Kenexa is 0.9%, up from 0.8% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Talent Management

Featured Reviews

mmaldonadoj

Manager, BO Transformation at a retailer with 10,001+ employees

A easy-to-use solution for onboarding and training that needs to let its users locate information easily

The most concerning point about these applications is that they offer cloud solutions, and everything goes and works well. But they are not committed or involved in the connection activity. We need to run those applications on the cloud. Since we are a company, We have a lot of information on on-premise platforms. So they are not responsible for building any connection, interconnection, or interface between those legacy systems. And most of the time, the company must consider the proposed plans in making the interfaces. And building the interfaces is something we need to do on our own, and it's separate from the solution. I rate this solution a seven out of ten.

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Karan Grover

Senior Manager at a financial services firm with 1,001-5,000 employees

Suitable for larger-scale companies aiming to streamline and automate their processes digitally

The deployment of the solution took between six to eight months. When we introduced BrassRing at my company, we encountered several challenges. First, moving data from our old system to BrassRing was tough because it needed reformatting. Second, connecting BrassRing with our HR data was tricky due to manual processes for roles and departments. Third, setting up the workflow in BrassRing was complex. Fourth, configuring user access and approval levels was a detailed task. We also had to manage the change process, including running both old and new systems in parallel, communicating changes, and training users. Lastly, monitoring and reporting were needed to ensure data accuracy and proper system usage once everything was in place. We had a team of six to eight people managing the project from our side during the BrassRing deployment. I'm not sure about the size of the BrassRing team, and we also had our own technical team, which had three to four members. The solution required maintenance, particularly from my side as the administrator. Maintenance responsibilities were divided into two parts: some tasks we, as end-users, could control, while others were the responsibility of the BrassRing team. Payment-related tasks were a regular part of our responsibilities. I wasn't the only person maintaining the solution. There were three power users from Infosys, each responsible for a specific geography. My counterpart managed it in the US, and I, along with my colleague in India, managed it for other geographies.

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Quotes from Members

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:

Pros

"The flexibility and the fact that it covers all different HR modules is the most valuable aspect of Cornerstone. They did organically built, so all modules are integrated with the same way of managing the configuration, contextualization, availability, and reporting across all of the modules."

"Cornerstone is easy to use...Cornerstone is used for playing training courses and short videos based on company requirements."

"The advantage of choosing Cornerstone HR Suite is that if a company does not have an existing tool and plans to adopt automation, then there is a chance to gain from implementing this solution."

"It is extremely user friendly. It is very flexible in managing recruitment, especially when you have thousands of applicants as we did. We easily had over 20,000 applicants within a year for some of our positions, so it made it very easy to manage a large application pool. It was very easy to customize by recruiter preference. When you open up someone's profile to see their experience, education, or other things, you can customize that for yourself. It was flexible in that, and each recruiter could set up their preferences. It didn't have to be set up so that everyone had to have the same landing platform, which was very helpful. As someone who trained other HR people on how to use the system, it was very easy to pick up and learn."

"The most valuable features are that we can upload documents and download them on demand."

"IBM Kenexa is fairly stable. We don't have any downtime."

"The ease of scaling is one of BrassRing's biggest strengths, making it a trusted choice for large companies."

Cons

"The recruitment module can be improved and also the general reporting can be improved."

"The solution's interface is really, really old and requires improvements...Cornerstone should use newer technologies to improve its UI, UX, and content."

"We're using different tools like tracking systems, exploring workforce management, and also using payroll, which is another tool, so we need to know where exactly the information is present. This feature needs improvement in the next release."

"I would not recommend IBM Kenexa to others."

"It needs to update its reporting and analytics tools."

"I would like to have a better and more user-friendly interface."

"The reporting tool is helpful, but it is not the easiest to train on or is not as understandable for other HR pros. Their Workbench site, which is the administrator site that you use to update your website, is not user-friendly. When updates are required, it is not that easy to manage because Workbench is not user friendly. It required more work from the admins. They have Workbench training, which actually was very unhelpful. It took eight hours to complete, and it was not very helpful. Their customer service when it comes specifically to their Workbench site is not helpful."

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The product can be considered as not being on the high-end side of the price spectrum, as many other products are much more expensive. However, it cannot be said that it is cheap either."

"Kenexa was fairly priced. However, in 2019, before I left my previous organization, they significantly increased their pricing. It can be affordable, but their pricing is going up. It is not just licensing; it is how many applicants you have in your system on the database side."

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

No data available

Comms Service Provider

13%

Manufacturing Company

10%

Government

Financial Services Firm

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

No data available

Questions from the Community

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What do you like most about IBM Kenexa?

The ease of scaling is one of BrassRing's biggest strengths, making it a trusted choice for large companies.

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What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for IBM Kenexa?

As a large company, we first bought the complete BrassRing package, which had various features. Later on, we paid extra for specific features like customer test management. When we integrated with ...

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What needs improvement with IBM Kenexa?

BrassRing needs improvement in a few areas. First, it should update how it tracks where candidates come from and avoid duplicate entries. Right now, it is not very flexible. Also, its way of making...

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Comparisons

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Compared 13% of the time

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Compared 12% of the time

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Compared 10% of the time

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Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Cloud HCM

July 2025

Download Cornerstone HR Suite product report

Buyer's Guide

IBM Kenexa

July 2025

Download IBM Kenexa product report

Also Known As

No data available

IBM Smarter Workforce, Outstart

Overview

Cornerstone OnDemand (NASDAQ: CSOD) was founded with a passion for empowering people through learning and a conviction that people should be your organization’s greatest competitive advantage. Cornerstone is a recognized global human capital management (HCM) leader with a core belief that companies thrive when they help their employees to realize their potential. Putting this belief into practice, Cornerstone offers solutions to help companies strategically manage and continuously develop their talent throughout the entire employee lifecycle. Featuring comprehensive recruiting, personalized learning, development-driven performance management and holistic HR planning, Cornerstone’s human capital management is successfully used by more than 3,500 global clients of all sizes, representing all major industries, spanning over 40 million users across 192 countries and 43 languages. Using one data model and one integrated, extensible platform, Cornerstone HCM platform gives clients greater talent insights, recommendations and supporting tools to meet their growing human capital management needs.

Cornerstone OnDemand

Kenexa provides business solutions for human resources. We help global organizations multiply business success by identifying the best individuals for every job and fostering optimal work environments for every organization.

IBM

Sample Customers

Wendys, RSM, Nestle, New Belgium

Sweet Spot International (SSI), Leo Burnett Worldwide (LBW), Sika AG, Legacy Health, Apollo Group Inc., Regeneron, Transurban Group, National Health Service, New Zealand Police, Overland Footwear, Yealands, Johnson Controls, Allscripts, Kerry Foods, Masterpet, AMD, Balfour Beatty

Buyer's Guide

Cornerstone HR Suite vs. IBM Kenexa

July 2025

Free Report: Cornerstone HR Suite vs. IBM Kenexa

Find out what your peers are saying about Cornerstone HR Suite vs. IBM Kenexa and other solutions. Updated: July 2025.

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