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IBM Kenexa vs Sympa HR comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Nov 4, 2024

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

IBM Kenexa
Ranking in Talent Management
18th
Average Rating
7.6
Reviews Sentiment
5.3
Number of Reviews
30
Ranking in other categories
Benefits Administration (13th), Applicant Tracking and Recruiting Software (8th)
Sympa HR
Ranking in Talent Management
30th
Average Rating
7.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.0
Number of Reviews
2
Ranking in other categories
Cloud HCM (26th)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of August 2026, in the Talent Management category, the mindshare of IBM Kenexa is 1.6%, up from 0.9% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Sympa HR is 1.0%, up from 0.2% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Talent Management Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
IBM Kenexa1.6%
Sympa HR1.0%
Other97.4%
Talent Management
 

Featured Reviews

Karan Grover - PeerSpot reviewer
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.
reviewer2385297 - PeerSpot reviewer
Student at a university with 5,001-10,000 employees
We benefit from built-in automations like notifications and standard processes, but customer support needs improvement
Learning Sympa HR was a mix of basics that were easy to grasp and some aspects that required more understanding due to customization. While it adapted to some of our specific needs, there were still areas that needed further tailoring, especially in integrations with other systems like Zoom. Currently, we're not using AI features in Sympa, but we're considering it as a future project to automate manual tasks in HR, although we're mindful of data privacy concerns when integrating AI tools with confidential personal data. I would rate Sympa HR at a seven out of ten. While it has some fundamental issues like allowing multiple leave applications for the same dates, it also offers a nice user experience. I would recommend it with reservations. If you're clear about your needs and can manage some shortcomings, it's a good option. However, if you require more reliable system support, you might want to explore other alternatives.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"I just think it's a good tool, with great flexibility."
"I think the advantage of Kenexa is the degree to which we can configure to meet our specific needs."
"Great value and flexibility in an ATS, mainly through the automation and the configuration through Workbench you can do to manipulate the candidate experience to really be something that candidates like and allows them to apply to your site easily and put them in a pipeline for recruiters to access and move through a process and get somebody hired."
"From everything I’ve seen and heard, I would think Kenxea is probably one of the top three, if not the best, in the business that they do and the things that we use them for."
"Now, having provided this, amongst many other things, we have a much closer relationship to the business."
"As I said, IBM are doing a great job with us at the moment, but we're always looking and speaking and open to having conversations with other people because the market's changing and IBM are aware of that."
"BrassRing, the applicant tracking system, has brought a high level of automation, specifically for our mass-volume hourly processes."
"I think one of the biggest benefits that Kenexa brings is the scalability."
"One of my favorite features of Sympa HR is its customization options. You can tailor it to meet your specific needs, which is really beneficial for HR processes."
"Sympa HR was helpful since it helped me manage HR master data in a single system."
 

Cons

"We're really looking forward to some of their enhancements to their onboarding portal, specifically for recruiters and hiring managers."
"The reason I’m not rating it with five stars is because of its sheer size."
"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."
"In the past year, there has been a significant increase in the amount of internal errors that are displayed."
"I think there is some administrative things that could be easier in terms of Workbench and streamlining that process; configuration of different things."
"2xO was created by brain-damaged monkeys in front of keyboards."
"My rating is not higher because of the support, honestly; the global service center model."
"I get a real sense of frustration when you see the kind of customer insight teams and what they can do and then you look at the colleague insights teams, which I'm leading on as well, and seeing there's a gap and we need to close that gap."
"As a developer, I can say that some of Sympa HR's back-end functionalities, like the API systems, aren't fully fledged or modern enough, a downside of which Sympa is aware."
"Sympa HR has some fundamental issues like allowing multiple leave applications for the same dates. That needs improvement."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"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."
Information not available
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Construction Company
17%
Outsourcing Company
12%
Manufacturing Company
11%
Comms Service Provider
9%
No data available
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business3
Midsize Enterprise1
Large Enterprise28
No data available
 

Also Known As

IBM Smarter Workforce, Outstart
No data available
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

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
Dustin group, VMS Group, Matrix Fitness, CTS Group, Lindex, Sabis, Napatech, Alandia Insurance, Inspecta, Technopolis
Find out what your peers are saying about IBM Kenexa vs. Sympa HR and other solutions. Updated: August 2026.
909,725 professionals have used our research since 2012.