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IBM Kenexa vs Xref comparison

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Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive Summary

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 Applicant Tracking and Recruiting Software
6th
Average Rating
7.6
Reviews Sentiment
5.3
Number of Reviews
30
Ranking in other categories
Benefits Administration (13th), Talent Management (15th)
Xref
Ranking in Applicant Tracking and Recruiting Software
27th
Average Rating
9.0
Number of Reviews
1
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of November 2026, in the Applicant Tracking and Recruiting Software category, the mindshare of IBM Kenexa is 2.4%, up from 2.0% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Xref is 1.3%, up from 0.8% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Applicant Tracking and Recruiting Software Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
IBM Kenexa2.4%
Xref1.3%
Other96.3%
Applicant Tracking and Recruiting Software
 

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.
it_user1545606 - PeerSpot reviewer
Senior HR Advisor at a aerospace/defense firm with 201-500 employees
Helps improve turnaround times and flags suspicious activity
The Xref feature I find the most valuable is probably the fact that it does the security check to make sure that the references are not dodgy. It's got security settings in the backend that flag suspicious activity straight away. Most referencing systems are just automated emails that go to somebody that's nominated by the potential employee. Anybody could be the owner of those email addresses; it could be their mom or brother. There are no security checks in place with other systems.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The ease of scaling is one of BrassRing's biggest strengths, making it a trusted choice for large companies."
"BrassRing, the applicant tracking system, has brought a high level of automation, specifically for our mass-volume hourly processes."
"IBM Kenexa is fairly stable, and we don't have any downtime."
"I would say the support that we get from the CSMs is the most valuable for me right now, because I'm still leaning on them pretty heavily to understand everything that I'm doing within the system."
"It allowed for truly global listing for all open positions."
"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."
"Scalability is great, as we use the system for everything from a very low-volume, high-touch corporate recruiting model to our tax office, high-volume approach, which is 80-100,000 people each season."
"I think the advantage of Kenexa is the degree to which we can configure to meet our specific needs."
"In the terms of reference checks, it shortens that whole process, which in turn gets you to offer the best candidate before they get offered somewhere else."
"It is often quicker than playing phone tag, which happens a lot when you're doing reference check. Anyone that has done them before knows that they can turn into weeks of playing phone tag."
 

Cons

"The team didn't find the reporting tool that easy to use, in terms of pulling their own data, slicing and dicing it, combining groups."
"The user interface could do with an overhaul."
"Being in a silo of my own world, my wish would be that everything that's available in their legacy views would be moved into their new Talent Suite products, so we could move over to that."
"Once-a-year engagement kind of seems to be a little bit lagging in terms of how we can actually shape and improve organizations, so I was looking forward to understanding a bit more where IBM Kenexa's thinking is going in terms of pulsing with the employee voice and how that kind of integrates and works with tell-it-as-it-is, and the other two applications we have; it's just too early to know."
"I would say that it could likely be made slightly easier to consume and work with - less scientific or engineering oriented - but IBM Kenexa Talent Insights is about the most powerful and useful tool I've seen."
"I would not recommend IBM Kenexa to others."
"Improved integrations: There are all kinds of issues with integrations, hires failing."
"The downside is it's a system that was created many, many years ago and so it just evolves."
"It would be great to have a defense industry security check option. To be compliant, we have to have a different tool for that."
 

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
Manufacturing Company
15%
Outsourcing Company
14%
Construction Company
13%
Comms Service Provider
7%
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
 

Comparisons

 

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
Best Pacific Institute of Education, BUSY At Work, Sue Ryder, The Salvation Army, Contact Energy Limited, Cromwell Property Group, Cushman & Wakefield Pty Ltd, Diageo, Direct Line Group, Hirepool Ltd, Scalabrini Village, NZ Lotteries Commission, Proforce, Samsung
Find out what your peers are saying about iCIMS, SmartRecruiters, Zoho and others in Applicant Tracking and Recruiting Software. Updated: October 2026.
920,769 professionals have used our research since 2012.