Managing a workforce effectively is a key ingredient to the growth of a business—big or small—and to do this, many businesses turn to employee management software.

Employee management software is a fuzzy-ish category. At its core, it's about streamlining HR work (from both the employer and employee side of things), but depending on who you ask, you'll get a slightly different definition.

I decided to turn to the experts to see what employee management software they think is the best of the bunch. After conducting in-depth research and speaking to the professionals who actually use these apps day in and day out, I've identified seven employee management apps that I feel good recommending.

"Employee management" can mean a lot of things, and the function of employee management software is equally as complex. Generally, employee management software has two main purposes: to streamline HR admin work and to make employees more productive in the process.

There are some apps, like HiBob, Deel, and many of the apps on this list, that include employee management as part of a feature-filled HRIS suite. That can make it hard to narrow down what to focus on when considering employee management.

So when I was researching employee management systems, I focused on these five aspects:

Functionality and features. HR features are essential in an employee management system, though the specific features will depend on the company's needs. This could include anything from attendance, time tracking, and performance management to recruitment, onboarding, and payroll.

Ease of use. A user-friendly and intuitive interface is non-negotiable. An overly complicated system may not only create resistance among users but can also introduce inefficiencies or additional training costs.