Navigating the complexities of modern human resource management requires efficient tools that can adapt to diverse organizational needs. HR professionals often grapple with challenges such as optimizing workflows, ensuring compliance with regulations, and promoting employee satisfaction.

Rippling and Workday are two prominent solutions offering comprehensive features to tackle these issues. However, despite being in the same industry, both software offer different functionalities to tackle the same problems.

In this article, we’ll explore how these platforms compare in terms of benefits, features, and their potential to meet your HR management requirements.

Rippling Vs Workday: At A Glance

Features

Rippling

Workday

Payroll Management 

Offers a comprehensive solution with features such as multiple pay rates, global payroll processing, etc.

Provides continuous payroll processing as well as machine-learning-infused payroll insights and audits

Time Tracking

Allows businesses to customize their time tracking parameters

Provides employees with self-service time entry accessible via various devices

Benefits Administration 

Employees can self-manage their benefits through an intuitive portal 

Allows employees to access and manage their benefits information from any device 

Recruitment And Talent Acquisition

Key features include customizable workflows, automated interview scheduling, etc.

Offers features such as AI-driven candidate sourcing, tailored job recommendations, analytics, etc.

Mobile App

Provides employees with the capability to clock in and out and attach notes and documents to specific shifts

Allows employees to clock in and out and perform tasks such as accessing pay slips, and requesting time off

Integrations

Integrates with a wide variety of third-party platforms such as Asana, Salesforce, GitHub, etc.

Integrates with several platforms such as ADP

What Is Rippling?

Rippling HR is a comprehensive workforce management platform that integrates HR, IT, and finance operations into a unified system. Designed to streamline employee management, it offers solutions for payroll processing, benefits administration, compliance monitoring, and talent management. Rippling simplifies tasks such as onboarding, time and attendance tracking, and performance management, providing a seamless experience for both administrators and employees.

Rippling caters to businesses of varying sizes, from startups to enterprises, across multiple industries including technology, healthcare, and professional services. Its scalable and customizable approach makes it a preferred choice for organizations seeking an all-in-one solution to manage their workforce efficiently.

Unique Rippling Features

  • Employee Graph: Serving as a unified source of truth for employee data, the Employee Graph facilitates seamless integration across HR, IT, and finance functions.
  • IT Device Management: Rippling enables businesses to manage employee devices directly, including remote software installation and updates, a feature not commonly found in HR platforms.

Rippling Pros And Cons

Pros:

  • Streamlined onboarding process enhances efficiency for new hires
  • Global payroll support accommodates diverse workforce requirements
  • Wide variety of integration capabilities with third-party applications

Cons:

  • Customer support response times can be slow
  • Dependence on third-party apps may increase costs
  • Some users report outdated or inaccurate employee information

What Is Workday?

Workday human capital management (HCM) is a comprehensive cloud-based HR platform designed to unify various HR functions, including payroll, benefits administration, compliance, and talent management. It streamlines employee management with features such as recruitment tools, goal tracking, onboarding, and time tracking.

Workday encourages a strong company culture by providing tools for employee engagement and recognition. Its adaptable and scalable approach makes it a preferred choice for organizations seeking tailored HR solutions.  

The software caters to mid-sized and large enterprises across various industries, including finance, healthcare, and technology. This flexible and customizable platform is suitable for organizations aiming to enhance HR operations and employee experiences.

Unique Workday Features

  • Advanced Analytics And Reporting: Workday provides teams with robust analytics and reporting capabilities, offering real-time insights and predictive analytics to support data-driven decision-making across HR and financial functions.
  • Comprehensive Talent Management Suite: Workday offers an extensive talent management suite that encompasses tools for recruiting, performance management, and company culture, providing a holistic approach to developing talent within an organization.

Workday Pros And Cons

Pros:

  • User-friendly interface simplifies HR tasks effectively
  • Comprehensive features cover various HR management needs
  • Mobile accessibility allows HR tasks to be managed on the go
  • Responsive customer support addresses issues promptly

Cons:

  • Password recovery process is cumbersome for users
  • Feedback section's visibility settings cause user confusion

Rippling Vs Workday – Features Comparison

Payroll Management

Rippling offers a comprehensive platform that integrates HR, IT, and finance functions, enabling businesses to manage payroll for both domestic and international employees and contractors. The system automates tax filings, including paperless W-2, W-4, 1099, and new hire filings, ensuring compliance with various regulations.

It supports multiple pay rates, garnishments, and retroactive pay, providing flexibility for diverse payroll needs. Employees have access to a self-service portal where they can view pay stubs and tax documents at any time, even post-employment.

Rippling also facilitates global payroll processing, allowing companies to run payroll across different countries seamlessly.

Workday Payroll is a cloud-based solution designed to address a broad spectrum of enterprise payroll tasks, offering control, flexibility, and insight to support unique organizational requirements.

It provides continuous payroll processing, enabling real-time calculations and immediate insights into payroll data. The system includes machine-learning-infused payroll insights and audits, enhancing accuracy and compliance.

Workday Payroll also offers real-time visibility into the general ledger, facilitating better financial planning and reporting. Employees benefit from self-service capabilities, allowing them to manage personal information, view payslips, and make payment elections through a unified platform accessible via web and mobile devices.

Winner: Both offer comparable payroll features, leading to a tie for this category.

Time Tracking

Rippling's Time and Attendance system offers a customizable approach to time tracking, allowing businesses to tailor policies to their specific needs, such as creating custom pay types, job codes, and overtime regulations.

The platform supports multiple clock-in methods—including mobile apps with geolocation, QR codes, and selfie verification—to ensure accurate attendance and prevent practices like 'buddy punching.' Additionally, Rippling enforces compliance with labor laws by automatically applying relevant regulations based on each employee's location, thereby reducing the risk of violations.

Workday Time Tracking is a global, cloud-based application that integrates seamlessly with Workday's suite of products, including Human Capital Management and Payroll. It provides employees with self-service time entry accessible via web browsers, mobile devices, or physical time clocks, featuring location-based detection for mobile check-ins.

Managers benefit from efficient approval workflows, real-time calculations of labor costs, and configurable business processes, all designed to enhance productivity and ensure compliance with labor regulations.

Winner: The various clock-in methods provided by Rippling give it a clear advantage over Workday, making it the winner for this category.

Benefits Administration

Rippling's benefits administration system offers HR teams and brokers a unified platform to manage employee benefits, including health insurance and 401(k) plans. The system automates tasks such as enrolling new hires, updating payroll deductions, and administering COBRA, thereby reducing manual workload and minimizing errors.

Employees can self-manage their benefits through an intuitive portal, facilitating plan comparisons and enrollment decisions. Furthermore, Rippling supports both the use of existing brokers and connections to over 4,000 benefits plans from leading carriers, providing flexibility and a wide range of options to suit diverse organizational needs.

Workday's benefits administration software empowers organizations to manage various benefits plans, including health, retirement, and wellness programs, all within a single system integrated with employee data. This integration ensures that any changes in employee information automatically trigger corresponding benefits events, maintaining consistency and compliance.

In addition, the platform offers employees a personalized experience, allowing them to access and manage their benefits information from any device. For administrators, Workday provides insights into provider details and employee enrollment metrics, streamlining benefits management and enhancing decision-making processes.

Winner: While both are neck-in-neck here, the extent of Rippling’s benefits give it an edge over Workday, making it the winner for this category.

Recruitment And Talent Acquisition

Rippling's recruiting module offers a comprehensive applicant tracking system (ATS) that integrates seamlessly with its Human Capital Management (HCM) platform. This integration enables efficient management of the entire recruitment process, from job posting to onboarding , within a single system.

Key features include customizable workflows, automated interview scheduling, and collaborative tools that facilitate communication among hiring teams. Additionally, Rippling leverages AI to summarize candidate feedback, streamlining decision-making and enhancing the overall hiring experience.

Meanwhile, Workday's talent acquisition and recruitment suite provides an end-to-end solution designed to manage the full recruitment lifecycle. This unification of recruitment with its HCM system helps Workday ensures real-time visibility and seamless data flow across HR functions.

Furthermore, the platform offers AI-driven candidate sourcing, personalized job recommendations, and comprehensive analytics to optimize hiring strategies. Features such as mobile accessibility, collaborative hiring tools, and automated workflows enhance recruiter efficiency and improve the candidate experience.

Winner: Both software are once again tied here because they offer similar features, such as automated workflows and collaboration tools.

Mobile App

Rippling provides a mobile application that allows employees to clock in and out directly from their smartphones, facilitating the tracking of work hours and breaks. The app utilizes geolocation to confirm employees' locations during clock-ins, ensuring compliance with attendance policies. Additionally, employees can attach notes and documents to specific shifts, enhancing communication and record-keeping.

Workday's mobile app offers a comprehensive suite of HR and finance functionalities, enabling employees to perform tasks such as accessing pay slips, submitting expenses, and requesting time off. The app also supports biometric login for secure access and leverages native mobile capabilities to enhance user experience.

On top of that, managers can utilize the app to oversee team activities, review compensation and performance data, and manage approvals, thereby maintaining productivity while on the move.

Winner: Workday’s extensive mobile capabilities compared to Rippling make it the winner here.

Which One To Choose – Rippling Or Workday?

Both Rippling and Workday provide strong HR solutions, but they cater to distinct business needs.

Rippling is ideal for companies of all sizes seeking a highly integrated, customizable platform that combines HR, IT, and finance functions seamlessly. It is particularly well-suited for organizations prioritizing automation and efficient onboarding, with strong global payroll and compliance capabilities.

Workday, on the other hand, is designed for larger enterprises looking for advanced analytics, scalable talent acquisition tools, and a unified system for managing HR and financial processes. It excels in industries like healthcare, technology, and professional services.

Thus, the right choice depends on your organization’s size, industry and specific HR requirements.