Insperity Review

Why Insperity is Best for Employee Self-Service

Insperity is our pick for best HR technology platform for employee self-service. Employees have their own login to the Insperity platform, and have 24/7 access to tools and resources via desktop, mobile web or mobile app. They also have access to more than 300 online courses and e-learning materials through an e-learning portal; these courses include workplace harassment prevention, customer service, communication, management and leadership, and more.

The platform offers both self-paced and instructor-led learning options, along with other resources like podcasts and white papers. Managers, from their end, can keep track of which employees have completed which courses, a useful compliance feature. In addition, Insperity’s performance appraisal system allows employees to access their performance reviews, with review questions customized by their managers, along with goals, guidance and training.

Managers can access their own performance management resources like templates and goal development resources, and use the performance reviews to award bonuses, raises and promotions. In addition, employees can easily enroll in benefits, record their timekeeping, keep track of their PTO requests, view payroll and tax records, and keep up to date on company announcements. And onboarding new employees is quick and simple – Insperity offers an onboarding wizard and a process that is not only easy but paper-free.

With their employee login, employees can access self-service tools to manage their benefits, view their paycheck details, participate in training and performance reviews, and more. Source: Insperity via YouTube

Another area where Insperity’s employee self-service features shine is benefits selection. Insperity provides employees with an interactive support tool called ALEX to help simplify the benefits selection process. In about 10 minutes (depending on the amount of guidance needed), ALEX asks a series of questions and helps employees identify the benefits option that might be best for them and their families. The self-service feature is available 24/7 on Insperity Premier. We appreciated that Insperity kept employee self-service features top of mind when designing their HCM platform. While many of Insperity’s competitors offer employee self-service tools, we found Insperity’s employee self-service features to be particularly robust – especially when it comes to online learning and benefits selection.

ALEX is an employee self-service tool that comes with the Insperity Premier HCM software. Employees can use the tool to quickly view details of different benefits plans and decide which might work best for them. (Source: Insperity)

Businesses must have at least five employees to work with Insperity.

You must use Insperity’s payroll service in order to use their other HR services.

Usability

We appreciated Insperity’s intuitive, easy-to-use design, which includes a centralized dashboard for users to keep all of their most important HR tasks, tools and resources in one place. On the employer side, Insperity makes it easy to run payroll, manage benefits administration, stay on top of talent management tasks and more. On the employee side, staff have access to a wealth of self-service options, also from a centralized dashboard. Tools like ALEX and the onboarding wizard offer even more of a seamless experience for new hires. However, other competitors we reviewed offered an even more robust, easy and fast onboarding process. If you’re a fast-growing company with a focus on hiring, check out our review of Rippling, which touts a 90-second onboarding process.

Insperity handles all updates and maintenance on the software side, so employers have one less headache to worry about. And we appreciated that the platform is easily accessible via desktop, mobile web or app, any time of the day or night – something not all of its competitors we reviewed provided.

Insperity’s simple design is centered around a dashboard, where users can view tasks they need to manage, and easily access other HR tools via the navigation bar on the left. (Source: Insperity)

Insperity Features

Employee Self-Service Tools

With Insperity, employees have access to a wide variety of self-service tools, from onboarding to benefits selection and online learning. Employees have access to the Insperity Premier platform via their own login 24/7 via desktop, mobile web or app; here they can request time off, manage their benefits, complete performance reviews and participate in online learning modules. New hires can enter their own data via a convenient onboarding wizard, relieving pressure on managers. Employees can also view their paycheck details, paydate, and time and attendance data; they can even shop the Insperity marketplace for discounts on things like cell service, events and travel. We appreciated Insperity’s innovative ALEX tool, which makes it quick and simple for employees to research benefits and decide which ones might be best for them.

Insperity allows employees to access self-service tools, like timekeeping and PTO requests, via their own login from desktop, mobile web or app. (Source: Insperity)

Benefits Administration

For Insperity’s PEO clients, one great perk is that it offers access to Fortune 500-level benefits for SMBs. Employees have access to top-tier benefit options for medical, dental and vision; short- and long-term disability insurance; life insurance; personal accident insurance; and a healthcare FSA. Like other HR tech we reviewed, Insperity Premier users can manage their benefits along with other HR tasks like payroll and performance management from a centralized, cloud-based dashboard.

Insperity can also handle employees’ 401(k) benefit plans, though prospective clients should note the service comes at an additional cost. Insperity customers also have access to a benefits specialist for any benefits-related questions or issues. If you already have a benefits broker you’re happy with, Insperity can integrate it into their platform so you can manage benefits along with your other HR tasks in the same place.

Payroll

Insperity makes it easy to process payroll, and it syncs with the platform’s employee timekeeping feature to ensure accuracy. The platform is capable of processing payroll for direct deposit, payroll debit card or e-pay stub. Insperity will also handle payroll tax filing and payroll tax compliance, including withholding and remittance.

The platform allows for online approval and review of payroll, and clients have access to a dedicated payroll support specialist for any questions or issues. Insperity is also set up to handle wage garnishments like student loans, levies and child support orders; in addition, it can remit payment directly to the appropriate government agency – something that makes Insperity stand out from other HR solutions we reviewed.

Prospective clients should note that they must use Insperity’s in-house payroll feature if they choose Insperity as a partner.

Talent Management

Insperity can help employers with key recruiting tasks like job descriptions and onboarding; plus, once employees are on board, the platform provides ongoing support – a feature we appreciated. Employees have access to instructor-led training and self-paced videos on a wide variety of topics, and employers can easily view their employees’ learning progress via the platform.

Insperity Premier also allows for employers to customize a performance review process, and employees can access their review questions via their self-service login. Employers can also access resources like performance management templates, training and goal development resources. While we appreciated Insperity’s emphasis on professional development, if you’re looking for a solution with even more robust professional development features, we recommend checking out our review of Bamboo HR.

Analytics and Reporting

Employers can access Insperity’s data and analytics tools to help them make sense of all kinds of workforce data. They can choose from several standard reports or customize their own with Insperity’s report builder tool. Reports can also be downloaded in multiple file formats. We liked that employers can run reports from any device. While Insperity’s data and analytics features were on par with many other services we reviewed, if you’re looking for a solution with extensive analytics features, we recommend checking out our review of Paycor.

The Insperity Premier platform allows users to run custom reports to give insights into workforce data, or use standard reports. Source: Insperity via YouTube

Applicant Tracking

For companies that are hiring extensively, Insperity offers solid applicant tracking features including job posting templates, access to online job boards, customized application and interview questions, and an employee referral process. We also liked Insperity’s candidate filtering and rating system, a feature that helps to streamline the hiring process. Prospective clients should note that Insperity’s applicant tracking service is only available as an add-on, so they’ll have to pay extra if they’re interested in this feature.

Insperity Costs

Insperity does not list pricing on its website, so prospective clients are required to contact the company to obtain a custom quote. Because Insperity is not transparent with its pricing, it’s not clear whether the service has any associated costs like set-up fees. Many competitors in this space advertise their pricing bundles online, and we wish that Insperity did the same; this would make the research process a bit easier for their prospective customers. If you’re looking for a company with transparent pricing, we recommend checking out our review of Gusto.

Setup

For PEO clients, Insperity works with each client individually to set up their partnership and HCM software; this starts with a discovery call for Insperity to determine a client’s particular needs. We found the onboarding and setup process to be fairly straightforward. An account executive will work closely with your company to ensure its information is transferred to the system and the HCM software platform is up and running, so you and your employees can access it.

We found the Insperity Premier platform to be intuitive, making it easy and fast for each employee to get started. We do wish Insperity was a bit more transparent about the time it takes to get set up on the platform – according to the company, the time will vary depending on your business size and needs. Other competitors can give more of a specific timeline estimate.

Customer Service

Insperity’s customer service model makes it stand out from competitors. Not only does it provide customer support via phone, email and chat, it also provides a team of dedicated specialists to help each client with their specific questions. Clients are provided with a client liaison, an HR specialist, a payroll specialist, an HR services manager, a performance specialist and a safety consultant. This team of professionals ensures that you’ll be connected with someone who has expertise specifically related to any kind of question or issue that might come up.

While some of the other services we reviewed provided a point-of-contact HR specialist for each client, it’s rare to see such an extensive team of specialists dedicated to each client. Insperity’s e-learning portal also provides tools and resources for employers to learn about specific HR topics.

Drawbacks

Insperity’s lack of transparent pricing will be a drawback for businesses that are looking to quickly price out a variety of options before making a commitment. Businesses particularly interested in 401(k) options and applicant tracking features may be disappointed that these will cost extra.

Additionally, if you want to use Insperity’s HR services, you must use its payroll services. For businesses that already have a payroll service or software they like using, this may be inconvenient at best and disruptive at worst. However, if you’re looking to onboard a payroll service provider anyway, this drawback is only minor.

Methodology

We analyzed a variety of HR software products on the market, examining how they compared to each other on key features like payroll, benefits administration, talent management, risk management, reporting and analytics, onboarding and offboarding, compliance support, automation, and custom workflows. We also took into account pricing, transparency, customer support, setup and ease of use.

We analyzed websites and customer reviews, watched product videos, and participated in vendor demos, where possible. In some cases, we also contacted vendor customer service lines. In looking for products with great employee self-service features, we examined whether employees had access to features like benefits enrollment, onboarding, timekeeping, PTO requests and online learning; how easy the tools were to use; and whether employees could access them via mobile web, desktop and/or mobile app.

Overall Value

We recommend Insperity for … 

• Small- and medium-sized businesses without a dedicated HR manager that are looking to outsource most or all of their HR functions to the same company.
• Businesses looking for one-stop-shop HCM software with robust employee self-service options.
• Businesses that are looking for specialized customer support.

We do not recommend Insperity for …

• Businesses that are looking for low-cost solutions to outsource only specific portions of their HR operation.
• Businesses that are looking for transparent pricing.