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IBM Kenexa vs Workday HCM comparison

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Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Jul 21, 2026

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 Benefits Administration
12th
Ranking in Talent Management
17th
Average Rating
7.6
Reviews Sentiment
5.3
Number of Reviews
30
Ranking in other categories
Applicant Tracking and Recruiting Software (6th)
Workday HCM
Ranking in Benefits Administration
1st
Ranking in Talent Management
2nd
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
6.7
Number of Reviews
66
Ranking in other categories
Cloud HCM (1st), Talent Acquisition (1st)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of September 2026, in the Benefits Administration category, the mindshare of IBM Kenexa is 1.9%, up from 0.9% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Workday HCM is 9.1%, down from 18.0% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Benefits Administration Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Workday HCM9.1%
IBM Kenexa1.9%
Other89.0%
Benefits Administration
 

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.
Amit_Rai - PeerSpot reviewer
Senior Software Engineer at a consultancy with 1,001-5,000 employees
Automation has transformed hire to retire processes and delivers powerful HR analytics
In Workday Human Capital Management, I feel that the security part needs to be improved. Workday gives complete control to the implementers regarding security and who is going to see what data. There are sometimes loopholes that are not identified unless fully tested. If Workday had a security alert system, even a small alert would help the security architect secure all information better, especially sensitive data such as payroll. Additionally, customization is another area of improvement, as Workday provides a default blue and yellow theme, which may not align with a company's branding. If Workday provided the option to customize themes based on a company's preferences, it would enhance the user experience.

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."
"The streamlined, simplicity approach of Kenexa makes it simple for me to navigate."
"It allowed for truly global listing for all open positions."
"I would definitely and highly recommend the applicant tracking system."
"Kenexa’s scalability has been great, as we can grow and expand our use no matter what and seamlessly incorporate our business process for new launches."
"We use the Viewpoint and that is an absolutely powerful tool; it is extremely helpful to get more insights, and to start a conversation with our employees to grow and improve."
"BrassRing, the applicant tracking system, has brought a high level of automation, specifically for our mass-volume hourly processes."
"For us in particular, I love how configurable the system is; I can use the same technology for different parts of my business."
"The most valuable feature of the solution is that it is a cloud-based system and easy to use."
"Workday Human Capital Management's most valuable feature is self-service."
"There is a lot of scope for customization with this solution"
"The solution has good accessibility; it's easy to use and not very confusing."
"We use this solution to manage financials, payroll and recruiting."
"We use Workday for HR services and found the software to be very user-friendly compared to the previous software."
"It's actually a cloud-native solution and based on the community for development, with a very good open architecture that is able to interconnect with other systems, and it is very stable and very fast in terms of response."
"The product is a complete solution for security."
 

Cons

"I would like to have a better and more user-friendly interface."
"Improvements can be made from the back end, with the workbench."
"It needs to update its reporting and analytics tools."
"The reason I’m not rating it with five stars is because of its sheer size."
"My rating is not higher because of the support, honestly; the global service center model."
"In the past year, there has been a significant increase in the amount of internal errors that are displayed."
"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."
"There were functions we couldn't customize and needed to."
"The tool has certain shortcomings when it comes to its integration capabilities with other systems in our company, making it an area where improvements are required."
"The UI, UX (user experience) is very bad. It is not very interactive."
"Setting up reports can be a bit tricky."
"In a future release we could like to have access to asset, supply and treasury management functionalities."
"Workday does not support many Korean language features. So, it will be great if they have some development on the Korean language side – then it will be really powerful in our market."
"If you want to add more features to your subscription, Workday becomes expensive."
"Workday could improve its custom reporting for beginners."
"This solution could be improved by providing user-level access to customization capabilities. Users currently rely on more technical teams to customize reports, for example."
 

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."
"It has an annual subscription rate, but I'm not sure how it will work."
"With a bigger budget, I would recommend SAP."
"It is on a yearly basis."
"I need to pay for a license. It is expensive."
"The solution’s pricing is better than SAP SuccessFactors."
"The pricing for this solution is fairly high. It is not affordable for small and mid-sized companies."
"You have the license fee per module, and then you have a kind of annual training fee, which is a kind of add-on. I wouldn't say it is exhaustive; it is minor. Licensing is pretty transparent for most of the part."
"Workday is an expensive solution."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Outsourcing Company
16%
Construction Company
15%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Comms Service Provider
9%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Outsourcing Company
9%
Financial Services Firm
8%
Comms Service Provider
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business3
Midsize Enterprise1
Large Enterprise28
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business18
Midsize Enterprise7
Large Enterprise50
 

Questions from the Community

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What are the biggest differences between Workday, Oracle Cloud and SAP SuccessFactors?
Differences between Workday, Oracle Cloud,w and SAP SuccessFactors:w Oracle: "simple interface and deep customization to suit the purpose." SAP: Multiple functionalities that increase process effi...
How easy is to maintain Workday, Oracle Cloud, and SuccessFactors?
I implemented Workday in 2024 and without having previous Workday experience, it was very challenging. I spent most of 2025 putting out fires and cleaning up the business processes that came with l...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Workday?
If you go with the launch implementation approach, the solution is generally not very expensive. If you want to add more features to your subscription, Workday becomes expensive. The solution is fl...
 

Also Known As

IBM Smarter Workforce, Outstart
Workday Human Capital Management
 

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
AAA, Allied Global, Avago Technologies Limited, Aviva, Cardinal Health, CareFusion, Chiquita Brands International, Equifax, Flextronics, HP, Life Time Fitness, McKee Foods, MGM Resorts International, Sanofi, ServiceSource International, Symantec, TripAdvisor, Yahoo!
Find out what your peers are saying about IBM Kenexa vs. Workday HCM and other solutions. Updated: September 2026.
913,076 professionals have used our research since 2012.