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IBM Kenexa pros and cons

Vendor: IBM
3.8 out of 5

Pros & Cons summary

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Prominent pros & cons

PROS

IBM Kenexa handles a large volume of applicants efficiently, facilitating the management of over 20,000 applicants annually for some positions.
Recruiters can easily customize views and settings according to individual preferences, enhancing personal productivity and experience.
Users can readily upload and download documents as needed, providing convenience and flexibility in accessing vital information.
IBM Kenexa offers high stability with minimal downtime, ensuring continuous operational performance.
Scaling capabilities are strong, making IBM Kenexa a reliable choice for large organizations looking to expand their recruiting efforts seamlessly.

CONS

Reporting tool is not the easiest to train or understand for HR professionals.
Workbench site requires more work from administrators.
Workbench training is very unhelpful and takes eight hours to complete.
Customer service for Workbench site is not helpful.
IBM Kenexa needs to update its reporting and analytics tools.
 

IBM Kenexa Pros review quotes

it_user501270 - PeerSpot reviewer
Director of HR Operations and HRIS at a tech company with 1,001-5,000 employees
Aug 22, 2016
It allowed for truly global listing for all open positions.
it_user504219 - PeerSpot reviewer
Specialist, Talent Acquisitions Systems at a engineering company with 10,001+ employees
Aug 30, 2016
Now, having provided this, amongst many other things, we have a much closer relationship to the business.
it_user512925 - PeerSpot reviewer
People Systems Partner at Biogen
Sep 15, 2016
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.
Learn what your peers think about IBM Kenexa. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: March 2026.
884,873 professionals have used our research since 2012.
it_user512928 - PeerSpot reviewer
Program Manager at T-Mobile
Sep 15, 2016
Great value and flexibility in an ATS, mainly through the automation and the configuration through Workbench you can do to manipulate the candidate experience to really be something that candidates like and allows them to apply to your site easily and put them in a pipeline for recruiters to access and move through a process and get somebody hired.
it_user512931 - PeerSpot reviewer
Sr. Manager, Recruitment Technology & Infrastructure at a media company with 1,001-5,000 employees
Sep 15, 2016
BrassRing, the applicant tracking system, has brought a high level of automation, specifically for our mass-volume hourly processes.
Assoc5b10 - PeerSpot reviewer
Assoc. Specialist Talent Acquisition Solutions at a consumer goods company with 5,001-10,000 employees
Nov 15, 2016
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_user512940 - PeerSpot reviewer
Director, People Intelligence at a financial services firm with 1,001-5,000 employees
Sep 15, 2016
The ability now to be able to take data, load it yourself, ask the business questions and get the answers on your own process with the business just made it a lot faster, and the cognitive solution gives us some insights for us to think about.
it_user512943 - PeerSpot reviewer
HRIS Analyst at Lockheed Martin
Sep 15, 2016
I just think it's a good tool, with great flexibility.
it_user512946 - PeerSpot reviewer
HRIS Sr at a financial services firm with 1,001-5,000 employees
Sep 15, 2016
I think the advantage of Kenexa is the degree to which we can configure to meet our specific needs.
it_user512949 - PeerSpot reviewer
HRIS Business Process Manager at a retailer with 10,001+ employees
Sep 15, 2016
For us in particular, I love how configurable the system is; I can use the same technology for different parts of my business.
 

IBM Kenexa Cons review quotes

it_user501270 - PeerSpot reviewer
Director of HR Operations and HRIS at a tech company with 1,001-5,000 employees
Aug 22, 2016
2xO was created by brain-damaged monkeys in front of keyboards.
it_user504219 - PeerSpot reviewer
Specialist, Talent Acquisitions Systems at a engineering company with 10,001+ employees
Aug 30, 2016
If you happen to be an early adopter of enhancements, it can be a frustrating process, as it is hard to decipher together with their support whether an issue is a bug or working as intended (a change in the way something works).
it_user512925 - PeerSpot reviewer
People Systems Partner at Biogen
Sep 15, 2016
It was a little rocky, as they always are, but we went live on time and that's all that matters.
Learn what your peers think about IBM Kenexa. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: March 2026.
884,873 professionals have used our research since 2012.
it_user512928 - PeerSpot reviewer
Program Manager at T-Mobile
Sep 15, 2016
I think there is some administrative things that could be easier in terms of Workbench and streamlining that process; configuration of different things.
it_user512931 - PeerSpot reviewer
Sr. Manager, Recruitment Technology & Infrastructure at a media company with 1,001-5,000 employees
Sep 15, 2016
The downside of Kenexa is that they're constantly reinventing, so they have constant releases with new features and upgrades. The downside of that is that they do experience fairly regular issues with stability that they're not always as quick to respond to as we'd like them to.
Assoc5b10 - PeerSpot reviewer
Assoc. Specialist Talent Acquisition Solutions at a consumer goods company with 5,001-10,000 employees
Nov 15, 2016
I'm just taking over the account, so I'm still pretty new to the whole system.
it_user512940 - PeerSpot reviewer
Director, People Intelligence at a financial services firm with 1,001-5,000 employees
Sep 15, 2016
The price can always be better. Right now, we can only do part of that, but not as much as I want to.
it_user512943 - PeerSpot reviewer
HRIS Analyst at Lockheed Martin
Sep 15, 2016
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.
it_user512946 - PeerSpot reviewer
HRIS Sr at a financial services firm with 1,001-5,000 employees
Sep 15, 2016
Improved integrations: There are all kinds of issues with integrations, hires failing.
it_user512949 - PeerSpot reviewer
HRIS Business Process Manager at a retailer with 10,001+ employees
Sep 15, 2016
Maybe there's some room for improvement in the functionality around the actual tools that we build with.