What is our primary use case?
I have implemented Indian payroll for some of the clients. I have used SaaS and on-premises versions of this solution. It is also deployed on the AWS Cloud server for a client in Singapore.
How has it helped my organization?
It is a time-saving solution. It has saved a lot of time for our clients. With the chatbot feature, there is no need for a one-to-one reply to each employee. In addition, employees don't need to log in to the ESS portal and MSS portal to see their payslip and leave attendance. They can ask the chatbot about the leave balance, upcoming holiday, or other things, and they can get an immediate response and see the information, which also saves manpower. There is no need to manage a help desk team to reply to an employee's query.
It has also been helpful in eliminating errors and doing the calculations. For example, when you manually calculate things like salary, there are chances of error. The clients are using Ramco HCM to process salary with the fully-integrated Time and Attendance module. No manual intervention is required.
What is most valuable?
It is a good product, and it is suitable for different client requirements. It has customization options and flexibility. You can customize a report or configure the workflow based on your requirements. Everything is there in the product, and you can customize it as per your requirement.
Our clients found the automation of the payroll, leave attendance, and onboarding modules the most valuable. The Time and Attendance module is fully integrated with this solution and supports multiple data entry modes, such as barcode, biometric device, fingerprints, and face reading.
Its core HR module includes features like movement, expense management, exit, and separation. The compensation and benefits module includes features like welfare, retirement, and superannuation. It also has analytical tools. You can create a real-time report based on your requirements. You can also publish that report in different formats, such as Excel, PDF, HTML, etc.
It has a chatbot feature, which is using machine learning and natural language. You can ask questions about your leave balance, attendance, or things like that, and you will get an immediate reply from the chatbot. It also supports approval through email.
What needs improvement?
They can improve the configuration time because it takes more time than other products to configure the system. It could be because they are managing this single product for all countries, but it would be good if they improve the implementation time because we need to implement the solutions within a timeline.
They should provide some kind of auto-configuration so that the system can be configured and implemented within a certain timeline. Implementors should have a provision to configure the system in a short time. There should also be an option to move the setup or configuration from staging to production to save time. These types of automation should be there.
For how long have I used the solution?
I worked with Ramco as a business analyst for the HCM products for almost one year.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
It has good stability, reliability, and performance.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
How are customer service and support?
They are definitely supportive. They have some timelines based on the category of the issue like bugs, enhancements. They have defined some types in their helpdesk module, and they are providing support.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
I have worked on multiple HCM products. In my last organization, I worked with PeopleStrong's Alt HCM. I am also currently working with another HCM product. Some of the features available in Ramco, such as chatbots or capturing attendance through face reading, are not available in other products. Ramco is also managing a single application for all countries, which is a plus point. Because they are managing a single application, it is easy to maintain and apply the patch.
Ramco is an old company in the HCM domain. What is special about Ramco is that they have implemented all the modules in-house. They do not buy any other product from the market and integrate it with their system. They do not buy any third-party source code.
How was the initial setup?
It is straightforward. For its end-to-end implementation from hire to retirement, it will take a minimum of six months. This includes requirements gathering, UAT, training, and hand over.
During my role as a business analyst with Ramco, I was involved in gathering all the requirements from a client as per the system template and preparing the blueprint document as per the client requirements. My involvement was there from the initial stages of the project to the handover to the clients. The entire process involved project kickoff, process mapping, preparation, customization of the development or personalization, staging installation, product configuration, end-user training, rollout preparation, live installation, and post go-live support.
The number of people required for the deployment varies based on the project. Generally, two or three people are sufficient, but if the headcount is more than 1,000 or 2,000, then you would need five people.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
I am not aware of the price because I was working in the implementation team, but pricing is generally based on the requirement, modules, headcount, and country.
What other advice do I have?
If you are going to implement it in multiple countries, you should definitely implement it in phases. If you are going for parallel implementation, you should see if the same data is going to be used in all countries or if it is country-specific. You should also carefully work on data migration and make sure all the mandatory and required data is available in the system. It should not fail at the time of processing.
I would rate Ramco HCM an eight out of ten. It is a good product. There are a lot of solutions available in the market, and it is definitely a competitor.
*Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: