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IBM Kenexa vs Oracle Taleo comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Nov 4, 2024

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
16th
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 (10th)
Oracle Taleo
Ranking in Benefits Administration
8th
Ranking in Talent Management
8th
Average Rating
7.6
Reviews Sentiment
5.5
Number of Reviews
20
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of May 2026, in the Benefits Administration category, the mindshare of IBM Kenexa is 1.8%, up from 0.6% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Oracle Taleo is 2.3%, down from 2.5% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Benefits Administration Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Oracle Taleo2.3%
IBM Kenexa1.8%
Other95.9%
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.
Raghu Varun - PeerSpot reviewer
Talent Acquisition Specialist at Autodesk, Inc.
Supports recruitment workflows effectively but requires better AI search and mobile capabilities
Oracle Taleo lacks AI right now when everyone is transitioning into AI. It is very limited with a single word search. A chatbot could be added to Oracle Taleo as most of the current existing tools have. Career site redirection could be more advanced with the user interface.AI-assisted search can help in the sourcing platform, which would be an added advantage compared to Oracle Taleo. The filters are good, but when trying to use a Boolean search or customize search options, it only takes a limited selection of keywords. AI could help in more advanced search capability, which might be a drawback for Oracle Taleo. Additionally, creating campaigns and bulk messaging is lacking.Regarding the mobile-friendly candidate experience, there are better options from other tools. You are limited to the approval part. Difficulties arise when wanting access to applications or dashboards connected to Oracle Taleo or viewing the transition on mobile.When it comes to stability and performance, there are prior communications about downtimes on Saturdays, but there are some issues during weekdays which are faced occasionally. The scalability aspect is not quite scalable.

Quotes from Members

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Pros

"Without this solution, we would have more administrative functions and would need to hire more HR employees."
"I think one of the biggest benefits that Kenexa brings is the scalability."
"The most valuable features are that we can upload documents and download them on demand, whether it is joining documents, employment screening, or your employment history, and it's easy enough to upload, find, and retrieve whatever you are looking for."
"As I said, IBM are doing a great job with us at the moment, but we're always looking and speaking and open to having conversations with other people because the market's changing and IBM are aware of that."
"From everything I’ve seen and heard, I would think Kenxea is probably one of the top three, if not the best, in the business that they do and the things that we use them for."
"It has definitely improved my organization by being able to help the recruiters move candidates through the interview process."
"Overall, from a recruiter's perspective, it is an excellent product and is probably one of the best recruitment products out there in terms of usability, ease of understanding, and management of large applicant pools."
"For us in particular, I love how configurable the system is; I can use the same technology for different parts of my business."
"Performance and goal management are good to have, based on certain client requirements where the user base isn't too large, but the most workable domain of Taleo is the recruiting module."
"The advantage I see is the presence of the industrial Taleo stack, which is beneficial for large-scale companies handling a higher load."
"The solution is stable and reliable."
"ATS is used to track candidates. We've used it for job requisitions, getting candidates for those requisitions, moving them through different interview stages, and then handling their onboarding process."
"It is easy to use; requisition management and pre-screening are the two most valuable features."
"The stability of the solution is good."
"The stability of the solution is good."
"We had no tracking system prior, so this was a huge improvement."
 

Cons

"I'm just taking over the account, so I'm still pretty new to the whole system."
"Technical support was not always great. They tend to push you towards workbench admins or paid support."
"The price can always be better. Right now, we can only do part of that, but not as much as I want to."
"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."
"2xO was created by brain-damaged monkeys in front of keyboards."
"The team didn't find the reporting tool that easy to use, in terms of pulling their own data, slicing and dicing it, combining groups."
"In the past year, there has been a significant increase in the amount of internal errors that are displayed."
"My rating is not higher because of the support, honestly; the global service center model."
"In terms of Oracle Taleo as a product, there are a lot of things which can be developed; most feedback which I have heard from customers is about the dashboard and the home page, both of which are quite basic."
"Taleo doesn't really provide us with the systems that we need."
"The bulk recruitment feature does not work well."
"I don't see very valuable features in this product because it has an old way of interpreting ATS. It should be more flexible in managing datasets and data searches. The screening data is a long process in Taleo."
"Customer support. It is very cold, you put a ticket in and you might get a response back an hour or two later."
"Lacks some systems that we need."
"With Taleo, I experience two limitations. First, it only supports soft calls with a daily limit, which is a concern. The other limitation is that it feels outdated, and I cannot compare certain things or implement some automations that require a lot of manual intervention when initiating, generating, and calculating offers."
"When editing some components such as requisitions, the solution does not respond quickly in terms of performance, maybe because of the technology in which the solution is currently built."
 

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."
"Oracle Taleo is an expensive solution."
"Whether you pay annually or on some other payment schedule depends on the license model you choose. Typically, clients pay a yearly subscription."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Construction Company
11%
Comms Service Provider
11%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Healthcare Company
7%
Comms Service Provider
22%
Financial Services Firm
12%
University
6%
Healthcare Company
6%
 

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 Business4
Midsize Enterprise3
Large Enterprise14
 

Questions from the Community

Ask a question
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What needs improvement with Oracle Taleo?
Oracle Taleo lacks AI right now when everyone is transitioning into AI. It is very limited with a single word search. A chatbot could be added to Oracle Taleo as most of the current existing tools ...
What is your primary use case for Oracle Taleo?
I have been working with Workday for the last one and a half years, but prior to that, I was there for Oracle Taleo and SuccessFactors for almost six years. I migrated to Workday and Oracle HCM app...
What advice do you have for others considering Oracle Taleo?
When someone is trying to implement Oracle Taleo, they should look into the systems and what features can be integrated. Not every organization helps you in integration with third parties, and you ...
 

Also Known As

IBM Smarter Workforce, Outstart
Taleo, SonicRecruit
 

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
ICA Fluor, Monsanto Company, Hitachi Consulting, Phoebe Putney Memorial Hospital, Kalpataru Ltd, DELL Inc., JSR Micro Inc., Skanska AB, Acciona, Baloise Group, Zhejiang Geely Holding Group, Logicalis Inc., Garmin International, Intuit Inc, The Dow Chemical Company
Find out what your peers are saying about IBM Kenexa vs. Oracle Taleo and other solutions. Updated: April 2026.
894,830 professionals have used our research since 2012.