IBM Kenexa Reviews

In my opinion, the reporting tool and configuration features provide a better customized solution in regards to applicant tracking.

This tool is very powerful and the ability to tweak it in order to meet desired processes and controls is valuable. We could get data on recruiting and effectively utilize it to make business decisions. Furthermore, we could comply with regulations owing to the right controls within this tool.

The user interface could do with an overhaul. Also, some screens that are not configurable should be opened to clients for customization.

I have used it for almost two years.

Rarely any stability issues were encountered. There were a few minor issues from time to time but overall this product is fairly reliable.

We did not encounter any scalability issues.

Technical support is required for configurations but integrations with other tools would need a technical resource. Most tasks can be accomplished within the user interface with a little training. IBM provides a lot of support for this as well.

We had used KRE, the other ATS offering from Kenexa before BrassRing and switched to this tool for better functionality.

Initial setup was complex because BrassRIng is quite flexible. Essentially, it required a lot of decision making such as drawing on a blank slate.

We went through a RFP process. However, I do not have details on which vendors were evaluated.

There is a need to have a dedicated resource for maintenance and training. The tool is configurable but can also get complex to understand, depending on how the recruiting process is designed.

It has the ability to manage international postings. You can also move the candidate through the selection process. Kenexa does an extremely adequate job with this.

It allowed for truly global listing for all open positions. That is about it.

There are tremendous opportunities for improvement. Unfortunately, it would require a total scrapping of the existing system and completely building a new system from the ground up. Kenexa BrassRing (2xB) is a completely mediocre system that does an outstanding job of being completely average at doing all the basic applicant tracking activities. If you want cutting edge 1997 technology, then 2xB is definitely the tool you're looking for.

Configuring 2xB is painfully difficult. Changing the initial setup is even more difficult after you go live. Customer support is some of the worst I've ever encountered. In some ways, it is like a case study in how to provide world-class terrible, awful, slow customer and technical support.

I have been using it for three years.

The product was so fussy to make any changes that we tried not to do anything different. Clearly this isn't a great way to support a business. I was not around for the implementation, but I had to deal with the outcome. Unfortunately, the system was slammed in without much thought to, well, anything. Cleaning up this mess was so difficult, it took weeks to get anything changed or modified, even for the simplest stuff. It was easier to live with what we had and work around it than it was to change it.

Terrible, but not just terrible. World-class terrible. Truly the worst I've ever had to work with. It felt like someone knew exactly how to provide world-class customer service and purposely did the opposite. It felt like this was an experiment to see how much abuse and frustration their customers could take. My poor contact was stuck with way too many clients to support. He was put in a position where he had to rely on other Kenexa team members to do anything... and they were awful about responding to him. (I don't know why he didn't quit; it was such an awful job and position to be in.) This meant that it took WEEKS and MONTHS to get anything done. It is the WORST customer service I have ever dealt with in any vendor, either in my personal or professional life. Kenexa is the primary factor for leaving my previous employer and working for another company that does not use Kenexa.

2xB is extremely complex and convoluted to set up. I joined the company after the implementation of 2xB. I had to live with the consequence of that implementation. From that perspective, 2xB was an admin nightmare. Their Benchmark tool required specialized training at significant cost. Documentation is spotty and filled with gaps. The Benchmark tool was not designed for customers. It was for developers, so there are fields and functionality in locations in the tool that don't make any sense as an Admin user. I would have to jump to three or four screens to do something simple. Even after the training, I only had 80% access to the configuration. The 20% required working with the account management / tech support contact (which was difficult, at best). Simple changes became month-long projects. Glitches happened where it would take weeks to sort out. It was generally one hot mess after another.

I did have the misfortune of trying to implement a garbage piece of software called BrassRing Onboarding or 2xO. 2xO was created by brain-damaged monkeys in front of keyboards. It was so buggy, so inflexible, so difficult to configure and so unfriendly to the candidate that it was literally faster to have the candidate fill out a piece of paper (not a PDF...paper) and mail it back to us than it was to use 2xO. IBM did virtually no development around this tool. It was an orphaned product that no one wanted... including any customer who tried to work with the product. Truly atrocious customer support did not help either. 2xO wins the award for WORST applicant tracking software of all time. 2xO should be and is an embarrassment for IBM. IBM should refund every dime and profusely apologize to any customer every laid eyes on this piece of... well, I'll keep this professional.

An in-house team implemented it; however, it would not have mattered what was done. There is no way to fundamentally be successful implementing technology that is this fundamentally flawed. It is not designed for today's recruiting world. My advice: Don't buy or implement Kenexa. If you have bought this product, you have made a horrific choice and you should cut your losses now and start over. BrassRing 2xB is the equivalent of the rotary-dial telephone in the age of smartphones.

Don't buy Kenexa, even if it is offered to you for free. There is no return that will ever justify the cost of purchasing, implementing and the ongoing support required to use Kenexa.

I was not part of the selection committee that picked Kenexa; I used Kenexa after it was selected and implemented. However, I have selected and/or used iCIMS, Taleo Enterprise, Taleo Business Edition and Deltek Talent Management. iCIMS by far was the best ATS I've used and should be the one to seriously consider. iCIMS is reasonably priced, provides great customer support and stays up with technology (especially the social media tool). There are many, many, many other applicant tracking/talent management tools that are better priced, have more functionality, cutting-edge technology, provided better customer service and really streamline and positively transform recruiting. Kenexa fails on all these areas.

DON'T BUY KENEXA. Literally any other applicant tracking solution is better. Well, one exception. I would encourage my competitors to use Kenexa. Diverting my competitor to burn up time, money and resources with no return on all this effort would give my company a competitive advantage. That would be the only scenario I would encourage to use Kenexa.

The most important features are that the instrument can be customized, that we can get important and relevant data about our employees, and the responsiveness of our client team from IBM has been phenomenal. It's been a real partnership.

It's given us data from which to make better decisions about what we need to do in order to have a highly engaged workforce. It's helped us specifically align the engagement information with business strategies and link addressing some of those issues to better business outcomes.

I don't know if the issue is what can be improved upon in upcoming releases. It's about understanding how we can adapt and be more flexible, because the survey that we've been doing is one of those point-in-time surveys and not real time. The minute we roll it out, the organization changes, and then all of a sudden there are issues such as, “This isn't my team. How am I supposed to manage this data?” There’s probably a solution that exists already with IBM or Kenexa. I'm just not that familiar with it.

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. Some of them did, but for the most part, it felt like a bridge too far. With regard to our managers using it, the minute we saw that some of the HRBPs were having an issue with it, we didn't even dare suggest that our managers run their own reports.

As a platform, it is highly stable.

It is highly scalable.

I haven't personally used technical support. I think my team has.

I wasn't involved in the original decision to get Kenexa. I'm involved in our ongoing decision to remain with Kenexa.

I wasn't involved in the original setup.

For us, the decision isn't, do we use another solution? The question is really: Do we use a solution? It's not about another solution. Do we try and create something? Do we do something more informal? I think that the 2016 IBM HR summit convinced me that we need to continue to do some of the work we're doing, and maybe even get more sophisticated and work with IBM to do something more sophisticated than what we've been doing.

The most important criteria for me when selecting a vendor to work with is, in general, value for money. Their understanding of our business needs and how that solution really solves a business problem or helps us avoid one. Also, we look for a responsive, flexible partner, and that's what we have with our team, with IBM’s Rob Ball and the team in London.

Definitely consider it. I knew Kenexa before they were IBM, and at first I thought, "Oh no, here we go, get swallowed up by this big, mammoth organization." Now I think that being part of IBM just means that I've got a whole rich array of other things to choose from that can plug and play with some of the other solutions. I think there's been real value to having Kenexa be part of IBM, and I think the 2016 IBM HR Summit was one of them.

I think they've got a smart solution. I want to see what else we can do with Kenexa, and I think that they're part of an outstanding culture of customer service.

We use BrassRing, the recruiting tool. The reporting feature is what I use, the data insight tool, to be able to pull the data and then provide some analytics on the data behind it.

That's the most valuable feature, for me personally, in my role.

It has definitely improved my organization by being able to help the recruiters move candidates through the interview process. We just recently started to use more of the capabilities with the different statuses such as the RAM triggers and so on; we’re starting to streamline more of the processes. They definitely save time and make sure things are happening at the right speed and when they need to happen. They're definitely a big help, I would say.

Improvements can be made from the back end, with the workbench.

Even though I know lots of people have mentioned issues with publishing from staging to production, and I know that's something that IBM said they're aware of and they might be working on already, that's one of the bigger things that would be helpful.

I've never had any stability issues. There’s been no downtime. Occasionally they'll let us know that there's an update happening, but usually that's during off hours; things like that, so no biggies. It's not affecting my business.

I have not encountered any scalability issues.

So far, we've been expanding throughout the US and we'll be expanding to use it globally in the next year or two. We'll be seeing it scale more but so far, expanding throughout the US with Kenexa BrassRing has been helpful getting everybody on the same page.

I have used technical support a couple of times such as filing the tickets and getting them to work through the issues. They've always been helpful, whether it's helping on the call or with the email resolution, it's all been pretty good.

I did not previously use a different solution. I just wasn't part of the HR talent acquisition world yet.

I was not involved in the initial setup.

I think one the bigger advantages is that it is backed by IBM with the ability to bring in a bunch of tools to build an entire platform. It's not just one tool that does the ATS and another tool that does HRIS. Being able to have IBM that supplies all of those and create a platform is, I think, pretty useful.

The most important criteria for me when selecting a vendor to work with is definitely brand recognition. If you see other companies that are in your industry using the same tool, it let’s you know that it can be applied to your business. Something with a proven track record.

There's obviously some room to improve and they're making updates all the time but I think right now, even with talking with some of my colleagues, they say it's better than some of the other solutions that they've used. Drawing from some of their feedback, it seems like it's a good tool. I don't have any previous experience with other tools.

We're using a couple of programs from IBM Kenexa. We are running the annual survey with IBM Kenexa. We use the Viewpoint Platform. For the Viewpoint Platform, we have the OrgMapper, which is extremely helpful to actually be able to copy our internal HR data on OrgMapper to reflect the same setup.

The most valuable feature of the survey is that it's a link we can use. We can share the link with all of our managers. Managers can use the link 24/7, so we don't have to support the managers and it actually frees up the time for HR and the support to be able to do other more useful things for the managers, instead of just copying reports and sending reports.

We are much faster delivering the reports. We are able to do different analysis on the verbatims with the survey analytics tool. 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.

There are tools that actually are not there where clients need them, especially the survey analytics to analyze verbatim in different languages. We survey in 14 different languages and analyzing the verbatim other than English is not possible and that is a downside for us, absolutely. I would like them to offer that in more languages. Especially those at the global companies need that.

The stability of the tool is okay. We didn't have major issues.

I have not used technical support.

We had regional and local surveys, but there was a decision made to get global surveys and then we were looking for vendor.

At the beginning, initial setup was complex. We had to learn. We are in contact with Kenexa since 2008 and working with them since then.

There were other vendors, but I don't want to provide details. The main reason we choose Kenexa in the past was the big benchmark data they had.

In general, when selecting a vendor to work with, the most important criteria for me is for them to understand what I want, the strategy, to actually deliver what they promise, and to be a partner – not vendor/client but partner.

Be open about what you want; be straightforward and challenge.

I like how we can copy a req as we have many duplicates. That saved a lot of time when opening reqs.

I felt like we could have customized it better for our business.

I have used Kenexa for two years.

Here and there we did have stability issues.

There were functions we couldn't customize and needed to.

I would give technical support a rating of 7/10.

We used ATS and switched to Kenexa to update to a web interface. Our company then switched to Taleo. We are switching to Workday.

The setup was straightforward. I liked how we had teams and everyone could help build out product.

Customize as much as you can upfront, as it would be worth it in the long run to have what you need now, instead of waiting or trying to get that later.

We looked at PeopleSoft.

Customize it and then it is a good product.