Personio: HR Management und Recruiting

About the Software

Personio is a comprehensive, cloud-based HR operating system that covers all key HR areas, including Recruiting, Administration, Payroll, Development, Personnel Data, and Workflows. The software is designed for small and medium-sized businesses and is hosted on certified servers in Germany.

Key Features

• Recruiting: Job postings, advertising packages, applicant management, and multilingual postings (German, English, Spanish, French, Dutch, Italian, Portuguese).
• Administration: Digital personnel files, absence management, time tracking, onboarding, and customizable employee attributes.
• Payroll: Pre-prepared payroll processing with DATEV integration, customizable salary components, and automated bonus calculations.
• Development: Performance management, goal setting, feedback processes, and automated reminders for reviews.
• Personnel Data: Role-based access control, employee self-service, and detailed reporting/analytics.
• Workflows: Approval processes, templates, tasks, reminders, and electronic signatures. Workflow automation accelerates HR processes across teams and tools.
• Marketplace: Integrations with other HR tools and systems.

Digital Personnel File

• Customizable employee attributes and document structures.
• Templates for contracts and references, auto-populated with employee data.
• Editable document folders with configurable access rights.
• Employee history tracking for all status changes and data adjustments.
• Bulk upload of existing employee data, including applicant information, leave history, and salary records.

Absence Management

• Fully configurable absence types (e.g., vacation, sick leave) with customizable parameters (e.g., half-days allowed, weekday-only validity).
• Mobile app support for submitting leave requests and uploading doctor’s notes.
• Multiple leave policies per absence type (e.g., 25 vacation days/year, 2 days/month during probation).
• Customizable approval workflows for leave requests.
• Automatic calculation of remaining leave and carry-over to the new year.
• Automated requests for medical certificates after a defined absence duration.
• Delegation feature: Employees can assign a substitute during leave, triggering automatic confirmation requests.
• Workflow automation for absences (e.g., notifying managers, updating calendars, canceling meetings, and alerting Slack channels).

Time Tracking and Overtime Management

• Self-service time tracking with optional manager approval.
• Customizable approval workflows for recorded working hours.
• Assignment of individual working time models per employee.
• Automatic tracking of overtime, convertible to leave or salary based on settings.

Performance and Payroll Management

• DATEV integration for seamless payroll processing with one-click data transfer.
• Customizable salary components (e.g., fixed salary, bonuses, additional compensation elements).
• Scheduled salary adjustments that activate automatically on the effective date.
• Goal setting and performance KPI tracking for custom periods.
• Automated bonus calculations based on goal achievement.
• Payroll exports for tax advisors or payroll offices.
• Automated scheduling of feedback meetings with Outlook calendar integration and result documentation.

Recruiting and Onboarding

• End-to-end applicant tracking with customizable recruiting phases, interview types, and automated acknowledgments.
• Automated communication with candidates via email templates (e.g., confirmations, invitations, rejections).
• Multiposting to 500+ job boards simultaneously via Personio Posting Bundles.
• Channel tracking to analyze applicant sources and optimize recruiting budgets.
• Free career page with HTML integration for company websites or API-based embedding into existing career pages.
• Fully customizable onboarding/offboarding processes with task assignments and deadlines.
• Feedback collection from colleagues with configurable access rights to applicant documents.
• Automated offer generation from templates and electronic contract signing.
• Seamless transition of successful candidates into the employee database for onboarding via workflow automation.

Reporting and Exports

• Graphical reports for all HR metrics, customizable and drawing from all system data.
• Export reports in multiple formats for internal reporting or presentations.

Implementation and Support

• 14-day free trial with self-service setup via credit card or direct debit.
• 5% discount for annual prepayment.
• Data import from Excel via an import wizard in the user interface.
• Dedicated Customer Success Team for initial setup (4–8 weeks depending on complexity) and proactive "Health Checks" to optimize usage.

Security and Permissions

• Granular permission settings for different system areas, allowing custom employee roles.
• Role-based access control to ensure employees only see relevant information.
• Customizable reminders for system events and tasks, sent via email (company-wide or role-based).

Employee Self-Service

• Employees can update their personal data, request leave, or provide feedback on applicants within their access rights.
• Reduces administrative burden on HR by involving employees in HR processes.