10 best talent management software for Australian businesses

Finding top talent is tough. Hanging onto them is even harder. If you don’t manage it well, you’re likely to burn through time and money fast, and have your best people quietly start looking elsewhere.

Thankfully, there’s talent management software. The right one can help you hire well and get people up to speed quickly. It can also help you keep them growing and make sure they’re not heading for the door.

In this article, we explain what talent management software is and how it differs from workforce management tools. We provide a list of some of the best talent management software to consider in 2025. We also list some features you should care about, and how to choose the right software for your business.

Note: this article is current as of June 2025. Always check vendor sites for the latest information. 

Summary: 10 best talent management software

• Rippling: A top choice for managing the entire employee lifecycle in a system that connects HR, payroll, IT, and finance.
• BambooHR: A simple option if you want basic performance tools and clean HR workflows.
• Elmo: Often used by Aussie businesses needing local compliance and built-in learning and development.
• Workable: Can be a good choice if you want fast, flexible recruitment and onboarding.
• ADP: Potentially a strong option for large organisations with complex HR and talent requirements.
• Deel: May be suitable for hiring and managing global employees and contractors.
• Workday: Can suit large enterprises that need advanced talent management capabilities.
• Gusto: Often a good fit for small teams needing basic talent and payroll tools.
• Zoho Recruit: May be useful if you want strong applicant tracking within the Zoho suite.
• Paycom: Can be a suitable payroll and talent system for businesses with advanced HR needs.

What is talent management software?

A great way to think of talent management software is as a toolbox that helps you build (and keep) a great team. It goes beyond hiring. Talent management software helps you bring the right people in and get them set up properly. It also helps you manage their performance, teach them new skills, plan for future roles, and pay them fairly.

Here’s what great talent management software typically includes:

• Recruitment and applicant tracking
• Onboarding
• Performance reviews and goal setting
• Learning and development (L&D)
• Succession planning
• Pay and compensation management

Beyond simply ticking HR boxes, done well, talent management software ties to your business goals. Essentially, it helps your people perform at their best, so your business can do the same.

Talent management software vs. workforce management software

It’s easy to mix these two up. But they do different jobs.

• Talent management software helps you grow your people. It involves hiring, developing, and keeping great talent. Think big-picture stuff like employee engagement, performance, learning, succession, and pay.
• Workforce management software handles day-to-day operations. It involves filling shifts, tracking hours, and ensuring labour costs stay under control.

In short:

• Talent management = building a great team
• Workforce management = running an efficient team

Some platforms do both. But most lean more one way or the other. Make sure you know what you need before choosing a system.

10 best talent management software

There’s an ocean of HR tools out there. But not all of them are geared toward proper talent management. Many only cover one part of the puzzle, like hiring or learning. Some are built predominantly for big enterprises. Others focus mostly on small teams. And quite a few sound pretty good on paper but can create more work than they save.

This list covers ten of the best talent management software Aussie businesses use:

1. Rippling

Rippling is an all-in-one, cloud-based HR and talent management platform. It enables you to manage the full employee lifecycle in one connected system. 

Key features

• The system lets you run recruiting through a built-in applicant tracking system.
• It provides headcount planning tools so you can see current and future staffing needs.
• The software offers onboarding workflows that set up employees across HR and IT automatically.
• Rippling makes it easy for you to run performance reviews and track goals.
• It includes a full learning management system (LMS) for delivering training and development.
• The system provides employee surveys for collecting feedback and tracking engagement.
• Rippling takes care of benefits administration for Australian businesses.
• It includes compensation bands for structuring and managing pay fairly and clearly.

Pros

• Rippling’s talent management system connects with a broader HR, IT, payroll, and finance suite. And it does it all in one platform.
• The system puts many talent processes on autopilot. This saves a lot of time and lessens manual work.
• You can manage Australian and global teams within the same platform. No need to switch tools! 

2. BambooHR

BambooHR is a cloud-based HR platform. It offers some core talent management tools for covering the basics.

Key features

• You can manage recruitment through a built-in applicant tracking system.
• The system provides onboarding checklists to help you set up new employees.
• BambooHR enables you to run performance reviews and set goals for employees.
• The platform includes employee surveys for collecting feedback.
• It tracks compensation data and pay history.

Pros

• The talent management tools sit within a broader HR platform.
• BambooHR can work well if you have a smaller team and want a simple setup.

Cons

• The platform doesn’t include learning and development tools. This limits how far you can take talent growth.
• The talent management tools are fairly light. They may not suit your business if it has more complex needs.

3. Elmo

Elmo is a local platform that gives Aussie businesses a stack of HR tools. It includes some decent talent management options.

Key features

• You can track applicants and manage hiring through its recruitment system.
• The software helps you onboard new hires with automated workflows.
• Elmo includes tools to run employee performance reviews and set goals.
• You can build and deliver training through its learning management system.
• The platform helps you map out succession plans and track internal talent.

Pros

• The talent management tools sit inside a broader suite. It covers HR, payroll, and compliance.
• The system can handle Australian compliance out of the box.

Cons

• Some reviews mention that the system feels outdated. They note that important information often sits in different places. This can make the software hard to use.
• Occasionally, users report that support is hit and miss. Some users say Elmo’s help staff don’t fully understand their business needs when solving problems.

4. Workable

Workable is a recruitment-focused platform that can help you manage hiring. It offers some basic talent management tools.

Key features

• Workable enables you to manage candidates through its applicant tracking system.
• The platform has tools to post job ads across multiple job boards.
• It can help you schedule interviews and manage communications with candidates.
• You can build offer letters and manage approvals through the platform.
• The system includes simple onboarding checklists for new hires.

Pros

• Workable takes care of recruitment well and offers flexible hiring workflows.
• It includes basic onboarding tools as part of its system.

Cons

• The system focuses mainly on recruitment. It doesn't offer tools for performance, learning, or career development.
• Workable doesn't sit inside a broader HR or payroll suite. This means you must manage talent in separate systems.

5. ADP

ADP offers an HR platform that includes talent management tools. The system places a large focus on larger businesses with complex HR needs.

Key features

• You can carry out recruiting through ADP’s applicant tracking tools.
• The system provides onboarding workflows to help you bring new hires into your business.
• ADP enables you to run performance reviews and set goals through its performance tools.
• The platform supports the building and tracking of learning programs.
• ADP can help you manage compensation data and pay structures.

Pros

• The talent management tools are built into ADP’s larger HR and payroll suite.
• The system supports complex workforce needs. This may suit you, if you're a larger business.

Cons

• The platform can be complex to set up. Some users mention it takes a lot of work to manage day to day.
• It's noted amongst reviews that costs can add up fast, with many features charged as extras.

6. Deel 

Deel is an HR platform made for hiring and managing international workers. It includes some talent management tools, though focuses mostly on handling global employment.

Key features

• Deel lets you run hiring through an applicant tracking system.
• It provides onboarding workflows for employees and contractors.
• The system enables you to run performance reviews and track employee progress.
• Deel includes learning tools so you can roll out training.
• The platform can help you manage compensation and pay across different countries.

Pros

• Deel’s talent tools sit inside a platform designed for global workforce management.
• The system supports hiring and paying employees and contractors in different countries.

Cons

• The platform doesn't offer a full HR or payroll suite for local Australian teams. This can create system gaps.
• Some users report poor support when trying to cancel accounts. They mention the issue was passed between teams and remained unresolved for months.

7. Workday

Workday is an enterprise HR platform with a variety of talent management tools. Generally, its focus is on large organisations with complex people needs.

Key features

• Workday enables you to manage hiring through its built-in recruitment tools.
• The system offers onboarding workflows to set up new hires.
• You can run performance reviews, set goals, and manage career growth.
• Workday includes a learning management system for building and delivering training.
• The platform lets you manage succession planning to track and develop internal talent.

Pros

• Workday’s talent management tools are part of a full enterprise HR, payroll, and finance suite.
• The system can manage complex talent and workforce needs across large organisations.

Cons

• The platform is often too complex for smaller or mid-size businesses.
• Setup and ongoing admin can require significant internal resources and specialist knowledge.

8. Gusto

Gusto is a payroll and HR platform with some basic talent management tools. It mainly focuses on running payroll for small businesses, though.

Key features

• You can manage hiring through Gusto's simple applicant tracking system.
• The platform provides basic onboarding checklists for new employees.
• You can run simple performance tracking through its performance tools.
• Gusto connects to learning content through third-party integrations.
• The system can help you track employee pay and compensation data.

Pros

• The talent management system sits inside Gusto's wider payroll and HR platform.
• If you're a smaller team, you may find the system is easy to get started with.

Cons

• Users mention that the talent management features are very limited. Therefore, Gusto may not be suitable if you have deep talent management needs.
• Users report very slow customer support, with emails often taking days to get a response.

9. Zoho Recruit

Zoho Recruit is an applicant tracking system with a focus mainly on recruitment. It includes some basic onboarding but doesn't cover full talent management.

Key features

• Zoho Recruit lets you post jobs and track candidates.
• It manages the full hiring pipeline, from application to offer.
• The platform enables you to build onboarding checklists for new hires.
• Zoho Recruit offers simple email and interview scheduling tools.
• It connects with Zoho People for basic HR functions.

Pros

• The recruitment tools are part of Zoho’s bigger business software suite.
• You can customise and extend the system through Zoho’s integrations.

Cons

• As the platform focuses mainly on recruitment, it lacks performance, learning, or career development tools.
• You'll need to use multiple Zoho products to cover the full talent cycle. This can add expense and complexity.

10. Paycom

Paycom is a payroll and HR system that includes talent management tools. It aims to support businesses with more complex HR needs.

Key features

• You can manage hiring through Paycom's applicant tracking system.
• The system provides onboarding workflows for new starters.
• Paycom enables you to run performance reviews and set goals for your employees.
• It includes tools to create and manage compensation plans.
• The learning system lets you roll out training and track certifications.

Pros

• The talent tools are part of Paycom’s wider HR and payroll suite.
• The system can cope with complex HR and compliance needs.

Cons

• The platform has US businesses in mind. This can create gaps if your team is based solely in Australia.
• Paycom locks its talent tools inside its full suite. So, if you want to use Paycom talent tools, you also have to buy their core HR and payroll system.

Why Australian businesses need to get talent management right 

It can be easy to think of a talent management strategy as something that's just nice-to-have. But it's a lot more than that. Without one, you're likely to pay the price. You could waste time hiring the wrong people and lose the good ones faster than you can replace them. You may also end up throwing money at HR processes that don’t work. And in the end, your business will probably struggle to hit its goals.

Smart businesses use the right tools to build and maintain a talent management strategy that works. Here are some of the reasons why:

Talent is hard to attract (and easier to lose)

Talent management software can help you compete. It can automate recruiting tasks, speed up your hiring process, and improve how you onboard new starters. It can also help you build clearer career paths, so people have more reasons to stick around.

Australia’s skills shortage is biting hard. Sectors like healthcare, construction, aged care, information technology (IT), and engineering are struggling to fill roles. Even entry-level jobs are tougher to hire for than they were a few years ago. Good candidates know they have options. If your hiring is slow or chaotic, they’ll probably take another offer. If you can’t give people a reason to stay, they’re likely to leave.

Employee expectations are changing

People expect more from their employers now. Typically, they want clear growth paths, ongoing feedback, flexibility, and a workplace where they feel heard. If you’re not delivering, employee satisfaction is likely to take a dive.

Talent management software can take the heavy lifting out of meeting these expectations. It can help you run proper performance reviews, track progress, build learning programs, and gather feedback. You can’t fake this stuff anymore. Without the right software, you’re pretty much guessing.

Skills gaps are growing across industries

Hiring alone isn't enough to close skills gaps. Local expertise is getting harder to find across many industries. So, if you want to keep up, you need to grow talent from within.

The right talent management software can help you do this. It can give you visibility over current skills, help you plan succession properly, and support ongoing learning and development. If you’re serious about talent acquisition, you need a system that supports internal growth, too.

Poor performance management costs money

It’s surprising how many businesses still run performance reviews on paper or with disconnected tools. This approach is inconsistent, slow, and can be frustrating for everyone. Poor performance management holds back exceptional performance. It can also drive away your best people.

Good talent management software fixes this. It makes performance management an ongoing process, not a once-a-year tick-box. It enables you to set goals, track progress, give ongoing feedback, and course-correct early. Plus, it means finally ditching the spreadsheets.

Compliance and fairness are non-negotiable

Across the entire employee lifecycle, the legal expectations for businesses keep rising. You need to run fair and consistent processes. This is true for when you hire, promote, manage pay, run training, and handle poor performance, amongst other things. If you get it wrong, you could face unfair dismissal claims, pay disputes, discrimination claims, or fines for poor record-keeping.

Talent management software can help you stay on top of employee data and track key decisions. It enables you to document what you’ve done and why. So, if a dispute comes up, you’re ready. Try to manage this across spreadsheets and disconnected tools? You're likely to struggle when it comes to defending your processes.

It drives business growth and resilience

It's generally your team that drives your business success. If they’re performing well, learning new skills, and staying engaged, your business can move forward. If not, it probably won’t.

Talent management software gives you the tools to link your talent strategy to your business objectives. It can help you spot skill gaps early and plan your next hires properly. Ultimately, it can help you build a workforce that can adapt and grow with the business.

Essential features to look for in talent management software

Not all talent management systems are built the same. Before you choose a tool, make sure it can handle these core jobs:

• Recruitment and onboarding: You need a talent management system that can run your entire recruitment process in one place. This should include everything from automating job postings to moving candidates through the hiring process fast. It also needs to help you get new hires set up properly on day one, not weeks later.
• Performance management: If you want performance to improve, you need to give ongoing feedback and track progress without limitations. Look for a talent management solution that makes this easy to do all year round (not something that’s buried in a once-a-year HR ritual).
• Learning and development (L&D): Your people aren't likely to grow if your learning tools are an afterthought. Your talent management system needs to support employee growth. It can do this by making learning part of day-to-day work instead of just a tick-box in your HR system.
• Succession planning: You should always know who’s ready to step up. The right talent management tool can help you track talent retention, identify gaps early, and plan for who moves where. And it can enable you to do this before someone calls it quits and leaves you scrambling.
• Compensation and role banding: Can't track what each person earns and how you’ve set up each role? You probably won’t run pay fairly, as a result. Make sure your talent management solution shows this clearly.
• Employee feedback: You need a solid way to collect feedback and empower employees to speak up. It's not enough to guess how people feel. This can mean missing the problems that drive them out the door. Make sure the talent management software you choose makes gathering employee feedback easy.
• Reporting and analytics: You should be able to pull useful reports on employee data that helps you run the business better. If the talent management system makes you export five spreadsheets to get a straight answer, it’s not the right system.
• Integrations with HR and payroll tools: The talent management solution must manage employee data cleanly across systems. Otherwise, HR professionals are going to have to fix mistakes manually. It should also support regulatory compliance. Basically, if the data is messy, so is your compliance risk.

How to choose the right talent management solution

There’s no shortage of talent management software out there. But the last thing you want is to waste time and money on a system that doesn’t suit your business. The right choice of tool depends heavily on where you’re at now and where you want to go.

Here are some simple ways to narrow down your options:

1. Consider your team size and structure

The needs of a 20-person team look very different from a 500-person one. If you run a small team, you probably don’t need every feature under the sun. But you need the basics to be simple and solid.

Run a bigger or fast-growing team? Look for software that can handle more complex structures (think departments, locations, role bands). And think about how your team will change over the next few years. The right tool should fit that future as well.

2. Identify current gaps in your HR strategy

If you don’t know where your gaps are, it's likely to be a struggle to choose the right tool. Start by asking: where do we waste time? Where do we drop the ball? Where do people leave because we didn’t manage something well?

If your gaps are mostly in hiring and onboarding, focus there. If you’re already nailing those, you might need better performance management, learning, or succession planning tools instead. The goal is to fix your real problems instead of just buying fancy features you won’t use.

3. Check for AU-specific compliance and support

Lots of talent tools prioritise other markets, specifically the US. If they don’t support local laws and processes, they can quickly become problematic.

Make sure your tool can handle Australia-specific needs like Fair Work compliance, award interpretation, and local privacy requirements. And make sure that the support team understands the market.

4. Think about integration with other tools

If your talent management software doesn’t play nicely with your other tools, it can end up creating more problems than it solves. Choose a system that can connect cleanly with your HR and payroll software, your rostering tools, and anything else your team relies on. Without this integration? You'll have to manage employee data in multiple places (and create compliance risks in the process).

If a vendor claims 'easy integrations,' ask for real examples and check how much work is involved.

5. Look for software that scales with your business

Outgrowing your talent management system in a year or two isn't optimal. Look for a solution that can scale with you. It should be able to do this in terms of features and in handling bigger teams. If your vendor forces you to buy a new version or move to a different product every time you hit a headcount milestone, that’s a red flag. You should be able to start with what you need today and add more as your team and business grow.

Pay attention to licensing and pricing too. Scaling should be smooth, not painful or expensive.

One platform to manage your people from hire to retire

Many Aussie businesses still run talent management on a mix ’n’ match of software and spreadsheets. For instance, something for hiring, something else for onboarding, and a separate system for learning. Then they throw in some spreadsheets for pay. It’s chaotic and takes a lot of time. Most importantly, it makes it almost impossible to manage talent properly.

Rippling offers an ideal solution to modern day talent management woes. It gives you one system to manage the entire talent lifecycle. The best part? It connects it to HR, IT, payroll, and finance. Here’s what that looks like in practice:

Hiring and onboarding in one place

• Run your full recruitment process through Rippling’s built-in recruitment software, which includes an applicant tracking system.
• Automate onboarding across both HR and IT. New hires get set up on payroll, benefits, software, and equipment automatically.

Plan your workforce properly

• Use Rippling's headcount planning tools to see what your team looks like now, where the gaps are, and what roles you need to fill next.
• Connect hiring decisions to actual business needs instead of just gut feelings.

Grow and develop your people

• Set goals, carry out employee performance reviews, and track progress (without changing systems).
• Deliver learning and development through Rippling’s built-in LMS.

Manage pay and benefits fairly

• Use built-in compensation bands to make pay decisions clearly and consistently.
• Manage benefits administration for Australian employees, such as super, leave, and entitlements.

One source of truth for your team

• Keep all employee data united across HR, payroll, IT, and finance.
• Say goodbye to double-handling, version control problems, and compliance gaps.

Rippling can also grow alongside your business. You can start small and add more capabilities as and when you need them. Managing one team in Australia? Building a global workforce? With Rippling, you can do it all from one connected platform.

Key takeaways

• Talent management software isn’t optional anymore: Australia is experiencing a skills shortage and rising employee expectations. So, you need proper systems in place to attract, grow, and keep great people.
  Not all tools do the same thing: Talent management goes far beyond recruitment. The best talent management software helps with onboarding, performance, learning, succession, pay, and compliance.
• It should link to your business goals: Strong talent software helps you build a workforce that ramps up business success. It doesn’t just tick a few HR boxes.
• Choose a system that fits your business: Look for software that matches your team size and supports Australian compliance. It’s also important that it integrates with the tools you already have and can grow with you.
• Rippling is one to watch: Want an all-in-one system that handles the entire employee lifecycle and connects it to HR, IT, payroll, and finance? Rippling is well worth a squiz. 

Talent management software FAQs

What is the talent management system?

It’s software that helps you look after the people on your team from the day they apply to the day they leave. A good talent management system helps you:

• hire well
• nail the onboarding process
• manage performance
• support employee learning and development
• handle pay and progression fairly

What are talent management tools?

These are the features inside your system that help you manage talent properly. They're things like applicant tracking, onboarding checklists, and performance review tools. They are also learning programs, pay and role tracking, and ways to collect employee feedback. 

The more joined-up these tools are, the better they’re likely to work for your team.

What are the 4 B's of talent management?

They stand for Buy, Build, Borrow, and Bounce. It's just a simple way to think about your workforce:

• Buy: hire people from outside the business.
• Build: develop your existing team via learning and progression.
• Borrow: bring in contractors or temps when necessary.
• Bounce: deal with exits fairly when someone no longer fits the role or the business.

How much does a talent management system cost?

Some providers charge per employee, per month. This pricing model can vary in cost, depending on the features available. Other providers work with fixed bundles, potentially charging extra for things like learning or performance modules. 

Be wary of unusually cheap, or even free, options. If you need to bolt on heaps of extra tools later, it often ends up being more expensive in the long run.

What’s the best HR talent management software for small businesses?

It really comes down to the specifics of what your business needs. However, Rippling is a great option for small businesses that want one system to handle it all. It takes care of hiring, onboarding, performance, and learning. 

On top of that, it offers a comprehensive workforce management platform that caters to every HR process you can think of. You can start simple and add more as you grow. And without having to swap systems later on!

How did you choose the talent management software for this article?

We identified which talent management tools Australian businesses mostly use. To do this, we reviewed industry reports, market share data, software comparison sites, and recent user reviews. We also took the tools that come up most often in conversations with HR teams and business owners into consideration. 

Disclaimer: Rippling and its affiliates do not provide tax, accounting, or legal advice. This material has been prepared for informational purposes only, and is not intended to provide or be relied on for tax, accounting, or legal advice. You should consult your own tax, accounting, and legal advisors before engaging in any related activities or transactions.