Cintra People HR software review: Refreshingly straightforward but recruitments come from integrations

Lots of HR software providers deliver global solutions built for multinational enterprises, but Cintra is based in Newcastle, UK, and focuses on the British market.

With hundreds of businesses already using Cintra software and billions of pounds in Bacs payments processed annually, though, there’s clear demand for tools like Cintra People – the company’s all-in-one HR solution.

That’s no wonder when you consider what Cintra People offers. The company promises a comprehensive approach that collects human resources, payroll, performance, and engagement in one place.

Having tested all the best HR software, this one is refreshingly straightforward, extremely customizable, and relies on automation to save hours of time for your HR teams.

Cintra People: Plans and pricing

As with many HR and payroll tools, you’ll only get pricing for Cintra People if you get in touch with the business for a tailored quote. Thankfully, the company does offer a 14-day free trial with no credit card required, which is rare for HR solutions.

As with many HR solutions, getting that tailored quote and eventually deploying Cintra People means building a package using several different modules that provide HR and finance functionality.

While that does mean you can create an HR solution with the features that your organization needs, it also means that Cintra People could get expensive and that initial budgeting could prove tricky until you have a conversation with the Cintra sales department.

Cintra People: Features

Cintra People is designed to bring HR, payroll, performance, and engagement together in a single system that simplifies management for businesses of all sizes.

The secure, cloud-based employee database ensures data security and integrity across information, documents, and employment history. A self-service portal lets staff update their own information – with user sentiment suggesting the self-service options are impressive.

Cintra’s leave and absence management module tackles PTO, sickness, TOIL, and more, and it includes self-service, calendar syncing, fast approval processes, and clear reporting to help your employees stay engaged and managers stay on top of their workforce.

The various time-off options and categories can be configured to match your organization’s requirements and policies, and reporting can help identify trends, including absenteeism. The app supports global teams, multi-location businesses, and both hybrid and remote work, with flexibility very much placed at the forefront.

There’s an automated return to work process, and the leave management tools work on mobile too – so management is even easier. Similarly, time-tracking options let you manage hourly and salaried employees across projects and locations with custom processes and ample automation.

Cintra’s performance management tools include annual reviews, probationary procedures, self-assessments, 1-1s, and 360-degree feedback – this is one of the most comprehensive performance modules you’ll find in any HR suite. Automated cycles can be configured to keep feedback flowing, and managers can record and report on goals, feedback, and outcomes with analytics and assessments.

Checklists, goals, OKRs, and customizable templates help standardize processes, and you can create and manage employee training and learning schedules.

Personalized onboarding processes, progress tracking, manager involvement options, and automated reminders ensure a smoother start for any new hires. You can send welcome messages and first-day information and give new starters access to their team profiles, and it’s all accessible by mobile to make life easier.

The final major module in Cintra People handles employee engagement. You can build tailored surveys, track engagement, ask for anonymous feedback, and use a dashboard to spot opportunities and potential issues. Peer recognition systems are included, too, alongside a company newsfeed – both of which are key for morale.

Cintra People includes payroll functionality, so you don’t have to switch to another system to tackle the finances, and it also integrates with Xero, Microsoft Office 365, Google Workspace, Greenhouse, Slack, DocuSign, and many more tools. A flexible API is available so you can create your own integrations.

It’s also a capable option for UK businesses that need to ensure compliance thanks to its ISO 27001 certification and Employer of Record capability, albeit with the latter available as a separate service.

One slight negative is the support for recruitment features via integrations – there’s not much included here natively. Depending on the tools you use you can manage candidate pipelines, use reporting, publish open positions to job boards, and streamline your screening and scheduling, but this functionality isn’t included in the system by default.

Cintra People: Ease of use

Cintra People’s interface is not particularly flashy or colorful, but it’s well-designed and will quickly become easy to use for administrators, even if they’re not familiar with HR tools.

Sensible layouts and typography make information easy to parse. The app’s customizable dashboard provides alerts, a newsfeed, instant details on employee behavior, and more detailed breakdowns of allowances, team locations, and even birthdays and work anniversaries. It’s a great way to quickly get up to speed with what’s going on in your business.

As with many HR tools, the main navigation is on the left-hand side, and there’s plenty to enjoy when you explore the rest of the app.

The employee review section provides a straightforward way to monitor performance, deploy 360-degree review structures, and see employee shout-outs. Throughout the app you’ll find automation and checklist options that are powerful and easy to configure.

There are broad customization options baked into the app, which can help users modify Cintra People to reflect their own workflows and requirements, and the concentration on data parity and centralization means robust compliance and impressive levels of consistency.

User sentiment backs up much of our testing, with HR managers often citing Cintra’s easy navigation and thorough implementation processes as high points.

Cintra People: Support

As with most HR solutions, Cintra provides a knowledge base that’s packed with useful articles, and administrators can book training sessions on new starters, reporting, efficiency, and payroll at an extra cost.

If you need to get in touch with Cintra then a ticketing system is offered, although there’s little extra information about timelines or communication methods available on the Cintra website.

That said, online user sentiment suggests that people are frequently impressed by the speed and capability of Cintra’s support services, and the company also offers outsourced HR services if you need extra day-to-day help.

Cintra People: Competition

Anyone looking for an SMB-focused HR solution has plenty of options to choose from, even if you’re considering UK-based products.

Sage HR is another frontrunner if you need an all-in-one HR solution designed for SMBs, and IRIS is another comprehensive tool.

If you’d like to evaluate options that excel in specific areas, then you’ve got no shortage of choice, either. BambooHR and HiBob are superb when it comes to employee experience and engagement, and both have more engaging user interfaces than Cintra – although they’re a little weaker when it comes to payroll.

For a product that’s stronger with the financials, RUN Powered by ADP is an SMB-specific alternative, and Workable is excellent for recruitment.

Cintra People: Final verdict

Cintra People is a comprehensive and effective choice for UK-based SMBs that need a broad array of HR and payroll features, all in one platform.

It does a great job of providing core functionality, with superb workflow support, top-notch performance and engagement features, and an unfussy and effective design. Its employee self-service experience is good, too.

You don’t get any real pricing transparency until you start talking to Cintra, though, which can be frustrating, and functionality based around recruitment relies on integrations rather than native features.

Despite that, Cintra People is a capable and well-designed SMB option that will deliver practicality, usability, and compliance to your business.