People analytics for mid-sized companies (200 to 2,000 people)

Two ways to buy people analytics, and why your size matters

People analytics means answering questions about your workforce with numbers. Who is leaving, where does pay differ, which teams are growing? You can buy it in two ways, and the choice decides most of what follows.

The first way is analytics inside a tool you already use. Your HR system, performance tool or survey tool reports on its own data. Lattice, 15Five, Deel and BambooHR sell it this way. The extra cost is small. Each one starts from the data in its own product. Ask what it can bring in from your other systems.

The second way is a separate product that pulls data from several systems into one place. Crunchr, Visier, HireRoad PeopleInsight, MeVitae and Praisidio sell it this way. It can answer questions that cross systems, such as whether pay, performance and engagement line up with who leaves. Prices and set-up differ a lot, so read the shortlist below.

What changes when you have 200 to 2,000 people

Three things change with company size. Small groups can vanish from reports. Vendors set their own size limits. And you may have nobody to do the analysis.

Start with small groups. A report hides any group that is too small to stay anonymous. In a company of 200 to 2,000 people, a team of 20 may never appear in a turnover report. The report then misses the small groups you most need to see. Culture Amp reports turnover hotspots only for groups of at least 25 employees. A person limited to one group sees its turnover insights only if the group has 100 employees or more. Worklytics sets its minimum group at 8 and lets you change it. Oracle skips diversity analysis for subgroups under 5. Ask each vendor for the number, and test it on your smallest teams.

Each vendor also gives the company size it is for. If a product’s range starts above your headcount, it was built for a bigger company. That affects price, set-up and support. Crunchr is for organisations with 1,000 or more employees. It counts fewer than 500 as a case where it is probably not a fit yet. HireRoad serves 300 to 3,000 employees. Praisidio’s product for ADP Workforce Now is built for HR leaders at companies of 50 to 2,000 employees. Culture Amp is the good news. It gives companies of 200 to 999 employees added services, including a customer success partner and project management for implementation. That help is aimed at companies like yours.

The third change is people. A company this size may not have an analytics team. So ask who does the work. HireRoad includes a dedicated analyst. Crunchr’s strong fit includes a person who owns people analytics. Its example is someone working in spreadsheets or Power BI.

One thing does not change with size. Whoever uses AI output is responsible for the decision, at any company size. Someone on your side has to check it. Under Lattice’s terms, you are solely responsible for human oversight of its AI. BambooHR’s AI addendum makes you solely responsible for human oversight of Bamboo AI. Culture Amp makes you responsible for decisions made from its AI outputs.

What the published prices come to for 500 people

A published price helps only when you can compare it. So here is each price worked out for 500 people. Use your own headcount instead. Some vendors, such as BambooHR, discount by headcount.

Several vendors publish no price. Crunchr, Visier, One Model, SplashBI and ChartHop ask you for a quote. Ask for a written total for year one at your headcount, with set-up included.

Set-up can cost more than the licence. MeVitae charges £10,000 a month for implementation, which typically takes 1 to 3 months. Ask each vendor for the cost of the people and the months, not only the licence.

Six ways a mid-sized company gets this wrong

At this size, the usual mistake is to buy a product that suits a bigger company or a bigger team. The product then sits unused or reports too little. Check these six before you sign.

What to ask each vendor before you sign

These questions target the points where a mid-sized buyer can get caught. They cover group size, the price at your headcount, and renewal. A wrong answer is a vague one, such as “it depends” with no number and nothing in writing. Ask for each answer in the order form.

1. Every vendor: What is the smallest group your reports show? Can you run a demo on my smallest team? Good answer: A number, and a demo on your own data.
2. 15Five: Is the HR Outcomes Dashboard in Perform at $11, or a paid add-on? Good answer: One answer, written into the order form.
3. 15Five: Will you fix my renewal price in the order form? Good answer: A fixed price or a cap, in writing.
4. HireRoad: Does $250 a week cover my headcount, my data feeds, my users and the AI prompts? Good answer: A written total for my headcount.
5. HireRoad: Your pricing card offers cancel anytime. Your agreement renews each term. Which applies to me? Good answer: The answer is written into the sales order.
6. MeVitae: What will I pay in year one, with implementation and support? Good answer: One figure that adds the fee, the months of implementation and the 30% support.
7. MeVitae: Your price list gives £6,600 and your Growth page gives $600 a month. Which applies to me? Good answer: One price, in the order form.
8. Crunchr: I have no analytics team. Which tasks fall to your team, and which to mine? Good answer: Hours per week on my side, in writing.
9. Visier: How do you count my headcount, and what happens if I pass it? Good answer: A written rule and the price of each extra block.
10. Worklytics: Extra users cost $10 each. Does “user” mean people you measure or people who log in? Good answer: A definition, and a price for my headcount.
11. Worklytics: Is Business data history three months or twelve? Good answer: One answer, written into the order form.
12. Deel: Is Analytics 2.0 live on my account today? Good answer: Yes, and I can see it before I sign.
13. Dayforce: Your price book puts it at $28.80 per employee per year. Another Dayforce document calls pricing not publicly available. Which applies to me? Good answer: A written price for my headcount.
14. Humanyze: Who tells employees and gets consent, and where is that written? Good answer: A clear split of duties, in the contract.
15. Praisidio: Is the $10,000 Pro price for up to 1,000 employees still available? Good answer: Yes, in writing.

Where to go from here

Waiting is a fair choice if nobody will own the numbers. Start with the reports in the tools you already pay for. Come back when a question needs data from two systems at once.

If your company is nearer 2,000 people or more, read the enterprise guide. If your HR system already has analytics, read the guide for HR system owners. If you plan to use your own AI tool or data warehouse, read that guide. The comparison sets all 33 products side by side. Our guide to people analytics covers the whole market.