11 best people analytics tools in 2026

Here are our top three picks:

Looking for the best people analytics tool?

When HR can’t answer questions like why top performers are leaving, which teams are most at risk, or where skills gaps are forming, it is rarely because the team is not trying.

Most of the time, it’s a structural problem. People data is spread across spreadsheets, HRIS exports, engagement tools, and ATS reports. Each source calculates key metrics differently, so you end up with conflicting numbers. That makes it difficult to explain what is happening, and even harder to explain why.

That’s exactly why people analytics tools exist. They bring workforce data into a single, consistent view, surface trends you can trust, and help you move from reporting to decisions that improve retention, performance, and engagement.

But how do you know which platform is worth your time? Here, we break down 11 of the best people analytics tools to consider in 2026, so you can shortlist faster and evaluate with confidence.

Why listen to us

We are the team behind Eletive, a people analytics and engagement platform built for organisations that need real-time insight and visible follow-through. 

We work with HR and people leaders who are trying to replace delayed annual snapshots with continuous listening that managers can act on. Here is what one customer shared about their experience with Eletive:

With Eletive, we have a modern, agile and data-driven way of working with employee engagement.

This guide reflects what we see in real evaluations and implementations. We prioritised tools that unify data, reduce manual work, and help HR move from dashboards to action.

People analytics tools are not just for reporting. Used well, they help HR and leadership answer high-stakes questions faster and act with more confidence.

Reduce regretted attrition

People analytics tools help you spot early signals behind unwanted turnover before resignations become a pattern. Instead of reacting after people leave, you can identify which teams are trending in the wrong direction and what factors are most correlated with exits. 

Many platforms, including Eletive, support this with features like sentiment analysis, engagement trends, and attrition risk indicators that help you prioritise where to intervene.

Turn scattered data into one consistent view

Whether you are a growing company graduating from spreadsheets or a larger organisation juggling multiple HR systems, people data rarely sits in one place. People analytics tools pull data from sources like your HRIS, ATS, payroll, and engagement tools into a single view, so key numbers do not conflict across reports and dashboards.

Give leaders faster, defensible answers

When leadership asks what is driving turnover, performance issues, or engagement drops, the hardest part is often reconciling the numbers first. 

With a people analytics platform, you can answer faster because the data is already structured, refreshed, and segmented. Some tools, including Eletive, also add AI-driven insights that surface patterns and risks automatically, which makes it easier to explain what is happening and why.

Identify skills gaps and workforce needs sooner

A good people analytics tool helps you see where capability gaps are forming across roles, teams, and locations. This supports smarter hiring plans, internal mobility decisions, and targeted learning and development, especially when growth creates new roles faster than talent can catch up.

Strengthen engagement and employee experience

Engagement data becomes more useful when it is continuous and connected to action. People analytics tools help you measure employee sentiment over time, spot where experience is breaking down, and track whether changes are actually improving outcomes. 

This is also where tools with pulse surveys, lifecycle surveys, and guided action planning tend to stand out.

11 best people analytics tools in 2026

Now that we’ve covered why people analytics matters and the impact these tools can have in practice, let’s walk through the best platforms available in 2026. Each entry highlights who it’s best for, what it does well, and where you might want to think twice.

1. Eletive

Best for: Organisations that want reliable engagement and sentiment signals, segmented cleanly by team and manager, with clear follow-through built in.

Eletive helps HR teams turn employee feedback into signals leaders can actually use. Instead of waiting for annual survey results, you can track engagement continuously, spot shifts early, and see where issues are building across teams.

What makes it useful in practice is trust and structure. You can segment results by team, role, and location, map complex hierarchies, and keep visibility controlled with role-based access. That means fewer arguments about “whose numbers are right” and more confidence when leaders ask what’s changing.

Eletive also helps close the loop. Results feed directly into action planning, so managers can run follow-through conversations and track progress over time, not just read a report and move on.

Key features

• Continuous pulse surveys and targeted employee surveys

• Dashboards, heatmaps, and dynamic filters for segmentation

• Sentiment analysis and theme detection for qualitative feedback

• Attrition risk indicators and early warning signals

• Action plans and recommended next steps for teams

• Lifecycle surveys for onboarding, transitions, and exits

• Anonymous feedback channels, including whistleblowing support

• Multi-language support and kiosk participation

• eNPS tracking and benchmarking

• Reports exportable to PDF/PowerPoint

Pros

• Strong at turning feedback into clear, trackable follow-through

• Continuous pulse surveys make it easy to spot trend shifts early

• Practical action planning helps managers run conversations and next steps

• Built for complex organisations with flexible hierarchy mapping and segmentation

• Works well for frontline and deskless teams, with participation designed to be accessible

• Supports 40+ languages, useful for multi-country and diverse workforces

• Helpful manager enablement for 1:1s, check-ins, goals, and performance conversations

• Strong visibility controls with role-based access and permissions

• AI insights help summarise themes and sentiment at scale

• Flexible survey cadence, from quarterly to bi-weekly, with custom and standard question sets

• Consolidates multiple workflows in one platform, reducing tool sprawl

• Onboarding and customer support are often described as high quality

Cons

• Initial setup needs good planning, especially for structure and segmentation

• Some advanced configurations take time to master

• Not suitable for small companies under 100 employees

2. Visier

Best for: Enterprise and data-mature HR teams that need deep, multi-source people analytics, plus self-serve access for leaders without rebuilding everything in BI.

Visier helps unify HR and business data so teams can answer workforce questions without weeks of manual cleanup. It comes with pre-built metrics and dashboards, which makes it easier to analyse trends across segments once everything is centralised. Reviewers often highlight strong filtering and grouping, especially for comparing different populations and datasets.

Key features

• Unified people + business data model to centralise workforce analytics

• Pre-built metrics, dashboards, and guided questions for common workforce use cases

• Deep filtering, grouping, and segmentation for multi-dimensional analysis

• Vee AI agent for self-serve people questions and answers

• Delivery in the flow of work (e.g., Teams, Slack, Copilot integrations)

• Workforce analytics across areas like retention, skills gaps, talent acquisition, learning, and compensation 

• Visier Extend / Studio-style tooling for extending data and applying business rules

• Role-based access controls and enterprise security/governance model

Pros

• Strong at pulling data from multiple systems into one place for cross-source analysis

• Powerful segmentation and intersectional slicing for deeper workforce questions

• Pre-built content helps teams get to usable analysis faster than building from scratch

• ​​Works for both specialists and non-technical leaders when configured well

• Visualisation and presentation are often described as polished and easy to interpret

• Self-serve + AI agent can reduce repeat reporting requests to the analytics team

Cons

• Some users report support responsiveness issues

• Customisation can feel limited compared to Power BI/Tableau, especially for layouts and advanced analysis

• Learning curve is real for deeper admin work

• Some features depend on your data being structured in specific formats

3. Workday People Analytics

Best for: Workday customers who want people analytics anchored to their HRIS source of truth, with AI narratives and stakeholder-ready summaries.

Workday People Analytics turns Workday HR data into prioritised insights and AI-generated narratives, so leaders see drivers, risks, and opportunities without digging through endless reports. Illuminate surfaces trends across retention, hiring, skills, performance, and DEI. It also delivers stakeholder summaries and KPIs so teams align faster around what matters. 

Key features

• Prioritised and contextual insights for HR and business leaders

• Natural-language “story” generation and insight narratives

• Automated insight discovery powered by Workday Illuminate

• Delivered email summaries and KPIs for stakeholders

• Standardised metrics with benchmarking (including company benchmarking)

• Analysis across retention/attrition, hiring, skills, talent/performance, DEI, and org composition

• Strong security, data integrity, compliance, and role-based access controls

• Export/share options for collaboration (e.g., slides/boards depending on setup)

Pros

• Strong fit for Workday-first organisations that want one governed source of truth

• AI narratives reduce the work of translating trends into executive-ready explanations

• Broad coverage across core workforce questions

• Personalised insights for different leader views, without rebuilding dashboards per audience

• Enterprise-grade security and access controls

Cons

• Best value depends on being fully invested in Workday’s ecosystem and data structure

• Reporting and configuration can require specialist time and a learning curve

• Common UX complaint: too many clicks for simple tasks

• Some teams still pair it with BI tools for deeper custom visualisation or niche analysis

4. Microsoft Viva Glint

Best for: Organisations that want organisation-wide engagement and lifecycle surveys, with structured reporting and follow-through.

Microsoft Viva Glint is built for employee listening at scale. It runs pulse and lifecycle surveys, then turns results into manager- and leader-ready reporting so teams can review feedback, discuss it, and follow through consistently. Users most often highlight the anonymous, quick survey experience and reporting that’s easy to consume across different org levels.

Key features

• Organisation-wide engagement surveys and lifecycle surveys

• Pulse surveys designed for frequent listening

• Anonymous feedback collection with response thresholds

• Reporting and analytics for leaders, managers, and teams

• Team conversations and action workflows to support follow-through

• Comment analysis and summarisation with Copilot-style assistance

• 360 feedback survey support

• Security controls, confidentiality settings, and role-based visibility

Pros

• Strong for capturing employee voice at scale with an experience many describe as quick and intuitive

• Pulse surveys are a standout for ongoing listening

• Reports are well-formatted and useful for reviewing results without heavy manual work

• Good “cuts” of data for different audiences across the org

• Comment insights can be valuable, especially when feedback volume is high

Cons

• Confidentiality can be difficult in small teams and tight working groups

• Filtering and navigation can feel click-heavy

• Survey cadence can cause fatigue if overused

• Some teams want more personalisation and richer commenting options

5. ChartHop

Best for: Teams that want a single “people ops command centre” for org design, headcount planning, and workforce visibility, with an org chart-first experience.

ChartHop is a people ops platform that makes it easy to understand how your organisation is structured and changing over time. Teams use it to navigate org relationships through the org chart, review employee profiles, and work in a spreadsheet-style data sheet for headcount planning, compensation discussions, and org design.

Key features

• Interactive org chart with timeline view for tracking org changes

• Employee profiles with job history context, configurable tabs, and access controls

• Data sheet interface for filtering, sorting, editing, and calculations

• AI-powered dashboards with a chart builder, metrics, notes, and AI insights

• Map view for distributed workforce and location planning

• Company calendar for anniversaries, start dates, reviews, and key people events

• Modules for HRIS, compensation, headcount planning, performance reviews, and engagement feedback

• Slack integration for reminders and workflow prompts

Pros

• Excellent org chart experience for navigating complex organisations

• Spreadsheet-style data sheet makes it easy to pull and manipulate people data quickly

• Strong visuals and dashboards that make workforce data easier to consume

• Useful for headcount planning and compensation discussions

• Centralises org-wide information so employees and managers can self-serve basics

Cons

• Integration and synchronisation with HRIS can be inconsistent, including field mapping limitations

• Can feel complex for non-technical staff at first

• Admin permissions and data visibility rules can be confusing in some setups

• Occasional stability or performance issues reported by some users

6. One Model

Best for: People analytics teams that need a flexible “people data foundation” that can unify messy HR data sources, then let you tell stories and run forecasting without hiring a big data engineering team.

One Model is for teams that want one trusted “people data source” they can shape to their org, not a fixed analytics template. It connects to multiple HR systems, cleans and models the data for you, then lets you publish insights through pre-built storyboards, custom dashboards, and forecasting tools. It’s a strong fit when your current problem is inconsistent people data, meaning headcount, planning, and workforce metrics live in different spreadsheets and tools.

Key features

• Data unification across multiple HR sources into one source of truth

• Pre-built storyboards for reporting and stakeholder-ready narratives

• Forecasting and predictive analytics through One AI and One AI Recipes

• One AI Assistant for asking workforce questions and generating outputs

• Custom data visualisations with conditional formatting options

• Flexible security controls for sharing insights safely across audiences

• ISO-certified security posture

Pros

• Strong for consolidating messy, multi-system people data into one trusted model

• Flexible and customisable, with room to scale as your analytics practice matures

• Predictive modelling is designed to be approachable, even for non-specialists

• Customer support and consultative partnership are repeatedly praised

• Helps teams deliver insights faster without heavy data engineering overhead

Cons

• Pricing can increase meaningfully as employee and contractor counts grow

• Some users want more onboarding guidance and external best-practice material

• Dashboards may feel less flexible than dedicated BI tools

• Large data loads can introduce occasional slowness

7. Crunchr

Best for: HR teams that want people analytics to be genuinely self-serve for HRBPs and leaders, with fast implementation, clean dashboards, and guided insights without living in BI tools.

crunchr

Crunchr puts your workforce data in one place, cleans and connects it, then makes it usable through pre-built metrics, guided insights, and dashboards that don’t require a specialist to interpret. The core appeal is speed and accessibility. HRBPs can self-serve answers fast, and leaders get a clear view without waiting for slide decks.

Key features

• Data consolidation across HR and business systems into a single source of truth

• Pre-built workforce metrics and dashboards for quick reporting

• Drag-and-drop dashboard customisation

• Guided, AI-driven insights with drivers, benchmarks, and forecasting

• AI assistant for natural-language workforce questions with transparent explanations

• Self-serve reporting for HRBPs and stakeholders

• Role-based access controls and governance features

Pros

• Easy-to-navigate UI that non-technical users adopt quickly

• Fast to get value, with strong out-of-the-box metrics from day one

• Self-serve access reduces repetitive reporting requests to analytics teams

• Customer support is repeatedly described as responsive and high-touch

• Reporting feels practical for HR and leadership, not just analysts

Cons

• Data uploads and automation can be a pain point depending on setup

• Integrations and advanced modules may feel limited out of the box

• Customisation depth is not always on par with dedicated BI tools

• Large datasets can slow performance or introduce occasional downtime

8. HiBob (Bob) People Analytics

Best for: Mid-market teams that want simple, fast people reporting inside their HRIS, plus lightweight attrition signals.

HiBob gives HR teams ready-to-use dashboards and reports for the metrics leaders ask for most—headcount movement, retention, absenteeism, and turnover cuts by manager, department, location, or tenure. It also adds proactive insights and attrition indicators, so you can spot patterns earlier and show stakeholders what’s changing without rebuilding reports from scratch.

Key features

• KPI dashboards for headcount, growth, retention, absenteeism

• Custom reports with templates, scheduling, and sharing

• Proactive insights that surface trends automatically

• Attrition indicators with risk categories

• Reporting filters by manager, department, site, tenure, and more

• Integrations with tools teams already use, depending on setup

Pros

• Easy to use across HR and managers

• Reporting and visualisations are clear and stakeholder-friendly

• Strong day-to-day HR reporting for turnover and workforce metrics

• Great fit if you want analytics inside your HRIS workflow

Cons

• Not as deep as dedicated people analytics platforms

• Reporting can be limiting for some data structures

• Some teams still want stronger recognition and advanced modules

• Mobile version has fewer capabilities than desktop

9. Rippling

Best for: Teams that want HR + payroll + IT operations connected, with solid workforce reporting but don’t need a pure-play people analytics platform.

Rippling is an employee operations suite that ties together HRIS, payroll, and IT, so workforce changes don’t live in separate systems. In practice, it’s less about deep people analytics modelling and more about making workforce data usable because the workflows and systems behind it are connected, from onboarding and time tracking to payroll, device access, apps, and compliance.

Key features

• HRIS and employee records across the lifecycle

• Payroll, contractors, global payroll, employer of record options

• Time and attendance, PTO, scheduling

• Device management, identity and access controls, app provisioning

• Spend tools like expenses, bill pay, travel, company cards

• Policies, permissions, workflow tools, integrations

• Compliance support and structured onboarding flows

Pros

• Strong “all-in-one” ops experience across HR, payroll, and IT

• Easy for employees to use day to day

• Good for reducing admin handoffs between teams

• Integrations and permissions are a clear strength

Cons

• Not a specialist people analytics platform for deep modeling or advanced analysis

• Some sections can load slowly and navigation can take extra clicks

• Feature breadth can overwhelm new users

• Some teams want more transparency in pay timing or richer employee-facing details

10. Culture Amp

Best for: Teams that want engagement insights tied to performance and development, with strong benchmarks and “what to do next” guidance.

Culture Amp combines employee listening with performance and development workflows, so HR can move from survey results to manager conversations, goals, and follow-through. It leans heavily on people science, benchmarks, and AI-assisted analysis to help teams interpret results and prioritise actions, rather than just staring at charts.

Key features

• Employee engagement surveys, pulse surveys, and lifecycle listening

• Benchmarks and research-backed insights

• AI comment summaries and AI-assisted analysis

• Reporting and analytics for HR, leaders, and managers

• Action planning and recommendations to support follow-through

• Performance reviews and calibration cycles

• Goals, development plans, competencies, and career paths

• 1:1 conversation support and structured feedback workflows

• DEI-focused survey options and retention insights

Pros

• Strong mix of engagement, performance, and development in one platform

• Benchmarks and research add credibility when presenting insights

• Easy, people-friendly UX with psychological-safety-by-design anonymity

• Helpful guidance for managers, not just HR analysts

• Frequent product updates and solid enablement resources

Cons

• Some modules feel limited unless you redesign processes around the tool.

• Teams and other workflow integrations can lag.

• Survey fatigue can creep in if cycles are too frequent or too long.

• Premium pricing raises expectations for consistent support.

11. UKG

Best for: Frontline-heavy organisations that want workforce management plus HCM analytics in the same platform, especially across scheduling, time, labour demand, and retention.

UKG is a workforce platform built for organisations with large frontline populations. It’s strongest in workforce management analytics—time, attendance, scheduling, labour patterns, and staffing risk—especially when HR, payroll, and scheduling need to work together. If you mainly want deep people analytics modelling, UKG can feel more workforce-management-first than analytics-first. 

Key features

• Workforce management and HCM in one ecosystem

• Time and attendance tracking

• Scheduling and labour optimisation

• Payroll and HR operations

• Workforce analytics and insights

• AI layer for insight-to-action guidance

• Compliance and governance tooling

• Employee communication and service delivery capabilities

• Talent and workforce planning modules

Pros

• Strong fit for operational, frontline workforce use cases

• Brings scheduling, time, payroll, and HR signals into one workflow

• Built to support large, distributed workforces across industries

• AI and analytics focus for faster interpretation and action

Cons

• Broad platform scope can increase setup and change-management effort

• Best value depends on using multiple UKG modules together

• Teams that only want “pure people analytics” may find it more WFM-first than analytics-first

How we selected these people analytics tools

People analytics tools vary widely in what they’re built to do, so we selected tools based on the jobs HR teams actually need done, not feature lists.

Here’s what mattered most in our selection:

Trustworthy metrics

A platform can have beautiful dashboards and still be useless if the numbers aren’t reliable. We prioritised tools known for dependable reporting, clear definitions, and controls that reduce “two versions of the truth” across HR and leadership.

Insight-to-action support, not just charts

We ranked tools higher when they help teams move from “interesting” to “do something”: guided insights, driver views, manager-ready outputs, action workflows, and ways to track follow-through.

Self-serve usability for non-analysts

If only the people analytics team can use the tool, it becomes a bottleneck. We looked for platforms HRBPs and leaders can navigate confidently — with intuitive filtering, stakeholder-friendly reporting, and minimal “build a dashboard first” friction.

Coverage across real HR questions

We favoured tools that can answer the questions HR gets asked most: attrition and retention risk, workforce composition, hiring and mobility, performance signals, skills gaps, and engagement trends — without needing to stitch five systems together.

Fit across org types, not everyone needs the same thing)

We intentionally included different categories:

• Pure-play people analytics foundations (deep analytics + modeling)

• HRIS suites with strong reporting (good for day-to-day HR metrics)

• Engagement platforms with analytics (listening + action)

• Ops/WFM platforms (frontline scheduling/time/labour insights)

That mix is why each tool on the list is “best for” something specific  and why the right choice depends on what you’re trying to solve first.

So which one should you choose?

Start with the problem you’re trying to solve first, not the longest feature list:

• If you need deep enterprise analytics across multiple systems, Visier or One Model are usually the stronger fit, especially when your biggest challenge is messy, multi-source data.

• If you live inside an HRIS and want strong reporting without leaving it, Workday People Analytics or HiBob make the most sense for HRIS-native insights and day-to-day workforce reporting.

• If employee voice is the starting point, Microsoft Viva Glint and Culture Amp are stronger when you want engagement listening plus structured follow-through.

• If the real issue is operational workforce management, UKG is built for frontline-heavy organisations where scheduling, attendance, and labour patterns drive performance and retention.

• If you want connected HR, payroll, and IT operations, Rippling is the better choice when you care more about joined-up workflows than pure-play people analytics depth.

But if your priority is trust, consistent metrics people believe, and follow-through you can actually see, Eletive is built for that. You get continuous listening, clear segmentation, and early risk signals, plus practical action planning that managers can run and track over time. 

If you want to see how Eletive would work in your organisation, book a demo here.