Employment Hero vs Compono: choosing your people platform

Choosing the right people management software is one of the most significant decisions an HR leader can make for their organisation. As mid-sized businesses grow, the need for a system that does more than just process payroll becomes clear – you need a platform that helps you understand the 'how' and 'why' behind your team’s performance.

The challenge of modern people management

Most HR teams today are juggling disparate systems. You might have one tool for payroll, another for recruitment, and perhaps a spreadsheet for tracking engagement. This fragmented approach makes it nearly impossible to get a clear picture of your organisational health. When comparing platforms like Employment Hero vs Compono, the goal is to find a solution that centralises your data while providing actual intelligence about your people.

Employment Hero is widely recognised for its robust payroll and HR compliance features. It’s a solid choice for businesses looking to automate administrative burdens. However, as teams scale from 60 to 1,000 staff, the focus often shifts from 'managing' employees to 'optimising' performance and culture. This is where the distinction between a traditional HRIS and a people intelligence platform becomes vital for your strategy.

At Compono, we believe that the best hiring and management decisions are driven by data, not just intuition. By understanding the unique work personality of every team member, you can build a culture that isn't just compliant, but high-performing. The right platform should help you see how your teams think and work together, rather than just tracking their leave balances.

Hiring for fit, not just for skills

Recruitment is often the first point of friction for growing companies. Traditional applicant tracking systems focus on the workflow – moving a candidate from 'applied' to 'interviewed' to 'hired'. While efficiency is important, it doesn't guarantee that the person you hire will actually thrive in your specific team environment or stay with the business long-term.

Employment Hero offers recruitment modules that link directly into their HRIS, which is excellent for seamless onboarding. But if you want to ensure a new hire truly matches your team’s DNA, you need deeper insights. This is where Compono Hire changes the game. It allows you to select the specific work personality you need for a role and automatically ranks candidates based on their alignment with your team's existing dynamics.

For example, if your marketing team is full of Pioneers who are great at ideation but struggle with follow-through, you might specifically look for The Coordinator to bring some much-needed structure. Compono helps you identify these gaps before you even conduct your first interview, ensuring every hire is a strategic addition to your culture.

Engagement beyond the pulse survey

Once you’ve built your team, keeping them engaged is the next hurdle. Both Employment Hero and Compono offer tools to measure sentiment. Employment Hero uses 'Happiness Surveys' and shout-outs to keep morale visible. These are effective tools for maintaining a positive atmosphere and ensuring employees feel recognised for their hard work.

However, true engagement goes deeper than a weekly happiness score. It requires understanding the underlying friction points within a team’s working style. Using Compono Engage, leaders can move beyond surface-level sentiment. By mapping the team’s collective work personality, you can identify why certain projects are stalling or why conflict is arising between specific departments.

Consider a scenario where a team is missing Helpers. The atmosphere might feel overly competitive or transactional, leading to burnout. When you can visualise these gaps, you can take proactive steps to adjust your leadership style or redistribute tasks to better suit people's natural preferences. This is the shift from reactive HR to proactive people intelligence.

Developing the leaders of tomorrow

A common pitfall for mid-market companies is the 'accidental manager' – the high-performer who gets promoted but isn't given the tools to lead. Employment Hero provides a great framework for performance reviews and 1:1 meetings, which helps maintain a regular rhythm of communication between managers and their direct reports.

To truly develop a leadership pipeline, you need to help your managers understand their own natural tendencies. At Compono, we’ve spent over a decade researching high-performing teams. We’ve found that the best leaders are those who can flex their style to meet the situation. This is why our platform provides managers with 'cheat sheets' on how to collaborate with different personality types within their team.

If a manager is The Evaluator, they might naturally be very direct and logical. If they are managing Advisors, who value collaboration and empathy, that directness could be perceived as harsh. Compono provides the specific language and coaching tips to bridge that gap, turning managers into mentors who truly understand their people.

Which platform is right for you?

The choice between Employment Hero vs Compono often comes down to your primary pain point. If your biggest headache is payroll, compliance, and basic HR admin, Employment Hero is a powerful, Australian-born solution that handles the 'mechanics' of employment brilliantly. It is a reliable choice for ensuring you are meeting your legal obligations as an employer.

If, however, your focus is on building a world-class culture, reducing turnover, and using data to make smarter people decisions, Compono offers a level of intelligence that traditional HRIS platforms often lack. We don't just tell you who is in your team – we tell you how they work, how they interact, and how to get the very best out of them every single day.

Ultimately, the modern workplace requires a blend of both efficiency and empathy. By choosing a platform that prioritises people intelligence, you are investing in the long-term sustainability of your business. You are moving away from seeing employees as entries in a database and starting to see them as the unique individuals who drive your success.

Key takeaways

• Employment Hero excels at HR administration, payroll, and compliance automation.
• Compono focuses on people intelligence, using work personality data to drive hiring and engagement.
• Hiring for culture fit is simplified with Compono Hire, which ranks candidates based on team alignment.
• Engagement is more than a survey – it requires understanding the natural work preferences of your staff.
• Effective leadership development starts with self-awareness and understanding team dynamics.

Where to from here?

• Explore: Compono Platform
• Talk to an expert: Book in a 15-minute chat to get a walkthrough of Compono.

Frequently asked questions

What is the main difference between Employment Hero and Compono?

Employment Hero is primarily an HRIS and payroll platform focused on compliance and administration. Compono is a people intelligence platform that focuses on work personality, hiring for fit, and deep team engagement insights.

Does Compono integrate with other HR tools?

Yes, Compono is designed to complement your existing tech stack. While we provide comprehensive hiring and engagement modules, many businesses use our people intelligence alongside their existing payroll systems to gain deeper insights into their workforce.

How does Compono help with recruitment?

Compono Hire uses science-based assessments to map a candidate's work personality against your existing team. This allows you to identify gaps in your team's capabilities and hire people who will naturally thrive in your environment.

Is work personality the same as a standard personality test?

Not exactly. While based on psychological theory, Compono’s work personality assessment is specifically designed for the workplace. it identifies how people prefer to handle tasks, collaborate, and lead, rather than just their general personality traits.

Can Compono help reduce employee turnover?

Yes. By ensuring you hire for 'fit' and providing managers with the tools to understand and support their team's unique work preferences, you create a more harmonious environment where employees feel understood and valued, which naturally boosts retention.