10 Attendance Tracking Software to Better Manage Your Team in 2023
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The Best Attendance Tracking Software List
Here’s the shortlist of the best attendance tracking software that I’ll cover in this article, with detailed summaries below:
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1.
Deel
— Best attendance tracking within a global employee management system
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2.
Homebase
— Best attendance tracking software for hourly employees and teams
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3.
monday.com
— Best attendance tracking software for creating custom tracking dashboards
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4.
Wrike
— Best attendance tracking software to balance team workloads
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5.
Buddy Punch
— Best attendance tracking software for managing time-off requests
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6.
ClockShark
— Best attendance tracking software for field-based employees or services
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7.
Beebole Timesheet
— Best attendance tracking software for organizations that charge out billable hours
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8.
QuickBooks Time
— Best attendance tracking software with integrated payroll and invoicing functions
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9.
TimeCamp
— Best attendance tracking software for unlimited users
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10.
Jibble
— Best attendance tracking software with a feature-rich free forever plan
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, around 3% of an employer’s workforce is absent on any given day. This means that companies often operate below their optimum capacity and miss out on growth opportunities because they don’t have enough human resources.
Absences can be because of myriad different reasons, from health issues, personal problems, stress, or scheduled vacation time. With the help of attendance tracking software, companies can monitor employee attendance and keep better track of expected vs unexpected time off.
If you’re using a manual attendance tracking system or tracking time off in spreadsheets, you’re overdue for an upgrade. Web-based attendance tracking software will help you eliminate human error and cut down on administrative hours, so you can devote more time to other areas of your business. In this article, I’ll walk you through the top attendance tracking software on the market and explain how they might benefit your company.
How I Selected the Best Attendance Tracking Software
Curious how I selected the best attendance tracking software for this list? I’m happy to share my methodology. First, I scoured the web to create a long list of the most popular attendance tracking systems with positive user ratings. Next, I reviewed each software website in detail and assessed each system within the bounds of my selection criteria below.
I also drew on my years of HR administration experience checking and approving (and often correcting) employee timesheets. This helped me to further pinpoint the features that add a lot of value for HR admin staff and employees alike.
If you have general questions about attendance tracking software and how it works, take a look at my People Also Ask section below. Otherwise, feel free to jump right to my detailed software summaries, if that’s really what you’re here for.
Selection Criteria
Here’s a short summary of the main selection and evaluation criteria I used to develop my list of the best attendance tracking software for this article:
Usability:
Since attendance tracking is a never-ending necessity across all business types, it’s important to pick a system that creates a positive and engaging user experience (UX) for users of all types. To assess a software system’s usability, I analyze its user interface (UI), including the way its menus are organized, and how easy it is to navigate between features or tasks.
The software systems in this list all have clean, uncluttered interfaces and other user-friendly features that scored them top points.
Mobile Accessibility:
Often, employees are not office-based. Instead, they may work remotely, in a factory, in the field, or in mobile service-oriented positions. That’s why it’s important to consider attendance tracking software that includes mobile apps, or at least mobile-friendly features.
The software systems in this list offer mobile apps that work for Android and iOS devices, with cloud-based desktop versions available too. Some also offer advanced features, such as kiosk modes (great for warehouses and other on-site locations), clocking-in via facial recognition or selfie, or GPS & geofencing attendance tracking capabilities.
Software Integrations:
Attendance tracking data shouldn’t live in a silo. Instead, you’ll want a software system with native integrations to other important HR systems you’re using, such as payroll software, HR management systems, or performance management systems. Integrations with other employee productivity tools, such as communication platforms, calendars, and task management systems, will also give you more value too.
To save you time, I’ve noted key software integrations for each system in my top 10 list below.
Value for Cost:
Sometimes it all comes down to cost. That’s why it’s important to get a realistic understanding of your budget before you spend too much time digging into attendance management software.
For business owners running small teams, you may be able to get away with using a freemium plan. However, paid plans will always give you a better return on your investment, if you can afford one.
Before you commit to signing a contract, try to get your hands on a free trial first. This will give you a first-hand experience of how the software works before you implement it for the rest of your workforce. To help you with this, I’ve included notes on free trials and freemium versions below.
Overviews of the 10 Best Attendance Tracking Software
Here’s a brief description of each attendance solution’s best use case and their noteworthy features. I’ve also included screenshots to give you a snapshot of their user interface too:
1
Deel
Best attendance tracking within a global employee management system
Deel is a global employee management solution designed for businesses that employ a dispersed team of employees and contractors. It is equipped with all the necessary features for companies to expand globally and manage their workforce at scale in an international market. It enables global hiring, HR, and payroll management from a secure and centralized platform.
Why I picked Deel: Users can connect Deel with any of their existing HR platforms to expand functionality and allow two-way data sync. The cloud-based software can seamlessly integrate with invoicing and accounting solutions, as well as other third-party solutions through its API.
Their platform covers both HR and payroll functions, plus the ability to track attendance and paid time-off (PTO) through their Deel Engage module. This module allows employees and managers to coordinate and log time-off requests into Deel’s system while interacting through Slack or Microsoft Teams. This simplifies the tracking process for both end users while ensuring the information is automatically synced back into Deel’s employee management system.
Deel Engage also alerts other team members when an employee is out-of-office, and goes one step further to analyze employee time off trends to help managers stay on top of unused PTO balances or monitor employees for signs of burnout.
Deel’s platform is free-to-use for businesses with up to 200 employees, making it an excellent global-first HR platform for businesses hoping to expand their operations into international markets.
Deel Standout Features & Integrations
Features include attendance tracking, time off and expense management, an employee directory, organizational charts, rich employee personnel profiles, equipment management, desk booking, and smart reporting with headcount, global costs, customized dashboards, and payroll reports.
Other more advanced features include EOR services, contractor management, global payroll, hiring & onboarding, background checks, contracts, document management, offboarding, workflow management, and security & compliance.
Integrations include BambooHR, Engage PTO, Expensify, Greenhouse, HiBob, NetSuite, Microsoft Azure AD, SKOVIK, Slack, WeWork, Workday, Workable, Xero, Quickbooks, and more with the Deel API.
This is an aggregated rating for this tool including ratings from Crozdesk users and ratings from other sites.
4.6
628
Free demo available
Flat rate user pricing, with a free version for businesses with up to 200 people
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2
Homebase
Best attendance tracking software for hourly employees and teams
Homebase is a cloud-based solution to manage employee schedules, timesheets, labor costs, and payroll. The scheduling and timesheets feature helps users track employee attendance.
Why I picked Homebase: This software caters specifically to businesses that employ hourly teams, such as retail, home and repair, restaurants, healthcare, and professional service providers. The platform is responsive on any device, be it a computer, smartphone, or tablet, so employees can easily clock in and out regardless of work location or equipment.
Templates and auto-scheduling help users create employee schedules quickly, taking into account employee availability and time off. Employees can cover, trade, and claim shifts in the platform, prompting managers to approve these requests and keep schedules up-to-date when changes happen.
Homebase Standout Features & Integrations:
Features include overtime alerts, automated scheduling, shift trading and claiming, time-off management, labor cost tracking and optimization, timesheets, and payroll with tips and compute wages, total hours, paid and unpaid breaks, and overtime.
Integrations include ADP, Clover, Google, Lightspeed, Payanywhere, Paychex, Quickbooks, Shopify, Square, Toast, Upserve, Vend, and Wells Fargo.
The basic version of Homebase is free, but the paid version starts at $20 per month, paid annually.
This is an aggregated rating for this tool including ratings from Crozdesk users and ratings from other sites.
4.2
82
Freemium version available (unlimited employees)
From $20/month (payroll add-on is $6/user/month + $39/month)
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3
monday.com
Best attendance tracking software for creating custom tracking dashboards
monday.com is a customizable workforce operating system (OS) with a wide range of customizable dashboards and templates to track attendance, create shared team calendars, monitor employee working hours, manage projects and tasks, and more.
Why I picked monday.com: Their work OS is a solid option if you want to start with attendance tracking templates that you can customize according to your business needs. You can use monday.com’s templates to track employee attendance and monitor how many employee hours are spent on tasks, to help you with future planning and forecasting activities.
Their attendance tracker template includes all the essential features you need to stay on top of your employees, including the ability to view sick leaves, vacation leaves, and unauthorized absences. This type of visibility allows team leaders or managers to efficiently juggle schedules and source employees who can fill in for anyone that’s absent unexpectedly.
monday.com Standout Features & Integrations:
Features include customizable templates, data-rich dashboard-building tools, manager notifications and reminders, automations, flexible views, color-coding, embedded forms, and more. Firms that charge billable hours will appreciate their integrated billing and invoicing feature. You can also use the platform to create invitation-only workspaces where team members can share ideas and documents in private while working on confidential projects.
Integrations are available natively with other popular workplace platforms like Adobe Creative Cloud, Excel, Google Drive, Gmail, Microsoft Outlook, Microsoft Teams, OneDrive, and Slack.
This is an aggregated rating for this tool including ratings from Crozdesk users and ratings from other sites.
4.7
6745
14-day free trial + freemium plan available
From $8/user/month (billed annually, min 3 seats)
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4
Wrike
Best attendance tracking software to balance team workloads
Wrike is a work management software that makes it easy to manage and balance time-tracking and workloads. The software allows users to assign tasks, set deadlines, and measure real-time progress.
Why I Picked Wrike: The attendance tracker template can help employers review team-level attendance trends, giving them essential insights into workplace productivity and employee engagement. Users can access robust rule-based configurations where specific tracking rules such as shift start times and breaks can be easily set and adjusted based on job role or team needs. Wrike’s intuitive graphical user interface makes navigation simple. At the same time, reporting tools allow users to quickly produce important summaries based on the data collected from the attendance tracking feature.
It has time-tracking features that allow managers to view how long each employee has been absent or present in the office and even monitor their performance levels throughout different periods. The integrated calendar lets users check their upcoming meetings and add notes and comments about each employee’s performance or absence, which helps them gain insight into their performance over time.
Wrike Standout Features & Integrations
Features include project management, task scheduling/tracking, resource management, expense tracking, API, budgeting, Gantt charts, marketing automations, collaboration support, and reporting.
Integrations include 400+ pre-built native integrations, including integrations with the most popular file management software from Microsoft, Google, and Dropbox, along with sales and marketing software from Salesforce and Marketo.
This is an aggregated rating for this tool including ratings from Crozdesk users and ratings from other sites.
4.2
2544
Free plan available
From $9.80/user/month
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5
Buddy Punch
Best attendance tracking software for managing time-off requests
Buddy Punch is an attendance tracking software that can help you save time by reducing the time you spend manually inputting, reviewing, and approving employee attendance and timesheets.
Why I picked Buddy Punch: It offers flexible punch-in options so employees can clock in using PINs, QR Codes, facial recognition, or user names and passwords depending on company preference. You can integrate Buddy Punch into your company payroll software, ensuring that employees receive the correct compensation for their work hours.
Buddy Punch Standout Features & Integrations:
Features include attendance tracking, GPS and location-based tracking, facial recognition or web-cam-based logins, a time-off request system for paid and unpaid time-off requests, cloud-based access for remote or field employees, and customizable PTO time codes according to your company’s requirements.
Integrations are available with common accounting and payroll management systems like ADP, Gusto, Paychex, Paylocity, PayPlus, SurePayroll, Quickbooks, and Workday. You can also set up additional custom integrations by connecting Buddy Punch to a paid Zapier account too.
This is an aggregated rating for this tool including ratings from Crozdesk users and ratings from other sites.
4.8
121
14-day free trial
From $3.49 – $4.49/user/month + $19/month base fee
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6
ClockShark
Best attendance tracking software for field-based employees or services
ClockShark is an attendance tracking software with timesheets and time tracking for field-based services like construction, landscaping, or any other mobile business.
Why I picked ClockShark: Crew management is simple with ClockShark’s work scheduling calendar. You can create and assign shifts, color-code entries, and drag-and-drop items to make changes quickly. Notifications will prompt affected parties in real time if their shift is altered in any way (canceled, shortened, swapped, etc.).
Employees can clock in and clock out from their smartphones and all job costing data is recorded within the app so you can access it for simple payroll and invoice processing. ClockShark also has GPS and geofencing capabilities baked in so you can see where and when people are checking in.
ClockShark Standout Features & Integrations:
Features include multiple access options (by web browser, mobile app, or even a ClockShark ‘kiosk’ using a tablet device), crew-based time and attendance tracking for crew leaders, facial recognition tools, individual PINs, paperless job management, labor cost tracking tools, customizable reporting, and streamlined timesheet-to-payroll workflows.
Integrations are available natively with many payroll providers, including ADP, Gusto, Paychex, QuickBooks, Sage 100 Contractor, and Xero. For additional software integrations, you can also connect ClockShark to a paid Zapier account.
This is an aggregated rating for this tool including ratings from Crozdesk users and ratings from other sites.
4.7
276
14-day free trial
From $7/user/month + $16/month base fee
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7
Beebole Timesheet
Best attendance tracking software for organizations that charge out billable hours
Beebole is a reliable, easy-to-use cloud-based time and attendance tracking tool for teams of all sizes, currently used by well-known companies like Maersk, Hitachi, Michelin, and Investcloud. For more than a decade, Beebole has helped businesses save time and money, streamline payroll, protect their data, and comply with applicable labor regulations.
Why I picked Boobole: With Beebole, employees and contractors can track attendance, working hours, overtime, breaks, and time off in just a few clicks. The intuitive interface makes it easier than ever for managers to assign working schedules, approve timesheets, and manage time off requests. In addition, Beebole allows users to configure rates and costs for team members, clients, projects, and tasks right into their app — a very useful feature for organizations that charge their billable hours to clients.
Beebole’s free mobile app is compatible with any device with a recent browser, works without an internet connection, and has optional geolocation tracking, making it ideal for remote workers or teams on the go.
Beebole Standout Features & Integrations:
Features include employee attendance tracking, timesheets, geolocation, exportable reports, overtime monitoring, labor costing tools, time-off requests, flexible user roles and permissions, automated reminders, data encryption, unlimited data retention, and single sign-on. In addition to their time and attendance features, Beebole also offers multilingual live support in 11 languages and is compliant with DCAA, GDPR, and EU labor regulations.
Integrations are available with third-party apps like Google Workspace, Microsoft 365, Microsoft Azure, and more.
This is an aggregated rating for this tool including ratings from Crozdesk users and ratings from other sites.
4.5
12
30-day free trial
From $6.99/user/month
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8
QuickBooks Time
Best attendance tracking software with integrated payroll and invoicing functions
QuickBooks Time is an attendance and time-tracking software that helps streamline payroll and invoicing because all three systems are accessible using one platform, meaning there’s no need to purchase separate payroll processing or accounting systems.
Why I picked QuickBooks Time: Employees can clock in and out, log their breaks, or add details to their time cards easily. Its leave management feature allows employees to submit sick days or vacation requests for approval using their mobile phones. Their mobile time clock app is available on iOS and Android devices so users can submit, track, and approve employee time anywhere they are.
QuickBooks Time Standout Features & Integrations:
Features include employee time and attendance tracking, invoicing, labor estimates, expense tracking, contractor payments, reports and insights, receipt capture for business expenses, mileage tracking, unlimited automatic payroll, an employee self-service portal, tax penalty protection, and access to employee benefits packages. QuickBooks Time also has employee scheduling capabilities, so you can schedule jobs or shifts and share them with team members, ensuring they’re aware of their work schedules in advance.
Integrations are available with bookkeeping, payroll, invoicing, and expense-tracking apps, including Aero, Breezeworks, Gusto, and Square Payroll.
This is an aggregated rating for this tool including ratings from Crozdesk users and ratings from other sites.
4.8
251
30-day free trial
From $8/user/month + $10/month base fee
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9
TimeCamp
Best attendance tracking software for unlimited users
TimeCamp is a fully automated time and attendance tracking software that integrates with your current work systems to help you keep tabs on what your employees are working on.
Why I picked TimeCamp: It’s an excellent attendance tracking software for small businesses thanks to its free forever plan that supports unlimited users, helping you save money. You can also add as many projects and tasks as you want, so there’s no need to purchase add-ons or upgrade your plan when working on multiple projects.
TimeCamp Standout Features & Integrations:
Features include attendance tracking, one-click clock-in & clock-out, timesheet approvals, leave reporting, overtime tracking, payroll automation, productivity tracking, billing rates & budgeting, and invoicing. TimeCamp also has a bulk editing feature enabling you to add tasks or notes on multiple time entries simultaneously to help you save time.
Its graphical timesheets allow you to add, edit, or delete time entries in an easy-to-read manner. You can also use the software to generate reports that help you assess your team’s performance and track project profitability.
Integrations are available with 80+ other business apps like Asana, AxoSoft, Azure DevOps, Easy Redmine, Google Calendar, Habitica, Insightly, Microsoft Outlook, Microsoft Teams, Salesforce, Slack, Smartsheet, Todoist, Zendesk, and many others.
This is an aggregated rating for this tool including ratings from Crozdesk users and ratings from other sites.
4.7
185
14-day free trial
From $7/user/month
Visit Website
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10
Jibble
Best attendance tracking software with a feature-rich free forever plan
Jibble is an employee timesheet software with mobile-friendly time-tracking capabilities, so you can track time and record attendance anywhere. Their attendance tracking software is well-suited for field-based businesses that require your employees to move between job sites frequently since you can use Jibble on any mobile device.
Why I picked Jibble: Their attendance tracking software includes some neat features that are surprisingly available in their freemium plan. Their software utilizes facial recognition and geolocation technology that prevents time theft or buddy punching and ensures employees are where they need to be. Their speed mode also utilizes facial recognition to help employees save time by automatically clocking them in when they stand in front of the camera. Lastly, their portable kiosk includes an offline mode so you can record attendance without an internet connection and sync the data to your server when you’re back online.
Jibble Standout Features & Integrations:
Features include mobile & GPS attendance and time tracking, biometric facial recognition, automated timesheets and reports, mobile or kiosk access, and the ability to pre-load your organization’s time-tracking policies for your staff to review from anywhere. Jibble also has an automation feature to send employees alerts, reminding them when to start, end, or break from work, ensuring schedule compliance, and sustaining service levels.
Integrations are available with ADP, Airtable, Asana, BambooHR, ClickUp, Deel, Evernote, Freshdesk, Freshteam, Google Calendar, Google Sheets, Gusto, Microsoft Office 365, monday.com, Oracle, Paychex, SAP SuccessFactors, Slack, and other popular tools.
This is an aggregated rating for this tool including ratings from Crozdesk users and ratings from other sites.
4.6
45
Freemium plan available
From $2/user/month
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Other Options
Here are a few more worthwhile options that didn’t make the best attendance tracking software list:
- Replicon Time & Attendance
Best attendance tracking software with labor costs and attendance metrics
- Synerion
Best attendance tracking software for automating compliance tracking
- Google Meet Attendance Tracker
Best attendance tracking software for monitoring Google Meet attendance
- Nowsta
Best attendance tracking software for organizations with event-based staffing needs
- Rippling
Best attendance tracking software with selfie check-in capabilities for field employees or remote workers
- Insightful
Best attendance tracking software with additional monitoring services for remote teams
- BambooHR
Best attendance tracking software with a timesheet approval system
- Connecteam
Best attendance tracking software with built-in chat functionality to communicate with team members
- Eddy
Best attendance tracking software for small, local businesses
- Sage HR
Best for attendance tracking with a full-feature human resources management platform
People Also Ask
Here are some answers to frequently asked questions you may have about attendance tracking software and how it works:
What is attendance tracking software?
Attendance tracking software is any type of program that helps organizations monitor employee attendance. Sometimes attendance tracking software is a standalone program, and other times you can find the same features within a larger software suite, such as an all-in-one HR management system (HRIS, HCM, HRMS), or a payroll management system. Attendance tracking can also be accomplished by using mobile time & attendance tracking apps as well.
The software I selected for this list is a blend of all of the options above, to give you a taste of the best options out there.
What aspects of employee attendance should I be monitoring?
The key aspects of employee attendance monitoring you’ll want to capture are:
- Any type of work absence (i.e., vacation, sick leave, bereavement leave, family responsibility leave, etc.)
- Recurring absence patterns (i.e., flags that highlight patterns such as an employee that calls in sick every Monday)
- Employee start and stop times, especially for hourly workers, or for firms that charge out billable hours
- Compliance requirements, such as limits to the number of consecutive hours an employee can work, or the number of consecutive days in a row an employee can work
What key features are included in attendance tracking software?
Here’s a shortlist of the main features you can expect to find within the best attendance tracking software:
- Timekeeping: Helps companies keep an accurate record of the work hours of employees.
- Absence Management: Keeps track of employee absences and their reasons so companies can prevent high absenteeism rates in the future.
- Employee Scheduling: Enables users to create and assign schedules to employees to avoid conflicts and ensure compliance with service-level agreements.
- Employee Self-Service: Allows users to review and edit their timesheets to avoid payroll discrepancies.
- Clock-In & Clock-Out Notifications: Alerts employees, so they don’t miss their designated clock-in and clock-out times.
- Mobile App for iOS + Android (optional): A mobile app version that works on Android and iOS mobile devices for field-based or deskless employees.
- GPS Tracking + Geofencing (optional): Tracking features that prevent employees from clocking in and out when they’re away from their designated work areas.
- Biometric Tracking (optional): Enables employees to clock in or out using their fingerprints to prevent buddy punching.
Is attendance tracking software different than time tracking software?
On the surface, attendance tracking and time tracking are different. The former, in its purest sense, tracks whether or not employees show up for work on a daily basis, whereas the latter tracks the exact hours (and sometimes the exact tasks) that they work on. However, you will find that most software systems have integrated these features together into comprehensive “time & attendance-tracking modules” that accomplish both purposes within the same interface.
Depending on the complexity of your business structure and work tasks, you may not need a complicated attendance tracking software solution. If you only need to track working days versus any type of leave, then something simple and cost-effective will likely do the trick. However, for most businesses, you’ll likely want something with a bit more depth to it. More advanced features that are blended between attendance and time tracking software include detailed task tracking, billable versus non-billable hours, and advanced clocking in/out features (e.g., biometric, selfie, GPS, or geofencing).
In Conclusion
Attendance tracking is a critical aspect of any business. It can help you spot behavioral trends, and uncover insights regarding your employee’s productivity and how that impacts your profitability. It also provides you with a basis for compensating your employees for their time worked, while tracking all your different types of employee leave entitlements. Attendance systems also help you ensure your employees are where they’re supposed to be at the start of their shifts, and give you tools to avoid any negative effects on your company’s productivity.
Interested in learning about other business software you can use to improve how your company operates? Subscribe to our People Managing People newsletter to see what our experts have to say about some of the best software in the market.
Also worth checking out: 10 Best Time Tracking Apps For Remote & Hybrid Teams.
Looking for other growth opportunities? Check out this podcast: How To Grow Fast In A Sustainable Way (with Manuj Aggarwal from TetraNoodle)
Related Read: 2023 HR Statistics, Trends & Data: Ultimate List
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