Cutting Edge of Talent and Learning Management

Pros

I’ve been working with Cornerstone products for 3 years now at two different companies, and I’ve been impressed and satisfied with the overall system and functionality offered. Of course, the more modules you have in the system, the more impressive the analytics and integration of the data you load, but even with just the Learning and Performance modules it’s a great tool that provides wonderful talent and learning administration and reporting. Over time, the interface has become more and more user friendly, and now with the new Universal Profile and system updates related to that, users are presented with a familiar, facebook-ish feel that is easy to learn and navigate. Another very positive direction Cornerstone has taken is to create a more visual, image-based interface, although there are still pages that are being updated to create a complete and consistent look and feel. I’m also a huge fan of the reporting options in the system. As far as custom reports go it takes a little getting used to how information is pulled, but once you know the system and the data, you can really pull all sorts of information. They recently made it even better because you can build graphs in custom reports now, which makes it easier than loading the data into excel and doing the work there. Overall though, I really can’t stress how easy it is for admins to navigate the system. Sure, as a System Administrator things can get a little more complicated as far as maintaining security/permission roles and deciding back end settings, but for the people in your organization that you designate as training coordinators or instructors, it’s really simple for them to learn how to run reports, enroll employees, add events and sessions, manage rosters, etc.. There’s also the option to build custom pages which is super cool! I’d never really learned much about HTML coding, but recently suggested we build some of our organization’s new performance management programs as custom pages in Cornerstone rather than in SharePoint…..meaning I ended up having that job…..and it was so easy to build some really cool, functional pages. With minimal experience (and a lot of web searching on coding), we ended up with some really great pages that connected to other areas of the system such as signing up for classes, etc.. Having the Data Load Wizard has been a great asset too in order to feed large amounts of data into the system without having to enter lines one-by-one. All in all, I’ve definitely enjoyed working with the Cornerstone system and its wonderful employees! I went to their Cornerstone Convergence conference last year as well, and all of the products they offer and how they fit together to provide amazing features like predictive analytics is super exciting to see! Cornerstone definitely has a vision and is on the cutting edge of Talent and Learning Management.

Cons

I’ll admit there are times where we may run up against issues with what we’d LIKE the system to do, and what it is actually able to do, or system errors that need to be looked at on the Cornerstone end (something like emails not firing the way they should, or an area of the system not working the way we thought it would), but every time I’ve had problems and I’ve reached out to their Global Support or to our Client Success Manager, they’ve been extremely helpful. Global Support may not know the answer right away but they always get back to me with a fix or answers to why things are happening, and our Client Success Manager (at both companies I worked for) went out of their way to help me troubleshoot and find workarounds to suite our needs.

Excellent Product and Great Implementation and Support Team!

Pros

I’ve been working in this industry for over 10 years and throughout my experience I have managed several different LMS systems, but CSOD, by far, has been the most impressive. During our LMS Selection process we evaluated over 27 vendors and scored/compared each across many different rating factors such as easy to use, low cost, easy to learn, extensive features/functionality, powerful reporting, customer service support etc. CSOD was the highest scoring vendor and after conducting hands on analysis and performing extensive due diligence (i.e. reference check, examining financial health, customer/industry reviews) we made the choice to move forward with CSOD. We haven’t had any regrets since then. Our LMS implementation went very smoothly and we’ve been live for over one year now. The feedback we’ve received from our organization regarding the LMS has been nothing but positive, and due to this top management has decided to invest in the Recruiting and Onboarding modules.

Cons

Would like to have more design capabilities/flexibility when developing custom pages without having to HTML knolwedge and writing code.

Comprehensive and flexible with great product support

Pros

Cornerstone has the flexibility to satisfy a vast array of learning management needs. It is easily customized which allows it to be simplified or expanded upon depending on the target audience and business needs. The customer service level that is offered by Cornerstone is outstanding. From the online community, the weekly Success live sessions, our success manager, our geographical usergroup, the annual conference, and the global tech support center, I can rest assured that as a client my needs are being met and my expectations are constantly exceeded. Additionally, Cornerstone sources product enhancement recommendations and ideas from their clients and actually implement many of these ideas.

Cons

There is quite a learning cure involved in learning the system and gaining insight into how to best use the features and settings. A dedicated admin is a must. Anyone can be taught the basic administrative features and functions, but it truly takes a dedicated admin to have eyes on the inherent complexity of running such a robust system that continues to receive improvements and updates. Cornerstone is a dynamic solution that needs to be maintained in order to maximize the benefits to the organization.

Cornerstone OnDemand - Great Talent Management Tool!

Pros

I love the fact that Cornerstone is really customizable and flexible for whatever you want to do with it. They also prepare their users pretty well for when new functionality is released (through webinars, their forums and documentation). They also have many events that you can attend to networks with other clients and Cornerstone employees, such as their user groups and yearly Convergence.

Cons

The thing I like least is the response time from Global Product Support. They often won't update you on a case for days, forcing you to call to get an update. It would be nice if they could at least have some indication that the case is being looked at (this feedback was already provided to them). Another thing I don't like is that updated functionality is released (such as the new performance user interface) before it is completely ready, and is often missing key functionality that was once there. I also think that they are behind on their mobile app development since it is very limited in what can be done on there.

Awesome LMS and Company--definitely a leader in the business

Pros

One of the things that helped Cornerstone stand out from other LMS vendors was the company itself. Their culture was very similar to our own company culture, which was a plus. However, I think we were most impressed with their communication, support, and resources. Once we decided to go with Cornerstone, we were given ample time to learn how to administer the LMS and test things in a pilot environment before moving to production. Even 1 year later, we are still checking in quarterly with our support specialist, Jamie. In addition to our support specialist, there are tons of resources in the Cornerstone community--help topics, discussion groups, webinars, and release emails that tell us about new features that roll out every quarter. You definitely don't feel like you're alone when you go with Cornerstone--they have an excellent product and excellent support.

Cons

As with any LMS, there's a lot to learn and manage--so the ramp-up does take a lot of time. I still feel like there's a lot for me to learn in just the Learning Cloud! Our team has also tried to figure out a couple of workarounds for certain issues, like SCORM 2004 reporting. There was a custom report we wanted to create, but could not do within the current platform. Turns out, there are some things that require an additional back-end cost.

Cornerstone: Fantastic (albeit sometimes frustrating)

Pros

My review is related to the Cornerstone products that my organization uses: Core, Connect, Learning, Recruiting. I think Cornerstone is a great product and Cornerstone support cannot be beat. I love the fact that Cornerstone is constantly improving itself, with updates and improvements every quarter. Cornerstone support is available in so many different places and formats. It's never far away. On the Cornerstone Success Center, I use the Ask the Expert forum all the time and get answers often within the hour. Suggestion City is a great place to make sure that your wishes for improvements for Cornerstone are heard.

Cons

Sometimes I do feel that Cornerstone tries to do everything, so some of the details get missed. I also sometimes feel that Cornerstone focuses on making it easy to use for the end-user, but forgets about making it easy to use for the person implementing content. Content implementation is sometimes counter-intuitive as it seems that it is set up like a programmer would set it up. If you think like a programmer, it makes sense. If you don't, it seems convoluted.

Very versatile talent management and training platform for medium to larger sized organizations

We have really enjoyed our experience with Cornerstone OnDemand, as well as the customer support we have received. There are regular releases and updates.

Pros

It is cloud-based, so it is very secure, stable, and fast. The user interface is very modern and there is a minimal learning curve. There are some very nice reporting features.

Cons

There are many features and options, but the system seems to be much easier to use as an end-user, rather than as an administrator. It also does require having multiple admins set up, so keep that in mind for smaller organizations.

Great LMS and support!

Cornerstone OnDemand is used in our company as a global learning management system. It is now implemented globally across all markets and regions. We want to use Cornerstone OnDemand a as one stop shop for our employees for any type of learnings. So all learning content we have, was or will be migrated to Cornerstone OnDemand. We are only using the learning cloud. The functionality which exists now is covering most of our scenarios. It also covers specific factory and pharma requirements. We still have a lot of requirements for future enhancements. We believe Cornerstone OnDemand (CSOD) can do better in reporting and needs to redesign some older modules (like Exams and Evaluations). But in general we are satisfied with CSOD's functionalities.

Pros

Great customer support and client approach. Very professional product management team
Cornerstone OnDemand's functionality covers most of the requirements from different industries for both white and blue collar [workers].
Good possibility to configure solution.
Delivering new enhancements with every release (quarterly).

Cons

As Cornerstone OnDemand becomes bigger, it is difficult to deliver enhancements with the same speed.
Cornerstone OnDemand needs to increase number of developers to keep same level of enhancements, quality and speed.

A Powerful Tool

Pros

Cornerstone is a leader in the industry for a reason. As a client using the learning component, I can speak to strength in the how the module enables admins to configure training in the areas of instructor-led training (ILT), Web-based training, tests, certifications, and social/collaborative-integrated content. I appreciate just how much I can do.

Once you learn the basics of the system you will be able to explore areas that provide solutions for more complex learning needs.

Cons

At times it can be difficult to effectively troubleshoot issues with the system's Global Product Support Team. Some issues are a factor of limitation of the tool itself but others are defects that require diligence on the client's part in achieving a resolution or fix.

Cornerstone review

Pros

Cornerstone provide great customer support and client approach. They have very professional product management team.
Cornerstone functionality covering most of the requirements from different industries for both white and blue collars. They have good possibility to configure solution and they keep delivering new enhancements every Release (quarterly)

Cons

As Cornerstone become bigger it is difficult to deliver enhancements with the same speed.Cornerstone need to increase number of developers to keep same level of enhancements quality and speed

I have been using Cornerstone OnDemand for 4 years this month.

Pros

Cornerstone sincerely values feedback from their users and gives support in various ways. Aside from the company's online Help, user guides, and user forums, if I am unsure of how to do something, I can reach out during daily "Office Hours" to discuss my scenario or I can call customer support directly. I also like that there is an opportunity on a quarterly basis to network at a regional one-day event with other Cornerstone Admins.

Cons

Cornerstone has releases that occur on a quarterly basis and keeping up all that is newly being released or updated can take time, if you do not have a process. Functionality of new pieces are rolled out with limitations and it takes several quarterly release process to get it to the point of using it.

I have managed the implementation of Cornerstone's HCM suite for multiple customers.

I believe Cornerstone has one of the best cloud-based HCMs on the market and provides good value to it clients looking for a product that can offer flexibility in how learning, performance and recruiting is done within their organizations.

Pros

Cornerstone offers and integrated platform, ease of use, flexible interface, and keep current with the features most clients need from their HCM. Their customer service and client success community is well-structured and give clients a great value-added product support option in addition to the more formal support program.

Cons

Some modules of the application lag in development compared to others, need more robust integration options with other 3rd party products