How to choose the best employee directory software (plus 7 top solutions)

Research shows that employees spend a startling 25% of their workweek looking for tools and information to complete their tasks. This includes locating the right people—specific coworkers with the relevant skills, knowledge, and contacts—and contacting them.

This time-consuming process can negatively impact productivity and morale. But with the right employee directory tool, employees can focus more on the task and less on finding information.

In this guide, you’ll learn everything you need to know about employee directory software, including its benefits, how to pick the right tool, and which platforms are best for your team.

What is employee directory software?  

Employee directory software is a centralized platform containing the essential details of all team members. An employee directory typically contains the following information:

• Name
• Job title
• Team or department
• Email address
• Phone number
• Location (if your company has more than one)

In addition, some software offers advanced customization options. This allows companies to add in-depth specifics, such as headshots, specializations, personal bios, birthdays, or hire dates.

An employee directory—sometimes called a staff directory, people directory, employee list, or company directory—is normally found through the company intranet or website. Centralizing employee information allows employees to access it quickly.

What are the benefits of employee directory software?

Implementing and maintaining a robust people directory has many advantages. Recent studies have shown that collaboration tools that enable real-time communication increase efficiency and productivity by up to 30%. Other benefits of company directory software include:

Up-to-date employee information

When employees come and go, it can be tricky for HR to keep track of their details. An online directory allows HR to update employee information during onboarding and offboarding, ensuring accurate data.

Easier team collaboration

In a large company, finding the right person to ask for help can be difficult. With directory software, you can create a centralized organizational chart to help your team collaborate easily and intuitively. Employees can filter searches for team members based on their roles, skills, projects they’ve worked on, and more.

Improved onboarding

Starting a new job comes with challenges— gathering new information, recognizing faces, and recalling names and roles takes time, especially when it's done remotely. An online employee directory can help ease the onboarding process. It reduces the stress of remembering colleagues' names and roles and prevents awkward situations.

Stronger company culture

Company culture thrives when employees feel connected and understand their place in the organization. An employee directory goes beyond listing names and numbers—it’s an interactive platform that can feature photos, detailed bios, special skills, and other content. This humanizes the workplace experience, making relationships more personal and cohesive, even for remote or hybrid teams.

Enhanced security

Online employee portal software provides authentication, encryption, and other security measures to keep employee data safer than traditional directories. Internal access control reduces the risk of security breaches and ensures the confidentiality of information.

Key features to look for in employee directory software

Software solutions for employee directories come in many formats, both standalone and integrated. Not all programs offer the same features, so choosing the right one for your organization is crucial. Here are some key features to look for.

Flexible search functionality

An employee directory's searchability is one of its most important features. With federated search, you can integrate your employee directory into your intranet and other tools, making it easier for everyone to find anything.

Up-to-date organization charts

Online organizational charts give employees a quick overview of the company's structure. By knowing who is responsible for each department and team within a company, employees can determine how to approach projects or situations.

Detailed employee profiles

Remote teams can still get to know one another even though they don't work together physically. An online employee directory with customizable profiles and multimedia content capabilities can highlight each team member in a more personal way.

Seamless team collaboration

The best employee directories facilitate social interaction and collaboration all from the same dashboard. With built-in collaboration capabilities, your employees can communicate directly with people, from sending private messages to booking meetings directly on their calendars.

Automated employee reminders

It’s easy to overlook birthdays and work anniversaries amidst daily operations, especially when teams work remotely or in large organizations. A directory software program makes celebrating easy by automatically sending recurring reminders, ensuring employees feel appreciated.

Connected communities

The best employee directories give teams a digital office where they feel heard and connected. The right tool facilitates seamless employee communication, allowing users to build their own communities and channels.

Imports and auto provisioning

Implementing new employee solutions can be challenging, but the right employee directory software can import data quickly and easily from a variety of sources. In addition, automatic provisioning can create user accounts with appropriate access controls without manual intervention.

7 best employee directory software for growing businesses

Ready to choose the best employee directory software for your business? Here are the top choices in the marketplace today.

1. Happeo

G2 Rating: 4.5 out of 5

Best for: Companies that want a user-first, all-in-one solution 

Happeo is a powerful social company intranet that includes a customizable employee directory. By integrating with other systems, federated search features let you search for people, projects, and documents from a single place. Happeo’s people directory facilitates automated and user-friendly collaboration processes, opening communication channels for in-office, hybrid, and remote teams.

Key features:

• Employee profiles: Dynamic profiles each employee manages include contact details, skills, experience, photos, and more.
• Digital phonebook: Get a user-friendly overview of everyone in an organization in a grid or list view.
• Organizational chart: Check your company’s structure at a glance using an org chart brought to life with images, job titles, and quick-view contact details.
• Federated search: Find departments, job titles, skills, and more all from a single search bar that integrates across all tools.
• Peer recognition: Encourage peer-to-peer recognition within one platform—from comments on documents to team chats.
• Integrated feedback surveys: Automatically schedule feedback surveys when needed using built-in features.        
  
  

2. Pingboard

G2 Rating: 4.3 out of 5

Best for: Integrating employee directory with employee engagement software

Pingboard is an all-in-one employee engagement solution designed for growing companies. The bespoke platform offers a range of features to enhance the employee experience, including onboarding, organizational charts, accountability, and recognition features The built-in employee directory seamlessly integrates employee data from HR or IT software to improve workplace transparency and connectivity.

Key features:

• Streamlined onboarding processes
• Visually-appealing organizational charts
• Detailed employee profiles
• Interactive games to foster colleague connection
• Tools for enhancing one-on-one meetings
  
  

3. LeaveBoard

G2 Rating: 4.4 out of 5

Best for: HR and leave tracking software that includes an employee directory

LeaveBoard is a cloud-based leave management platform tailored to the needs of small to medium-sized businesses. The tool helps HR teams save time on people management by letting employees view leave balances, request time off, and view team schedules. The adaptable software allows for customization of employee directories based on organizational structures, whether by roles or teams/offices.

Key features:

• Employee profiles stored in the cloud
• Dynamic, sortable employee list views
• Fast internal search of records and all employee input history
• Analytics to leverage employee data
• Custom approval workflows and access levels
  
  

4. Bitrix24

G2 Rating: 4.1 out of 5

Best for: Managing customer relationships and collaboration in a single tool

Bitrix24 is a comprehensive collaboration platform that integrates all your tools into one system. This workspace combines CRM, document, and time management tools with an advanced employee directory that provides visual company structures, absence charts, and reporting capabilities. Additionally, it integrates social search to ensure employees can quickly find the right people, documents, tasks, or events, with results respecting access permissions.

Key features:

• One system to manage all internal and external communications
• CRM integration of employee profiles
• Online employee directory with self-service tools
• Workflow automation
• A virtual timecard management system
  
  

5. Connecteam

G2 Rating: 4.3 out of 5

Best for: Companies that want a holistic workforce management solution

Connecteam stands out as a one-stop shop for managing employees. The platform is a centrally managed, mobile-first app that helps your company manage time efficiently and communicate with employees. An intuitive and fully customizable mobile employee directory lets employees find and communicate with team members wherever they are, on any device.

Key features:

• Employee mobile directory with customizable and searchable profiles
• Contact colleagues by chat, email, text, or phone calls directly from the directory
• Changes to employee profiles are updated instantly
• Set preferred call hours for seamless scheduling of meetings
• Personal directory supports external work contacts like contractors
  
  

6. Axero

G2 Rating: 4.2 out of 5

Best for: A platform that integrates employee directories with company culture

Axero is an enterprise-grade employee directory software solution ideal for small and large businesses. Information-rich profiles enhance company culture by creating a sense of personal connection. Visual org charts make it easier for employees to understand and navigate, while robust search functions and a mobile directory app make it easy to reach those you need.

Key features:

• Fully customizable employee profiles
• Interactive and automatically-updated organizational charts
• Fast employee search with multiple options
• Mobile employee directory app with SSO ability
• Recognition and reward tools
  
  

7. OneDirectory

G2 Rating: 5 out of 5

Best for: Microsoft 365 users looking for company directory software

OneDirectory is an automated employee directory software for Microsoft 365 that centers around an org chart and visual employee directory. Team members running Microsoft 365 can use this specialist tool for a single function. However, if your organization requires an integrated intranet, federated search, or non-Microsoft software integration to connect to the employee directory, a solution like Happeo might be better suited to meet your needs.

Key features:

• Specialist features for Microsoft 365
• Interactive org chart with customizable employee profiles
• Intelligent people search with visual results
• Office directory for large multi-region organizations
• Integrated employee skills directory
  
  

Unite your workforce with Happeo’s people directory

Modern workplaces need flexible solutions to bridge communication gaps between teams without losing productivity. Using Happeo's social intranet, employees worldwide can easily connect and collaborate.

Our robust people directory means your teams can quickly find who and what they need to get the job done. User cards, customized profiles, and social interaction features enhance engagement. What's more, Happeo offers powerful search capabilities, knowledge management, and seamless integration with existing company tools to help you unlock the magic of your data.

Simplify remote collaboration and consolidate your digital workplace tools with a company intranet that integrates employee directory software. Contact us today to book a demo!