setting up bamboo hr
Get Help With Bamboo HR
Have you ever just wanted someone to test out various options for your tech stack, and then come back and tell you which one is best? Fantastic—at Brave Work Project, we’ve done that. We’ve seen which vendors roll out the red carpet during the sales process and then dump you in customer service hell when you need help configuring something.
What is an HRIS?
When it comes to choosing your HRIS or Human Resources Information System —the people operations platform that will house your employee’s information and documentation — this is a massive build that will take a lot of time. You want to get it right.
Why do I need an HRIS?
Because people don’t like having their personal information, such as W4s with their social security numbers, stored on the cloud. Not using an HRIS is a huge compliance flag that could expose your company to liability for not securely storing people’s personal information.
What is Bamboo HR?
BambooHR is one of the most widely used HRIS platforms for small and mid-sized companies — and one of the most commonly underutilized ones.
Most companies that have BambooHR set it up partially, use a fraction of its functionality, and end up with a system that doesn't actually reduce the manual work it was supposed to eliminate. Employee records are incomplete. Onboarding workflows were never built out. The reporting functionality that would give leadership visibility into headcount, turnover, and compensation hasn't been configured. The system exists, technically, but it isn't working the way it should.
BambooHR setup and optimization consulting is about closing that gap — whether you're implementing BambooHR for the first time or inheriting a system that was never properly configured.
Build Your HRIS
For companies implementing BambooHR from scratch, the work includes data migration from whatever you're currently using — Google Drive, spreadsheets, a previous HRIS — into a clean, properly structured system. It includes building out the employee records architecture, configuring onboarding workflows so that document collection and task assignment happen automatically, setting up the org chart and reporting structure, configuring time-off policies and accruals, and establishing the access permissions that ensure confidential information stays confidential.
Already Using Bamboo HR?
For companies that already have BambooHR but aren't getting full value from it, the work starts with an audit of what's configured versus what's available, identifying where the gaps are, and building out the functionality that should have been set up originally.
BambooHR also has functionality that extends beyond basic records — performance management tools, employee satisfaction surveys, and compensation tracking that can replace spreadsheets that have become unwieldy. Whether those modules are worth activating depends on where the company is and what it actually needs.
BambooHR consulting is available as part of a fractional Operations + HR retainer engagement. For companies that need a one-time setup or audit, that can be scoped as a defined entry-point project with a clear deliverable.
We’re happy to talk more—get a free consultation to assess your current BambooHR setup or evaluate whether it's the right system for where you are.