Discover 10 Best Cornerstone Alternatives & Strategic Competitors (2024)

Cornerstone OnDemand is a popular choice for learning and talent management, but it's not the only option available. As organizations evolve, exploring alternatives can help find the perfect fit for your specific needs.

This blog examines ten top Cornerstone alternatives, each offering unique features for learning management and talent development. We'll highlight key aspects of each platform, helping you identify solutions that align with your organization's current needs and future goals.

By reviewing these options, you'll gain insights to support your decision-making process in choosing the right learning and talent management tool for your workforce.

10 Best Cornerstone Alternatives & Strategic Competitors

1. iMocha

iMocha's AI-powered Skills Intelligence Cloud revolutionizes workforce development by leveraging AI to offer a comprehensive view of employee skills. By aligning learning paths with both individual and organizational needs, iMocha enables companies to cultivate a future-ready workforce, turning skill insights into strategic advantages.

Here’s a breakdown of its features that make it a top Cornerstone alternative:

• Talent Acquisition Platform: Accelerates hiring with a skills-first approach, supporting Remote Hiring, Diversity Hiring, Campus Hiring, and Contingent Workforce Hiring.
• Talent Management Platform: Supports employee growth through Career Planning, Career Development, AI-Skills Match, Internal Mobility, and Workforce Agility features.
• Skills Assessments: Offers a comprehensive library of over 3000 pre-built skills assessments and consulting for custom assessments to evaluate and validate the skills of candidates and employees.
• Skills Taxonomy & Skills Ontology: Provides a world-class taxonomy based on AI-driven granular skills classification and ontology to create a skill-based job architecture within organizations.
• Skills Inventory: Enables organizations to gain a profound understanding of their workforce's current skills and anticipate future requirements to address skill gaps by recruiting job-fit candidates, developing employees' skills, and redeploying people to critical projects.
• Skills Intelligence Cloud: Delivers skills insights to help organizations execute upskilling and reskilling programs, measure the ROI of learning programs, validate primary and secondary skills within the organization, benchmark skill proficiency, and understand workforce skills for better decisions.

2. Workday

Workday is a comprehensive enterprise management cloud platform designed to streamline HR, finance, and planning processes for organizations. Here’s a breakdown of its features that make it a top Cornerstone alternative:

• AI-Powered Personalization: Delivers customized user experiences based on individual roles, tasks, and goals, enhancing productivity and engagement.
• Talent Management: Identifies, tracks, and develops employee skills, aligning talent development with organizational needs through performance management, succession planning, and career development tools.
• Payroll and Workforce Management: Ensures accurate payroll processing and comprehensive workforce management, including time tracking, scheduling, and absence management.
• Comprehensive Analytics: Provides detailed insights into workforce and financial performance, utilizing advanced analytics and reporting tools to drive strategic decisions.
• Global Compliance: Ensures adherence to international regulations and standards, providing tools for managing compliance across different regions and industries. 

3. HowNow

HowNow is a comprehensive learning experience platform (LXP) that focuses on empowering organizations to create, manage, and deliver personalized learning experiences for their employees. Here's a breakdown of its features that make it a notable Cornerstone alternative:

• AI-Powered Personalization: Delivers tailored learning experiences based on individual roles, skills, and goals.
• Content Curation and Creation: Enables easy development of custom content and curation from diverse internal and external sources.
• Skills Mapping and Development: Identifies, tracks, and develops employee skills, aligning learning with organizational needs.
• Social and Collaborative Learning: Facilitates knowledge sharing through peer-to-peer interactions and user-generated content.
• Comprehensive Analytics: Provides detailed insights into learner engagement, progress, and the impact on business outcomes.

4. Docebo

Docebo is a comprehensive learning management system (LMS) that focuses on delivering, tracking, and managing employee training and development programs across organizations of various sizes. Here's a breakdown of its features that make it a notable Cornerstone alternative: 

• AI-Powered Learning: Utilizes artificial intelligence to personalize learning experiences and recommend relevant content to users.
• Social Learning: Facilitates knowledge sharing through user-generated content, forums, and collaborative learning spaces.
• Mobile Learning: Offers a mobile app for on-the-go access to training materials and courses.
• Extended Enterprise: Allows organizations to train external partners, customers, and stakeholders.
• Customizable Reporting: Provides detailed analytics on learner progress, course effectiveness, and ROI.

5. Thrive

Thrive is a robust learning management system (LMS) designed to streamline and enhance organizational training and development. Here's a breakdown of its features that make it a notable Cornerstone alternative:

• Adaptive Learning Paths: Utilizes intelligent algorithms to create personalized learning journeys based on individual performance and goals.
• Intuitive Content Management: Simplifies the process of creating, organizing, and updating learning materials across various formats.
• Competency Tracking: Enables detailed monitoring of employee skills and competencies, aligning learning objectives with organizational requirements.
• Collaborative Learning Environment: Promotes engagement through discussion forums, peer assessments, and team-based learning activities.
• Advanced Reporting and Analytics: Offers comprehensive data visualization and insights to measure learning effectiveness and ROI.

6. Nifty Learning

Nifty Learning is an innovative learning management system (LMS) that focuses on delivering engaging and effective training experiences for organizations. Here's a breakdown of its features that make it a notable Cornerstone alternative:

• AI-Driven Content Recommendations: Leverages artificial intelligence to suggest relevant learning materials based on user behavior and preferences.
• Interactive Course Builder: Provides an intuitive interface for developing dynamic, multimedia-rich courses without extensive technical knowledge.
• Skill-Based Learning Paths: Allows the creation of customized learning journeys aligned with specific skill development goals and career trajectories.
• Comprehensive Analytics Dashboard: Offers in-depth insights into learner progress, engagement levels, and overall training effectiveness.
• Automated Compliance Tracking: Simplifies the management and reporting of mandatory training and certifications. 

7. Disprz

Disprz is an AI-powered learning and skilling suite that aims to transform workplace learning and employee development. As a modern alternative to traditional learning platforms, here's a breakdown of its features that make it a notable Cornerstone alternative:

• AI-Driven Skill Intelligence: Leverages artificial intelligence to identify skill gaps and recommend personalized learning paths.
• Role-Based Learning Journeys: Creates tailored learning experiences based on specific job roles and career aspirations.
• Performance Support Tools: Provides just-in-time learning resources to assist employees during their workflow.
• Engagement and Gamification: Incorporates interactive elements like quizzes, challenges, and leaderboards to boost learner motivation.
• Analytics and Insights: Offers detailed reporting on learning progress, skill development, and ROI to inform decision-making.

8. Edvanta

Edvanta is an innovative learning management system (LMS) designed to meet the evolving needs of modern organizations in their training and development efforts. As a competitive solution in the e-learning market, Edvanta offers a suite of features that make it a notable Cornerstone competitor:

• AI-Enhanced Learning Recommendations: Leverages artificial intelligence to suggest relevant courses and content based on learner profiles and organizational goals.
• Flexible Content Creation: Provides user-friendly tools for developing multimedia learning materials, including interactive modules and assessments.
• Skill Gap Analysis: Identifies and addresses skill deficiencies within the organization through targeted learning interventions. 
• Comprehensive Performance Tracking: Offers detailed analytics on learner progress, course effectiveness, and overall training impact.
• Customizable Learning Paths: Allows for the design of personalized learning journeys tailored to specific roles or career trajectories. 

9. Absorb LMS

Absorb LMS is a comprehensive learning management system that offers a modern, user-friendly approach to corporate training and development. Here's a breakdown of its features that make it a notable Cornerstone competitor:

• Smart Administration: Offers powerful automation tools for course assignments, reminders, and certifications to streamline administrative tasks.
• Customizable Branding: Allows organizations to tailor the LMS appearance to match their brand identity and create a seamless learning environment.
• Social Learning Features: Encourages collaboration through discussion boards, learner-generated content, and peer-to-peer interactions.
• Robust Reporting: Delivers in-depth analytics and customizable reports to track learner progress and measure training effectiveness.
• Compliance Training Management: Provides tools for managing and tracking mandatory training and certifications.
  

10. Degreed

Degreed is a comprehensive learning experience platform (LXP) that focuses on skill development and lifelong learning. Here's a breakdown of its features that make it a notable Cornerstone alternative:

• Skill-based Learning: Centers the learning experience around skill development, allowing users to identify, assess, and build critical competencies.
• Content Aggregation: Curates learning materials from a vast array of sources, including internal content, external providers, and open educational resources.
• Personalized Learning Pathways: Utilizes AI to recommend relevant content and create customized learning journeys based on individual goals and interests.
• Skill Measurement and Verification: Provides tools for assessing and validating skills through various methods, including peer and manager reviews.
• Career Mobility: Supports internal talent mobility by connecting skills development to career opportunities within the organization.
• Analytics and Reporting: Delivers insights into skill gaps, learning engagement, and the impact of learning on business outcomes.

The learning and talent management landscape offers diverse alternatives to Cornerstone, each with unique strengths. Some platforms stand out for their AI-powered personalization, while others excel in areas such as collaborative learning, skills mapping, or integration capabilities.

Ultimately, the most effective alternative will not only provide comprehensive learning management but also offer insights to shape your recruitment, development, and retention strategies. By investing in a robust learning and talent management platform, you'll be better positioned to nurture your workforce and maintain a competitive edge in today's rapidly evolving business environment.

FAQs

1. What are the best Cornerstone alternatives?  

The talent management market offers several strong Cornerstone alternatives in form of skills management software, each with unique strengths. Top options include iMocha, Workday, and HowNow.   

2. Why is iMocha better than Cornerstone?

iMocha stands out from Cornerstone with its Skills Intelligence Cloud, offering deeper assessments and AI-driven mapping. Its comprehensive tools provide a more holistic, skills-first approach to talent management, better addressing modern workforce needs.