--- title: Applaud Cloud – 10 features only an Employee Experience Layer provides description: We list the top 10 features that only an Employee Experience Layer can provide. Applaud have been leading the way in employee experience of over 10 years image: https://www.applaudhr.com/hubfs/Social%20Media%20Assets/Employee%20experience%20layer-features1.jpg --- [![Applaud-logo-HRSD](https://www.applaudhr.com/hubfs/Redesign_2024/Applaud-logo-HRSD.svg) ](https://www.applaudhr.com/) - Features** Creator Platform - [ Advanced AI ](https://www.applaudhr.com/creator-platform/advanced-ai) - [ Integrations ](https://www.applaudhr.com/creator-platform/integrations) - [ Dashboards and reporting ](https://www.applaudhr.com/creator-platform/analytics) - [ No-code innovation ](https://www.applaudhr.com/creator-platform/no-code) - [ Enterprise-ready ](https://www.applaudhr.com/solutions/enterprise) Feature [ Knowledge Management Eliminate confusion. Find answers fast. ](https://www.applaudhr.com/products/knowledge-management) [ Employee Portal Empower employees to self serve ](https://www.applaudhr.com/products/people-portal) [ AI Assistant Provide a personal HR helper ](https://www.applaudhr.com/products/ai-assistant) [ Journeys Make every moment rewarding ](https://www.applaudhr.com/products/journeys) [ HR Case Management Deliver intuitive, streamlined support ](https://www.applaudhr.com/product/hrcasemanagement) [![Request a demo](https://no-cache.hubspot.com/cta/default/3805486/interactive-192131347623.png) ](https://www.applaudhr.com/hs/cta/wi/redirect?encryptedPayload=AVxigLK6fOWUx1UMlhx5K%2B84CPRURBCoY90Dbd6WOMvIGQslBTAzutoxnftxcccx0h3iVTnZcsB%2FPtb1S94kuyhar2J5jkELwJ%2Bf0tA6XVuxXFlQOl99biUpp3pMI2XGD4AarOL%2BwFUjkkxgLOSTRfuWVS1zoMzecZzLCer1jxeecLrSfM651T8bW0f8snI%3D&webInteractiveContentId=192131347623&portalId=3805486) - Solutions** Team - [ HR ](https://www.applaudhr.com/teams/HR) - [ IT ](https://www.applaudhr.com/teams/IT) - [ Security and Privacy ](https://www.applaudhr.com/teams/security-privacy) - [ Enterprise architecture ](https://www.applaudhr.com/solutions/enterprise) Use case [![HR Service Delivery](https://www.applaudhr.com/hubfs/website_2025/icons/solutions-icons/Icon-HRSD.png) HR Service Delivery HRSD from an employee's point of view ](https://www.applaudhr.com/solutions/hr-service-delivery) [![Employee Experience](https://www.applaudhr.com/hubfs/website_2025/icons/solutions-icons/Icon-EX.png) Employee Experience EX - Finally made simple ](https://www.applaudhr.com/solutions/employee-experience) [![Onboarding](https://www.applaudhr.com/hubfs/website_2025/icons/solutions-icons/Icon-Onboarding.png) Onboarding Employee onboarding that outlasts day one ](https://www.applaudhr.com/solutions/onboarding) [![Artificial Intelligence](https://www.applaudhr.com/hubfs/website_2025/icons/solutions-icons/Icon-AI.png) Artificial Intelligence AI-Native HR. Human-First results ](https://www.applaudhr.com/creator-platform/advanced-ai) [![HR Help Desk](https://www.applaudhr.com/hubfs/website_2025/icons/solutions-icons/Icon-HR-Help.png) HR Help Desk AI-powered. Built around your people ](https://www.applaudhr.com/solutions/hr-helpdesk) [![Digital Transformation](https://www.applaudhr.com/hubfs/website_2025/icons/solutions-icons/Digital-Transformation.png) Digital Transformation Powered by People-first tech ](https://www.applaudhr.com/solutions/digital-transformation) [![Request a demo](https://no-cache.hubspot.com/cta/default/3805486/interactive-192131347623.png) ](https://www.applaudhr.com/hs/cta/wi/redirect?encryptedPayload=AVxigLK6fOWUx1UMlhx5K%2B84CPRURBCoY90Dbd6WOMvIGQslBTAzutoxnftxcccx0h3iVTnZcsB%2FPtb1S94kuyhar2J5jkELwJ%2Bf0tA6XVuxXFlQOl99biUpp3pMI2XGD4AarOL%2BwFUjkkxgLOSTRfuWVS1zoMzecZzLCer1jxeecLrSfM651T8bW0f8snI%3D&webInteractiveContentId=192131347623&portalId=3805486) - Resources** Learn - [ About us ](https://www.applaudhr.com/about-us) - [ Customer stories ](https://www.applaudhr.com/customers) - [ Guides ](https://www.applaudhr.com/resources/tag/guides) - [ Blog ](https://www.applaudhr.com/blog) - [ Events ](https://www.applaudhr.com/resources/tag/events) Support - [ Help center ](https://support.applaudsolutions.com/hc/en-us) - [ Partners ](https://www.applaudhr.com/partners) Grow - [ Careers ](https://www.applaudhr.com/applaud-careers) - [ Applaud Academy ](https://academy.applaudhr.com) [![Request a demo](https://no-cache.hubspot.com/cta/default/3805486/interactive-192131347623.png) ](https://www.applaudhr.com/hs/cta/wi/redirect?encryptedPayload=AVxigLK6fOWUx1UMlhx5K%2B84CPRURBCoY90Dbd6WOMvIGQslBTAzutoxnftxcccx0h3iVTnZcsB%2FPtb1S94kuyhar2J5jkELwJ%2Bf0tA6XVuxXFlQOl99biUpp3pMI2XGD4AarOL%2BwFUjkkxgLOSTRfuWVS1zoMzecZzLCer1jxeecLrSfM651T8bW0f8snI%3D&webInteractiveContentId=192131347623&portalId=3805486) - [Pricing](https://www.applaudhr.com/resources) - [![Request a demo](https://no-cache.hubspot.com/cta/default/3805486/interactive-192131347623.png) ](https://www.applaudhr.com/hs/cta/wi/redirect?encryptedPayload=AVxigLK6fOWUx1UMlhx5K%2B84CPRURBCoY90Dbd6WOMvIGQslBTAzutoxnftxcccx0h3iVTnZcsB%2FPtb1S94kuyhar2J5jkELwJ%2Bf0tA6XVuxXFlQOl99biUpp3pMI2XGD4AarOL%2BwFUjkkxgLOSTRfuWVS1zoMzecZzLCer1jxeecLrSfM651T8bW0f8snI%3D&webInteractiveContentId=192131347623&portalId=3805486) - [![Request a demo](https://no-cache.hubspot.com/cta/default/3805486/interactive-192131347623.png) ](https://www.applaudhr.com/hs/cta/wi/redirect?encryptedPayload=AVxigLK6fOWUx1UMlhx5K%2B84CPRURBCoY90Dbd6WOMvIGQslBTAzutoxnftxcccx0h3iVTnZcsB%2FPtb1S94kuyhar2J5jkELwJ%2Bf0tA6XVuxXFlQOl99biUpp3pMI2XGD4AarOL%2BwFUjkkxgLOSTRfuWVS1zoMzecZzLCer1jxeecLrSfM651T8bW0f8snI%3D&webInteractiveContentId=192131347623&portalId=3805486) ![applaud-cloud](https://www.applaudhr.com/hubfs/landing-pages/applaud-mobile-header.jpg) # 10 features that only an employee experience layer can provide. ## Applaud Cloud provides our customers with what we call an ‘Employee Experience Layer’ **Employees** and managers are the primary beneficiaries of an enhanced **experience** when interacting with a tool that provides a **layer** across all of your HR Services. We work with your existing processes and HR technology, enabling fast deployment with low disruption. **Here are 10 features that only an Employee Experience Layer can provide** --- ## **A single pane of glass for your critical HR data ** If you’re a large company, your HR data is likely scattered across multiple data stores. Applaud Cloud lets you consolidate business critical data into a single view. Whether it’s creating rich employee profiles for managers or comprehensive dashboards for HR Service Center agents, [Applaud Cloud](https://www.applaudhr.com/platform) can [integrate data from your various HR systems](https://www.applaudhr.com/platform/integrations) and enable your employees to search, view or act on any of it in a single, unified, mobile-first view. ![Applaud-HR-Mobile](https://www.applaudhr.com/hs-fs/hubfs/images/blog-images/cloud-features/Applaud-HR-Mobile.png?width=331&name=Applaud-HR-Mobile.png) ## **Improve workforce experience with Nudges** When was the last time your manager recognised your service anniversary? It’s a pretty good feeling isn’t it? A recent [IBM survey on Employee Experience](https://www.ibm.com/downloads/cas/0O6GXMQE) surfaced that recognition and a positive work environment leads to increase in productivity and performance. The [Applaud Cloud](https://www.applaudhr.com/platform) delivers [‘nudges’](https://www.applaudhr.com/platform/transitions-nudges-moments) to managers and colleagues to highlight important events such as welcoming a new starter, recognising a promotion as well as more personal events such as a birthday or passing a service milestone, for example, congratulating someone on their first anniversary of joining the organization. Small but personal interactions don’t cost anything but mean a lot to your workforce.   ![Applaud-HR-Feed-iPhone-Timeline](https://www.applaudhr.com/hs-fs/hubfs/images/blog-images/cloud-features/Applaud-HR-Feed-iPhone-Timeline.png?width=381&name=Applaud-HR-Feed-iPhone-Timeline.png)   ## **Streamlined navigation helps your workers get to where they need to go** The average enterprise has 11 [HR systems](https://www.applaudhr.com/blog/tag/hr-systems) deployed to their workers. Our customers tell us that even the most modern software will cause a phone call into the Helpdesk if your employees don’t know where to go to complete their task. Traditional portals that are simple ‘link farms’ don’t give contextual help and don't provide employees with a glimpse of what they'll see when they ‘click through’.  Our experienced engineers have worked for years, constantly refining Applaud Cloud’s designs, making them simple to use and easy to navigate. Employees have multiple ways to find the page they are looking for, whether that’s via a simple conversational search; big, colorful icons, or a more traditional menu. Once you place our layer across all of your HR services, you’ll find it becomes a one-stop launchpad for your employees and managers to quickly get to where they’re looking to be, saving them time, frustration and a call or email into your HR Team.   ![Applaud-HR-Employee-Services-Ipad](https://www.applaudhr.com/hs-fs/hubfs/images/blog-images/cloud-features/Applaud-HR-Employee-Services-Ipad.png?width=547&name=Applaud-HR-Employee-Services-Ipad.png)   ## **A centralized workspace that simplifies complex processes such as transfer** Although many HR services can be ‘light touch’, like viewing a pay check or recording time, you’ll have some that are complicated, spanning departments and systems. Managers, in particular, often get a tough time with business processes like transfers or hiring which require them to interact with multiple technologies and offline forms to complete their requests. Applaud Cloud lets you build pages and forms that can interact across multiple points of contact and systems of record, masking the complex back-end administration and offering a single place for managers to engage with their HR services. Break down your silos and bring your business processes into a centralized workspace.   ![Applaud-HR-Manager-Transfer-UX](https://www.applaudhr.com/hs-fs/hubfs/images/blog-images/cloud-features/Applaud-HR-Manager-Transfer-UX.png?width=543&name=Applaud-HR-Manager-Transfer-UX.png)   ## **Pulse surveys help you measure employee experience** Do your employees feel excited, stressed, overwhelmed or motivated when they’ve been promoted into a management role? What do they feel after 30 days of being a manager? Or 6 months later? What’s the day one experience like for your new starters? What about after one week or one month into their onboarding? If you can’t answer these questions, you’re not empowered to improve working practises and processes. [Applaud Cloud](https://www.applaudhr.com/platform) lets you build a series of pulse surveys that trigger when an employment event takes place and then pushes out follow up surveys at regular intervals after the initial event.  Our [Employee Experience Dashboard](https://www.applaudhr.com/platform/feedback-pulse-surveys) collects the data and helps you visually see where employee morale peaks or dips, supported by [individual feedback captured from your workers](https://www.applaudhr.com/platform/feedback-pulse-surveys). Double down on actions that have caused great feedback and adjust your processes when bad feedback comes in. Higher employee experience = higher productivity from your workers = business success.   ![Applaud-Employee-Experience-Emotion-iPad](https://www.applaudhr.com/hs-fs/hubfs/images/blog-images/cloud-features/Applaud-Employee-Experience-Emotion-iPad.png?width=471&name=Applaud-Employee-Experience-Emotion-iPad.png)   ## **User Experience (UX) surveys pinpoint where your HR apps are struggling to keep pace** Do you know what your employees think about your various HR applications? If you’ve got an older system like SAP on-premise or Oracle E-Business Suite, you’re probably fairly confident of their dissatisfaction. But what if you’ve just upgraded to Workday or Oracle HCM Cloud? How are your managers getting on with your system that lets them manage compensation reviews? Are your online performance reviews delighting your workers or causing them to gnash teeth? What’s the experience like when your candidates apply for a job? Applaud Cloud delivers a super clever ‘widget’ that your IT team can embed in any web-based application and allows for feedback to be given by the employees of that application. You can then visually see [which apps are being rated highly by your workers and which ones frustrate.](https://www.applaudhr.com/platform/feedback-pulse-surveys) Individual feedback can be collected so you can drill down on particular features or pages that are causing difficulty. Good User Experience alone isn’t enough to create a good employee experience. But it certainly helps. Applaud Cloud helps you understand where you’ve got the biggest problems in your HR applications and helps you make appropriate plans to improve. ![Applaud-UX-dashboard](https://www.applaudhr.com/hs-fs/hubfs/images/blog-images/cloud-features/Applaud-UX-dashboard.png?width=434&name=Applaud-UX-dashboard.png) ## **Enterprise Search** We’ve come a long way since the employee directory. Your workers expect an intelligent search that will find whatever they are looking for, whether that be a person, an article, some learning material or help. Applaud Cloud comes with a [flexible enterprise search](https://www.applaudhr.com/platform/search) that you can configure to pull in information across multiple stores, including knowledge base articles as well as HR Data. High volumes or badly structured data is no problem: we use powerful Cloud based technology that allows us to scan millions of records within seconds and return accurate results that can be further narrowed down using a ‘LinkedIn’ style filter list. Not only that, [the search learns and gets smarter with time,](https://www.applaudhr.com/platform/search) so that when people don’t find what they’re looking for, it can prompt for further help, reducing abandonment and HR Cases. The search is unified across mobile and desktop, supporting voice input or conversational queries. Applaud Cloud gives you a fast and powerful way to find information quickly across your entire suite of HR data and applications.   ![Applaud-HR-Natural-Language-Serach-iPhone](https://www.applaudhr.com/hs-fs/hubfs/images/blog-images/cloud-features/Applaud-HR-Natural-Language-Serach-iPhone.png?width=251&name=Applaud-HR-Natural-Language-Serach-iPhone.png)   ## **Branding your Applaud experience** Your HR systems are used by your entire workforce. They reflect on your HR organization. If they don’t reflect your corporate brand, it gives off the message that your internal services are an afterthought; they’re not as important as customer facing branding. If you’re looking for the best employee experience, that’s a bad place to be. Applaud Cloud has a wealth of options to personalize the application to match your brand. This is more than sticking a logo on the screen, you can match your brand colours, import your corporate fonts, use custom imagery throughout the entire application and use your language and tone of voice. All of your choices reflect instantly across the desktop and mobile experiences.   ![Applaud-HR-Branding](https://www.applaudhr.com/hs-fs/hubfs/images/platform/Applaud-HR-Branding.png?width=725&name=Applaud-HR-Branding.png)   ## **Frictionless access to support with digital assistants, live chat and helpdesk integration** No matter how easy it is to use your HR services, however much guidance is provided, sometimes you just need a bit of help. [Applaud Cloud gives your employees frictionless access to support.](https://www.applaudhr.com/platform/help-case-management) First of all, digital assistants provide “Zero Line” support to attempt to answer queries instantly without the need of employees contacting “First Line”. But if our assistants can’t help, we don’t want to frustrate your employees – features allow a ‘handoff’ from our chat window into ‘live chat’ with one of your support agents or simply provide an old-school phone number to call. If you don’t have that facility, then Applaud Cloud offers integration to the major helpdesk providers like ServiceNow, and tickets can be logged directly from any Applaud Cloud page or process. Requests can be prefilled so details such as the employee, job, and department can automatically be added to the ticket helping your agents deliver the best support possible. An employee’s open requests can be viewed at any time, giving them one place to see all their open questions. [Too often, we see the support experience being disjointed and separate from the HR experience – pull them back together with Applaud Cloud.](https://www.applaudhr.com/platform/help-case-management)   ![Applaud-HR-AI-Chatbot-Bubbles](https://www.applaudhr.com/hs-fs/hubfs/images/blog-images/cloud-features/Applaud-HR-AI-Chatbot-Bubbles.png?width=619&name=Applaud-HR-AI-Chatbot-Bubbles.png)   ## **Support your digital transformation and move offline forms online** Digital transformation has been a buzzword for the last decade and millions have been spent on moving offline processes online. But most HR departments still have a plethora of Word documents and Excel spreadsheets that workers need to complete to get the most complex tasks done. Moving an employee overseas? Raising a budget for a new Position? Requesting a new work location to be set up? Sometimes it’s easier just to get a manager to complete a spreadsheet and get HR to do the heavy lifting. Trouble is, spreadsheets are offline, making form validation troublesome and time-consuming, and mistakes easy to make. [Applaud Cloud lets you quickly create custom forms,](https://www.applaudhr.com/platform/no-code) from the very simple to quite complex, and route the requests to the correct department or automate data entry into downstream systems. Reference data can be pulled from your existing systems of record to guarantee accurate form filling. You can even get the form to create a Helpdesk Request if that’s how you track offline work today. Moving processes online dramatically increase efficiencies by reducing mistakes, creating an audit trail and routing to the correct people. Applaud Cloud helps you [continue your digital transformation journey](https://www.applaudhr.com/platform/content-management) by moving all those HR spreadsheets and forms online, accessed in the same place as the rest of your HR Services.   ### Want to learn more? **Contact us for a demo and have a chat with us about experiencing a free 30-day trial of Applaud Cloud. ** [![CONTACT US](https://no-cache.hubspot.com/cta/default/3805486/47ce0ff8-3c04-4d46-95d0-94ac44c944e4.png)](https://cta-redirect.hubspot.com/cta/redirect/3805486/47ce0ff8-3c04-4d46-95d0-94ac44c944e4)   ** Published May 28, 2020 / by [Ivan Harding](https://www.applaudhr.com/blog/author/ivan-harding) #### Share the knowledge: - [Tweet](https://twitter.com/share) ### Further Applaud news and insights you might like ### [HR Efficiency, Costs, and the ROI of AI-Powered HRSD Discover how AI-powered HR service delivery cuts resolution times, reduces HR workload, and helps businesses reclaim productivity from inefficient HR processes. ** Jun 24, 2026 10:44:08 AM / by [Duncan Casemore](https://www.applaudhr.com/blog/resources/author/duncan-casemore)](https://www.applaudhr.com/blog/digital-transformation/hr-efficiency-costs-and-the-roi-of-ai-powered-hrsd) [Read More](https://www.applaudhr.com/blog/digital-transformation/hr-efficiency-costs-and-the-roi-of-ai-powered-hrsd) ### [The Future of HR Service Delivery: Trends to Prepare for Now The future of HR service delivery is not a better portal, a shinier chatbot, or faster ticket routing. It is a design challenge. Prepare for these HR trends now. ** Jun 23, 2026 10:06:54 AM / by [Duncan Casemore](https://www.applaudhr.com/blog/resources/author/duncan-casemore)](https://www.applaudhr.com/blog/trends/the-future-of-hr-service-delivery-trends-to-prepare-for-now) [Read More](https://www.applaudhr.com/blog/trends/the-future-of-hr-service-delivery-trends-to-prepare-for-now) [![Applaud](https://www.applaudhr.com/hubfs/Redesign_2024/Applaud-logo-HRSD.svg "Applaud")](https://www.applaudsolutions.com) Products - [ Knowledge Management ](https://www.applaudhr.com/products/knowledge-management) - [ Ai Assistant ](https://www.applaudhr.com/products/ai-assistant) - [ HR Case Management ](https://www.applaudhr.com/products/hr-case-management) - [ Employee Portal ](https://www.applaudhr.com/products/people-portal) - [ Journeys ](https://www.applaudhr.com/products/journeys) Creator Platform Use case By team Next steps Learn Support Grow - - - - Creating HR service delivery tech from an employee point-of-view, Applaud puts the employee at the center of their everyday world of work, with direct access and personalized control, helping HR do more for their people. 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