Ascentis HR uses web-based management programs to help automate complex HR processes. Ascentis’ other services included customizable payroll, time and attendance and recruiting modules. Ascentis was acquired by UKG in March of 2022, and will be discontinued.
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UKG Pro
Score 8.0 out of 10
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UKG delivers cloud-based HCM solutions including UKG Pro that help businesses simplify payroll computations, accelerate talent acquisition, manage time and attendance, and support proactive, strategic talent management on a global level.
We selected Ascentis because the features and price were a reasonable match for our business objectives at the time. What stood out about Ascentis was the ability to customize and integrate with our internal tools.
We are currently starting to evaluate other software and are …
[UKG Pro (formerly Ultimate Software UltiPro)] is a strong player for mid-size companies. UKG [Pro] has a great data security record and responsive customer service.
In working with Ascentis in payroll, the program makes my job so much easier. I am new to this position and the learning process has been so much easier with this product than those in the past. I appreciate the patience I am given when I call in for assistance as well.
UKG did well when we had issues with employees working for both agencies. We called the Rapid Response Team, and they fixed those issues on their back end. Another example is with the Amended W-2 form; they gave us instructions to do it ourselves, but it was not working, and need to make phone calls to get help.
Easy to use software. I have had several new HR employees comment on how easy the system is to learn!
Problem Solving- Ascentis is always problem solving! When we were in the process of selecting a new payroll company, we needed unemployment claims management assistance for our locations, something Ascentis did not currently offer. The sales rep went out of his way to find a unemployment claims management company that would work with Ascentis and us. That company has helped us keep an 80% win rate for our claims!
User conference- Engage is an awesome way to learn more about the products Ascentis has available as well and meet up with the staff you work with every day!
UKG has an amazing support team to reach out to if assistance is needed
All add-ons of UKG Pro integrate seamlessly making it a powerful software program
UKG Pro is very configurable to meet the specific needs of companies
It is easy to use and navigate
The mobile app is loved by all employees and provides on-demand access
The Ultimate Community is amazing!! On-demand information on all products and how they are used. Connect with other companies that use UKG Pro and learn from each other.
The Learning Centre is also amazing!! Learning right at your fingertips anytime, anywhere.
Updating the system so it is one platform and not two.
Create changes to the benefit enrollment process and upgrade the system so hire dates do not need to be changed to trigger benefits for status changes.
Focus updates on HR Admin, mobile application, ATS and transitioning to one platform. Larger areas of focus have been on the payroll portion of the system with a few updates to other areas.
When something is broken, quicker turn time on fixing the issue.
As UKG is aware, the support for customers needs some improvement. As the recent changes to the staffing/support hierarchy take effect, I hope to see some relief to the current frustrations.
As the UKG Pro products evolve, they need to become more integrated and less segmented. Having to purchase multiple products that then need to coordinate for processing leads to issues.
As users, we have a lot of options for self-service and customization, but some simple fixes still require assistance from UKG support. Give us the power to help ourselves whenever possible.
This rating would be a 10 if it were not for some issues we have been having recently with the benefit carrier connections. The carrier connections are critical for us so how these issues are resolved will be key in our renewal decision.
We are overall happy with UltiPro and it works well for our organization and we have plans to expand our usage of it even more so we will definitely be continuing with the product. We are thinking of adding the functionality for training and recruiting as well, which is an add-on product
I'd give it a 7.5. If the modules were easier to access and not so buried (or placed in left field to find), I would give it a higher rating. As I said, as the potential to be great if ACCESS to other modules was easier.
Mobile App: Really easy to use and its nice to have an HR software that actually has an mobile application to be able to enter time and to take care of everything with. Web App: The system is relatively easy to use with maybe a little training at the beginning if you have used another system. But the site is really easy to use and a lot better having everything under one roof
They normally give you notice when an update will affect the use of the system. Otherwise, when we have an error , we send a message to the support team. Sometimes someone will get right back with you and sometimes it takes a while.
I've found Ultipro to be completely reliable. Outages are typically planned to occur on weekends and only once did I have connections issues connecting Citrix to the server where our environment was housed, but within the hour connection was restored. I think that's a pretty good track record, considering I've used the suite daily for over three years. Especially when processing payroll--say the internet goes down in the middle of you performing a task... Ultipro is able to recognize that a connection error occurred and quickly restores the process that was running, avoiding lost productivity.
Normally UKG Pro loads quickly. We had been having major issues with reports running in a timely manner but recently they broke out our virtual server to another instance where is wasn't sharing resources and that seems to have helped reporting run more efficiently.
Support is attentive and quick to answer the call and get the answer for you. If they for any reason cannot answer right then, they are back to you within a day and always seem to have a sense of urgency. You truly get the impression that they are aiming to make you happy.
Support is quick to respond and helpful when you don't understand how to use or implement their response. They are great at following up and checking in as well as escalating cases when they are more urgent and need more attention.
First, to clarify our "in-person" training was done mainly through Web-X meetings and conference calls. It was the closest thing we got to as far as an "in-person" training for this software. However, for the large majority of it, this type of training worked out well. We were able to share our screens and the trainer was able to share his/her screen. We could follow along with what we were doing in our database in real time and see how different functions worked and how manipulating our information could produce different results. It was also nice in that it provided for real-time results if something hadn't been coded correctly or we were having issues as to why something wasn't working the way we thought it should be. However, it did have some downsides in that we often had to rely on a conference phone and that made it difficult to hear people on both sides. Also, sometimes the trainers had internet difficulties when working from home and that caused issues with the WebX meetings.
I've been to a few in-person (hands on) training sessions and it is very similar to the online classes. You have the same reference material to look back on after the training. So regardless of in person training or online you really get the same thing.
Ascentis HR has a number of online training videos to watch on a number of different topics. I gave it a lower rating because there is not much interactivity with the videos and it seems to cater to really only one or two learning styles. Plus, one has to be pretty motivated to go to a separate area to access the videos and then pull up a specific one to watch it and then learn. From my experience, people know that they are there, many just don't take the time and effort to go find them and actually watch them - especially since the username and password are different from their normal username and password.
Most of the online training was very generic (to be expected) but we had specific requirements for configuration that could have been better addressed with more individual sessions earlier on from our project team. However, we did finally begin booking training sessions with our implementation team which were recorded, and so provided additional information for how to correctly configure and test the system.
It was very easy to implement, but the customization pieces should really be fleshed out in order to determine the full need of an organization at the time of implementation. I believe if a little more time was spent on the requirements, the recruiting module would not have to be customized again at a cost at a later date.
Make sure you have all of your tax account information with all the states you are registered in available and that you are knowledgeable about the filing status, frequency, etc. We had some unique challenges with our state unemployment tax set up that I was not aware of and needed to be addressed prior to going live. Working with the state unemployment office can be a challenge.
Ascentis has far better customer service and the implementation experience was also better. The ability to do a lot of customization is also easier with Ascentis as it's smaller organization. The payroll has positive and negatives compared to ADP but the accuracy is the same in both. Ascentis just started their community site which doesn't have a lot of traffic but hopefully can become more like ADP's community site, which was extremely helpful to me as an administrator.
My experience with HRIS systems is limited to UKG Pro. It is the only HRIS I have worked with. I have worked with other systems that perform the tasks of some of its models and have found that when used with the various modules the overall experience with UKG is great. The ability to have all of the modules on the same platform makes the integration between UKG Pro and the modules great!
HR DPT. is much more effective, as we can assess any employee information no matter where we are, etc. This helps to provide information immediately when requested!
Employees have access to Ascentis, and therefore to their timecard, open enrollment, etc., from anywhere at any time!
Time, PTO requests, employee goals, and evaluations can be approved from anywhere at any time!
Recruiting can be accessed any where at any time, and this helps with hiring, internal communication, etc.
