Likelihood to Recommend I've learned hundreds of software applications over the last several decades, and trained teams in offices and one-on-one. At one point, books and trade magazines were a great way to get up to speed with an application, but they've become less and less effective for getting started. Video lessons have some strengths; you can get a rapid overview of a program's capabilities and watch an experienced user using its tools efficiently. On rare occasions they'll even point out bugs that could trip you up, but I wish instructors shared more of those issues. However, it takes a very self-motivated learner to sit through training sessions. Most people don't fit that category, and a subscription may end up gathering dust like a pandemic gym membership. My account is sometimes dormant for months, but then I'll be watching lessons continually the following month. I've often wondered if it was worth it for that reason. I have some friends that voraciously devoured class after Lynda.com class, and built successful careers on that training. But many others never use their account. It's helpful to consider whether you're a self-motivated learner. If not, it may not be the best format for you. More complicated software often can't be adequately introduced in a several-hour-long series of videos. I found Final Cut Pro (7) hard to learn online, also Logic Pro. Other somewhat complicated programs like DVD Pro were a snap to learn, and I learned a lot about PHP and Actionscript programming from Lynda.com. Some web and graphics software is exceptionally explained by real experts, such as Lynda's Photoshop classes, which are the best I've seen on that subject. Many of her web production courses will take you every step along the way to creating your own website, even if you haven't coded before. Adobe and Apple have both published similar project-based tutorial classes in book form, and I think they're a bit more polished, but the video instructor can help move you along through all the content more easily. Learning software seems to work better from an online video than a book these days; it's helpful to already be sitting at the computer where you're able to try everything out as it's explained. Most people don't seem to retain software principles unless they're trying them while learning. A bad instructor can make it difficult to sit through a video class. Lynda.com and others generally have a large variety of content creators, so you're not as limited with instructors as you might be at a University, where the same instructor may teach several related applications. Departmental faculty may have much more targeted and creative applications for your software though, while paid corporate software training can be mind-numbingly bad. Continuing ed classes that I've taken usually seemed to just focus on learning the tools in a software product. They often don't or even can't show you how to apply the software for your purposes as full time faculty at a University might. Some Lynda.com instructors weren't great, but most seemed a cut above the continuing ed and corporate software trainers I've learned from or contracted. The majority of the classes seemed to apply the software for an impressive final project. Redundancy is a real drawback among the online lessons. Often the advanced classes repeat many of the concepts from the introductory "Essentials" courses. If you know an earlier version of an application and just want to learn new features, a book may be a faster route to your goal. I originally suggested the "New Features" lessons that Lynda began to offer for updated releases, and I think they're especially helpful. It's much harder to skim through a video than a page of text, so I'd anticipate having to complement your Lynda.com lessons with other instructional materials. Lynda.com didn't have as many of the "fluff" courses that LinkedIn is now offering. These titles read like articles from Cosmo. They might be better served to offer "How to respond to a connection request from a recruiter who works in a field completely unrelated to you."
Read full review 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.
Read full review Pros Industry expert authors/instructors - you're learning from people with pedigree. Breadth and depth of catalog - not only is there a wide range of topics and disciplines, but there are frequently several levels of depth within each (eg. Beginner, Intermediate, Advanced). Time needed to complete each course AND each section of a course are included - you know what you're getting into from the first click. Read full review 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. Read full review Cons LinkedIn Learning provides learning paths, but it's left much to be desired. Not enough direction about the why, or learning outcomes. Some courses provide exercises/quizzes. Others do not. There's definitely a missing piece to test comprehension. The library is so large, it's difficult to really build your own learning. I find it better for just-in-time learning. Read full review 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. Read full review Likelihood to Renew It can help all employees learn to strengthen current skills or to learn new skills and then can learn to excel in their current department or they learn a new skills in a new department creating interconnection and cross-departmental value in a company.
Read full review 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
Read full review Usability Very user friendly, easy to copy and/or download notes offline, and follow up with your instructor is easy as pie. You can even LinkedIn with your instructor and follow up with questions/concerns online and in several forums. Very cool concept and easy to use.
Read full review 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
Read full review Reliability and Availability 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.
Read full review Performance 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.
Read full review Support Rating The technical team behind LinkedIn Learning (or Lynda.com) knows their job, and they usually solve problems very quickly. While I haven't had many run-ins with them (thus the low rating), I do find that when we call them, the problem gets resolved in a reasonable amount of time. The flip-side of this comment is that we never have needed to call them with a high-priority issue.
Read full review 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.
Read full review In-Person Training 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.
Read full review Online Training 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.
Read full review Implementation Rating 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.
Read full review Alternatives Considered Our organization has used different webinars, including ones on LinkedIn, to provide similar insight. But it's a totally different ballgame. Lynda.com offers in-depth tutorials rather than just a 2-hour video broadcast. With lynda.com there are more information and experts, as well as so many different courses fit for every need/want. There is also a lot more flexibility with lynda. You can take it on the go, watch on mobile and at anytime, rather than being tied to a certain time slot.
Read full review 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!
Read full review Scalability Read full review Return on Investment I can't think of a negative impact that Lynda.com has when it relates to the extensive library of training software that is available to subscribers. I'm lucky that my job provides a free subscription for instructors. I use Lynda.com to hone in on my technical skills. Read full review We have increased our HR activities to 85% through UKG. OSHA and Leave need to be pulled in Reduced from a 1000 pieces of pay statements to @ 10 per pay roll through Direct deposit and cash pay cards. Onboarding signoffs have improved audit records for signed job descriptions, i-9 forms, hand book sign off and policy sign off Read full review ScreenShots