UKG Ready vs. UKG Workforce Central (discontinued)

Overview
ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price
UKG Ready
Score 8.0 out of 10
N/A
The UKG Ready® software suite is a centralized HCM solution designed for small to mid-sized businesses. It automates and streamlines HR, payroll, benefits, time, talent, and scheduling processes. UKG Ready's suite of tools offer actionable insights while helping to ensure compliance. Using AI, it draws on work, people, and culture data to boost efficiency and productivity. For example, UKG Ready streamlines core HR functions by centralizing…N/A
UKG Workforce Central (discontinued)
Score 5.1 out of 10
N/A
UKG Workforce Central (formerly Kronos Workforce Central) was a suite of HR Management offerings targeted mainly at enterprise customers with larger-scale and more complex HR and workforce management issues. The product is discontinued.N/A
Pricing
UKG ReadyUKG Workforce Central (discontinued)
Editions & Modules
No answers on this topic
No answers on this topic
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
UKG ReadyUKG Workforce Central (discontinued)
Free Trial
NoNo
Free/Freemium Version
NoNo
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
YesYes
Entry-level Setup FeeRequiredRequired
Additional Details
More Pricing Information
Community Pulse
UKG ReadyUKG Workforce Central (discontinued)
Considered Both Products
UKG Ready
Chose UKG Ready
UKG is great for reporting and for having a pleasant UI. I find that Paylocity has a lot more innovation, but sometimes its reach exceeds its grasp when it comes to implementation of those features. ADP is bog standard, and it works pretty well, but there's little interest in …
Chose UKG Ready
Workforce Central was our first online time and labor maintenance system. We used it for about 10 years and though it worked, it was far too complicated for what we needed, and we overcomplicated the setup of it over the years to a degree that it was not functional. UKG Ready's …
Chose UKG Ready
Far and away a better fit for our organization than WFC.
Chose UKG Ready
Better price for the feature set across the whole HR system. But you do trade that for reduced functions for each subsection.
Chose UKG Ready
We evaluated Ceridian HCM Dayforce prior to implementing Kronos. In fact we were a Ceridian customer.
The cost of the implementation was almost five times the cost for Kronos. We believed at the time of evaluation and it has proven true that Kronos is more innovative and keeps …
Chose UKG Ready
We selected Workforce Ready for its ability to process our HR department as well.
Chose UKG Ready
All I can say about Kronos is they know timekeeping. I have used both Workforce Ready and Workforce Central for timekeeping, projects/tasks, accruals, and attendance. Kronos does a great job. I can not speak to the HR and Payroll modules of these systems as I have never used …
Chose UKG Ready
WFR beats out Workday in the area of having more sellable features. The only downside is many of those sellable features do not function properly or are limited in how they were designed. I still consider WFR a minimum viable product and many of the features are not ready for …
Chose UKG Ready
We selected Kronos Workforce Ready as it was priced right for what we intended on using it for. We selected them also because we have been using Kronos Workforce Central for manufacturing and it seemed like the right thing to do for consistency in processes for timekeeping. It …
Chose UKG Ready
We currently use Kronos Workforce central for normal business and it's extremely bulky and takes a long time (6-9 months) to implement.
UKG Workforce Central (discontinued)
Chose UKG Workforce Central (discontinued)
Kronos Workforce Central had a more straightforward way to use it and a more user-friendly platform. Kronos Workforce Central had better pricing than UltiPro.
Features
UKG ReadyUKG Workforce Central (discontinued)
Human Resource Management
Comparison of Human Resource Management features of Product A and Product B
UKG Ready
8.4
247 Ratings
4% above category average
UKG Workforce Central (discontinued)
-
Ratings
Employee demographic data8.9217 Ratings00 Ratings
Employment history8.4211 Ratings00 Ratings
Job profiles and administration8.3211 Ratings00 Ratings
Workflow for transfers, promotions, pay raises, etc.8.3197 Ratings00 Ratings
Organizational charting8.0161 Ratings00 Ratings
Organization and location management8.3186 Ratings00 Ratings
Compliance data (COBRA, OSHA, etc.)8.8159 Ratings00 Ratings
Payroll Management
Comparison of Payroll Management features of Product A and Product B
UKG Ready
8.5
240 Ratings
4% above category average
UKG Workforce Central (discontinued)
-
Ratings
Pay calculation8.6222 Ratings00 Ratings
Support for external payroll vendors8.1135 Ratings00 Ratings
Off-cycle/On-Demand payment8.0116 Ratings00 Ratings
Benefit plan administration8.5176 Ratings00 Ratings
Direct deposit files8.7182 Ratings00 Ratings
Salary revision and increment management8.8166 Ratings00 Ratings
Leave and Attendance Management
Comparison of Leave and Attendance Management features of Product A and Product B
UKG Ready
8.0
216 Ratings
2% below category average
UKG Workforce Central (discontinued)
-
Ratings
Approval workflow7.5198 Ratings00 Ratings
Balance details7.6206 Ratings00 Ratings
Annual carry-forward and encashment8.9177 Ratings00 Ratings
Employee Self Service
Comparison of Employee Self Service features of Product A and Product B
UKG Ready
8.2
229 Ratings
0% above category average
UKG Workforce Central (discontinued)
-
Ratings
View and generate pay and benefit information8.1209 Ratings00 Ratings
Update personal information8.4216 Ratings00 Ratings
View company policy documentation7.9177 Ratings00 Ratings
View job history8.5185 Ratings00 Ratings
Asset Management
Comparison of Asset Management features of Product A and Product B
UKG Ready
8.9
88 Ratings
11% above category average
UKG Workforce Central (discontinued)
-
Ratings
Tracking of all physical assets8.988 Ratings00 Ratings
HR Reporting
Comparison of HR Reporting features of Product A and Product B
UKG Ready
8.2
232 Ratings
9% above category average
UKG Workforce Central (discontinued)
-
Ratings
Report builder8.0225 Ratings00 Ratings
Pre-built reports8.4225 Ratings00 Ratings
Onboarding
Comparison of Onboarding features of Product A and Product B
UKG Ready
7.8
161 Ratings
2% below category average
UKG Workforce Central (discontinued)
-
Ratings
New hire portal8.0159 Ratings00 Ratings
Manager tracking tools7.7131 Ratings00 Ratings
Performance and Goals
Comparison of Performance and Goals features of Product A and Product B
UKG Ready
7.0
99 Ratings
14% below category average
UKG Workforce Central (discontinued)
-
Ratings
Individual goal setting7.091 Ratings00 Ratings
Performance tracking7.098 Ratings00 Ratings
Performance Management
Comparison of Performance Management features of Product A and Product B
UKG Ready
7.5
125 Ratings
5% below category average
UKG Workforce Central (discontinued)
-
Ratings
Performance plans6.7113 Ratings00 Ratings
Performance improvement plans6.7103 Ratings00 Ratings
Review status tracking8.3112 Ratings00 Ratings
Review reminders8.5116 Ratings00 Ratings
Multiple review frequency7.1101 Ratings00 Ratings
Succession Planning
Comparison of Succession Planning features of Product A and Product B
UKG Ready
6.7
51 Ratings
15% below category average
UKG Workforce Central (discontinued)
-
Ratings
Create succession plans/pools5.743 Ratings00 Ratings
Candidate ranking6.624 Ratings00 Ratings
Candidate search7.230 Ratings00 Ratings
Candidate development7.125 Ratings00 Ratings
Recruiting / ATS
Comparison of Recruiting / ATS features of Product A and Product B
UKG Ready
7.5
131 Ratings
2% below category average
UKG Workforce Central (discontinued)
-
Ratings
Job Requisition Management7.5111 Ratings00 Ratings
Company Website Posting7.8107 Ratings00 Ratings
Publish to Social Media7.383 Ratings00 Ratings
Job Search Site Posting7.589 Ratings00 Ratings
Duplicate Candidate Prevention7.384 Ratings00 Ratings
Applicant Tracking7.8112 Ratings00 Ratings
Notifications and Alerts7.2120 Ratings00 Ratings
Best Alternatives
UKG ReadyUKG Workforce Central (discontinued)
Small Businesses
Dayforce Powerpay
Dayforce Powerpay
Score 9.4 out of 10
When I Work
When I Work
Score 7.4 out of 10
Medium-sized Companies
Paypro Workforce Management
Paypro Workforce Management
Score 9.2 out of 10
Paypro Workforce Management
Paypro Workforce Management
Score 9.2 out of 10
Enterprises
PeopleStrong
PeopleStrong
Score 9.9 out of 10
Hubstaff
Hubstaff
Score 9.3 out of 10
All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
User Ratings
UKG ReadyUKG Workforce Central (discontinued)
Likelihood to Recommend
8.3
(259 ratings)
6.6
(38 ratings)
Likelihood to Renew
7.9
(19 ratings)
5.0
(11 ratings)
Usability
8.7
(138 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Availability
5.2
(4 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Performance
5.0
(8 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Support Rating
5.1
(75 ratings)
7.1
(8 ratings)
In-Person Training
7.8
(2 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Online Training
6.0
(4 ratings)
8.0
(1 ratings)
Implementation Rating
5.0
(11 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Configurability
5.1
(5 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Ease of integration
6.4
(111 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Product Scalability
3.2
(4 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Vendor post-sale
5.1
(4 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Vendor pre-sale
5.1
(4 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
User Testimonials
UKG ReadyUKG Workforce Central (discontinued)
Likelihood to Recommend
UKG
I might recommend UKG to a larger organization than ours. The complexity is rich, but perhaps it is too powerful a tool for what we need. That or it's a bit messy in its construction, having so many tools available but difficult to find or not working appropriately. UKG Ready processes payroll efficiently and with ease, but unless you are using a simple accounting platform it may not be able to easily integrate with yours
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Discontinued Products
This product was marketed to us as a school and several schools in our area use the program. However, the implementation team we were set-up with had limited school experience and we are still working on the best way to do some of the timekeeping issues where I know that could have been handled better. That being said from a payroll and reporting side it has been great to capture so much data (at times almost too much) and have the system do automatic allocations of salaries and general ledger reports. The reporting takes some getting used to, but overall I've been able to run reports to see and track just about anything I want. Our employees also love the self service compared to our previous products where they can make W4, direct deposit and other updates on their own without having to get HR involved.
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Pros
UKG
  • Support—UKG support, from the Account Managers to CSMs to Ready Support, is amazing. They are always willing to help!
  • Documentation—UKG has built-in online documentation, which is a live, easy-to-use version of a very lengthy manual.
  • Ease of use- the system is intuitive, easy to train others to use.
Read full review
Discontinued Products
  • I personally feel like timekeeping is very well thought out and has some powerful tools built in. There is a bit of a learning curve but with strategically placed SMEs we were able to get the use and functionality we needed out of the system.
  • Workforce planning has been crucial in planning operational support in our retail and customer service centers. It is also editable and modifiable as needed.
Read full review
Cons
UKG
  • We have had ongoing issues with our accruals.
  • Auto generate timesheets in the "Team Timesheets" view.
  • Granting manager access is cumbersome - access needs to be given in multiple places.
  • The sync between Pro and Ready in my opinion is terrible and needs much improvement.
  • Auto assign Employee Time Zones based on work location.
Read full review
Discontinued Products
  • Reporting - some of the reports' names do not coincide with the data that is pulled from the system
  • System errors - the system crashes regularly on us with no real explanation why
  • Punch accuracy - sometimes the punches from the timeclocks do not feed into the system
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Likelihood to Renew
UKG
We plan to renew our support and use of UKG Ready each year unless it becomes unavailable or the district seeks another vendor. As of now, there are no plans to changes vendors. The district staff is now familiar with using UKG. Another vendor will need to meet the same expectations we have come to enjoy with using UKG
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Discontinued Products
Now that the system is installed and operational, the "pain is gone"...therefore we see no reason to change to a different application. There is no functionality that is missing from the system that would drive us to consider another solution at this time. Maintenance support from Kronos is sufficient and updates occur regularly.
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Usability
UKG
UKG is the platform with the best overall usability on both an admin and user side. Employees find it easy to update personal information, the dashboards are clear and easy to follow, and the navigation of it is also easy to follow. Overall my favorite platform to use and learn more about.
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Discontinued Products
No answers on this topic
Reliability and Availability
UKG
The system seems very stable. Being hosted in the cloud, we are vulnerable to internet speeds and busy times. The system has been down a couple times over the 3 months we have been live, but Kronos resolved the issues very quickly. To have access from a desktop, tablet, time clock, or phone app is one of the best features....users have almost NO REASON they can't clock in.
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Discontinued Products
No answers on this topic
Performance
UKG
We were always told that Kronos was the best, but there are reports that we got out of ADP and other payroll providers that we cannot get out of Kronos. One example is a report of Productive/Non-productive hours by department. We also need the dollar amount associated with the hours. This is information that is required on our cost report and we were told that that report is unavailable. It is very frustrating when I can't get what I need.
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Discontinued Products
No answers on this topic
Support Rating
UKG
If I was only rating support itself that would be a 10. Every support case I have entered has been addressed efficiently and with the desired result. On the implementation and transition to support there were multiple issues that those doing the implementation or transition could not answer or workflows and various settings left undone only to be discovered later. We implemented 3 different modules and the expertise we got for each one varied widely.
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Discontinued Products
Having no experience with Kronos prior to using it in March 2016, their customer service team taught me how to use it the right way after my initial training at work. I am well-versed in data analysis using Excel and Access primarily, so once I discovered that Kronos had a reporting feature built in, I've used the feature quite a few times to help our properties evaluate their production costs and make good labor decisions. I give Kronos a 10 because once a person takes the time to learn how to use the software, they'll realize that Kronos is far more effective than most, and gives users more ways to access their information where and when they want to.
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In-Person Training
UKG
Our in-person training was a hybrid. Live online training with an instructor. They were very knowledgeable of the product & the area they were training on. I asked several specific questions and if they didn't know the answer immediately they followed up after class.
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Discontinued Products
No answers on this topic
Online Training
UKG
Pretty good online training, you have many how to options and can watch them several times. It can be hard at times to dig through the amount of data online but can usually find what you are looking for. Also you can download documentation for setting up the profiles and policies.
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Discontinued Products
No answers on this topic
Implementation Rating
UKG
Make sure the people who are doing the build have extensive knowledge on employment law and asking the right questions. I would bet that the people who helped with our builds did not read any of our employment contracts or ordinances; and when I asked questions about how other companies handled certain basic dictates from federal employment laws, they didn't have any idea what FMLA, FLSA, etc were.
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Discontinued Products
No answers on this topic
Alternatives Considered
UKG
We currently use Paycom and are extremely dissatisfied with the lack of functionality and poor customer service. Rippling and ADP were other vendors we evaluated who performed well and offer a lot of functionality but we decided UKG was the best fit for our needs now and to scale with our strategic growth plans.
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Discontinued Products
Kronos and Dayforce are the two timekeeping systems I’ve worked with in recent years. Kronos feels a little more comprehensive and is my primary timekeeping tool both for myself as well as my staff. Kronos is a great tool for a wide range of shifts, working locations, and pay codes. In this context, I would pick Kronos over Dayforce. On the opposite side, Dayforce is extremely user-friendly and has a “cleaner” user interface if that is a contributing factor for anyone. Also, for managers who oversee large teams (30-50 team members) then Dayforce is a bit more simple to approve time cards, hours, and leave. Kronos is a bit clunky with all the clicks, and managing large teams of hourly employees would be a huge time suck to go in to review/approve all.
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Scalability
UKG
Thus far we are able to add as many users as necessary, implement 3 different bargaining units, 5 different types of user groups. Very flexible.
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Discontinued Products
No answers on this topic
Return on Investment
UKG
  • This is basic, but we finally know how many employees we have! It sounds ridiculous, but prior to UKG Ready we were on a payroll system that's reports were only as accurate as the last payroll cycle, so they were always 2 weeks behind and static. UKG Ready allows for realtime, daily reporting of information.
  • We are able to get salary data for our various locations to be able to compare them to each other, as well as across our "competitors" and external competition.
  • The data provided allows us to be able to understand the trends at individual locations including attrition, advancement, raise information, and other data points that we haven't historically done comparisons on
  • We can see the demographic and geographical information for our employees and the benefits that they elect
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Discontinued Products
  • Kronos is much more expensive than the previous systems we were using, so at this point the ROI is negative. The idea is that it will allow us to scale and grow the company more easily so time will tell if that is the case.
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ScreenShots

UKG Ready Screenshots

Screenshot of the employee mobile interface.Screenshot of trust index survey results.Screenshot of the manager dashboard.Screenshot of payroll analytics.