ADP, the right HRIS application to automate your manual or paper processes
Updated November 23, 2015
ADP, the right HRIS application to automate your manual or paper processes
Score 9 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Overall Satisfaction with ADP Workforce Now
ADP Workforce Now was implemented about 2 years ago in this organization - the strategy was to have one integrated system for everything HR. The first items to go live were the payroll and time and attendance systems. This was a much better arrangement than the previous system, Paychex, because it was the first time managers were provided visibility at their desktops to employee data (as well as their own data). It also integrated the time and attendance system with the payroll systems so as HR, we didn't have to upload files between the two systems. We were then able to implement self-service to get rid of the paper forms and HR data entry tasks for direct deposit, address updates, W-4 tax forms, and benefits open enrollment. Next to go live was the "talent" performance review system. This is not a "best in class" system but it gets the job done. Our managers were using Halogen which had much more functionality except it was universally despised by the organization because of how it had been implemented. Following that we elevated the policy acknowledgements - which is great to get the signatures and saved us a ton of paperwork, with follow up being quite automated. We gave functionality to our Help Desk to update and maintain the company property data functions. This year we have elevated the online files to the documents section (which took a long time to scan in but is great to have online rather than paper files).
- Policy acknowledgements work very well. We update them annually and can send them out quickly, send notes just to the employees that haven't acknowledged them and it really replaced work done by multiple internal departments -- making it quick and easy. AND no paper.
- The employee self-service functions (direct deposit, W-4, address changes) are easy to use for employees and can be set up to send notes to the processing area so that we can do any follow up needed. It's an easy way for employees to take charge of their own information.
- ADP has a system feedback button, which I use quite frequently AND when elevations occur, I often find some of these feedback requests addressed. ADP is continually elevating additional or modified functionality and our company is automatically updated for each elevation. They also really listen to their clients through the ADP Bridge - which is the online system and we can talk to other users too.
- One of our biggest issues right now is the security and audit functions within the system itself. One of the reports hasn't worked for a while and of course it was one requested by our auditors. We are also quite frustrated that there isn't a data entry date right on the screen for researching when a transaction - particularly a late one was entered- We should have effective date as well as data entry date and you have to print out the audit report to see who actually did the data entry.
- The organizational charts. The way ADP sets up organizational charts is that you can only see two levels of management and then you have to click to get the next group down. So unfortunately managers with small departments can't see their people on a single chart if they have three levels of management (head, manager, supervisor). In that example, they can't view anyone reporting to the supervisor without clicking through the supervisor icon to get to the second level chart. We have to still keep a separate org chart in Visio for all the audits, etc, rather than being able to use the system org charts even though we have made them available to all employees. This is particularly problematic since this function is used to set up approvals and other views into the system.
- The underlying validation tables and set ups need work. For example certain tables like the job title table, and the department table are not effective dated. So what that means is that if you update something in there, you have to go over and update it in the individual records too. And they don't provide you with the information of which items update automatically and which do not. (we found this out the hard way). We are often duplicating information in the set up and until recently, they didn't provide us with a way to download the validation tables. Let me give you an example. The competencies are set up in the job title table. But they also require you to set them up in the performance review templates but when you generate a review for an employee it auto populates the competencies from the job title table, not from the review template that you are using.
- Sometimes the system sends out notes - and we as system administrators, can't control them. Or conversely we would want the system to send out a note but we can't because it doesn't allow us to set it up, e.g. we have to do separate reports on the terms in the week to send to other areas within the company but it would be great if when we termed someone we could set up a group and send out a note with just a few fields, like name, department, title and last day worked or term date. Alas no such functionality exists.
- No address history -- this is a problem with the taxes, etc. since it only provides the current address.
- It has no LMS system. We evaluated that functionality and it came up short.
- Better access by employees and managers to their data
- Improved productivity of the HR Operations team (with the intro of self service).
- Elimination of file room and paper files
- Oracle PeopleSoft and Halogen Software
Cloud applications are so much nicer to work with than the customized PeopleSoft application that I used at a previous employer, PeopleSoft required that we maintain a team of developers to support the product and with ADP we don't need a development team to support it. (So it costs much less) But the downside is that we were able to customize the PeopleSoft application to a much greater extent. With ADP you need to use it as delivered so you need to influence the ADP developers with product feedback. With Paychex for payroll, there was no manager access or HRIS capabilities that were used so again ADP comes out the winner. But if you do want a top of the line performance/talent management system - Halogen offers much more than ADP. Also we use ICMS for recruiting - the ADP application is lacking in that area.
ADP Workforce Now Feature Ratings
Using ADP Workforce Now
700 - All business functions
3 - No support just functional expertise - Benefits, Payroll, and general HRIS
- Self service for employees to update their direct deposit information
- Annual Policy Acknowledgements for employees
- Updating timesheets for hourly employees (every day).
- Put files in the cloud
- Had IT update and maintain company property section
- Updated the I-9 section
- manage pay increases (self service managers)
- add in competitive market data so managers can see info right online with other employee data
- Message center needs some work. We would like to have it be more of a mailbox like other mailboxes, to forward items, put items in folders,
Evaluating ADP Workforce Now and Competitors
Yes - We replaced Paychex as the payroll system and F&E the old time and labor system, also replaced Halogen, the old Performance Management system. We wanted an integrated system (one stop shop) rather than multiple databases which housed critical information about employees.
- Price
- Product Features
- Product Usability
We were really looking for a system that would be easy for our employees to use but which had the capabilities of automating many of our processes from open enrollment to employee personnel files.
We liked our process. We needed to do it fast and ADP offered a good price (we implemented in October so off-cycle and we agreed to keep the system updated at each elevation so that we wouldn't fall behind with access to their new functionality. I would have liked to start with a new year rather than having two payrolls in a single year. But otherwise it works as it was presented.
ADP Workforce Now Implementation
- Vendor implemented
- Implemented in-house
Yes - Phase 1 was getting payroll and time and attendance up and running. At this point we also elevated the Open Enrollment for that first year in November. Phase 2 was getting the HRIS system on-track - employee self service for address changes, direct deposit, and tax info. We also implemented Manager self service for updating reports to name. Phase 3 was Performance Reviews, Phase 4 was Policy Acknowledgements, Phase 5 was Employee Documents (on line files). We are still hoping to implement manager self service for job changes.
Change management was minimal - We had so few people with each implementation (basically 3 on site and no support from the internal IT department so only support from the ADP implementation person), that we focused on the system requirements and process changes within the HR team rather than on the communications to the employees. Obviously some things were change managed better than others, e.g. the Benefits Open enrollment. But basically we used the internal Yammer website to communicate with employees plus whatever ADP provided. Only the Open Enrollment had a whole change management plan.
- No test area. Just live in production which is an issue when it doesn't work.
- We had to be persistent in getting the PTO accruals to work right. This took MONTHS. We just kept on going even though some of our team just wanted to quit -- but this was a key feature that we wanted to implement.
- Carrier feeds. It took a really long time and a whole separate team to get some of the benefits carrier feeds to work properly so we no longer had to send out reports. I don't really understand why since they use the same feeds with the same carriers for other clients but each one is like a new beginning and again it took much longer than the 6 - 8 week service level agreement.
ADP Workforce Now Support
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
Problems get solved Immediate help available | Less knowledgeable Not kept informed Escalation required Need to explain problems multiple times |
Yes - We have reported a bug. It's most helpful to report it on the ADP Bridge website as that is your way of warning other issues. There have been several issues with a recent elevation. (and/or some functionality not working). We do sometimes report it both to the ADP help line as well as ADP Bridge.
We had a wonderful support person, Jane D. who spearheaded a team to help us with a multitude of issues from implementation. It was great to get this service, as she was able to direct us to multiple people to handle the different issues from the ADP support team. We worked with Jane for several months to get all the issues ironed out - weekly calls and follow up. Just recently I had a person (Arlene. G.) help with an automated report feed. She had to work through about 5 different issues until we got it working right over the course of about 2 weeks. She persisted until it worked again.
Using ADP Workforce Now
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
Like to use Relatively simple Easy to use Technical support not required Quick to learn Convenient Feel confident using | Not well integrated Inconsistent Lots to learn |
- Completing the time sheets
- Policy Acknowledgements
- employee self-service
- setting up an activity (activity configuration)
- pen enrollment always needs a support person to help
- Performance management set up is not easy.
- The compensation side needs a bit of work -- from the job title table (why would that have the WC vendor as a field?) to the pay and salary table set up. They have no place to house the competitive market information either.
Yes - I don't use it but some users do.