Ascentis is a Gift to HR Professionals Everywhere!
April 16, 2018
Ascentis is a Gift to HR Professionals Everywhere!
Score 9 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Overall Satisfaction with Ascentis HR
We are using Ascentis across the organization. We started with the basic HR and Payroll system and have been focused on building additional modules (which were all included with our package) for Recruitment and Performance Management. The business problems it addressed were :
1. Self service to employee info
2. Benefits enrollment
3. Central "intranet" for employees to read info
4. Lack of organized reviews and goal tracking
5. Recruitment centralization
1. Self service to employee info
2. Benefits enrollment
3. Central "intranet" for employees to read info
4. Lack of organized reviews and goal tracking
5. Recruitment centralization
- Implementation - You work one on one with a specialist to help build and customize each module. They are patient, supportive, and very helpful.
- Customization - There were few (if any) things I asked for that couldn't be customized. They really do work with you to make the system work for you.
- Support - If/when an issue arises, you are met with immediate response and rectification. Their dedication to customer service is great.
- Remote Desktop - Logging in via remote desktop can be a bit cumbersome. I understand they are working towards a web-based application which I can't wait to see.
- Electronic data transfer - One of the reasons we wanted to use Ascentis was to take advantage of automatic transition to our benefits carriers. We are 6 months in and still having issues. For example, the feed that goes to our COBRA provider every Friday keeps going over in an encrypted manner in which our provider cannot accept. Despite many communications between them, they resolve one week and go back to the same encryption the following week. As a result, I have to double check the things that should be "automatic".
- Brought us from paper open enrollment for benefits to online self-service (time and cost saving).
- Eliminated dependency on HR to update employee info. Self-service very helpful when you are a small department.
- Created platform for us to implement an easy-to-use consistent Performance Management system.
- Paycom, ADP Resource and Namely
Unlike the others, Ascentis was built as an HR solutions platform--not an extension of a payroll company looking to expand into HR. The payroll side is well-represented with founders who are ex-ADP employees, but by being focused on HR as a whole, this puts the emphasis on building what the client needs. It's not off the shelf as many of the others I researched.
Our first Open Enrollment (Oct 2017). Because we were changing from 24 to 26 pay periods in Jan 2018, we had to build a whole new set of benefit options to ensure the proper amounts were deducted come January 1st. It was labor-intensive and confusing. Our implementation specialist went way above and beyond. He helped us do things even they never did before. Many nights, we were on the phone with him up to 11pm trying to get everything ready. During the Open Enrollment meetings, there was a glitch on their end. Again, our implementation specialist worked quickly behind the scenes to fix everything so users could continue without a hitch.
Ascentis (discontinued) Feature Ratings
Using Ascentis HR
2 - Human Resources and Payroll
1 - I am a department of one (and Payroll is external to me), so I need to be the in-house expert on the system.
Evaluating Ascentis HR and Competitors
Yes - We previously used CheckPoint HR. It was the software in use when I joined the organization. Not only was there little flexibility to customize, but they nickle-and-dimed us for every extra. We signed up for an additional premium service (ACA reporting) and ended up doing all the work on our end. Once switching to Ascentis, running those reports this year were a breeze. Also, we were encountering issues with CheckPoint's payroll processing.
- Price
- Product Features
- Product Usability
Flexibility. There were certain needs we had with benefits administration and employee self service that they could easily do for us that the others could not.
I don't think I'd do anything differently. I could say maybe look at a few more, but it was easy to compare Ascentis to the others simply by asking what things they could do and hearing them tell us what they couldn't. With Ascentis, they had a solution for nearly every ask we made.
Ascentis HR Support
Pros | Cons |
---|---|
Quick Resolution Good followup Knowledgeable team Problems get solved Kept well informed No escalation required Immediate help available Support understands my problem Support cares about my success Quick Initial Response | None |
Yes - Yes--both times it was a known issue and they were already working on a solution.
Using Ascentis HR
Pros | Cons |
---|---|
Like to use Relatively simple Easy to use Technical support not required Well integrated Consistent Quick to learn Convenient Feel confident using Familiar | None |
- Creating widgets and customizing content in the self-service module
- Calculating pay increases
- New hire/onboarding
- Running reports (easiest system I've ever used)
- Creating and giving employees a view of their total compensation (salary plus benefits)
- Setting up electronic data transfer to carriers
Yes - The mobile interface is limited in its capacity for me (at the moment). I can do time off requests and performance management but have not yet explored other areas.