Item: UKG Ready
Rating: 10
Author: Lexi Papastamos, aPHR

Use Cases and Deployment Scope

The business problems that UKG has addressed include: Inconsistent platforms between our U.S. and Canadian locations as UKG has centralized all data into a single source so that we can have more accurate analytics of everything related to our employees. Lack of reporting features as UKG has allowed our reporting capabilities to wildly increase and helps our Central Office Directors as well as our Community leadership to monitor labor. We were able to reduce overtime significantly since we set up labor reporting dashboards. Paper-based processes as UKG have allowed us to move away from archaic processes that reduce the administrative burden on our Central Office as well as our on-site managers.

Pros and Cons

Reporting
Consistency of UI across each different area of the program, makes learning easier.
Support has been effective, quick, and they actually teach you HOW to do things so you don't need to ask for help the next time! The recaps that support provides after walking you through anything (for me this was building shift incentives) are extremely helpful.
Communication and training about updates.

A better review of community ideas that have hit high points threshold. When we go out searching for a solution and see an idea that would solve the solution and it has 500-1,000 points from 2 years ago, it's sad.
Adjust the last remaining report screens that don't match the updated UI so it's consistent across all.
Allow dashboard layouts to be reset without adjusting managers' customizations of their dashboards.

Return on Investment

Increased employee engagement with our company as a whole, and an increased understanding of our mission/vision.
Huge labor savings due to the ability to report upon real-time data that helps our managers make decisions on schedules.
Ability to manage and analyze our HR and Payroll activities within a single place!

Alternatives Considered

Ascentis and Paycor

UKG has exceeded all expectations, and we selected UKG Ready because of the robust growth opportunities it provided to our company in terms of improving efficiency and processes. Additionally, we were excited about UKG's different support model that has been proven to be extremely effective despite the scary concept of not having someone assigned to our account. The specialized support is something that no other company offered.

Usability

Everything from the training to the UI is why the usability rating is a 10/10.

Ease of Integration

I am only giving a 7/10 because the integration between UKG Ready and our Canadian payroll provider has taken almost a year and is not completed. Initially, we were told that Canadian Payroll was on the roadmap of product releases for UKG Ready and we even had product demos, but then this feature was removed after we had already made our decision.

Key Insights

Do you think UKG Ready delivers good value for the price?

Yes

Are you happy with UKG Ready's feature set?

Yes

Did UKG Ready live up to sales and marketing promises?

Did implementation of UKG Ready go as expected?

Yes

Would you buy UKG Ready again?

Yes

Other Software Used

OnShift, Yardi Senior Living, Microsoft 365 Business Premium

Likelihood to Recommend

UKG Ready is well suited for multi-location companies that are in jurisdictions as it provides a great platform for company-wide communication while also still having very clear options for location-based customizations that are required legally. I would say that it's been extremely effective for us as a company that has grown from ~400 employees when we implemented to over 500 in the past year, and it's been instrumental in giving us the ability to grow. I think UKG Ready is not well suited for small companies that have fewer than 50 employees due to the high PEPM cost.

Expectations Exceeded in Almost Every Way!

Overall Satisfaction with UKG Ready