Change is never easy. For Briar Hill Management Group in Mississippi, however, launching UKG Dimensions™ meant a fresh start and new opportunities. Briar Hill operates six nursing home facilities and employs 550 people. They went live on UKG Dimensions in June of 2020, after years of being on Workforce Central (WFC). Today Pam Moore, an HR/Payroll Administrator, and her peers are charging forward with the new system. She recently reflected on her experiences with UKG Dimensions versus WFC and noted three key highlights:
Navigation
“It’s much easier to navigate within the system,” said Moore. One of the biggest changes Moore notices upon logging into UKG Dimensions is the system’s look and feel. “UKG Dimensions is more modern.” UKG Dimensions was designed with the end-user experience in mind. Whether they’re on their smart phones, laptops or iPads, managers and employees can easily navigate the application from checking work schedules to approving time off requests, to swapping shifts and reviewing an overtime report. According to Mike McGrath, UKG Workforce Solution Consultant, this is all part of the “mobile-first” approach used in developing the product. “When I move from device to device, the user experience is exactly the same,” he explained. This device-agnostic approach also drives employee engagement, as it allows employees to quickly and conveniently submit time off requests, swap shifts, etc. from their smart phones.
Analysts agree with this approach. In a recent IDC Analyst Connection, sponsored by UKG, titled Navigating Pandemic-Driven Disruption with Workforce and Human Capital Management Solutions, they stated organizations need to rely more on technologies such as employee self-scheduling to retain employees because they simply cannot afford turnover. With healthcare facing more pandemic-driven disruption and a host of post-pandemic challenges, intelligent workforce and human capital management technologies can drive better employee engagement, experiences, and productivity.
Timekeeping
Moore’s experience with timekeeping has proven to be another UKG Dimensions win. With WFC, she previously struggled to edit timecards. Now in UKG Dimensions, she can edit both her 'in' and 'out' punches on one line. The ability to edit timecards more efficiently is just a snapshot of the new product’s benefits. UKG Dimensions Timekeeping also improves workforce productivity by automating and streamlining administrative tasks, like time off requests. Real-time workforce data, including data views and reports, enable managers to make educated and informed decisions on the spot. “Instead of you sitting at your desk clicking through the data, you can spend more time with your team and help them provide high quality care,” McGrath said.
Reporting
Reporting has proven to be one of the most significant positive changes from Briar Hill’s switch to UKG Dimensions. “It’s a lot easier to run reports and there are a lot of reports out there to choose from,” Moore explained. “They’re easier to look at and digest the information.” The reports Moore and her team find helpful include, Hours by Location, Pay Codes by Location and Shift Start. These reports are automatically sent to each of the six facilities to help track time and attendance on a daily basis. Moore has particularly seen an improvement with the Hours by Location Report. Instead of manually adding the hours for each individual pay code (e.g. Regular, PTO, Sick) to create a complete report, the totals for each individual pay code are automatically calculated and clearly displayed in UKG Dimensions — eliminating the possibility of calculation errors and need for extra work. UKG Dimensions offers more than 70 Workforce Management (WFM) and Human Capital Management (HCM) reports to enable customers to proactively manage their labor, control costs and glean key insights into various business units.
Fast Forward
Going live with a new solution during a year like 2020 was probably not that easy. Yet what we at UKG have seen across all industries, especially in healthcare, is that clients who were already leveraging an intelligent human capital and workforce management solution were ahead of the game. These providers were able to adapt quickly and embrace new technologies, people strategies, and processes. Briar Hill, and many others, quickly recognized the critical role UKG Dimensions can play in their digital transformation efforts, including:
- Supporting mobile-first initiatives to enhance employee experiences and productivity
- Leveraging employee self-scheduling capabilities to enhance recruiting and retention efforts
- Redeploying staff to meet COVID-19 demands and better manage labor costs
- Easily accessing extensive reporting on overtime, vacation time, CARES Act employee hours, and more to glean key insights and make informed decisions
What hasn’t changed?
No matter which UKG Solution you have, UKG's commitment and support to its customers remain the same. “They’ve been very good about working with us and getting things set up that we needed,” Moore said. “I don’t have any complaints; everything has been good.” From UKG Global Support to Customer Success to Account Management, UKG is dedicated to ensuring customers have a value-rich and positive experience with its products and services. UKG even encourages customers to provide product feedback on its Ideas Page in Community. To date, more than 70 customer suggestions have been implemented!
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