Founded in 1976 and headquartered in Fairfield, New Jersey, Polish & Slavic Federal Credit Union is one of the largest ethnic credit unions in the U.S. With $1.4 billion in assets, this nonprofit organization serves more that 70,000 members, including the vast community of Polish immigrants residing in New Jersey.
Challenges
Polish & Slavic Federal Credit Union was using a payroll service bureau to handle payroll, and manually managed HR functions with multiple methods, including paper files, spreadsheets, and emails. Achieving optimal HR and payroll was extremely difficult with its disparate, outdated systems as well as manual processes that were at risk for errors. The HR team wanted to make dramatic improvements to HR processes by using a comprehensive HCM solution that could deliver accurate and cohesive employee data, boost employee performance and productivity, and help the HR team function efficiently and strategically.
Solutions
After Polish & Slavic Federal Credit Union went live with the UKG Pro® solution ― with its 300 employees ― it quickly started to experience business gains from the solution's cloud functionality for HR, talent management, time management, and payroll.
"Pro is providing monumental benefits to us. I am an HR person, not an IT person, so I really appreciate how cloud technology makes our work easier," said Agata Krol, Vice President/Head of Human Resources at Polish & Slavic Federal Credit Union. "Because UKG manages the solution, we don't have to rely on our IT resources to get our work done. With role-based access, our employees manage their own individual profiles, and they have 24/7 access to their information from anywhere.
"Plus, one key advantage with Pro is our capability for business continuity," added Krol. "For example, we had a fire last year, which shut down our offices for more than a week, but our payroll and HR team never missed a beat because we could handle these processes from home. In addition to making Pro a central part of our disaster recovery plan, we have taken our HCM processes to new levels of control, effectiveness, and efficiency."
Krol and the team previously handled the credit union's HR operations with a range of disparate systems and methods. With Pro, these processes are now delivered in one system of record that consolidates and centralizes all employee data. Information is accurate, and business intelligence on turnover, overtime, employee performance, and comparative salary information is generating actionable workforce insight.
With UKG Pro Performance Reviews, the HR team can see trends on individual performance or metrics related to a specific manager or position.
"We used to keep an employee performance spreadsheet that would be sent to each manager when evaluations were due. Managers would complete it, and I would manually compile the information for executive approvals," said Krol. "This method had the potential for numerous errors and would be stressful for everyone. With Pro, we have a new perspective of our talent management, and our HR team has cut the administrative time spent on performance appraisals by 50%."
Another time saver for HR has been Pro's features for time management. Using finger scanners, employees clock in and out, and the credit union's business rules are then automatically applied. Before Pro, HR had to print each employee's timecard prior to payroll and double-check these documents for errors.
"It was a total nightmare. The time-consuming activities, like manual corrections combined with the rigid rules and codes of the service bureau, meant payroll used to take us one full week," said Krol. "With Pro, everything is in sync and extremely flexible and efficient. We have greatly reduced the time and strain we used to have, and we're very glad to get away from being restricted by the service bureau's schedule.
"In the past, my team was held accountable for information that was fraught with errors. We used to tremble when we had executive requests for information," Krol added. "Now with Pro we can address these requests with ease. We're confident the information we are supplying is based on real-time, accurate data.
"Our employees love having 24/7 access to their information; we are no longer working evenings and weekends, and everyone is performing in an optimal way," said Krol. "We've eliminated bad information and seen a notable increase in speed and productivity."
"Our employees love having 24/7 access to their information; we are no longer working evenings and weekends, and everyone is performing in an optimal way. We've eliminated bad information and seen a notable increase in speed and productivity."
Agata Krol
Vice President/Head of Human Resources
Results
With instant information available on employee performance, labor costs and allocations, compensation, and benefits, the credit union's HR team is functioning more strategically and has begun to initiate new programs that help the company recruit and retain high-performing employees.
The team also has launched a new community outreach campaign that provides financial assistance to a local charity as well as strengthens the credit union's community presence.
"Because of UKG Pro, we now have the time to roll out value-added initiatives for our employees, credit union members, and the communities we serve," said Krol. "UKG Pro is adding phenomenal power to what we do."
