Rowleys Wholesale, a century-old wholesale distributor of automotive products and UKG Innovation Award winner, has a multigenerational workforce of 100 people — a mix of warehouse workers, office employees, drivers, and sales reps.
By leveraging the AI-powered UKG Ready suite, Rowleys Wholesale has achieved remarkable results, including:
In the latest WhatWorks podcast from The Josh Bersin Company, Rowley’s Wholesale shares how the company utilizes UKG Ready for its HRIS system, covering benefits, timekeeping, payroll, succession planning, and learning management.
Challenges
As a small business with a lean HR team, Rowleys Wholesale needed an all-in-one HR solution to simplify day-to-day operations, navigate compliance requirements, and manage talent to bolster its changing workforce.
Solutions
As it continues to grow, and with a recent shift in workplace demographics due to many long-tenured employees retiring, Rowleys selected UKG Ready to more effectively hire and onboard new team members, and credits UKG with creating a consistent and engaging experience that has led to exceptional results.
“UKG Ready gives us the tools we need to grow our workforce and continuously innovate so we’re always providing the best experiences for our people,” said Samantha Garvie, director of HR at Rowleys Wholesale. “We leverage recruiting in Ready to hire teammates to support our warehouse locations in multiple states, growing new-hire retention to 95% in the first year — an increase of more than 15%. And the simplicity of onboarding helps us engage and connect with new hires to make them feel welcome so they are ready to hit the ground running on day one and set up for success in their role.”
“Our organization continues to grow and UKG is the right partner and right solution for us because it gives us everything we need to succeed. As UKG continues to build out its AI, it allows our organization to be at the forefront of what’s happening in the industry while their commitment to putting culture first helps drive our commitment to our people because we have a business partner that shares the same goals. Having that support system as well as the tools and information needed to succeed makes it that much easier to drive our culture forward.”
Director of HR
Results
With drivers and its sales team almost exclusively on the road, it’s important for Rowleys to give its people anytime-access to UKG Ready to stay connected to the organization as well as to empower employees to access important information such as paystubs and training whenever they need it.
“Employees have been overwhelmingly receptive to the UKG Ready mobile app,” said Garvie. “We’ve increased user adoption to 97% which is significant as the app gives employees 24/7 access to timecards, paystubs, benefit information, and the ability to request time off. The increased adoption shows how easy it is for people of all ages to use the app, which is key to helping us build a great place to work for all employees.”
Among those employees are department of transportation (DOT) drivers that Rowleys hires to transport products, including hazardous material, throughout Michigan, Indiana, and Ohio, and compliance reporting is essential to minimizing risk and exposure to audits or penalties.
“UKG has been instrumental in ensuring our compliance is always up to date,” said Garvie. “We can certify that our commercial drivers, equipment technicians, and warehouse associates are meeting federal and state guidelines, as well as reducing DOT, OSHA, and other liabilities. Another big benefit is the ability to use Ready as a one-stop shop for learning and compliance training. HR leaders can create courses that are easy for employees to access and complete. This is just another example of how Ready makes the hard stuff simple.”
As Rowleys looks to develop its next-generation workforce, the family-owned business is leveraging succession planning to make more informed decisions about its future, as many employees with 30-plus years tenure prepare to retire.
“Succession planning within UKG has been a huge win in helping us identify and evaluate potential successors for specific roles within our organization,” said Garvie. “With Ready, we developed a senior leadership and family succession plan which means we didn’t have to rely on a third-party consultant to help, which ultimately saved us $30,000.”
Rowleys says, with UKG by its side, it’s confident in its ability to grow and scale and meet the expectations of its changing workforce.
“Our organization continues to grow and UKG is the right partner and right solution for us because it gives us everything we need to succeed,” said Garvie. “On the one hand, as UKG continues to build out its AI, it allows our organization to be at the forefront of what’s happening in the industry. On the other hand, UKG’s commitment to putting culture first helps drive our commitment to our people because we have a business partner that shares the same goals. Having that support system as well as the tools and information needed to succeed makes it that much easier to drive our culture forward.”
