The Ghost of Enhancements Past: A Look Back at 2020

Amanda Boyle Customer Marketing Program Manager

Dec 16, 2020 Read time: 5 minutes

I think it’s safe to say that 2020 was not the year that any of us expected. It has been a year of ups and downs, surprises, change, and, most importantly, growth. Here at UKG, our goal for 2020 was simple: to make sure your organization was supported no matter what this year threw at you.

To do just that, UKG Ready had six releases that included countless feature enhancements. Join me for a walk down memory lane with the ghost of enhancements past to see the top features from this year that have helped so many improve their day to day.

Cross Product Enhancements

The New User Experience
Perhaps one of the biggest changes this year was the retirement of the Classic UI and the flip to the New User experience for all UKG Ready customers. This long-awaited transition brought a plethora of exciting enhancements and new feature releases that were not available with the Classic UI; some of these new features made this list! Transitioning to the New UI was an enormous milestone that we were able to achieve together, thanks to all of you.

Release: 70

New My Learning Experience
Education is key for all UKG Ready customers. That’s why this year we launched a new and improved experience for our training program, My Learning, for all U.S. and Canadian customers! This new experience offers personalized learning plans, online classes, predictive searching, and so much more. The biggest difference? You can now access My Learning directly from your UKG Ready solution by navigating to My Info > Help > My Learning. Have any additional questions? Check out our “Six UKG Ready Questions about UKG Ready Education Answered” blog post or head on over to the My Learning page in the UKG Kronos Community.

Release: 67

The readyConnect Panel
When it comes to personalization, the readyConnect Panel was a huge enhancement. Content is curated specifically for you based on your role and how your organization uses UKG Ready. Read more about how you’d use the readyConnect panel here!

Release: 70

Twilio SMS Two-Way Communication for Workflow Requests
Our SMS Two-Way Communication enhancement (a texting capability) is the gift that just keeps on giving this year. Originally a customer idea, this enhancement has continued to build on itself throughout the past three releases! Read all about this enhancement here.

*In order to send communications via SMS, organizations must be using our marketplace vendor Twilio.

Release: 70, 71, and 72

HR Enhancements

Recruitment Quick Apply
Like I said before, the New UI introduced a plethora of new features, and the recruitment Quick Apply option is one of them. Not every job requisition requires the same amount of information from an applicant. For example, an open req for a cashier at the local supermarket chain requires less information than a req for a position at the corporate office. For positions that require minimal information, applicants can use the Quick Apply feature. This allows applicants to get through the pipeline faster.

Release: 67

Offer Letters
Ultimately, our offer letter enhancement is aimed at saving HR managers time. They now have the ability to create and maintain offer letters on the fly for internal or external applicants. Learn more about how you could use this enhancement during your day to day here!

Release: 72

Checklists
Checklists themselves are not new to the UKG Ready solution. However, we did make an amazing enhancement to checklist capabilities during our September release (R70). Onboarding new employees is tough, with or without a pandemic. Make sure you understand how to fully take advantage of our checklists here!

Release: 70

Pay Grade Updates
The Pay Grade Updates enhancement is truly a lifesaver for HR managers who want to stay ahead of the game when it comes to performance reviews and pay increases. This enhancement allows managers to apply an effective date to the pay grade update, and it doesn’t limit them to the current date. Learn more about Pay Grade Updates here!

Release: 71

Performance Management
Throughout 2020 we’ve made a significant number of enhancements dealing with performance management. Our goal with these enhancements was to streamline your performance management process and make it more efficient. Learn all about our performance management updates here!

Release: 71

TLM Enhancements

Primary Timesheet
The Primary Timesheet enhancement is perfect for organizations that have employees who work at multiple locations and, in turn, have multiple EINs. Employees can now punch into multiple EINs but see their time entries consolidated on one timesheet — the Primary Timesheet. Sound like something your organization would be interested in? Learn more here!

Release: 71

Attach Documents in Time Off Request Pop-Up
Attaching Documents to a Time Off request was a customer idea that became one of our latest enhancements in the December release (R72). A new setting has been added to the Default Settings widget. Once it is enabled, employees can attach documents to their request by clicking the paper clip icon displayed on the request pop-up. This enhancement is extremely useful if employees need to submit certain documentation — a doctor’s note, a wedding announcement, or an obituary — in order to qualify for paid time off. During the holidays, some organizations may also require documentation in order to take days off in general, since it’s such a busy time of year.

Release: 72

View “Points History” Report in Menu
This enhancement was another customer idea! The goal is to make it easier for employees to view their Points History. Previously, employees could access their Points History only from the Points widget in their Employee Profile. Using the new “Points Balance” item under My Time, employees can now access their Points History report right from the menu. Points can be used for several different issues, one of them being safety. At some organizations, employees receive points whenever they address a safety issue. At the end of the month, management draws from the pool of people and picks a winner.

Release: 70

And just like that, we’ve come to the end of our journey with the ghosts of enhancements past! Did any of your favorite features make the list? If you enjoy feature enhancement blogs like this one, make sure you are subscribed to the Working Smarter Café so you don’t miss out on future enhancement posts!

This year hasn’t been easy on any of us. However, through your partnership we have been able to reach new heights together. So, from all of us here at UKG, thank you for a fantastic year! We can’t wait to see what 2021 will bring.

Related Resources:

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The enhancements chosen in this blog post are courtesy of Brad Nycz, customer success manager and former customer.

Amanda is a member of the customer marketing team and is focused on UKG Ready users. A passionate content creator, she is committed to enhancing the customer experience by providing personalized resources and information to ensure customer satisfaction and success.