Spilling the Tea on HR Tech - How UKG's latest innovations are transforming global payroll, compliance, and workforce management with AI-powered solutions.

[00:00:00] I really do. I really do. So we see that today in our customer base, right? In the flexibility of our workforce management product, right? Where you can have separate units, separate companies, right? Where you can pull the data up, you can report across companies, but you can have local instances, right? Where you've got specific configurations for local regions or whatever.

[00:00:24] So I really think it does really expand for that global customer who needs something a little bit different in each region they're in.

[00:00:34] Welcome to the HR Huddle Podcast, presented by Sapient Insights Group, the ultimate resource for all things HR. It's time to get in the huddle.

[00:00:53] Welcome everyone to our special HR technology session on Spilling the Tea on HR Tech. We have another exciting guest for you here today, and that is going to be Jessica Griffin, who is a global VP of product here at UKG.

[00:01:07] And we're going to be talking about some behind the scenes conversations about what UKG is rolling out, what they're seeing here at the conference, and a little bit about global HR because we know it's a big topic for everybody on the conversation today.

[00:01:18] So Jessica, thank you. I'm excited. Yeah, I'm happy to be here.

[00:01:21] We were just talking to you, and you had this really long background that you shared with me about like all the things you've been...

[00:01:27] All the various products.

[00:01:29] It's tough.

[00:01:30] In person, please tell me a little bit about your current role and like, sure, you got into it.

[00:01:34] Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[00:01:34] UKG perspective?

[00:01:35] Absolutely. So I'm currently over our global payroll product.

[00:01:39] So payroll for pro payment services and our OneView global payroll platform for global multinational organizations.

[00:01:49] I've also worked on and launched our great place to work hub.

[00:01:54] So big products, yeah.

[00:01:54] Our benefits hub platform that we just launched.

[00:01:57] So a bunch of our emerging technology I've spent some time with.

[00:02:00] And then I joined UKG to lead UKG Ready, right?

[00:02:06] Which is our full suite HCM platform for the smaller organizations.

[00:02:11] But where full brands is getting bigger, right?

[00:02:13] Like I think they go up to a thousand employees.

[00:02:15] It can go up to a thousand.

[00:02:16] And you know what?

[00:02:18] It's great technology.

[00:02:20] It's streamlined.

[00:02:21] It's simple for organizations who don't have, you know, large administration groups and all of that.

[00:02:28] So really simple to use.

[00:02:29] And our customers love it.

[00:02:30] Yeah, and it's funny.

[00:02:31] I was just actually getting ready for the HR tech session I'm going to be doing tomorrow.

[00:02:35] Yep.

[00:02:36] Launching all our voice to the festival research.

[00:02:37] And UKG Ready keeps showing up even at like an enterprise level.

[00:02:40] Yeah.

[00:02:41] And I'm like, why are they messing with my data?

[00:02:43] But what I found when you go look at it is it's a lot of times used either on a global level.

[00:02:48] Yep.

[00:02:48] Or it's used for the individual business units or something they've acquired.

[00:02:52] Yep.

[00:02:52] And they don't get rid of it.

[00:02:54] So it's a real thing to say about sort of longevity of it.

[00:02:57] Yeah.

[00:02:57] Yeah.

[00:02:57] Do inside an organization.

[00:02:58] Yeah.

[00:02:58] I mean, it's sticky.

[00:02:59] Yeah.

[00:03:00] It travels well, right?

[00:03:01] For small organizations making their first foray, you know, into EMEA or UK or Australia.

[00:03:07] Yeah.

[00:03:07] So we see that.

[00:03:08] And, you know, plugging and playing other UKG products in with it.

[00:03:12] Yeah.

[00:03:12] So it's one of those things where I think, you know, as we look at the total platform of UKG products, right?

[00:03:18] There's just so many things I know that you guys have now.

[00:03:21] We have a broad portfolio.

[00:03:23] Yeah.

[00:03:23] Yeah.

[00:03:23] The one thing that I know that our audience is always talking to us about.

[00:03:27] Yeah.

[00:03:27] And that you guys are really on a sort of a journey with is Global.

[00:03:31] Yep.

[00:03:31] Right?

[00:03:32] Yep.

[00:03:32] You said you've already kind of had the edible present before.

[00:03:35] But UKG Pro was sort of stretched out a little bit.

[00:03:37] Yep.

[00:03:37] I know that the acquisition of the Global Payroll Company that you guys did last year was really important.

[00:03:42] Yep.

[00:03:42] Talk a little bit about how important it is for your customers, this expansion of Global.

[00:03:47] Yeah.

[00:03:47] And how's it changing the dynamics of the kind of RFPs you guys are in and the kind of conversations you're having.

[00:03:52] Yeah.

[00:03:53] Yeah.

[00:03:53] It's definitely expanding the RFPs we're in.

[00:03:55] It's definitely expanding the footprint, right, of offerings we're delivering, but customers we're serving, right?

[00:04:03] So when you think about the different bundles we have today, whether that's OneView, which is our global payroll platform, OneView connected with our pro HCM for like a North America-based multinational, really nice fit.

[00:04:17] But then when you think enterprise scale, right, and you think about our workforce management and our timekeeping business, right, which is enterprise, large enterprise, there's a really nice play there to take that global payroll offering, which fits really nicely with the time product.

[00:04:37] And so that's taking us into new areas, new opportunities, and new regions that we're truly thinking about, do we actually go deeper here?

[00:04:46] And so the workforce management piece, the time and pay and the time and global payroll is a big investment for us.

[00:04:53] We see in our data all the time that the reason people pick either when they go out and act for acquisition at a time, it says more or payroll system, the connection between those two is one of the most important things they're looking for, right?

[00:05:06] A hundred percent.

[00:05:07] So we know that that's in a big conversation in the market.

[00:05:10] Yep.

[00:05:10] I think everybody, to be real honest, was waiting for UMPG to kind of get there, right?

[00:05:14] Yep.

[00:05:14] Because it's been a long time coming, this idea that time management isn't just its own standalone solution.

[00:05:20] Yeah.

[00:05:20] Do you feel on the time management front, and that includes time and labor, it includes the scheduling conversation, in the absence of leave and our deficit, do you feel that there is a realistic ability to do a vulnerable time conversation for an organization?

[00:05:37] Because a lot of time foods see them having separate solutions by region.

[00:05:40] I really do.

[00:05:41] I really do.

[00:05:42] So we see that today in our customer base, right?

[00:05:45] In the flexibility of our workforce management product, right?

[00:05:50] Where you can have separate units, separate companies, right?

[00:05:54] Where you can pull the data up, you can report across companies, but you can have local instances, right?

[00:06:01] Where you've got specific configurations for local regions or whatever.

[00:06:05] So I really think it does really expand for that global customer who needs something a little bit different in each region they're in.

[00:06:13] It's complex with configuration, with the regulation, it's tracing.

[00:06:17] It is.

[00:06:18] Trust me.

[00:06:19] It is.

[00:06:19] And that's one thing that we got with the new OneView platform is the global compliance piece.

[00:06:25] They are really good with that.

[00:06:27] They are really expanding our offering in that space and really helping us understand how to dive into these global regions.

[00:06:35] So can maybe expand a little bit more on that when you say they're really helping?

[00:06:38] Is there a team that follows the compliance conversation there?

[00:06:41] There really is.

[00:06:42] Yeah.

[00:06:42] So with our OneView team, they have a compliance group within that team, right?

[00:06:48] Who is researching, understanding, and delivering out to the product and engineering organization.

[00:06:55] What are the new requirements that might be coming in for a given country?

[00:06:58] I mean, you think about EMEA.

[00:07:00] I mean, that's a million different, you know, regulations right in that small subset.

[00:07:04] So, yes, just like we have in sort of U.S. payroll and Canadian payroll where we're understanding all that, you know, new legislation, new regulatory stuff that's coming in.

[00:07:16] They're doing that on a global presence.

[00:07:18] It's one of the things that we're hearing in our data is that Orton's just struggling with that very focused need for compliance insight, not just data, right?

[00:07:28] And I think that's kind of what you're talking about.

[00:07:30] The other place where they're looking for insight is that engagement conversation.

[00:07:34] Yeah.

[00:07:34] You said you kind of oversee the hub that is around the great places to work conversation.

[00:07:41] We're seeing in our data that it's really tough right now to get engagement.

[00:07:45] We're seeing scores down on talent retention and talent acquisition and just all the things that HR attract for metrics.

[00:07:53] Yeah.

[00:07:54] It's a business.

[00:07:54] We know that.

[00:07:55] Yeah.

[00:07:55] But we also know that, you know, great places to work as a concept, right?

[00:07:59] Yep.

[00:08:00] People are looking to work for organizations that have a lot of focus on them as employees.

[00:08:06] Yeah.

[00:08:07] Can you talk a little bit about sort of how you guys are seeing that play out in what is oftentimes a really tactical conversation around time and attendance?

[00:08:15] Yeah.

[00:08:16] Yeah.

[00:08:16] What's really interesting is we are launching Great Place to Work directly with our WFM customers, right?

[00:08:22] Which had been a little bit of a gap.

[00:08:23] And so I think what customers get with the Great Place to Work Trust Index Survey, right, is sort of a trusted set of questions and analysis and benchmarks, which helps them sort of understand the engagement conversation, right?

[00:08:42] I mean, I think folks are really looking to get some guidance here, right?

[00:08:47] Because the last four or five years, right, we've been all over the place with engagement and such.

[00:08:52] So it gives them a little bit of a focused perspective on it.

[00:08:58] And then we're seeing a lot of customers will do the Great Place to Work Trust Index Survey, and then they'll do sort of quarterly touch points or pulse surveys with another survey tool.

[00:09:09] And they bring that together to really help their managers understand what it means to be a for-all leader directly for their team.

[00:09:18] So we're really excited about sort of bringing that across our portfolio of products.

[00:09:23] And then a little bit of inside information on, like, how they can connect it to other things, which I think is important, right?

[00:09:29] The one thing that we're finding in our data, and our audience knows this, right, is that there isn't a one-size-fits-all when it comes to vendors, right?

[00:09:35] There isn't an environment where we're finding that, you know, one solution need to meet every need.

[00:09:40] We're seeing this concept of what we call platform clusters map, which means organizations are really highlighting sort of not only what they offer, but what their partners offer.

[00:09:48] And I know that's been a big conversation for you, Gigi, talking about partnerships both on the level of sort of support and in the managed services area, but also into the vendors that you guys are now partnering with.

[00:10:00] Yeah.

[00:10:00] To me that this makes us a stronger organization.

[00:10:03] Yeah.

[00:10:03] How has that been working with the data development side?

[00:10:05] Because I know you're kind of on products, and the services on their side.

[00:10:08] Do you've been working in those conversations?

[00:10:10] Yeah, we really do.

[00:10:11] We have a close relationship with our alliances team and our partnership team.

[00:10:16] And honestly, what we do is we sort of sit down and say, look, these are the areas we're investing in.

[00:10:21] One area that we're looking at within my team is financial well-being, right?

[00:10:26] So there's a lot that aligns in with payroll and global payroll and employee pay, but that's a broad swath of opportunities, right?

[00:10:36] We're not going to hand-build all of those.

[00:10:38] We want partners to come into that mix for those areas like, you know, potentially coaching or savings and budgeting, right?

[00:10:47] Which might not be where we want to invest our technology and R&D dollars, but our customers want it, right?

[00:10:53] So if we can bundle that partner solution in, the better for our customers.

[00:10:58] Yeah, it is.

[00:10:59] And we're going to see a lot of this, I think.

[00:11:01] Our audience is very, I think, open to this conversation that I can connect the dots in a lot of different ways, right?

[00:11:11] Well, we've had a great conversation.

[00:11:12] I know we're wrapping up on sort of our 15 minutes here, but what I'm always upset about when I come to these events is that we get a chance to kind of dive under the covers a little bit.

[00:11:20] See how you guys are making these things work together.

[00:11:23] Yeah.

[00:11:23] Hopefully the audience has gotten a bit of a taste of sort of some of the stuff you guys are doing behind the scenes to sort of get all of this working.

[00:11:30] But as we sort of wrap up this conversation today, maybe two quick things.

[00:11:35] Sure.

[00:11:35] Sort of about what you're most excited about.

[00:11:37] Yeah.

[00:11:37] That you guys are launching kind of now.

[00:11:39] Yeah.

[00:11:39] I think every HR Tech we get a big launch.

[00:11:41] Yeah.

[00:11:42] For a few months.

[00:11:42] But then also, what are we most excited about seeing you here at the HR Tech Conference?

[00:11:46] Yeah.

[00:11:46] Those things would be great to get sense of.

[00:11:48] Yeah.

[00:11:48] So first thing, we're excited about launching some of the capabilities we just talked about.

[00:11:53] Great Place to Work Hub and our global platform OneView for our UKG Ready, right?

[00:11:58] Small and midsize organizations can be complex, can be global, right?

[00:12:03] So they need that engagement platform.

[00:12:06] They need the global payroll platform.

[00:12:08] So that and our AI capabilities with UKG Bright.

[00:12:11] So embedded into our SMB platform, we think it's really important for small organizations as well.

[00:12:17] So that's what I'm excited to share.

[00:12:19] I just want to say thank you for our AI bingo card that we didn't talk about some higher conversation.

[00:12:25] Just at the end.

[00:12:26] Just at the end.

[00:12:27] You got me.

[00:12:28] But I think, you know, that's what you're really saying.

[00:12:31] Then again, I want to be embedded a little bit more.

[00:12:32] So it's great to hear how you guys are thinking about that all broadly.

[00:12:35] Yeah.

[00:12:36] Yeah.

[00:12:36] So those are exciting things you guys are doing.

[00:12:38] I think everyone's probably going to want to check that out a little bit.

[00:12:41] Yeah.

[00:12:41] But most importantly, what are you most excited about here at Asia Tech?

[00:12:44] Yeah.

[00:12:44] So for me this year, I brought my team along and we're looking at financial well-being partnerships,

[00:12:49] like we talked about, right?

[00:12:51] So I want to know, like, what new technology is coming up in the space?

[00:12:54] I want to hear from some of the other vendors.

[00:12:56] What are you thinking about?

[00:12:57] What are you investing in?

[00:12:58] And so we've got some of our UPG Labs companies are here.

[00:13:02] So I'm excited to work with them and see what they're hearing.

[00:13:06] So that's my special interest this year.

[00:13:08] All right.

[00:13:08] Well, I'm excited to see that.

[00:13:09] Yeah.

[00:13:10] Last question.

[00:13:11] Yep.

[00:13:11] What swag are you looking for here?

[00:13:13] Oh.

[00:13:14] That's always a tough one.

[00:13:15] Well, I do have my Aperol Spritz right here.

[00:13:19] We were picking up some drinks too.

[00:13:20] So maybe the most important swag is drinking.

[00:13:23] All right.

[00:13:24] Thanks, everyone.

[00:13:25] Thank you.

[00:13:25] For the chance to get behind the scenes and we really appreciate it.

[00:13:28] Thank you for your time.

[00:13:29] Absolutely.

[00:13:30] Yeah.

[00:13:30] Nice.