Key Points

• Organizations achieving transformational business results with UKG include City of Detroit, Hawaiian Airlines, and Six Flags
• Accomplishments include multi-million-dollar savings, innovations in employee engagement and frontline worker experience, and successful strategies for diversity, equity, and inclusion
• Record number of submissions received from organizations of all sizes across all industries

UKG, a leading provider of HR, payroll, workforce management, and culture solutions, announced 13 winners of its annual Innovation Awards at UKG Aspire, which recognize organizations leveraging the power of their UKG partnership to inspire employees, build great workplaces, and drive exceptional business results.

“Our Innovation Award winners exemplify that their partnership with UKG transcends world-class technology: it’s about cultivating a culture that embodies their organization’s core purpose,” said Bob DelPonte, executive vice president of customer experience at UKG. “We take immense pride in leveraging our deep industry expertise and data insights to help customers achieve profound business outcomes and create exceptional workplaces in groundbreaking ways.”

A record number of Innovation Award submissions were received in 2024, culminating in 13 customers being recognized for partnering with UKG to deliver transformative and long-lasting results in support of their people and their business objectives:

Enterprise organizations (15,000+ employees)

• Menzies Aviation used its UKG^® solution and the UKG Pro^® mobile app as the central location for all 55,000 global employees to access information related to pay, work schedules, and vacation requests, and is rolling out the UKG Talk^® solution to communicate business wins and critical information company-wide, in an effort to create a culture of belonging, connection, and engagement.
• Six Flags Entertainment processed more than 166,000 AI-powered shift and time-off requests in the UKG Pro Workforce Management™ solution in 2024 — saving 5,500 manual hours. It also experienced a 70% improvement in compliance audits by automating approvals to ensure shifts are only assigned to certified associates and comply with local, federal, and company requirements.

Large organizations (2,501 - 14,999 employees)

• Chimes International, leveraging payroll in the UKG Pro^® suite, saved $240,000 annually in payroll department labor costs, achieved $100,000 in savings and reduced its carbon footprint by eliminating HR and payroll paper processes, and reduced new hire onboarding from six to two weeks, which the company credits for overall lower turnover rates.
• City of Detroit created a culture of transparency through its UKG Pro solution, including an 85% adoption of a new performance management process that creates a continuous feedback loop between managers and employees and uses deep data insights to facilitate professional growth.
• Community Health System achieved $2.8 million in cost savings by using UKG solution to reduce missed employee meal breaks and unapproved timecards while simultaneously creating more accurate staff scheduling, which has improved productivity, operational efficiency, and patient-care outcomes.
• Encore pioneered a first-of-its-kind Overtime Savings Program through UKG Wallet™ that provides financial stability for U.S. frontline team members by letting them bank overtime pay — a portion of which the company matches — that they can draw from in the future when their hours may vary due to seasonal fluctuations impacting the hospitality industry.
• Hawaiian Airlines leveraged HR service delivery in UKG to empower its around-the-clock, on-the-move workforce — including pilots and flight attendants — with access to critical HR information when and where they need it.
• SavATree saved more than $1.5 million by leveraging learning management in the UKG Pro suite. These savings came from field-based workers completing training courses on their mobile device, which decreased turnover and increased employee engagement while reducing overall recruiting, training, and print material costs.

Medium-sized organizations (201 – 2,500 employees)

• Gillette Children's Hospital leveraged diversity metrics from the UKG Pro suite to overhaul its recruitment practices, increasing diverse hires from 9.19% to 13%. Self-service options in the UKG suite give employees ways to self-identify pronouns, gender, and LGBTQ+ status, all in support of embracing the bigger picture, one of Gillette’s organizational values focused on inclusivity and belonging.
• Hydro-Gear achieved $175,000 in annual cost savings with learning management in the UKG Ready^® suite, saw $95,000 in cost avoidance by rolling out benefits administration, and is leveraging recruiting to expedite hiring, resulting in more qualified candidates being identified earlier in the process.
• ReVision Energy moved annual performance reviews to quarterly conversations between managers and employees via the UKG Ready suite, which has supported more connected and motivated teams thanks to timely, relevant, and actionable feedback. UKG also helps ensure employees are compliant with industry standards and helps track professional licenses and certifications in an efficient and consistent way.

Small organizations (75 – 200 employees)

• KC Care Center leveraged the power of Great Place To Work^® Trust Index™ Surveys to listen closely to employees and develop strategies to ultimately become Great Place To Work^® Certified™ in 2024 for the first time. The UKG Ready suite also helped create performance-based salary increases, which had been a top request from employees.
• R.E. Darling Co. dramatically streamlined payroll and HR processes with its UKG Ready suite, eliminating payroll-related errors to ensure employees are paid accurately and on time. Additionally, reporting and analytics now help monitor and manage workplace safety, and managers can identify skills gaps and offer targeted training to foster continuous learning and career growth.

About UKG

At UKG, our purpose is people. We are on a mission to inspire every organization to become a great place to work through HCM technology built for all. More than 80,000 organizations across all sizes, industries, and geographies trust UKG HR, payroll, workforce management, and culture cloud solutions to drive great workplace experiences and make better, more confident people and business decisions. With the world’s largest collection of people data, work data, and culture data combined with rich experience using artificial intelligence in the service of people, we connect culture insights with business outcomes to show what’s possible when organizations invest in their people. To learn more, visit ukg.com.

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