HRchitect’s Client-Side Services Drive Success for American Chemical Society’s UKG Pro WFM Implementation

Client Background

The American Chemical Society (ACS), one of the world’s largest scientific organizations, is a non-profit founded in 1876 that advances the broader chemistry enterprise and its practitioners. The ACS’s vision is to improve all people’s lives through the transforming power of chemistry. With nearly 1,900 employees throughout the United States and in their DC headquarters, ACS has remained committed to fostering innovation and collaboration across its workforce.

In support of these organizational goals, ACS recognized the need to modernize its workforce management system and decided to implement UKG Pro WFM, especially because payroll was already on UKG Pro. This transition was expected to create one integrated system for payroll and time. However, by the time HRchitect became involved in the project, ACS had already begun implementing the UKG Pro WFM system. HRchitect was uniquely positioned to step in as a client-side support partner and ensure the implementation was successful, aligned with ACS’s evolving needs, and was completed on time.

The Challenge

The primary goal for ACS was straightforward: to have one integrated system for payroll and time that would enhance both efficiency and visibility for the ACS HR team and employees. However, transitioning to UKG Pro WFM came with its share of challenges.

The HRchitect team was brought in as a client-side resource during the welcome phase of the UKG Pro WFM implementation, working alongside the UKG Professional Services team, which was leading the implementation engagement. ACS had several strategic goals for this project, including integrating functionality, improving business processes, and ensuring a timely organizational adoption of the new system. HRchitect’s role in the project was to address these priorities through strategic collaboration and technical expertise, acting as a client-side consulting resource.

Ultimately, the overarching project goal for all parties was to simplify business processes, improve employee and management experiences, and transition ACS to the UKG Pro WFM system to help the organization achieve operational excellence.

Client Profile

• One of the world’s largest scientific organizations.
• Headquartered in Washington, DC.
• 1,900+ employees.
• Partnered with HRchitect for client-side support for its UKG Pro WFM implementation
• 9x HRchitect client

The Project

HRchitect came on board as a client-side support partner to assist ACS with implementing the UKG Pro WFM system. HRchitect was essential as a knowledgeable and responsive resource to help the ACS team keep the client-side deliverables on track and alleviate stress for the ACS HR team.

This client-side engagement took on a flexible, results-driven approach, focusing on the following:

• Addressing Out-of-Scope Items: During the implementation process, the HRchitect team took on several deliverables initially considered out of the scope of the UKG Professional Services team’s engagement, but they were still of interest to ACS. HRchitect’s client-side resources leveraged the flexibility of the client-side contracting model to incorporate these items into the engagement. These additional tasks included technical consulting, and enhanced system testing.
• Employee Experience Tools: To empower employees and reduce administrative burden on ACS’s HR team, HRchitect implemented employee-facing features such as homepage tiles and data views. These tools gave employees greater visibility into their time, accruals, and payroll information.
• Testing and Quality Assurance: HRchitect worked alongside the ACS and UKG teams to conduct thorough testing, verifying the configurations aligned with ACS’s needs, and that the system functioned as expected across various use cases. A rigorous testing process minimized risk, improved the user experience, and supported an efficient rollout.

HRchitect remained an integral part of ACS’s implementation journey through this strategic support approach, focusing on delivering practical solutions, improving business processes, and enhancing technical readiness, building on the strong working relationship ACS and HRchitect built over the course of 8 previous consulting engagements.

Key Benefits

The HRchitect team’s involvement drove several key benefits for ACS and its employees:

• Enhanced Reporting & Notifications: HRchitect improved reporting workflows by integrating real-time data and automated notifications into ACS’s payroll processes.
• Increased Transparency for Employees: The customized homepage tiles and dataviews provided employees with improved self-service tools, giving them increased visibility without contacting HR directly.
• Reduced Administrative Burden: By providing employees with self-service visibility, HRchitect’s solutions reduced the ACS HR team’s administrative burden and allowed them to focus on strategic priorities rather than repetitive payroll inquiries.
• Optimized System Functionality: Through additional configuration and testing support, HRchitect ensured that the UKG Pro WFM system was tailored to meet ACS’s specific payroll and workforce management needs through additional configuration and testing support.

The Results

The project was a success; the results met ACS’s goals and the project was completed on time and within budget. HRchitect provided expert support to guide the project to completion by addressing out-of-scope challenges, implementing system configuration updates, and enhancing testing efforts. The ACS team expressed exceptional satisfaction with HRchitect’s ability to seamlessly integrate into the project, the collaborative approach taken by the HRchitect team, and the quality of deliverables. ACS shared this enthusiastic feedback through a Raven Intelligence review, emphasizing HRchitect’s professionalism, expertise, and ability to adapt to their needs.

The successful transition to UKG Pro WFM created a foundation for improved employee self-service, streamlined payroll preparation, and better reporting capabilities, strengthening ACS’s long-term ability to manage workforce processes efficiently. This project exemplifies HRchitect’s commitment to client success, collaborative problem solving, and technical expertise in complex system implementations.