HRchitect Assists Burns Engineering with UKG Pro System Assessment & Optimization

Client Background

Burn’s Engineering is a U.S.-based engineering and consulting firm with a growing workforce and a need for efficient HR processes to support its operations. In 2017, the organization implemented the UKG Pro suite, including Core HR, Payroll, Performance Management, Compensation Management, Succession Management, Recruiting, and Onboarding, with the goal of streamlining HR operations and improving the employee experience.

While the system was operational for basic HRIS and payroll functions, configuration challenges, HR team turnover, and limited documentation from the original implementation created obstacles for the organization’s new HR leadership. To optimize the platform and fully leverage its capabilities, the client engaged HRchitect to provide expert guidance, align the system with business processes, and support the rollout of additional modules and best practices.

The Challenge

Although the UKG Pro platform had been implemented several years earlier, the system was not fully aligned with the client’s HR processes or business model. Configuration decisions made during the original implementation, combined with significant HR team turnover and limited documentation, created operational challenges for the organization’s new HR leadership team.

As a result, several modules remained underutilized or not fully implemented, and system errors and inefficient workflows required ongoing manual intervention. The client needed a clear path to stabilize the system, optimize existing configurations, and implement remaining functionality while ensuring their HR team could confidently manage and maintain the platform moving forward. To achieve these goals, the organization sought expert guidance from HRchitect to help realign the system with best practices and maximize the value of their UKG Pro investment.

The Project

Burn’s Engineering partnered with HRchitect to assess and optimize its existing UKG Pro environment. The engagement began with a comprehensive system assessment that evaluated configuration and platform utilization across key areas including payroll, reporting, security, recruiting, onboarding, performance management, compensation management, business processes, home page configuration, and employee life events. The goal of the assessment was to identify opportunities to better align the platform with the client’s HR operations and long-term business objectives.

Following the assessment, HRchitect delivered a detailed report outlining optimization opportunities and recommended next steps, complete with prioritization and estimated levels of effort. Working closely with the client’s HR and payroll teams, HRchitect then moved into the optimization phase, addressing foundational configuration elements such as security roles, organizational levels, job codes, and business process workflows to establish a stable platform for further improvements. Additional efforts included system utilization training for end users, reporting and business intelligence guidance, life event configuration updates, homepage enhancements, and resolving integration issues with third-party vendors.

Throughout the engagement, HRchitect collaborated with stakeholders across HR, payroll, and other departments to refine processes, implement best practices, and provide hands-on education to help the client’s team confidently manage the system moving forward. By prioritizing foundational improvements first and then addressing broader optimization opportunities, the project positioned the client to fully leverage the capabilities of UKG Pro while creating a more efficient and sustainable HR technology environment.

Key Benefits

Comprehensive system assessment and optimization roadmap
HRchitect conducted a detailed review of the client’s UKG Pro environment, identifying configuration gaps, underutilized functionality, and process inefficiencies, and delivering a prioritized roadmap for platform optimization.
Stronger system foundation for long-term success
HRchitect addressed foundational configuration elements, including security roles, organizational levels, job codes, and business process workflows, to ensure the system was properly structured and capable of supporting future improvements without downstream issues.
Improved system utilization and user confidence
Through targeted training and education for HR and payroll stakeholders, HRchitect empowered internal teams to better understand system capabilities, adopt best practices, and confidently manage the platform moving forward.
Enhanced reporting, integrations, and operational efficiency
By improving reporting capabilities, addressing integration issues with external vendors, and optimizing system workflows, HRchitect helped streamline HR operations and reduce manual administrative effort.
Collaborative approach driving sustainable change
Working closely with HR, payroll, and other stakeholders, HRchitect guided the organization through complex optimization decisions, ensuring changes were thoughtfully implemented and aligned with the client’s long-term business processes and culture.

The Results

Burns Engineering began to see immediate ROI upon engaging with HRchitect. Overall, Burns Engineering’s UKG Pro system is in a substantially better place than the system was before they engaged HRchitect. Beyond the system functionality, there has been a significant transformation in the client HR team’s confidence in utilizing the system. The team’s mindset shifted from a reluctance toward utilizing the platform to great confidence in the system and a thorough understanding of the current platform configuration. The client team feels well prepared to independently make configuration changes and their utilization of HRchitect has evolved from leveraging HRchitect to understand how to do something to currently leveraging HRchitect when they want advice on the best way to do something within the UKG Pro suite.

When HRchitect engages with a client to provide optimization and ongoing support for any HCM technology platform, the end result is always to educate the client and enable the client to be self-sufficient in their use of the platform. The Burns Engineering HR organization has done a fantastic job doing just that, resulting in tremendous benefits for their organization.

Looking to the future, this client will continue to optimize their UKG Pro system with the utilization of Business Intelligence and Events Studio to create more automated notifications and automated reports. The client has realized throughout this project how important it is to report on HR KPIs and is leveraging HRchitect’s reporting expertise to have these reports created and automated for easy future use.

HRchitect Assists Burns Engineering with UKG Pro System Assessment & Optimization

Client Background

The Challenge

Client Profile

Why HRchitect?

The Project

Key Benefits

The Results

Client Profile

Why HRchitect?

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