Jody Burton, PHR, SHRM-CP, is a Senior HCM Implementation Consultant who brings over 20 years of Human Resources including 4 years of UKG Pro consulting experience to the HRchitect team. Jody’s number one priority as a member of the HRchitect consulting team is customer satisfaction and client data integrity. She works diligently to understand customer needs and strives to exceed expectations, always willing to go the extra mile. Jody’s extensive expertise within UKG Pro includes Open Enrollment & Life Events configuration and troubleshooting, custom report development, Platform Configuration (custom fields & calculations), functional testing, user security, complex workflow development, and implementing Benefits Administration (Benefits Prime) and other UKG modules including HR Services Delivery and Learning. She is skilled in data conversion, data migration, facilitating integrations, and running user acceptance testing (UAT)/parallel payroll testing.
Hometown: I was born in Norwalk, Connecticut, then lived in Apollo Beach, Florida, and then moved to Houston, Texas in 1978. I now live in Katy, Texas.
Alma mater: American Intercontinental University. I graduated in 2015 with a Degree in Business Administration and a minor in Human Resource Management. I’ve worked with UKG Pro (UltiPro) since 2005 and in 2013 became an HRIS manager for an oil and gas company in Houston. I later transitioned into the consulting world.
All-time favorite restaurant: I love Mexican food. Alicia’s Mexican Grille is my favorite restaurant.
Favorite TV series? I love Yellowstone. I can’t wait for Season 5.
What do you do when you’re not working? Practice my bass guitar. I started practicing a year ago. I am a huge music lover and love to attend live shows.
How did you find out about HRchitect, and what made you join the company? I heard of HRchitect over the years and thought the name was clever! I reached out to HRchitect in mid-2021 while I was working with Crystal Judd on my first Benefits Administration (Benefits Prime) implementation project at another UKG Implementation Partner. Crystal and I had previously attended a UKG Benefits Administration boot camp together about four years ago, and that is when I first heard of HRchitect.
How has your background impacted your experience as a consultant? My background in HR and benefits has extraordinarily helped me in being a consultant. I understand what the client is going through. I have been on the client’s side. I understand the pitfalls, urgency, and other issues that may arise. My background helps me better understand our client’s needs.
In your own words, what do you do at HRchitect? I am like a teacher. I work with the client to roll out the UKG modules that they have purchased such as Benefits, Performance, and BI Reports. I am a huge client advocate and am very client focused.
What’s a typical workday like for you? I make sure to set a standard schedule. I have calls throughout the day and when I am not on calls with clients or work sessions, I do project work such as configuration, research, testing, and creating BI/Customer reports.
Tell me about a project you’ve worked on that you’re particularly proud of. An energy client (oil/natural gas) just went live after about a year-long implementation project. I was responsible for the Client-Side Consulting Services throughout the lifecycle of the UKG system implementation.
What’s been one of your favorite destinations to travel to for work? I have loved going to Maryland and the Washington, D.C. area.
As part of a team that works 100% virtually, what technology or collaboration tools do you use to make your work life easier? Slack for internal team conversations, and OneNote.
What motivates you to wake up and go to work every day? I love my job! I love what I do! I love helping people overcome obstacles, solve problems, identify, and troubleshoot issues and build a system to make their life easier.
Which employee perk that HRchitect offers do you enjoy the most? Why? The unlimited PTO is key to my work-life balance. I also love that I can reach out to the management team with an issue and for any help I need. I can talk candidly with Matt Lafata, Erica Niesse, and my peers. Mistakes are used as growth opportunities and not to point the finger. Everyone in the company is always so supportive.
Learn more about Jody via LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jodypburton/