Transforming HR Processes: How HRchitect Revitalized The H-J Family of Companies’ UKG Pro WFM Attendance System

Client Background

The H-J Family of Companies is a family-owned organization headquartered just outside of St Louis, Missouri. With a strong reputation in the transformers and switchgear sectors, The H-J Family of Companies emphasizes high-quality solutions tailored to various industries. They are committed to fostering a supportive work environment, place significant value on employee welfare, and employ approximately three hundred individuals across its U.S. offices. The H-J Family of Companies also has a sales presence in several countries worldwide, including Colombia, Spain, Mexico, Brazil, India, China, and the Philippines.

The Challenge

The H-J Family of Companies faced significant challenges with their previous attendance management system, which included:

• Inconsistent Policy Enforcement: Attendance policies were inconsistently enforced due to varying managerial approaches, leading to subjective interpretations of the client’s employee attendance policy. For example, some managers were more flexible regarding attendance, while others were stricter, resulting in confusion for employees.
• Lack of Objectivity: The existing system did not support clear objective attendance policies, resulting in misunderstandings between employees and managers. The policies were unclear and open to interpretation, making it difficult for managers to enforce them consistently.
• Technical Barriers: With minimal technical knowledge and a reliance on manual processes, employees were apprehensive about their new system. During the H-J Family of Companies’ initial UKG system implementation, before HRchitect stepped in to help, their HR team felt lost and requested a more thorough knowledge transfer. Furthermore, the H-J Family of Companies’ original attendance approach was a point-based system, but it didn’t translate well with the current configuration of their UKG attendance module.
• Small Project Team: Maintaining the old system was difficult for the H-J Family of Companies’ HR team, which consisted of two employees. The team was worried that their small size would be a barrier to their new UKG Pro WFM Attendance system, but they soon discovered that HRchitect is a force multiplier, amplifying the impact of small HR teams.

Client Profile

• Leading provider of solutions across transformers and switchgear sectors
• Headquartered in Missouri
• 300+ US employees
• Chose HRchitect to implement their UKG Attendance module

The Project

To address these challenges, The H-J Family of Companies opted to utilize HRchitect’s services. HRchitect was contacted to provide comprehensive implementation support, focusing on transforming The H-J Family of Companies’ vague attendance policies into measurable, enforceable standards within their new system. When HRchitect stepped in to help, HRchitect consultants kicked off a Phase 2 implementation of UKG Attendance, seeking to leverage its capabilities for more objective policy enforcement and integration with their new ERP system, Epicor. UKG Attendance would ensure consistency in policy enforcement, making the organization’s policies much more transparent and objective.

Additionally, The H-J Family of Companies chose UKG with plans to implement the system across their global offices, leveraging the UKG Suite’s powerful features that facilitate international integration.

Key Benefits

• Clear Policies: The transformation of the attendance policy into clear, measurable units enabled better adherence and understanding among employees and managers.
• Balanced Approach: The new UKG Attendance system struck a balance between subjective managerial discretion and objective policy enforcement, ensuring consistency across the organization. Managers could excuse absences when appropriate, while the point system allowed for consistent enforcement of attendance policies. Employees were assigned 0.5 points for minor infractions, such as missing a short shift but making up for the lost time. For more significant absences, like missing a full shift without making up the time, employees were assigned 1 point. PTO could also be used to offset absences, adding a layer of flexibility.
• Ongoing Support and Training: HRchitect offered continuous training and communication, including weekly recaps and recorded sessions, to support staff and address potential knowledge gaps. The recorded sessions also ensured The H-J Family of Companies retained all new knowledge about their attendance system in case someone missed long stretches of time and an in-person knowledge transfer was not possible.

The Results

The implementation of UKG Attendance yielded many positive outcomes. First, the attendance management process became more systematic and transparent, reducing administrative burdens on managers. The point system, along with the managers’ ability to excuse certain absences, provided the perfect balance between the structure that the organization needed and the flexibility to help empower employees. Next, the revised system allowed the H-J Family of Companies to recognize and amend previously vague language in their previous attendance policy, enhancing the overall effectiveness of their attendance management. Overall, the project was completed on time and within budget, leaving the client highly satisfied.

HRchitect’s consultants have a reputation for consistently providing white-glove service, adding immediate value to their clients, and acting as a natural extension of a client’s Human Resources team. That certainly held true in this client’s experience.

The client’s HR leader reflected that “our consultant was by far the best.” She took the necessary time to fully explain the ramifications of each option when a decision was needed. Based on the specific situations the team encountered during the project, their HRchitect consultant gave detailed feedback on the best practices and recommendations for what has historically gone well. She also provided weekly recaps to the H-J Family of Companies team and UKG.

HRchitect’s collaboration with The H-J Family of Companies resulted in a successful system transformation that improved HR processes and aligned with the client’s commitment to its employees and organizational values. The H-J Family of Companies has retained HRchitect for additional support services. They will continue to work with the same consultants for their future UKG support needs, ensuring continuity and added efficiency.