Automation, Employee Self-Service, and Collaboration
Chen started with the HR & Payroll solution – automating everything from onboarding and time reporting to open enrollment for benefits. One important consideration was employees working in the printing plants because they did not have easy access to desktop computers to log their time. Chen’s team installed computer stations throughout the company’s manufacturing facilities—in break rooms and at employee workstations—that functioned as Paylocity kiosks. Rather than having to waste time walking across the plant to punch in and out, employees now have a convenient way to clock-in, check company news, review schedules, payroll data, and more.
Next, the company rolled out Performance Management and Journaling, which helped managers engage their staff and provide productive feedback on a more regular basis than the old annual review model. This new cadence takes the emphasis of these conversations off of annual compensation reviews and focuses them more on ongoing development.
Recently, Chen rolled out Community, a social collaboration and communication hub for employees to stay current on important company updates and connect around specific projects, interests, and initiatives. Community maximizes productivity by enabling the company to share the most timely, relevant content and encouraging open dialogue while also helping to track employee engagement, attitudes, and needs.
Beyond HR and Finance
Chen believes Paylocity’s technology and best-practice approach has helped The Kennedy Group reinforce its emphasis on innovation and efficiency across the business. “Our organization is stronger, more agile, and more competitive as a result of our partnership with Paylocity,” he says.
The impact of Paylocity is being felt in multiple areas. Running payroll has become significantly more efficient, now taking just one person 90 minutes. In addition to the time savings, Paylocity Data Insights dashboards provide the latest data and trends on payroll, benefits costs, retention, turnover, hiring, and more, enabling The Kennedy Group to make smarter, more informed decisions. Detailed reporting capabilities help management allocate their resources more effectively, for example, by helping them see how many people are taking time off in any given time period and cross-referencing that data with production demand. Improved data management is saving them time as well. Before Paylocity, every 401(k) audit yielded action items because of inaccuracies resulting from manual 401(k) contribution processing. Since implementing Paylocity they have not had a single issue.
Continuous Improvement
The Paylocity product is always evolving and improving. To Chen, that means the addition of new capabilities and best practices that create more value for him, his team, and the business. Chen is always interested in opportunities to leverage new technologies and best practices to improve the way The Kennedy Group operates, and he’s confident that Paylocity is the right partner to deliver on those opportunities.