Adapting Your Open Enrollment to Today’s Workforce

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So much has changed in the year 2020 that even yearly business processes, like Open Enrollment, have to adapt to meet our team’s needs. With employees working remotely one of the biggest, and often overlooked, changes that companies need to consider is updating (or sometimes creating) their internal communication strategy to fit their workforce. Open Enrollment highlights a challenge that many companies are faced with today, how do you effectively communicate with an entire team who no longer reports to one central location? The short answer to this question is: proactively.

Watch the recording of our webinar covering this topic in more detail:

Click here to download the slides used during this presentation
Click here to read our blog – UKG Pro Open Enrollment: Simplified.

Communicating During Open Enrollment:

Keeping your team well informed on what their options are for Open Enrollment and when your sessions are open is crucial, and although this year it may need to look a little different it does not have to be any less effective.

Start your process by identifying your team and making sure you are all prepared for a smooth UKG Pro Open Enrollment. There are certain aspects of Open Enrollment configuration that are vital and should not be overlooked, see our blogs on Open Enrollment: Simplified and Best Practices for Effectively Managing Open Enrollment for more information around UKG Pro Core Open Enrollment.

Once your team decides on when you will hold your open enrollment session(s) it is time to schedule a presentation to communicate with your broader audience. This presentation is your opportunity to communicate everything open enrollment with your employees, so make sure that your open enrollment team recognizes how important it is. Start by identifying who will be the presenter, and then make sure the whole team supports them in their efforts to deliver a concise and relevant presentation that covers the appropriate content.

When scheduling when your team will deliver the presentation to your whole team, we recommend scheduling multiple presentations at varying times and on different days. Doing this will consider anyone who may be on vacation time or on a different shift. Try to schedule these presentations far in advance and get them on people’s calendars early, but remember, once you put something on a corporate calendar try as hard as you can not to move it. Rescheduling meetings can give the impression that your team is not prepared, even if that’s not the case.

Although the presentation you are preparing is extremely important, there are more supporting documents you should consider preparing to ensure your employees have everything they need to successfully complete their open enrollment sessions. These documents include:

  1. An invitation: A formal invitation letting your team know when the information sessions will be held for open enrollment. The invitations should be clear and include important information such as open enrollment dates as well as who to contact should they have any questions.
  2. Reminders: Remind your team of when the information sessions will take place, make sure they know that they can choose which one to attend and remind them of the type of information you will be going over. Use your existing communication tools to remind your team about this often, use #slack, e-mail, intranet pages and company huddles or meetings to remind your team to make sure every employee knows what to expect.
  3. A Presentation: The actual slides that your presenter will use are important, avoid the temptation of filling each slide with information, that will detract from the actual presentation. Instead, use the slides to communicate important points. Your presentation should begin and end with who your team can contact if they run in to any issues or have any questions about their sessions.
  4. “Benefits at a Glance” Document: This document should review your employee’s benefits and their different options in a concise way. At Mosaic, this document is also used during orientation, it’s a great way for employees to see all the benefits provided by your company in one central location. We also recommend modeling costs of common medical needs across your plans for an example; if you can show your employees what they would pay if they have a baby or break a leg, they will be able to make the best decisions for them and their families.
  5. An FAQ Document: An Frequently Asked Questions document is a great way to stay proactive. Your Open Enrollment team has probably been involved in this process before, ask them to think back to previous years, what questions do they have to answer every year? What information are employees always looking for? Use that data and put together a document to answer their questions before they even ask them!
  6. Follow-up: It is still important to follow-up with your team after your presentations. Make sure your follow-up includes a recording of your presentation as well as the slides you used during your presentation. Your follow-up should be before your open enrollment sessions close, so that your employees have time to review their options and make their elections.
  7. Office Hours: Finally, you should consider holding open office hours, communicate with your team when you are available to answer their questions and keep a line open for them to contact you during that time. This will make sure your team feels supported during this process and although they cannot come by your office to ask questions, they will still have a way to communicate with you in case they need any assistance.

With these assets prepared you will not only be able to keep your open enrollment project team on the same page but also ensure your entire team is prepared to complete their elections and have a smooth open enrollment experience.

Note: UKG Pro was formerly Ultipro.

A Strategic Focus On Payroll

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A Strategic Focus on Payroll

Let’s be honest, the expectation of payroll is that it can be nothing but perfect; every.single.time. Every person expects payroll to be on time and accurate. Often, the perception of the impact of payroll stops there, and we believe that is a missed opportunity.

Payroll can influence and impact a company at every level. For a payee something as simple as speed of pay can impact their entire experience within a company and their families. Implementing methods to give employees more control over that speed, like pay on demand, can have a huge impact on their personal lives. On the other hand, a CEO should consider the cost of getting payroll out the door, as well as how it helps retain and recruit top talent. Leveraging technology, optimization and new strategies can help elevate payroll professionals to the point where they become agents of change, dedicated to their team’s experience and completely aligned with their organization’s strategy and health.

Watch the video recording of our webinar on this topic below:

Click here to download the slides used during our presentation

As simple as paying people on time and accurately sounds, payroll is actually quite complex. People depend on their pay and one negative experience with an employee’s paycheck is difficult to recover from. An error can carry a perception that the organization is disorganized and doesn’t care.

With all this in mind, it is surprising that many organizations still perceive payroll as a back-office or “overhead team” who needs to simply get people paid on time and accurately.

Payroll in and of itself is more than just hours times rate of pay or a per pay period amount. Employers are tax collectors for the state, federal and local governments. Every time one of these agencies (and there are hundreds) makes a change there is a downstream impact on an organization’s team. Many employees don’t even realize that moving, even one street over, can have an effect on their paychecks. Let’s factor in benefits and deductions to pay such as garnishments, philanthropic contributions and commuting expenses! Is it before tax after tax and where do all these deduction monies go?  Who is sending them and when?  Payroll has so many moving pieces that extend well beyond gross to net calculations.

These activities are all heavily scrutinized and require a body of talent focused on accuracy, compliance, risk and most importantly delivering a perfect employee experience by simply… processing pay PERFECTLY EVERY TIME.

Attention and significant importance must be put on payroll within every organization. Payroll is not a set it and forget it function, it must evolve just as any other business activity to ensure your organization remains risk adverse and supports the organization’s overall business strategies. While processing payroll perfectly and timely is key; having a payroll strategy is a differentiator, ensuring you are optimizing your payroll procedure and systems, retaining your talent and influencing organizational success.

Click here to view our payroll optimization case study. Where Mosaic experts helped our client align their payroll processes to the company’s overarching strategy.

How can I start implementing a payroll strategy?

Start by asking simple questions. Look for ways to reduce complexity and increase efficiency. Pay groups and pay frequencies are often areas that once they are established are overlooked; and these can have a significant impact on an organization’s bottom line and drivers to greater efficiency. As you think about things like pay groups and pay frequencies consider other things that are unique to your organization. Are there any old processes that need to be revisited?

You can also consider and leverage technology and services that are available to optimize your payroll. In UKG Pro, for example, you could consider:

  • Activating employee self-service and workflows: They are a great way to improve accuracy, efficiency and streamline your environment. Some examples include enabling, adding or changing direct deposits or tax changes.
  • Manager self-service: Is a great way to speed up job changes and pay changes, reducing the need for calculating retroactive payments.
  • Job aids: Depending on what automation you already have established, now might be a good time to create job aids to help new employees that come on board get familiar with your environment.
  • UKG Pro Mobile: Can be another way of giving employees immediate access to their information right from their smartphone virtually anywhere!
  • Automation: Are your payroll deductions being automatically sent to the appropriate vendors or agencies? For example: Retirement plans and garnishments. With Automation, not only do you reduce the risk of timely deposits, you also remove any human omissions, errors and manual effort.
  • GL file optimization: Is your GL File automated? Does it require a lot of manual manipulation? We’ve published a full blog on GL File Optimization that could help you get started.
  • Consider instant pay: Pay on demand, or instant pay, is when an employee can access part of their earned salary on demand. This emerging service, which in many cases has no cost to the organization, is helping companies improve their employee experience. Contact us to learn more.
  • Custom BI Reporting: Mosaic offers custom reports including the Mosaic Payroll Dashboard. This dashboard it allows the strategic payroll team to serve up information to management and executive teams that showcase things like: exceptions to pay, a dynamic earnings trend chart, pay period activity with detailed drill down capabilities, PTO balances, pre-check statistics and payroll process progress monitoring, just to name a few. This type of information is often discussed at the leadership level, but not often served up proactively by payroll. This information can really make a difference and allows for more informed decision making.

Feel free to contact us today with any questions about our services.

Note: UKG Pro was formerly Ultipro.

What is Contingency Payroll?

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What is Contingency Payroll:

  • Contingency payroll is a term used to describe backup payroll processing support typically used in emergency situations. At Mosaic, we offer contingency payroll services to UKG Pro clients. Clients who seek contingency payroll services typically fall in one of two categories:
    • Event Preparedness: Clients will seek out contingency payroll service as a proactive support model to mitigate risks associated with unplanned events such as a natural disaster or unexpected staffing changes, which may affect their ability to complete their payroll seamlessly.
    • Short Term Backup: Clients who have a short term need for someone to manage their payroll, often referred to as short term staff augmentation. A short term need like this could be brought on by many different business situations, for example, planned leaves of absences or merger and acquisition activities including divestitures.

How would contingency payroll work within my company?

  • Payroll Shadowing:
    • The first step is to shadow how your company processes payroll. The shadowing should take place from the beginning of the process (after your employee’s time has been approved) and should end with the creation of a GL file. Payroll shadowing can be conducted on site at a client’s offices or virtually leveraging video conference technology and screen sharing.
  • Incorporate Best Practice & Efficiencies:
    • During the shadowing process, your contingency payroll provider should learn your organization’s current way of processing payroll while looking for ways to incorporate best practices and efficiencies through automation.
  • Standard Operating Procedure (SOPs) & Payroll Processing Checklist
    • The output from the payroll shadowing is a comprehensive operating procedure which details your organization’s payroll processing from start to finish in narrative form. The SOPs are leveraged to process your organization’s payroll during regularly scheduled shadowing’s or when an emergent need is enacted. The SOP’s are reviewed and updated as changes in your organization’s process occurs.
      • For example, for Mosaic Contingency Payroll clients, the Mosaic team will perform a minimum of four payroll shadows or independent processing. During the scheduled shadows, the team follows the client’s SOPs, ensuring any edits or updates are made. Scheduled shadowing’s are critical to the success of Contingent Payroll Service because they ensure the team remains current on the organization’s payroll and the SOPs remain accurate. Mosaic clients often take advantage of the quarter scheduled independent processing for their in-house payroll team to schedule time off, complete training, or use their time for other projects.
    • In addition to the SOPs a comprehensive payroll checklist is created specific to the steps, tasks or processes which must be completed to ensure a payroll process is completed accurately and consistently.

Why should I consider contingency payroll?

  • Peace of mind: knowing that your company is covered at the drop of a hat, regardless of the situation. With contingency payroll services you know there is a safety net and your most essential employee needs will be met.
  • Payroll Best Practice and Process Improvement: our UKG Pro subject matter experts leverage best practice and industry standards to make recommendations about your current way of processing and incorporate them into your future payroll processing.
  • Documented Payroll Process: following your current state shadowing, best practice and process improvements are incorporated resulting in the output of your organization’s documented payroll process. This ensures your organization’s needs are met, your payroll operations are streamlined and during periods of scheduled or emergent situations your end to end payroll process can be picked up and processed virtually.

Taking the benefits of contingency payroll one step further, some clients consider completely outsourcing their payroll processes. This outsourced payroll offering is also known as Managed Payroll. There are many benefits to managed payroll and can include:

  • Peace of mind: Contingency payroll ensures you are covered in case of an emergency but by completely outsourcing your payroll you ensure experts will manage your process and it will be done correctly, every time
  • Strategic focus: Managed payroll also removes the day to day tactical duties off your team and allows them to focus on strategic business initiatives
  • Compliance: With managed payroll you don’t have to worry about new/updated rules and regulations for compliance, payroll law changes frequently, but your managed payroll team will ensure your payroll is compliant and up to date
  • Best practices: The payroll experts managing your process will implement best practice and continued process improvements
  • Avoiding mistakes: With managed payroll you can count on experts to follow your processes consistently
  • Enhanced security and reduced fraud: Managed payroll ensures segregation of duties which removes the risk associated manual manipulation after time files have been approved
  • Staffing changes: After any unexpected team changes, or a reduction in force, you may not want to backfill a position, outsourcing may be the way to go

Note: UKG Pro was formerly UltiPro.

Automated Integrations with UKG Pro: Everything in One Place

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Value of Automation

Regardless of your industry, automation can help you grow, innovate and succeed. It is a great tool and asset that is constantly improving the way we do business. If you have any process or procedure that can be automated, it is very important that you consider it. Gained time and resources are only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the benefits of automation. This blog will specifically focus on automation when it comes to UKG Pro HCM and how integrating secondary applications to UKG Pro can benefit you and your team.

What Applications can be Integrated in to UKG Pro?

The applications and business use cases are endless. Some common applications we see integrated with UKG Pro are ancillary HCM applications, Active Directory, Identity and Provisioning Systems, and Learning Management Systems. The sky is the limit. As long as there is a relationship between UKG Pro and the secondary system, an automated integration should be considered.

UKG Pro is the perfect system of record for employee data. A system of record is the ultimate truth. Meaning, it is a great place to have all important employee data and files centralized, so you know that when you are checking UKG Pro, you are checking the place with the most up to date information.

If you currently use systems outside of UKG Pro to manage things like recruiting and onboarding, travel management, learning management, etc., implementing an automated integration can help reduce manual labor, freeing your team to be empowered to focus on innovation and business growth. Automation can also reduce human error and eliminate the potential for fraud. Reducing how many times people interact with data ensures the cleanliness and the integrity of that data.

What Tools do I Have to Integrate and Automate Within UKG Pro?

You have options when it comes to integrating with UKG Pro. You can use different type of integrations and different tools and methods to complete those. We held a webinar on this exact topic, specifically focusing on UKG Pro API capabilities. The video below is a recording of that webinar. In it we review UKG Pro’s capabilities of extracting and importing data as well as different options and use cases for each:

Click here to download the slides so you can follow along.

Important Definitions Regarding Automated Integrations with UKG Pro:

  • API: Technically an API is a set of procedures allowing the creation of applications that remotely access the data and/or features of an application. Think of an API as a door, that allows you to retrieve specific data from the application.
  • API End Point: An API End Point is a URL used in programming that accepts API requests. If an API is door, the API End Point is the door’s address, it guides you to get there. These End Points allow software to request information from an application to be used in a secondary one.
  • Middleware: Middleware is software that acts as a bridge between 2 or more applications. Middleware can bee seen as the middle-ground between two applications that are being integrated, it is where they both speak the same language.
  • Single Direction: Data flowing in single direction
  • Bi-Directional: Data flowing in two directions from an application

Mosaic Consulting Group can help you and your team get the most out of UKG Pro. Contact us today to learn more.

Note: UKG Pro was formerly Ultipro.

5 Keys To Unlocking Year End

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It’s that time of year again – time to prep for year end. Year End can be a hectic time for you and your team but UKG Pro has the tools you need to stay on track and make this the smoothest year end yet. In the past, we’ve covered The Many Moving Parts of a Successful Year End and we’ve also presented you with tips on how to Simplify Your Year End. This year, we are going to dive in to the 5 Keys to Unlocking Year End.

Watch the recording of our webinar on this topic here:

Click here to download the slides used during the webinar

Key One – Make sure your system is set up for 2019.

It may seem counterintuitive but first, look back, not forward. Make sure your UKG Pro system is set up for the current year. Year End is your last chance to make sure that everything is set up properly.  First, review every location that had payroll in 2019 for an active tax ID – federal, state, local, and unemployment.

Next, ensure all employees have a valid Social Security numberby running a BI query with employee name, number, and Social Security number. Things to monitor:

  1. Social Security numbers do NOT start with a “9”.Taxpayer IDs can start with “9”, but they are not valid SSN numbers for employment.
  2. Social Security numbers will not have sequential zeroes in one section.Of the three sections in a social security number: three digits / two digits / four digits there are no cards where one of those sections is all zeroes.

The next step is to run a report out of BI to check W4s for the year. Check for:

  • Blocked: In UKG Pro, blocked means that an employee marked “Exempt” on the W4 form, and no income tax is being withheld, but their wages are still being reported to the IRS. In this case, the employee will need to submit a new W4 form by February 15, 2020 in order to keep this exemption.
  • Exempt: an employee marked as exempt in this report is earning wages not being reported to the IRS, and taxes are not being withheld. The only employees eligible for this are employees on certain types of work visas.
  • Finally, check employees with Lock In Letters. This is a letter from the IRS that requires you to set the employee’s withholding in a specific way. Review these and ensure they are still in effect.

The last thing to check in this key is is primary location assignment. This is especially important if you implemented UKG Pro this year, or you had an acquisition and brought in openingbBalances for the year. This is something that can be missed and, if you didn’t process any payroll for the employee in 2019, it would not be caught. Until you tried to print W2s, that is.

Key Two – Plan for All the Printing

If you are planning on printing your forms in-house, you must order supplies in advance. These forms are dated, so be sure to order enough forms to print one for every employee who did not opt out of a printed form (including terminations), plus extra for overflow pages, paper jams, and running out of toner (we recommend around +10%).

Key Three – Validate Everything

Your tax reconciliations should be performed after every payroll. For Year End, you will need to rerun them for each quarter and for the quarter to date. Note  any corrections that need to be made (i.e. moving wages from one state to another). The most important thing to look for are FICA taxes that are incorrect and do not offset on the next check.

Next, you must validate your year end tables and run the W2 summary. Compare the W2 summary to the Wage Summary report – these numbers should match, as they pull from the same tables, so if they don’t, there is a problem.

Use the Payroll Balancing Worksheet to doublecheck your numbers. You can find this in the customer support portal of your UKG Pro Instance.

Key Four – Prepare for 2020.

At the opening of your first payroll of 2020, UKG Pro will update some settings automatically — tax rates, annual limits for things like 401(k) and FSA contributions — But there are still a few things to review to ensure the first payroll of 2020 runs smoothly.

First, update the 2020company holidays table. Include any bank holidays that will impact your payroll calendar. Why?  You cannot run payroll on a bank holiday, so putting those in the system will allow UKG Pro to automatically adjust your payroll calendar for 2020 by moving any paydays on holidays to the day before or after.

Next, extend your pay calendar for 2020. This needs to be done before you can open that first 2020 payroll.

At this point, we recommend publishing an internal payroll calendar. Click here to download an example calendar. This is a 2020 calendar with important payroll dates on it, for example, the last day to make changes, the day the time is extracted from the timekeeping system, and the day payroll is posted.

Year End is a good time to clean up your deduction and earning codes. If you have codes you aren’t using, mark them inactive and if you have codes that you know aren’t set up right, or are missing, take this time to fix them or add them to make 2020 as smooth as possible.

Key Five – Relax – you’ve got this.

Lastly, take a deep breath and know that you can do this! Year End can seem daunting, but you have plenty of time. If you get stuck or confused, contact Mosaic today! We are happy to help you make Year End a non-event.

Note: UKG Pro was formerly Ultipro.

UKG Pro General Ledger (GL): Deciphered

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UKG Pro contains General Ledger functionality that captures payroll transactions and outputs them into a file formatted for import into your company’s financial system. When implemented and configured correctly, this GL function can eliminate or reduce manual manipulation of the data — which in turn reduces human error and improves compliance. Auditors love this type of automation, and your team will too! An optimized GL will allow your team to focus on bigger tasks, by freeing up time and improving efficiency.

GL: What It Is, Why It’s Important

Companies record their financial activity in a General Ledger (GL). This General Ledger is used for financial reporting, planning and compliance. GL affects every department within your company. From an HR and Payroll standpoint, GL is used for payroll recording as well as any forecasting and planning.

Scroll down to the end of this post to review our GL Glossary.

What causes GL challenges?

During your UKG Pro launch, or implementation, your GL will be configured. This includes setting up Organization Levels, GL Rules, and the GL export file and/or reports. (see our glossary at the bottom of this post for full definitions on these and other concepts).

During this initial configuration it is important to consider:

  • Finance, Payroll and HR: GL rules define how transactions are mapped and affect all three departments. If only one department is involved in the decision-making process; it’s possible that something will get missed, forcing another department to manipulate the data they receive. All departments should be part of the conversation.
  • Translations: Finance, payroll and HR departments don’t speak the same language! Each discipline has different words for similar concepts; for example, Departments versus Cost Centers. UKG Pro allows you to translate these words in a way that all departments will have the information they need at the end of each payroll.
  • Prepare for change: Consider where your company is now and where it is going. As you grow, so must your GL rules and tables. Your team should think strategically while implementing your system. Make sure to have your tables reviewed periodically to ensure that they still work the way you need them to for your current organizational structure.

So, what now?

At the end of the GL Process, you will have access to a GL Export File. This file, configured within UKG Pro, contains the required data for your financial system. If someone on your team is spending time manipulating this data, that is a sign that something needs to be optimized within your system.

The GL rules within UKG Pro are so configurable that they should work FOR you. Although it is not an accounting software, UKG Pro has the functionality, out of the box, to simplify your processes and make sure your data is clean and transferable across all departments.

If you believe you need a GL Review or have questions about how to optimize your system’s functionality, feel free to contact us today.

GL Glossary:

Components of UKG Pro GL configuration:

  • GL Base Account: The GL Base Account codes are used as the fixed portion of your General Ledger (GL) account number.
  • GL Segment Sequence: GL account numbers consist of cost center information, base accounts, and constant values that are unique to your accounting system. These components are referred to as segments of the general ledger.  Segment Sequences are sections linked together to form the GL account number. Your company defines which components are valuable for reporting, budgeting, and analysis.
  • GL Rules: The GL Rules defines how payroll transactions are mapped and reported on the GL export file or GL reports.  Mapping components on the GL Rules table include the GL Type Code, Payroll code (earning, deduction, or tax), base account, and segment sequence.

GL Export File:
An export template is configured in UKG Pro to allow the export of payroll data required for the financial system.  The export extracts its data from the General Ledger/Labor Allocations table. The resulting GL file includes the sum of debit and credit amounts by general ledger (GL) account number.

Organization (Org) Levels
Org levels in UKG Pro are typically used to classify employees based on a specific group for the purpose of reporting and/or GL posting. Examples of classification types include:

  • Cost Centers
  • Business Units
  • Region.

GL Type Code – each type of payroll transactions is identified with a GL Type Code.  The GL Type Code will assist with troubleshooting items that may appear on the GL Suspense Detail report.

GL Type Code
GL Type Code  General Ledger Code  Description  Debit  Credit
EE Earnings expense Debit  
DE EE Deduction payable   Credit
TE EE Taxes payable   Credit
NC EE Net pay checks   Credit
ND EE Net pay direct deposit   Credit
TR ER Taxes expense Debit  
TL ER Taxes liability   Credit
DR ER Deduction expense Debit  
DL ER Deduction liability   Credit

GL Suspense Detail report – this report is generated after the GL process is run.  If all payroll items are mapped on the GL Rules table, this report will be blank.  If items exist on this report, the GL Rules table must be updated to map that code.  Once mapped, the GL Process must be re-run.

Labor Allocations and the Auto Allocate feature are not necessarily part of GL and although commonly are used; they may not be used by every company. They are included in this list because they will affect the GL file.

  • Labor Allocations allow you to automatically or manually allocate your employees’ earnings and hours worked to cost centers such as departments, divisions, or projects.
  • The Auto Allocate feature allocates all employees’ wages according to a percentage, not specific time worked. This method is typically used for auto paid employees. Labor allocations for hourly employees can also be defined using the manual allocation method (such as through a time clock import)

If you believe you need a GL Review or have questions about how to optimize your system’s functionality, feel free to contact us today.

Open Enrollment: Simplified

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UltiPro offers you a variety of tools to help make open enrollment easier for your HR and payroll team. Whether you have an employee population of 30 or 30,000, the basic tenets of open enrollment are the same: develop a good attack plan and start early! Essential steps of your strategic plan for Open Enrollment include:

  • Having the right people to have on your team (and when to involve them)
  • Advance planning and scheduling
  • Tools from Ultimate and how to use them
  • A comprehensive OE checklist to guide the team’s efforts
  • Proper configuration; data management; and reporting

Watch our webinar on this topic here: 

To download the slides used during the webinar on this topic, click here

The Right People at the Right Time

Your Open Enrollment team should include the following roles:

  • System administrator – to configure the business rules and the OE session(s)
  • Benefits administrator – who will confirm benefits start and stop dates
  • Payroll administrator – who will confirm pay period dates.

These roles do not need to be assigned to three separate people, as long as these critical functions are represented on your OE planning team. Also important are testers, to provide a dry run on your OE sessions from the end users’ point of view and identify potential confusion or errors so you can make necessary tweaks in the process.

Advance Planning is Critical

The key to a smooth OE process is to start early! If your OE process is during Q4, as many are, you should be starting the planning process in late Q2 or early Q3, to finalize as many details about the process as possible, and begin advance communication to other departments who will serve as your partners in the process. Let them know what their part is and what you will need from them, and when.

Make the Most of What Ultimate Offers You

Ultimate’s toolkit provides guided tours, checklists and reports that walk you through all critical and post-open enrollment activities, and are vital for a successful open enrollment. Your project team should review the toolkit together. The toolkit covers planning; analysis and configuration; configuration and testing; final preparation; go-live; monitoring; and post-open enrollment.

Reports, Configuration and Data Management

Ultimate offers several standard reports in the web and through business intelligence (BI) that can help your HR team before, during and after Open Enrollment. Standard reports include:

  • Enrollment status
  • Dependents beyond qualifying age
  • Employees with benefit group changes
  • COBRA dropped dependents
  • Summary of elections
  • Employees with pending evidence of insurability

Be sure to review all your open enrollment custom reports from the prior year to make sure all data is complete, both for your internal team and your OE vendor(s). It’s very important to run reports before OE to be proactive with customer reports and vendor file feeds. Running reports for data validation (missing or invalid employee benefit data) can catch date discrepancies that can cause errors in the OE session for employees.

Before configuring your OE session, be sure to review and update all business rules that affect OE: deduction/benefit groups and types; dedication/benefit plans; benefit options, and relationships (spouse or child(ren)).

A critical piece of OE is the pending effective date. Use the Pending Effective Date Estimator to determine rates and when employees will be able to view their elections. Once the pending effective date is configured in your OE session, you may not make changes without deleting the contents of the session – which means you’ll need to reconfigure the entire session.

Decide if you will administer active open enrollment, which requires employees to elect/re-elect (or turn down) coverage, or passive open enrollment, which automatically re-enrolls employees, unless they make changes in their coverage. Mosaic recommends an active OE which requires employees to re-elect benefits, but passive OE is right for some companies, based on the size and type of employee population (with the exception of FSAs, which require employees to re-enroll every year).

New Features

Ultimate now provides the option to copy OE sessions from one year to the next, to save manual rekeying of information and the need to reconfigure information if your OE session has not changed significantly from year to year, and reduce potential data errors during configuration. Other new features include deduction/benefit groups page enhancements, which allows administrators to apply mass updates and change start and stop dates for OE sessions, and the option to delete OE sessions in an incomplete status – such as incorrectly configured or unnecessary sessions.

Want to learn more about how to plan and execute a stress-free, successful OE session?

Contact us today

System Optimization: Telltale Signs Your UKG Pro System Isn’t Optimized

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UKG Pro puts the power of your organization’s people data at your fingertips. The UKG Pro HCM platform offers you robust capabilities for digging deep into your data to learn more about your business, including trends, gaps, weak points, and opportunities to grow or simply streamline your operations.

UKG Pro can transfer data seamlessly among different platforms, increasing fluency and accuracy in your HRIS data, automate manual processes, and create business intelligence reports that help you make better business decisions. And that’s just the beginning.

There’s so much that UKG Pro can do that you may not be aware of system capabilities you aren’t utilizing. UKG Pro is a significant investment—the more you know about your system and the areas it can help, the better your ROI.

If you have an organizational need – a process that seems cumbersome, data that has to be manually updated, an upcoming audit or seasonal company event that has a great deal of complexity – look first within your UKG Pro system to see what it can do.

You may have just completed a major implementation, or your company may be facing rapid growth, a merger or acquisition; or you may have just lost a key member of your HRIS team who had significant institutional knowledge and you are trying to fill the gap.

The good news is, by asking the right questions, you can almost always find a way that UKG Pro can do more for you.

Watch the recording of our webinar on this topic:

Click here to download the slides used during this webinar.

The First Step: Asking the Right Questions

Whether you are new to UKG Pro or a veteran user, it is important to regularly review your current system and its configuration to make sure it is still the correct set-up for your company. Below is a series of conversation-driven questions you can have with your C-suite leaders, your HRIS team, or end users of the system, to understand your business processes, both current and desired. You can use these questions to guide you in your own optimization projects:

  • Do you find yourself entering the same data multiple times in UKG Pro?
  • Do you regularly run reports in Cognos, then fix the data in Excel, to get the data you need?
    Read our blog on Cognos Analytics to find out more about what Cognos can do for you and your team.
  • Does your data entry require many manual steps before it’s ready for UKG Pro?
  • Are you still processing benefit elections on paper?
  • Do your employees and managers have too much access (or too little access) to the system?
    The right system access may seem like a simple thing, but here’s an example of what can go wrong: a Mosaic client was helping managers get additional access to data on their employees. Working late on a weekend, the client inadvertently assigned Super Admin Access to all company employees. When employees started to find out they had access to C-level salary information, it was too late, and information began to spread like wildfire. While this is an extreme case, are you certain that access given to employees is appropriate? Too much access is just as bad as not enough, in some cases.
  • Does UKG Pro configuration match your business needs and requirements?
    Remember, have UKG Pro work for you – not the other way around! All businesses have their own processes and ways of managing their companies. UKG Pro can be configured to meet those needs in more ways than you may realize. Don’t work for UKG Pro by doing processes manually – make UKG Pro work for you!
  • Do decision makers have the necessary information available to make appropriate business decisions?
  • What types of dashboards and reports do your executives use? How stale is the data being used?
  • Is your executive team making potential life changing decisions on outdated data?
  • Does UKG Pro interface with vendors to provide real-time and accurate data on employees?
    If UKG Pro interfaces with your vendors, that’s great news, but when was the last time the interface was reviewed? Is it working correctly, does it provide the data needed? Or does your team still find themselves manually manipulating data before it is sent off? UKG Pro can save time and effort, reduce the likelihood of human error, and free your team from manual tasks to focus on the highest and best use of their time. For more on UltiPro Interfaces read our blog on UKG Pro Integrations.
  • Does your team have the right tools and knowledge of UKG Pro to support your organization?
  • Are you prepared for an audit? What about a different interruption?
    Some audits may be planned, and others may be a surprise. If the department of labor came to your office, how prepared would your team be and what would they find?

All of these questions will help you assess whether you are getting everything you need out of your UKG Pro system. And the answer isn’t a one-size-fits all: UKG Pro can do different things for different organizations, depending on your need. The key is making sure that you’re using it to full capacity, whatever your strategic business needs.

What is a System Optimization Review?

A good first step to optimize your system is a complete system and process review. Assessing your UKG Pro system is a process that you can undertake on your own, or you can bring in a specialist to help you.

A System and Process Review gives you a comprehensive understanding of the areas that may be underutilized where you can focus to begin optimizing your UKG Pro system

A system review is performed by a seasoned consultant who spends two to three days onsite, on the ground, with your team – C-suite leaders, your HRIS team, IT, and any others who use your UKG Pro system. During this time with your team, the consultant probes to learn about all company processes and configuration, and whether UKG Pro is properly configured to support those processes.

The benefit: you’ll gain a comprehensive view of your current functionality as well as future, best-case functionality, and a road map to get there. Mosaic recommends System and Process Reviews to all clients who wish to ensure their UKG Pro is fully optimized. Click here to read more about how one of our clients benefited from their System Review. Interested in moving forward? Contact us today!

Note: UKG Pro was formerly UltiPro.

UKG Pro Integrations: Files, Data and API’s, Oh My!

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Employee-related expenses (salaries, benefits, taxes, etc.) comprise up to 70% of a company’s total operating expenses – which makes leveraging HR technology to make informed business decisions imperative. HR, Finance, and Operations leaders’ ability to use data effectively to move the business forward depends on having a reliable central source for company data, and the ability to seamlessly update and ensure data integrity, in concert, across many different technology platforms.

For many companies, UKG Pro serves as the “system of record” for most employee and organizational data, making it the best and most reliable source to feed systems, vendors, and processes. Integrations help maintain data integrity in internal and external sources, using UKG Pro as the source of truth, for improved accuracy, security, efficiency, compliance, and decision-making.

Watch the recording of our webinar on this topic:

Click here to download the slides used during this webinar.

Why Use Integrations?

Integrations help systems to interact, working with consistent, accurate data among the multiple systems to make informed decisions. Integrations have many benefits, such as enhancing the user experience, improving processes by consolidating data to make it more consumable/actionable, and limiting manual work for your payroll, HR, IT and accounting staff. UKG Pro integrations help free your team of mundane and repeatable tasks to focus on more global and meaningful aspects of your business: your people, your strategy, and the bottom line.

Integrations help data flow from UKG Pro to other systems and to vendors who use employee data to support your company, such as:

  • New hire set-up from your recruiting and applicant tracking system to UKG Pro
  • Hardware procurement and set-up and IT access for new hires
  • Keeping time clock and scheduling system up to date
  • Sending 401(k) demographics and contribution information to a vendor
  • Revoking facility access of an employee upon termination

Which Integration(s) Are Right For Me?

There are many types of integrations to import data into UKG Pro from an external source or to push data out of UKG Pro. Determining the type of integration to deploy will depend on many factors, including:

  • Data fields to be sent/received to/from other system(s)
  • Frequency of the data exchange
  • Resources available (IT resources, staff availability, staff experience)
  • Priority, sensitivity, and security of data being exchanged
  • Restrictions/Capabilities of the UKG Pro integration methods
  • Capabilities and data transfer methods available with external system(s)

In addition to these factors, we recommend a quick review of your business processes to help identify opportunities for an integration.

Integrations can also address security or compliance vulnerabilities. Automatically generating and sending general ledger files to the GL system eliminates the opportunity for manual manipulation the GL files. (manual manipulation of GL files has been used to cover up fraudulent payroll activities.)

An Overview of Various UKG Pro Integrations

UKG provides many methods and tools for integrating UKG Pro with other systems and platforms. Most common integrations fall in the following categories:

  • Web Services/Application Programming Interfaces (API’s) – UKG Pro’s Web Services and APIs are commonly used for integrating with recruiting/applicant tracking systems, Active Directory, and global third party pay, or directly to systems with built-in API functionality. An API runs on an application server – which can be hosted and maintained by your internal IT department, or you may choose cloud-hosted API platforms (such as Cloud Connectors, Mulesoft, or Informatica). You can find documentation on UKG Pro APIs at connect.ultipro.com/documentation#/api.
  • SQL Framework Interfaces – These are custom exports or imports that are built upon UKG’s defined development framework. While these types of interfaces are customized to your (or your vendor’s) specific requirements, they are programmed in a standard method which ensures compatibility with future UKG Pro upgrades. SQL interfaces typically generate text files to send to the system or vendor, and they can be automated to run periodically or run based on triggers (such as payroll close). Common SQL interfaces are 401K Contributions, medical files, HSA/FSA contributions, General Ledger files, and NACHA files.
  • Ultimate Carrier Network (UCN) Interfaces – A UCN interface is an export built and maintained by UKG for a select few large benefits vendors. If the benefit vendor is available as UCN, these interfaces are very cost-effective.
  • Web Import Tool – The web import tool provides a platform for importing data into UKG Pro from third-party systems or files that you develop and controlling the flow of data into UKG Pro Core Web, either manually or automatically.
  • Backoffice Imports/Exports – Backoffice imports and exports are built as templates that allow mapping and logic to create a repeatable process for importing or exporting data into or out of UKG Pro. Common use cases include:  time clock imports, GL exports, and bank NACHA files.

Ultimately, integrations help UKG Pro stay in sync with other applications, vendors, processes and services to improve efficiency, reduce vulnerabilities for fraud and abuse, and help company leaders make more strategic, informed decisions.

Note: UKG was formerly Ultimate Software. UKG Pro was formerly UltiPro.

Think Like a Marketer to Recruit Top Talent

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It’s been said that the hardest sales job is recruiting – because your product can change its mind. It’s true and it’s a good reminder that recruiting is selling. If you want to recruit the top performers, here are four important things to get right:

  1. Marketing.

The key to great marketing is to know your audience and speak to what matters to them. Audience is just as important in recruiting. Job descriptions that first answer “why work here?” are much more appealing than those that start with a long list of job requirements. You need to capture your audience, in the same way that the best marketing messages focus on how you or your product can help your prospect. The best job descriptions start by answering whats in it for me?

  1. The Sales Pitch.

When you describe your company to a candidate, is your message consistent with the company’s marketing materials? What is your market differentiator? Are you delivering the same message to candidates that the sales team is delivering to prospective customers? A solid understanding of the company’s business model and where it is going is essential for communicating how your opportunity will boost careers. Make sure recruiting is aligned with the sales team in terms of conveying a consistent message about the company.

  1. Get on the phone!

70% of the workforce is comprised of people who aren’t looking for jobs, yet 87% of both active and passive job seekers are open to new opportunities. Like customers, the majority of candidates do not magically appear. This means that you need to find them and proactively engage with them. Despite the heavy usage of technology and social media today: the most effective way to recruit passive candidates is to pick up the phone.

  1. Get the right technology.

The correct technology is crucial in finding and engaging top talent, and once you find the right one for you, it will simplify your process and improve both your team and candidates’ experiences. The right technology allows you to engage and navigate your candidate pool, it also removes barriers for applicants, making it easy for the right candidates to apply to the right jobs, while allowing your team the tools they need to manage their relationships with applicants. In fact, 77% of people think less of companies that don’t respond to job applicants, your recruiting processes are a big part of your brand! How do you track and manage your candidate pipeline? Timely responses to candidates and frequent updates to applicant status is critical in building a positive employer brand.

With all of this in mind we recommend UKG Pro Recruiting. As part of the UKG Pro Talent Acquisition Module, UKG Pro Recruiting offers a full breadth of services that will allow you to manage your candidate experience by personalizing your engagement with them. Candidates will be able to leverage familiar tools and use their mobile devices to search and apply for your open positions. Your team will be able to proactively engage with candidates and plan for future talent needs as well as assess not only skills and experience but also behaviors, motivations and career aspirations to ensure only the best people, with the best fit, join your team.

As a UKG-only consulting group, Mosaic can help you implement or optimize your UKG Pro Talent Acquisition Module as well as the whole UKG Pro suite. Our team of experts can make sure you are getting the most out of your system.

Note: UKG was formerly Ultimate Software. UKG Pro was formerly UltiPro.