Large Community Bank Leverages Ultimate Software's UltiPro to Drive Employee Engagement, Focus on Culture

WESTON, Fla.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

Ultimate Software ULTI, a leading provider of human capital management (HCM) solutions in the cloud, announced today that Independent Bank, a Michigan-based community bank, is using UltiPro^®'s talent management capabilities and instant access to HR information to boost engagement among the Bank's employees and to support HR's focus on company culture.

Independent Bank has served communities in Michigan for more than 150 years and is currently the fifth-largest community bank headquartered in the state, with 63 branches. The Bank sought to build engagement by enabling managers to establish measurable goals and objectives for an employee's specific position, providing employees with easier and more direct access to their HR information, and creating one of the best workplace environments in the industry. Independent Bank went live with UltiPro in October 2015.

"Our previous solution made it impossible for our managers to provide meaningful feedback to their employees, so the breadth of our performance management was reduced to little more than determining employees' annual salary increases," said Jack Klott, vice president of human resources for Independent Bank. "With UltiPro, we have been able to build an ongoing, comprehensive talent management process that is a critical part of greater employee engagement."

When Independent Bank launched UltiPro, the company re-evaluated its performance management process and conducted focus groups to align jobs with appropriate competencies. Because these competencies are automatically assigned to roles using UltiPro, managers have a consistent, accessible platform for meaningful discussions with employees about their performance.

"UltiPro has changed the mindset of our employees because performance discussions are now entirely independent of salary changes," said Klott. "Since our employees know the skills, behaviors, and attributes for success in their current positions and the priorities and goals for potential growth, they are more engaged in their career development."

While Independent Bank has strengthened talent management interactions by providing more clarity and insight into job expectations, the company also reports that employees' instant access to HR information in UltiPro has helped enhance the employment experience.

"Banks have many hourly employees, and UltiPro gives them online visibility into their compensation and benefits," said Klott. "For example, the calendar feature helps employees and managers conveniently and rapidly schedule and track vacation. In addition, UltiPro provides another layer of flexibility by providing employees with mobile access to their records when they are outside the Bank's network."

According to Klott, UltiPro's ease of use creates a virtuous circle of talent management. Widespread employee adoption of the solution enables managers to use the solution more effectively. With better data at their fingertips, managers can more accurately measure performance at the individual, department, and branch levels, and help guide their employees' careers using data and analytics available in UltiPro. With employees and managers empowered by UltiPro's easy and convenient people management functionality, HR leaders can turn their attention to more strategic initiatives, such as improving company culture.

"We looked to partner with an HCM provider whose focus on people aligned with our own core values," said Klott. "The strength of Ultimate's ‘People First' culture is visible not only in the national recognition Ultimate has received, but also in the quality of the company's HR software and the incredible level of support we receive from Ultimate employees. With Ultimate's culture serving as a model, and UltiPro improving our people operations, I have the inspiration and tools to achieve my own goal of continuing to make Independent Bank a great place to work."

"UltiPro's capabilities are designed to boost employee engagement and enhance the employee experience," said Chris Phenicie, chief sales officer at Ultimate. "We are pleased that UltiPro is helping to elevate performance discussions between Independent Bank's managers and employees, as well as enabling employees to engage more strongly with their own positions and the company's overall vision."

About Ultimate Software

Ultimate is a leading provider of cloud-based human capital management (HCM) solutions, with more than 25 million people records in the cloud. Ultimate's award-winning UltiPro delivers HR, payroll, talent, and time and labor management solutions that connect people with the information they need to work more effectively. Founded in 1990, the company is headquartered in Weston, Florida, and employs more than 3,000 professionals. In 2016, Fortune ranked Ultimate #1 on its list of 10 Best Large Workplaces in Technology and #15 on Fortune's 100 Best Companies to Work For list, the fifth consecutive year to be ranked in the top 25. In 2015, Ultimate was recognized by Fortune as one of the 100 Fastest-Growing Companies; ranked #7 on Forbes magazine's list of the 100 Most Innovative Growth Companies; named among InformationWeek's Elite 100, honoring innovation in business technology; and recognized as a "Leader" in Nucleus Research's HCM Technology Value Matrix. Ultimate has approximately 3,200 customers with employees in 160 countries, including Bloomin' Brands, Culligan International, Feeding America, Major League Baseball, Pep Boys, SUBWAY, Texas Roadhouse, and Yamaha Corporation of America. More information on Ultimate's products and services for people management can be found at www.ultimatesoftware.com.

UltiPro is a registered trademark of The Ultimate Software Group, Inc. All other trademarks referenced are the property of their respective owners.

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