Federal Contractor Achieves Companywide Benefits By Leveraging Ultimate Software's Cloud-Based UltiPro For Unified Human Capital Management

Ultimate Software

, a leading cloud provider of people management solutions, announced today that the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy (AURA), a nonprofit association of universities and institutions that operates astronomical observatories and telescopes, is leveraging the UltiPro solution to optimize processes for human capital management (HCM), provide strategic business intelligence to managers and executives, and deliver measurable benefits to employees and the overall organization. AURA is a consortium of 39 U.S.-based institutions and six international affiliates focused on establishing and promoting public observatories and facilities that advance innovative astronomical research. In addition, the nonprofit organization is committed to public and educational outreach throughout the astronomical community and the general public. Previously, AURA had been using multiple systems, including an enterprise resource planning (ERP) system, to handle its processes for HR, payroll, and talent management. The company's HR teams spent significant time and resources on duplicate data entry, manual reconciliation, and administration, and company leaders found challenges with upgrades, flexibility, and integration. In 2007, AURA made the switch to cloud-based UltiPro because it offered a single-source, flexible solution with instant, 24-7 access for employees across the U.S. “Having UltiPro and cloud-based technology has made a huge difference in enhancing our processes for HR, payroll, and talent management,” said Lee Peters, HRIS administrator at the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy. “Plus, as a nonprofit government contractor, we have to dedicate our full focus on our missions and keep administrative costs in control. With UltiPro, our internal IT resources are free from having to manage or maintain multiple systems, and these resources are now being applied to supporting the defining aspects of our organization.” UltiPro is providing AURA with a unified suite of HCM, including HR, payroll, benefits enrollment, recruitment, performance management, and more. Employees in any location have immediate access to individual information and strategic tools to perform business activities. UltiPro delivers one system of record for workforce information, and data is available for instant reporting across its people management processes. With quick access to in-depth business intelligence, executives and managers can make informed day-to-day and long-term strategic decisions about their employees and related business issues. “Since we switched to UltiPro, the ability to have on-demand reports has been a huge advantage. With our previous systems, writing a report was a very complex process. Now we can get information in seconds. A big win for us is that we can automate reports that are delivered to individuals or teams on a daily, weekly, and monthly basis,” said Peters. “For example, we have automated reports that go to division management to closely monitor staff overtime. We also have reports that are sent to multiple teams so they can evaluate open staffing requisitions, when these were initiated, the time to fill a job, as well other valuable analytics.” “Even though we have multiple locations across the U.S., we operate under one FEIN, and we have to aggregate multiple EE0-1and Veterans reports. Previously, each of the centers had to independently run these numbers, and then our teams had to manually add the numbers up to complete the filings. With UltiPro, we can pull specific data for each of our locations and have it automatically aggregated for the consolidated filing of the EE0-1. When any of our executives, managers, or employees asks for information, I'll say that if it's in the solution, we can deliver what you want, however you want to see it. What we really like with UltiPro is that pretty much every single field that you can see is reportable.” With UltiPro, AURA is creating smooth, efficient, open processes for its HCM, and as a result, the nonprofit has achieved substantial time and cost savings. For example, UltiPro Open Enrollment significantly reduces the time and expense associated with administering employee benefits. By providing employees with an easy-to-use web experience, UltiPro minimizes paperwork for HR and benefits professionals, eliminates the need to print and distribute forms, and enables employees to review benefits options and make elections from anywhere via the UltiPro portal. Plus, employee benefits elections and ensuing deductions are processed in one system — no reconciliations are necessary. “I can't even begin to say how much time UltiPro has saved us with benefits enrollment. Previously, we had a payroll system, HR system, and benefits system, and we had to cross-check all three to make sure data was correct. With UltiPro, information is transmitted in seconds. We have eliminated two weeks of manual entry for open enrollment because it is now completely integrated with payroll,” said Peters. “The overall result is tremendous time savings. By eliminating multiple systems, we now have the freedom and resources to support additional initiatives — projects that we just would not have had time for if we were still entrenched in the day-to-day, manual labor of maintaining multiple systems.” “Relying on multiple systems for HR, payroll, and talent management is not only inefficient, but a substantial drain on a company's internal resources. With a unified HCM solution, AURA is experiencing a full range of business benefits, including speed, accuracy, time- and cost-savings, cohesive business intelligence, and more,” said Greg Swick, chief sales officer at Ultimate Software. “We're very pleased that UltiPro is providing this unique organization and its teams with measurable business outcomes.” About Ultimate Software Ultimate Software is a leading cloud provider of people management solutions, with more than 17 million people records in the cloud. Built on the belief that people are the most important ingredient of any business, Ultimate's award-winning UltiPro delivers HR, payroll, talent, compensation, and time and labor management solutions that seamlessly connect people with the information and resources they need to work more effectively. Founded in 1990, the company is headquartered in Weston, Florida, and has more than 2,000 professionals focused on developing the highest quality solutions and services. In 2014, Ultimate was ranked #20 on FORTUNE's list of the 100 Best Companies to Work For; ranked #8 on Forbes magazine's list of the 100 Most Innovative Growth Companies; and recognized as a ‘Leader' in Nucleus Research's HCM Technology Value Matrix. Ultimate has 2,700 customers with employees in 150 countries, including Adobe Systems Incorporated, Bloomin' Brands, Culligan International, Major League Baseball, Pep Boys, Texas Rangers Baseball, and Texas Roadhouse. 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. Follow Ultimate Software on Twitter: www.twitter.com/UltimateHCM and on LinkedIn: http://linkd.in/UltimateHCM