What Is UKG?
UKG sells human capital management (HCM) software for SMBs and enterprises: UKG Ready provides SMBs with a complete HRIS that supports their HR, payroll, talent management and time tracking operations; and UKG Pro adds enterprise features such as strategic workforce planning and global payroll processing.
The company complements these systems with stand-alone products that include One View for global payroll, InTouch DX time clock, TeleStaff Cloud public safety scheduling software and UKG Talk collaboration tool. UKG sells several HR solutions for specific industries, including AutoTime time tracking for the aerospace industry, EZCall scheduling software for healthcare providers and Virtual Roster workforce management for the casino industry.
Featured Partners
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Gusto
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Rippling
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Paychex
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Custom
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Paycor
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$99 month + $6 per user per month
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BambooHR
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UKG Key Features
UKG Ready includes core HR features for SMBs such as HR tools, payroll and time tracking, to name just a few. UKG Pro, on the other hand, offers tools that support people management at larger companies such as global compliance and strategic workforce planning.
UKG Ready
The core features of UKG Ready are a centralized employee database, continuous payroll runs, time and attendance tracking, scheduling and talent management. Other modules support compliance, reporting and analytics, integrations and company culture.
- HR and benefits administration: The module includes a workflow engine that automates routine HR tasks and models current processes and policies. It features employee self-service tools and analytics to support business decisions. New hires are automatically assigned benefit plan profiles, and UKG’s Smart Forms ensure that carriers receive benefits data quickly and simply, with little manual data entry required.
- Payroll: The company’s continuous payroll processing delivers real-time payroll data. Payroll services handle tax filing and compliance, check distribution and printing, and quarterly and annual account balancing.
- Time, attendance and scheduling: In addition to automatic routing of time-tracking tasks, UKG Ready confirms that your company’s policies align with government regulations and notifies managers of any exceptions, overtime hours and missing data. Employee schedules sync automatically with timecards and alert workers to changes. The system recommends employees for available shifts based on their skills, preferences and availability, while also considering the team’s budget.
- Talent management: The system helps businesses describe their open positions in a way that reflects the company’s culture. It identifies the most promising candidates and guides new hires through the onboarding process. Other UKG Ready tools assist with planning compensation packages, matching employee performance evaluations with the company’s goals and creating training and skills development programs that engage workers.
- Workplace culture: The tools offered in the company’s Great Place to Work Hub were developed based on feedback from 100 million worldwide employees. The data is applied to help businesses create workplaces that are inclusive and equitable.
UKG Pro
Along with its counterpart for SMBs, UKG Pro is built on a foundation of core HR, payroll, talent management and time and attendance tracking. The company’s HCM solution for enterprises is based on UKG’s FleX platform that connects seamlessly with more than 350 external systems.
UKG Pro adds global compliance and more sophisticated HR document management, along with tools for strategic workforce planning and the UKG Talk collaboration platform.
- People Center: UKG Pro’s central repository for HR data makes it easy for managers and employees to access performance reviews, benefits options, pay records and other personal information.
- Benefits administration: Companies can easily customize their benefit packages and stay in touch with employees during the benefit enrollment process. Workers can view side-by-side comparisons of plan options, change their beneficiaries and dependents, and take advantage of decision-support tools and personalized plan recommendations.
- Reports: UKG provides businesses with thousands of out-of-the-box reports for applying business rules, managing compensation, compliance monitoring, payroll, tax filing and workforce management. Specialized reports are offered for healthcare productivity, recruitment, talent acquisition and new hire rules by state.
- Compliance: The UKG Pro platform is designed to adapt quickly to workplace regulation changes and help businesses devise a strategy for meeting their compliance requirements. The company’s compliance experts ensure that the system is updated quickly in response to regulatory changes.
What Sets UKG Apart?
UKG designs its Pro and Ready products to foster a work environment that maximizes the potential of employees and managers. UKG Pro features advanced workforce planning and compliance management tools that give midsize companies and enterprises more accurate estimates of future workforce demand and regulatory requirements.
- AI in HR: UKG applies AI to give its reports a conversational tone that simplifies accessing and interpreting HR data. AI also helps employees complete their performance self-reviews by summarizing goals and feedback from peers, and by promoting consistency in self-assessments.
- Automated time tracking: Employees have multiple options for clocking in and out, including off-line and mobile devices. Managers can automate timecard approvals and enforcement of leave policies when monitoring absences. Labor and productivity reports are based on real-time data to enhance planning and productivity tracking.
- Strategic HR compliance: The most effective approach to compliance for companies of all sizes is to coordinate the regulatory requirements of all departments into a single proactive process that anticipates potential liabilities and responds in a timely manner. UKG’s approach to strategic compliance covers legal obligations, risk mitigation and employee trust.
UKG Pricing and Value
UKG doesn’t publish the prices of its HRIS products, so we look for indications of how the company delivers value to SMBs and enterprises by offering them more effective and more efficient HR services. We find good value in three areas in particular: UKG’s use of AI, its time and attendance tracking and the company’s strategic approach to HR compliance.
The comprehensive and tightly integrated nature of UKG’s products makes them most valuable to businesses large enough to take advantage of their advanced features. It’s not a case of “If you have to ask the price, you can’t afford it,” but the need to get custom pricing from the company is a clear indication that the products are likely priced beyond the budgets of very small businesses.
UKG vs. Top Alternatives
| UKG Ready | UKG Pro | ADP Workforce Now | Paycor | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rating |   | | | |
| Starting Price | Not disclosed | Not disclosed | Not disclosed | Not disclosed |
| Payroll and Tax Service | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Onboarding | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Employee Self-Service | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Custom Reporting | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| PEO Services | No | No | Yes | Yes |
| Time Tracking | Yes | Yes | Premium plan only | Available as add-on |
| Learn More | - | – | – | |
| Read Reviews | - | – |
UKG vs. ADP Workforce Now
Workforce Now is ADP’s HR and payroll solution for businesses with 50 to more than 1,000 employees. The product overlaps with both UKG Ready and UKG Pro but is a closer match to UKG Pro. It’s important to note that ADP’s RUN product is designed to meet the needs of businesses with fewer than 50 employees. ADP has a long history of providing payroll services for companies, while UKG was formed recently by the merger of Ultimate Software and Kronos.
The three Workforce Now plans sold by ADP are Select, which includes HR and payroll, Plus, which adds benefits administration and Premium, which comes with workforce management. All three packages feature ADP’s Voice of the Employee survey tool, but recruiting, talent and performance management, compensation management and learning management are sold as add-ons.
By contrast, UKG customizes its UKG Ready and UKG Pro services to the needs of each company. UKG highlights its tools for creating a positive workplace culture, as well as the strategic workforce planning and proactive compliance features of its UKG Pro plan for midsize businesses and enterprises. Both ADP and UKG offer complete HRIS solutions that may be beyond the needs and budgets of small businesses.
UKG vs. Paycor
Paycor is similar to UKG in taking a modular approach to HR and payroll services that businesses can customize to their requirements. Its core components are payroll, expense management, HR and analytics. Other modules are talent acquisition, talent management, workforce management, benefits administration and compliance. These components match those sold as part of UKG’s Ready and Pro plans.
Both Paycor and UKG target specific industries with their HRIS products: Paycor sells solutions for fields that include healthcare providers, manufacturers, retailers and restaurants, while UKG has custom HRIS products for healthcare, retail, hospitality, government agencies, financial services and a handful of other industries. Paycor emphasizes support for managers in developing and expanding the abilities of their workers, while UKG focuses on creating engaging and rewarding workplace environments.
Our Expert Opinion
A theme runs throughout the descriptions of UKG’s HR, payroll and workforce management products: building “cultures of trust and belonging.” The company bills UKG Ready and Pro as all-in-one HR solutions for SMBs and enterprises, respectively. The many different management areas covered by the products have the common goal of creating a people-first work environment that brings out the best in individuals, teams and departments.
UKG’s Great Place to Work Hub epitomizes the company’s culture-driven approach to HRIS. The product makes a direct connection between positive workplace experiences for employees and increased profitability for businesses. Building a high-trust culture at your organization begins with a Trust Index survey of employees, analysis of the survey results based on UKG’s 30 years of workplace data and an explanation of the managerial actions that promote engaging and rewarding work environments.
Our interaction with UKG Pro’s employee portal left us wondering how it could help nurture collaboration among workers and managers. The generic interface was just one step up from a standard spreadsheet. It’s clear that transforming a workplace into a crucible of collaboration and innovation doesn’t happen right out of the box. However, companies willing to invest the effort can enhance their work environments using UKG’s employee engagement tools.
Ease of Use
We tested UKG Pro’s browser-based employee portal using the example of a new employee who wants to access their first pay statements and other employment information.
Homepage of the UKG employee portal
After you sign in to your account, you open your homepage, where the top link leads to your recent pay statements. The page also has a link to download UKG Pro’s mobile app. The list of shortcuts on the right side of the window can be customized; the defaults include time-off requests, contacts and address changes.
Employee pay statement in the UKG employee portal
The pay statement itemizes deductions, including the amount paid by the employee and by the employer, and whether the deductions are pre-tax. Quick actions are shown on the right side of the screen for changing statement preferences, adding direct deposit and changing your W-4. The statement shows your tax payments, net pay distribution and your accrual of paid time off.
Benefits summary page of the UKG employee portal
You get a more detailed view of your employee benefits on the portal’s benefits summary page, including the amount paid by the employee and the employer, the coverage amount and a link to each benefit’s history. Other benefits views show your beneficiaries and dependents, investments and COBRA status.
Employee documents page of the UKG employee portal
One of the most useful features of an HRIS for employees is having easy access to important work-related documents such as tax forms and company policies. The employee documents page lets you view or download PDF versions of forms, guides and policy statements.
Despite its utilitarian interface, the employee portal made it easy to find pay and benefits information, and to update addresses, beneficiaries and other personal information. The portal presents you with a job summary that spells out the details of your employment, as well as a career and education section that’s used to set goals and create plans for achieving them.
Even with these features, however, the portal didn’t bring us any closer to being a part of a community of workers who support each other as they strive to achieve common goals.
Value
Our HR Software Pricing Guide estimates that a small business can expect to spend between $35 and $99 a month plus from $5 to $8 per employee per month for a complete HRIS solution that bundles HR management and payroll processing with talent acquisition, training and onboarding, and performance management. Add-ons such as recruiting, scheduling and time and attendance tracking add up to $50 per employee per month to the overall cost.
UKG’s modular approach to pricing its HRIS products provides SMBs with flexibility, but it also can quickly drive up a company’s overall costs for HR, payroll and other management functions. The value businesses receive from UKG’s Ready and Pro solutions is their potential to boost the efficiency and productivity of their workforce. The investment in time and effort required to realize these gains may be more than many small businesses are able to take on.
Customer Service and Support
All UKG subscriptions come with 24/7 support by telephone, chat and email. Businesses with time-sensitive queries can reach the company’s rapid response team without having to submit a support ticket. Customers can also post questions to the UKG community, which sponsors events and solicits ideas for future innovations through collaborative partnerships.
We received a prompt email reply from UKG’s sales staff after we submitted a request for a product demo that asked us for two times when we would be available for a meeting. The response also requested an employee count and a brief description of the HR and payroll features we needed. It included the sales rep’s phone number in case we had any questions.
Our attempts to reach the company’s press relations office were unsuccessful, however. We sent multiple messages to the addresses listed on the vendor’s media page but received no response after several weeks.
Reputation
The merger of Ultimate Software and Kronos in 2020 that created UKG led to the layoff of a sizeable chunk of the company’s workforce in July 2024. Several UKG customers note a drop-off in customer service as a result. Our interactions with the company were uneven: the sales staff responded quickly to our initial request sent through UKG’s online contact form, but multiple attempts to reach the company’s press office came up empty. It would appear that UKG is still working through the kinks of its merger.
Featured Partners
1
BambooHR
Not disclosed
7 days
Onboarding and offboarding, benefits tracking and self-service portal
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Paylocity
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No
Integrated HR & payroll, employee surveys, compliance dashboard, employee social hub
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
What are UKG Ready and Pro used for?
UKG Ready and Pro support a business’s employee onboarding, employee performance management, timekeeping and other payroll and HR operations. The products are intended to improve how you manage employees and take care of important administrative tasks.
Who is UKG Ready and Pro best for?
UKG Ready and UKG Pro meet the HR, payroll and other administrative needs of SMBs that are large enough to take advantage of the products’ advanced capabilities, which include employee engagement and strategic workforce planning. UKG relies on custom pricing for HRIS solutions tailored to the needs of each business. This modular approach can drive up the price of HR management and payroll processing for companies that don’t have workforces large enough to take advantage of the products’ range of capabilities.
How does UKG support employee self-service?
UKG Pro’s People Assist feature provides employees with resources they can use to search for answers to their questions related to HR, payroll and their work environment. People Assist provides managers and HR professionals with greater insight into the needs of workers and the problems they face on the job.
Employees can use UKG’s self-scheduling feature to plan their own shifts during a submission period set by managers in their monthly shift calendars. Scheduling conflicts can be resolved automatically based on employee seniority or other factors.
