The Time is Now to Get Started
In today’s dynamic workplace, companies strive for innovative solutions to streamline employee workforce management processes. Technology systems have certainly come a long way in the past handful of years, not only from a backend technological perspective but also from a UI/UX and ease of use purview. The end of engineering support for UKG (Kronos) Workforce Central is an event that provides an opportunity to make a change and take advantage of the new and improved UKG Pro WFM system and functionality. Now is the time to explore making this change. In this article, I explore some items to consider when planning for your organization’s migration, offering insights to guide your team as to which path they should take to move through this important journey.
Understanding the Options
Before delving into the migration process, it’s essential to understand the driving forces behind the business decision for the system migration. While the end of life of Workforce Central may highlight the need for change, there are opportunities that go with this necessary change. Do you have a wish list of new or expanded functionality?
Can your organization benefit from:
- improved system reporting?
- real-time access to information as it occurs throughout the business day?
- expanded and improved UI/UX experience?
Or is your organization hoping to keep the functionality (for the most part) as it is today, apart from the required system functionality changes?
These are two very different approaches when determining the WHY for your organization. However, choosing the best path is critically important. This decision will considerably impact time, level of effort, and the amount of change management your organization will need throughout the implementation lifecycle to UKG Pro WFM.
Are you ready for UKG Pro Workforce Management?
Before the implementation begins, I highly recommend that you and your organization assess their readiness for the migration. This assessment includes evaluating existing systems such as your HR system of record and Payroll system. Consider what the change management landscape looks like within the business. Your implementation team will be here to help with this review. During the migration, your organizational data structures will be examined to determine changes needed to get data in and out of UKG Pro WFM. What situations should we look for to understand where the migration process could get complicated?
Consider situations such as:
- Do you currently have existing data issues to manage?
- Do you have challenges reporting on time and absence data? Problems with productivity reporting, job reporting by location or other similar challenges?
The Migration Approach
When planning for the migration, the organization must determine the implementation’s value proposition. Criteria you should consider include Time-to-Live, minimizing change for the business users, resolving current organizational pain points, and supporting changes needed within the internal team structures. We can work together to review your current time and attendance system and identify what is and is not working for the business. A thorough assessment of the current and desired future state will help your organization decide which of the two migration paths makes the most sense.
Lift and Shift
The first path we refer to as “Lift and Shift” is a migration that focuses on keeping many of the policies/system configurations the same (such as policies, workflows, etc.) while taking advantage of the new features, such as new and improved Organization Structures, UI/UX redesign, and reporting. Using our rapid development methodology, this ‘Lift and Shift’ approach can often cut down on time to live and reduce the level of change in the business. Even with this approach, our team analyzes active/inactive rules in your current Kronos Workforce Central system. This review will ensure that old and non-active configurations are not brought over during the migration to UKG Pro WFM.
Take Advantage of this Opportunity
The second path is a standard migration focused on analyzing the current system, identifying its major pain points, and implementing changes to existing policies/business processes as part of the migration. This approach would have a slightly longer time to live and a higher level of change management. Still, it may be appropriate to recalibrate your WFM system and processes to include new and improved functionality for your organization. This raises the question, if not now, when?
What will this Project look like?
Whatever path you choose, HRchitect has already successfully helped numerous other companies facing the same questions. Working from the decision of what path to take, then continuing to understand what it will take to get to a successful go-live, take advantage of what our team brings to the table, such as:
- Our UKG data migration tool ensures that we bear the brunt of the heavy lifting
- Customized training courses included in all migrations to ensure that your team is prepared
- Integration support through BOOMI tools
- The migration of your clocks – most clients have successfully migrated their clocks
- We’ll review your setup and confirm if this critical hardware can be migrated or if your devices need upgrading
- Our Dataviews workshop provides you with the data you need at your fingertips
- Feel confident in understanding what it means to go from an on-premise WFM system to a modern Software as a Service (SAAS) model. You may seem to have a longer runway moving off your on-premise system, but remember, engineering support ends on December 31, 2025. This deadline means you will not receive further patches or fixes after this date.
- Client-side support if a lean HR team threatens to derail your ability to move to UKG Pro WFM. We provide client-side support via our knowledgeable functional experts. We can also support your project priorities through our client-side project managers. We can help with the heavy lifting.
A Strategic Transformation: Let’s get started!
Migrating to UKG Pro WFM marks a strategic transformation for any organization, offering enhanced functionality, scalability, and efficiency for the business. While the migration journey may present challenges, considering the above topics should help organizations succeed in deploying a system that works for the business and meets employees and managers where they are in their day-to-day jobs.
As an award-winning UKG system implementation partner, HRchitect can help guide you through these decisions on which path to take when your Time & Attendance solution is reaching the end of its life. HRchitect can also help your organization better understand your current configuration, integrations, and the benefits you can receive in migrating to UKG Pro WFM. Reach out to us today, and let’s get started.
About the Author
Daniel Sizelove is the Director of UKG Pro Workforce Management Services. Since joining HRchitect in 2022, he has led a team that is widely recognized for its ability to provide high-quality consulting services to our clients across the globe. Dan’s team’s expertise with UKG WFM products, including numerous migrations from Workforce Central to UKG Pro WFM means they have seen it all and will be ready to help you make this critical move with ease.
When Dan isn’t working, he enjoys spending time with his family and playing the occasional round of golf. Find out more about Dan’s experience on LinkedIn.
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