Ultimate Software presentation

Research Bulletin | 2014

BERSIN BY DELOITTE180 GRAND AVENUE

SUITE 320OAKLAND, CA 94612

(510) [email protected]

September 23, 2014

The Latest in Enterprise Learning & Talent Management

About the Author

Katherine Jones, Ph.D.Vice President

HCM Technology ResearchBersin by Deloitte

Deloitte Consulting LLP

Copyright © 2014 Deloitte Development LLC. All rights reserved. This material is licensed to Ultimate Software for distribution only.

Imagine if people could choose their employers as they choose a

book or a sweater online. Would your current employees “buy” your

company? Would they recommend that others choose you as an

employer? Would their comments reflect your employer brand, or

would they suggest that working for your organization isn’t quite the

same as what is pictured on the “package”?

With highly skilled talent in short supply, the idea of employees as

consumers has become a reality. Some organizations are differentiating

themselves as an “employer of choice” by becoming more employee-

centric, treating their employees much the same the way they treat

their customers. These organizations are using strategies similar to

those used to attract and retain customers—personalization, technology

that is in alignment with their people-focused efforts, and effective

branding—to build employee loyalty and passion. This research bulletin

describes how organizations such as Texas Roadhouse, Camden Property

Trust, and Ultimate Software are using their employee-centric strategies

to grow their businesses.

This research bulletin describes:

• The employee-centric strategies three organizations are using to

improve engagement and reach their business goals

• The implications for HR in creating an employee-centric culture,

including policies, processes, and technology

• Leading practices and recommendations for becoming an

employee-centric organization

Wooing the Workforce: Creating an Employee-Centric Organization


Wooing the Workforce: Creating an Employee-Centric Organization Katherine Jones, Ph.D. | Page 2


Understanding Employee-Centricity

Marcy started at her company three years ago, right after leaving

college. She was excited about joining the company at first, but now

Marcy leaves frustrated at the end of the day. Her boss and coworkers

are nice enough, but things always seem to be harder than they need

to be and no one seems to really like being there. She often spends her

lunch scanning job boards, but she isn’t convinced that things would be

any different at another company.

Marcy’s experience is not uncommon. According to Gallup’s 2013

State of the American Workforce report, 70 percent of workers in the

United States are either not engaged or actively disengaged at work. In

addition to the costs of turnover, this lack of engagement leads to lost

productivity totaling between $450 and $550 billion dollars per year.1

Of course, many organizations attempt to increase employee

engagement through a variety of methods. But according to a Bersin

by Deloitte study, even though 71 percent of organizations include

an engagement metric on their scorecards, only 35 percent believe

that their engagement efforts led to positive business outcomes.2 This

may be in part because of a tendency to mistake perks and benefits

for true engagement initiatives.3 Instead of focusing on these efforts,

organizations that have been able to move the dial on employee

engagement tend to be “employee-centric.” These companies place the

employee experience at the heart of their business strategy and treat

their employees as if they were customers of both the management and

the processes of the organization.

1 Source: State of the American Workforce: Employee Engagement Insights for U.S. Business Leaders, Gallup, 2013, www.gallup.com/strategicconsulting/163007/state-american-workplace.aspx. Note: Studies suggest that turnover cost can range from 30 to 50 percent of an entry-level worker’s salary to upward of 400 percent of a senior-level position’s salary once retraining and lost productivity are taken into account.

2 For more information, Implementing Employee Engagement to Drive Business Results: How Hellmann Worldwide Logistics Used Engagement as a Powerful Tool to Foster High-Level Employee Performance, Bersin by Deloitte / David Mallon and Brenda Kowske, Ph.D., February 2014. Available to research members at www.bersin.com/library.

3 Source: “Don’t Pamper Employees—Engage Them,” Gallup Business Journal / Susan Sorenson, July 2, 2013, http://businessjournal.gallup.com/content/163316/don-pamper-employees-engage.aspx.

Employee-centric

organizations treat

their employees

as if they were

customers of the

management and

processes of the

company.

KEY POINT

www.gallup.com/strategicconsulting/163007/state-american-workplace.aspx


www.bersin.com/library

http://businessjournal.gallup.com/content/163316/don-pamper-employees-engage.aspx

http://businessjournal.gallup.com/content/163316/don-pamper-employees-engage.aspx




This type of strategy is based on a model in which companies

systematically invest in the employee experience to ensure that the

leading talent is hired, retained, and empowered. This can result in

exceptional customer service and, in turn, shareholder value. These

companies then reinvest in the employee experience to continue the

cycle (see Figure 1). In essence, an employee-centric model formalizes

the common mantra of “Our people are our best asset.”

Employee-centricity leads to “employee passion” (see Figure 2), which

drives employees to devote their time and energy to work, proactively

going above and beyond expectations to help their organization

achieve its business goals.4

4 For more information, 2014 Predictions: Talent, Learning and Human Resources – The Year of the Employee, Bersin by Deloitte / Josh Bersin, February 2014. Available to research members at www.bersin.com/library.

Source: Bersin by Deloitte, 2014.

Figure 1: Employee-Centricity Leads to Value for Customers and Shareholders, Reinvestment in the Employee Experience

Employee Value

Customer Value

Shareholder Value





Employee passion occurs when employees feel that they are valued as

individuals and can contribute to the success of the organization both

now and in the future; that they have a flexible and inclusive work

environment; and that they can trust their leadership.5

So how would Marcy’s story unfold differently if the company she

works for focused on building employee passion? This research bulletin

explores the strategies that employee-centric organizations use and the

key role of the HR function.

Characteristics of an Employee-Centric Organization

In the “age of the customer,”6 organizations are looking to understand

their customers’ needs and values and to collaborate with the customer

to develop products and services. This involves “meeting customers

5 For more information, 2014 Predictions: Talent, Learning and Human Resources – The Year of the Employee, Bersin by Deloitte / Josh Bersin, February 2014.

6 Source: Smarter Process in the age of the customer: Reinventing business operations for top line growth, IBM Software / Brian Safron and Vijay Pandiarajan, April 2013, ftp://public.dhe.ibm.com/software/uk/pdf/Smarter_Process_in_the_age_of_the_customer_April_2013.pdf.

Source: Bersin by Deloitte, 2014.5

Figure 2: More than Perks—Drivers of “Employee Passion”

Great Work That Matters

Flexible, Supportive

Working Environment

Inclusive Culture

Superior Management

Recognition &

Rewards

Autonomy & Control

Career & Learning

Opportunities

Trust, Meaning & Purpose

A Passionate, Highly Engaged

Workplace

Trus

t in

Lead

ersh

ip

Career and Personal Opportunity

Ability to C

ontribute

Flexible Work Environment

ftp://public.dhe.ibm.com/software/uk/pdf/Smarter_Process_in_the_age_of_the_customer_April_2013.pdf





where they are,” in the ways that they prefer to interact, and at the

moment of need. Employee-centric organizations do the same when it

comes to their human capital. They strive to understand what makes

their employees successful and use that information to invest in the

tools, technologies, and resources to support them. As the following

Case in Point describing the Texas Roadhouse restaurant chain shows,

employee-centricity is more than a collection of engagement initiatives

and perks; it is an organizational philosophy that influences key

business decisions.

Case in Point: Texas Roadhouse—Serving Up Employee Engagement

Texas Roadhouse, a full-service casual dining chain, exemplifies

the concept of employee-centricity. Founded in 1993 by Kent

Taylor, Texas Roadhouse has built its business strategy around the

concept that if its 48,000 employees—or “Roadies”—are happy and

love their jobs, then customers will have a great experience and

return again. This employee-centric philosophy is more than just a

collection of initiatives aimed at improving employee engagement.

This central tenant underscores the company’s key business

strategies, from its core values to its corporate structure.

Developed in partnership with field management, the core values

of Texas Roadhouse are “Passion, Partnership, Integrity and Fun: All

with Purpose.” These core values reflect an understanding of the

challenges of working in the restaurant industry, which has a high

proportion of part-time workers and, typically, high turnover. The

core value of “fun,” for example, is exemplified by the line dancing

employees perform at the restaurant sites. This helps create positive

energy in the restaurant, entertains the guests (customers), and

creates a fun and interactive environment that allows “Roadies” to

go beyond typical business interactions. Every store (business unit)

has a “fun budget” that pays for internal contests and activities to

make sure that employees are aligned with the core value of fun,

that they love coming to work, and that local management has the

ability to spend money as they choose.

Case in Point: Texas Roadhouse—Serving Up Employee Engagement (cont’d)




Similarly, the term “partner” is built into job titles to reinforce

the “partnership” value. For example, general managers of

Texas Roadhouse restaurants are called managing partners.

Managing partners are considered to be the key customers of

the company’s support departments, which are housed at the

company’s “Support Center.” The idea that the organization

supports its employees, rather than dictating to them, can be

seen in their “inverted pyramid” model of leadership

(see Figure 3). The CEO is at the bottom of the pyramid, and his

role is to ensure that everyone in the organization is leveraging

resources to support employee needs, especially those of the

managing partners. The philosophy behind the inverted pyramid

is instilled at each restaurant so that the managing partners

and their assistant managers are all individually responsible for

supporting the employment experience of the cooks and servers

at a given location, ensuring they are dedicated to fulfilling the

mission of providing “Legendary Food, Legendary Service.”

Source: Bersin by Deloitte and Texas Roadhouse, 2014.

Figure 3: Texas Roadhouse’s “Inverted Pyramid” Leadership Structure

Managing Partners

Market Partners

Regional Partners

“Support Center” Leadership

Founder / CEO





As noted in Figure 3, the company sees the managing partner

role as critical to the company’s growth. Texas Roadhouse

supports the local autonomy of each restaurant and allows

considerable latitude on hiring decisions, marketing / promotions,

and performance management. Because of this, Texas

Roadhouse makes significant investments in ensuring the long-

term success of the managing partners. Prior to opening up a

restaurant, new managing partners spend a year preparing.

They receive 17 weeks of on-the-job training designed to help

them understand the Texas Roadhouse operating philosophy,

processes, and policies. They spend the remaining eight months

learning best practices and attending the openings of new

restaurants. This hands-on experience helps them plan and

customize their own opening by exposing them to multiple

strategies for different markets.

While Texas Roadhouse supports the individuality of each restaurant,

it uses technology as a “culture catalyst” to sustain company values

across its 400+ locations. For example, Texas Roadhouse uses its

UltiPro HR employee portal to share pictures of activities at each

restaurant and communications that support the culture. The site

is available online to the company’s large, geographically dispersed

workforce so employees can access the portal from work or home

and share photos and planned activities with their families. Similarly,

the company’s integrated HR and compensation solution (UltiPro)

was specifically tailored to the needs of the contingent, part-

time employees that characterize the local restaurant workforce.

Dashboard reporting to the managing partners helps them manage

their respective businesses and provides a range of tools to reduce

day-to-day administrative burdens. Many of these tools are launched

through mobile applications, both to create convenience and to

reinforce a contemporary employer brand. Investment in these

kinds of technologies frees up the managing partners to focus on

developing their people and building the Texas Roadhouse culture.

The balance of corporate support and local autonomy,

complemented by a compensation system that mixes the stability





of a base salary with the incentive of profit sharing, results in low

turnover of the managing partner role and higher-than-average

unit sales. The integration of Texas Roadhouses’ employee-centric

philosophy into its structure and technology has helped it build

and maintain a flexible culture designed to fulfill its mission of

“Legendary Food, Legendary Service.” The effectiveness of this

strategy is evidenced by the fact that the restaurant is one of the

few food service companies on the GlassDoor “Top 50 Great Places

to Work” list and Forbes’ list of “America’s 100 Most Trustworthy

Companies.” Further, Texas Roadhouse has experienced

year-over-year growth at a time when most other restaurant chains

have frequently struggled.7 e

Fostering the employee experience is particularly important in today’s

talent marketplace, in which competition for skilled talent is increasing

and the changing demographics of the workforce are creating new

workplace dynamics.8 Further, innovations in consumer technology

have set high expectations for how work gets done. As consumers,

employees experience technology that is simple, available anywhere

at any time, and personalized / contextualized—and they bring those

same expectations to work (see Figure 4). Often, however, these same

technologies don’t exist on the job. For example, a recent survey of

service industries found that employees spend over 50 percent of their

time managing the complexities of work rather than working with

customers.9 Employees are easily frustrated by what they perceive to be

overly complicated tools and processes, especially because they know

that it doesn’t have to be that way.

7 Source: Texas Roadhouse Annual Report 2013, April 11, 2014, http://files.shareholder.com/downloads/TXRH/3230433677x0x743042/CB6225AE-9495-454F-A625-798D371C83F7/2013_Annual_Report_and_2014_Proxy_Statement.pdf.

8 For more information, 2014 Predictions: Talent, Learning and Human Resources – The Year of the Employee, Bersin by Deloitte / Josh Bersin, February 2014.

9 Source: Smarter Process in the age of the customer: Reinventing business operations for top line growth, IBM Software / Brain Safron and Vijay Pandiarajan, April 2013, ftp://public.dhe.ibm.com/software/uk/pdf/Smarter_Process_in_the_age_of_the_customer_April_2013.pdf.

http://files.shareholder.com/downloads/TXRH/3230433677x0x743042/CB6225AE-9495-454F-A625-798D371C83F7/2013_Annual_Report_and_2014_Proxy_Statement.pdf








Employee-centric organizations are willing to invest in not only the tools

employees need to do their jobs, but in creating the kind of environment

that helps employees love their jobs. Recently, Gallup found that only

22 percent of respondents who voluntarily quit mentioned pay and benefits

as a factor; instead, most responded that features of the work environment—

including manager quality, career development, and role fit—were key

contributors in the decision to leave.10 As the Cases in Point in this research

brief demonstrate, senior leaders in employee-centric companies are deeply

committed to helping employees feel passionate about their work, and they

are willing to design their organizational structures to support that vision.

Further, they are willing to continually make investments in the employee

experience to move beyond traditional satisfaction and engagement

(see Figure 5). While these efforts take time, organizations that maintain a

highly skilled, highly engaged workforce have been shown to have higher

revenue, innovation, and customer satisfaction than those that don’t.11

10 Source: “Turning Around Employee Turnover,”Gallup Business Journal / Jennifer Robison, May 8, 2008, http://businessjournal.gallup.com/content/106912/turning-around-your-turnover-problem.aspx.

11 Source: State of the American Workforce: Employee Engagement Insights for U.S. Business Leaders, Gallup, 2013, www.gallup.com/strategicconsulting/163007/state-american-workplace.aspx.


Customer Expectations “Employee as Customer” Expectations

Mobile• I can compare and shop for products and

services wherever I am and with whatever device I am using.

• I can be productive in my role wherever I am and with whatever device I am using.

Personal / Contextual

• Products and services are offered to me based on an understanding of my history and preferences.

• The company cares about me as an individual.

• I have the information and tools I need, and they are specific to my role and experience.

• My company cares about me as an individual.

Social • The opinions and experiences of friends and

others like me inform my preferences. • The knowledge and experience of my

coworkers and experts inform my business decisions.

Accessible

• I can find the information I need when I need it.

• I can access my own information and act on it.

• I can find the information I need when I need it.

• I can access my own information and act on it.

Figure 4: The Effect of Today’s Technologies on Customer and Employee Expectations

http://businessjournal.gallup.com/content/106912/turning-around-your-turnover-problem.aspx

http://businessjournal.gallup.com/content/106912/turning-around-your-turnover-problem.aspx






The Implications for HR in Creating an Employee-Centric Culture

As the “people” arm of an organization’s business strategy, HR’s

role in an employee-centric organization goes beyond managing

traditional people processes. It requires rethinking key processes

from the perspective of the employee experience and then adapting

the organization to those needs. This may call for new skills and

technologies, or even, as the Texas Roadhouse Case in Point shows,

a significant restructuring of the HR role itself.

HR is not historically known for speed or transformational change,

so HR organizations that are committed to developing an employee-

centric organization need to develop agility. HR departments need the

data analysis skills to both understand their current employee base and

the workforce they are developing. HR should also partner with areas

such as finance, strategic planning, and IT to identify ways to integrate

changes into the fiber of the organization through compensation,


Figure 5: Evolution of an Employee-Centric Organization

Employee Satisfaction

Company Actions: Perks and benefits Employee Philosophy: “Happy employees provide better customer service.” Employee Goals: Contentment Measures: Formal or informal measures of morale

Employee Engagement

Company Actions: Discrete engagement initiatives Employee Philosophy: “People are our greatest asset.” Employee Goals: Discretionary effort Measures: Formal tracking of company engagement levels

Employee-Centricity

Company Actions: Integration of systems and structures Employee Philosophy: “Our people are customers of our management.” Employee Goals: Passion and loyalty Measures: Business results




organizational structure, and technology.12 For example, as described in

the Case in Point below, Camden Property Trust supports its employee-

centric strategy by providing a more generous benefits package than

its competitors so employees feel they are taken care of. The benefits

package is selected through the company’s UltiPro solution so that

employees, many of whom do not have dedicated computers, can

quickly and easily find and enroll in the benefits that are right for

their families.

Importantly, HR leaders should foster conversations with senior

leadership about the organization’s people strategy to identify a

vision leaders will be willing to stand behind. What differentiates

an employee-centric company is the employee perception that the

company’s leadership cares about them as individuals and strives to

create a work environment that talented people will feel excited to be

part of. Creating an employee-centric organization involves developing

a culture that promotes the individual strengths of employees in a way

that supports the company’s goals.

Case in Point: Camden Property Trust—Welcoming Employees Home

Camden Property Trust, one of the largest publicly traded companies

of its kind in the United States, is engaged in the ownership,

development, acquisition, management, and disposition of

multifamily residential apartment communities. Camden’s workforce

totals nearly 1,800 employees, and the company is headquartered

in Houston, Texas. As of July 31, 2014, Camden owned interests in

and operated 169 properties containing 59,641 apartment homes

across the United States. An S&P 400 company that is traded on the

New York Stock Exchange, Camden has received numerous awards

for workplace excellence. The company was recently named as one

of the “100 Best Companies to Work For” in America by FORTUNE

magazine for the seventh consecutive year (placing 11th on the list).

12 For more information, The High-Impact HR Organization: Top 10 Best Practices on the Road to Excellence, Bersin and Associates / Stacey Harris, January 2011. Available to research members at www.bersin.com/library.


Case in Point: Camden Property Trust—Welcoming Employees Home (cont’d)




When Ric Campo and Keith Oden founded what would

become Camden Property Trust in 1982, they wanted to create

a company where people would enjoy coming to work. They

recognized that employees spend a significant amount of

time at work and wanted to make sure that the company was

a place that people wanted to come to each day. Campo and

Oden believe that if their employees enjoy their work, it will

be evident to the residents and potential residents of their

apartment communities, thus driving customer loyalty and

growth, as well as shareholder value.

Both at the corporate offices and at the company’s property

locations across the United States, Camden employees are

encouraged to bring their unique talents to work, whether they

are work-related or not. This allows employees to show their

skills to their peers and creates an environment of both fun and

mutual respect. Where some organizations fear that too much

fun will undermine productivity, Camden includes “Have Fun”

as one of its core values, and considers fun to be one of the

defining characteristics of its employer brand. Camden balances

its fun environment by putting a premium on other values,

such as “Always Do the Right Thing” and “Act with Integrity,”

so that employees are focused on business results (see Figure

6). Further, Camden doesn’t equate having fun with expensive

perks or elaborate events; it encourages employees to take

accountability for creating a good work environment for each

other every day through small acts toward each other or within

their communities. On a larger scale, the annual Achieving

Camden Excellence (ACE) awards allow employees to recognize

their peers for living the company values. Further, Camden

culture is continually assessed through both the “Great Places

to Work” application process, which provides external feedback

on various dimensions of cultural health, and through its own

internal survey processes.





At Camden, supporting an employee-centric culture begins

during the recruitment process. Potential employees meet

multiple members of the team and see the culture they would

be joining firsthand. This is important for the assessment

of fit for both the hiring manager and the candidate. Once

employees are hired, they are sent an email welcoming them

to the company that includes a link to the traditional new-hire

paperwork, which can then be completed before an individual

starts work. This allows new employees to spend their first day

focused on socialization into Camden’s culture.

At Camden, new employees are celebrated. Depending on the

region, a Camden employee may be greeted by a “Welcome

Wagon” or a personalized basket of treats and Camden

“swag.” New employees take online training developed to help

share the Camden culture through videos that highlight the

stories of other employees. This online onboarding provides

a standardized introduction to the culture, which is then

personalized through one-on-one work with a mentor during

the first 30 days of employment. This multifaceted approach

Source: Camden Property Trust, 2014.

Figure 6: Camden Property Trust’s Company Values Balance Employee Needs with Business Results





helps new employees feel they are valued and important, and

allows them to see that the culture they observed during their

interview is an ongoing aspect of working at Camden.

The goal of the Camden culture is to create a work environment

in which its employees understand that the company cares

about them and their families. In addition to the impact on

customer service, this type of culture helps build trust and

loyalty to the company. Camden feels that its employees

are open to changes in processes and strategy because the

company treats them with candor and respect. For example,

during the recent recession, the CEO‘s transparency about

upcoming strategy changes was perceived as a catalyst for

higher employee satisfaction because the organization was

encouraged to pull together as a team. The impact of the

company’s employee-centric strategies can also be seen in its

employee retention numbers. In an industry characterized by

young, early career employees, Camden’s 21 percent employee

turnover in frontline roles is considered low compared to the

industry average of 31 percent.13 Camden is committed to

further reducing its employee turnover by using tools such as

the UltiPro Retention Predictor, which helps managers take

proactive actions when top talent may be at risk of leaving.

By personalizing the work environment and encouraging

employees to create and maintain a fun workplace, Camden

has won a place on the “Great Places to Work” list for seven

consecutive years. It has also generated almost 6 percent

revenue growth from 2010 to 2013 (one of the highest in

the industry) and provided shareholder value that outpaced

companies in the S&P 500 (see Figure 7).14 e

13 Source: “Turnover Rates Are Inching Up - Good News for Job Seekers,” apartmentcareers.com, October 8, 2012, http://blog.apartmentcareers.com/apartment-jobs-and-careers-blog/bid/55869/Turnover-Rates-are-Inching-Up-Good-News-for-Job-Seekers.

14 Source: Camden Property Trust 2013 Annual Report, Camden Property Trust, 2013, http://www.snl.com/Cache/1001185310.PDF?Y=&O=PDF&D=&FID=1001185310&T=&IID=103094.

http://blog.apartmentcareers.com/apartment-jobs-and-careers-blog/bid/55869/Turnover-Rates-are-Inching-Up-Good-News-for-Job-Seekers

http://blog.apartmentcareers.com/apartment-jobs-and-careers-blog/bid/55869/Turnover-Rates-are-Inching-Up-Good-News-for-Job-Seekers

http://www.snl.com/Cache/1001185310.PDF?Y=&O=PDF&D=&FID=1001185310&T=&IID=103094

http://www.snl.com/Cache/1001185310.PDF?Y=&O=PDF&D=&FID=1001185310&T=&IID=103094




Aligned Employee-Centric HR Systems

While developing an employee-centric organization requires a deep

commitment from senior leadership, HR departments can also take

steps to evaluate their own processes and structure. One starting point

is evaluating the tools and resources that HR provides to employees. HR

systems—including recruiting, onboarding, performance management,

benefits, and compensation—are typically resources that all employees

use, which makes them a fruitful starting point. The goal of employee-

centric HR technology and processes should be three-fold:

• To reinforce the values of the organization through alignment

and integration

• To provide access to information that allows managers and

employees to make strategic decisions

• To make tactical HR decisions easy and intuitive in order to free up

employee time and capacity

A key to achieving an employee-centric HR technology strategy is

shifting the focus from the HR analyst role as the primary user of

HR technology to viewing employees and managers as the primary

customers. The Case in Point below highlights how Ultimate Software

has shifted the focus of its HR technology in this manner to effectively

foster an employee-centric culture in a dispersed work environment

through better connection and collaboration.

Source: Camden Property Trust, 2014.

Figure 7: Camden Annualized Total Returns Outpaced the S&P 500 between 1997 and 2013

11.81% 11.80%

6.04%

S&P 500 FORTUNE's 100 Best Companies to Work For

Camden Property Trust 0%

4%

8%

12%

16%




Case in Point: Ultimate Software—Instilling an Employee-Centric Culture in a Dispersed Workforce

Ultimate Software, a Florida-based cloud provider of human

capital management (HCM) solutions, expresses its employee-

centric philosophy through its core value of “People First.”

However, with a dispersed workforce of over 2,000 employees

and rapid growth, maintaining a “people first” culture can be

challenging. Ultimate fosters a collaborative, family-like culture

beginning with the recruiting process and then continually

throughout the employee life cycle.

As the first step in employee engagement, Ultimate uses its

own UltiPro recruiting solution, which is designed around the

applicant experience, and focuses on helping candidates find

the jobs that best fit their specific potential. This helps the

company better assess talent and fit, as well as to personalize

the experience for applicants (see Figure 8). For new employees,

the onboarding process includes multiple touch points that

immediately help make them feel connected and productive.

For example, new employees are welcomed by a note from

their hiring managers reinforcing why they were hired. Current

employees are also encouraged to use the internal social

networking site to reach out to new hires, welcoming them to

the team. Even before the first day on the job, new employees

have the option of using their LinkedIn accounts to help identify

people from their networks who work at the company, and they

can also sign up to get a mentor.




Source: Ultimate Software, 2014.

Figure 8: The Ultimate Software “Welcome Aboard” Portal for New Employees

Case in Point: Ultimate Software—Instilling an Employee-Centric Culture (cont’d)




Ultimate also recognizes that the employee’s family is critical to

the successful integration of new hires into the culture. Benefits

packages are generous and inclusive (e.g., all employees get an

equity stake in the company) so that all employees and their

families feel that the company cares about their well-being and

the things that are important to them. The sense that the company

cares about them and their families helps build employee loyalty,

which is particularly important in hiring and maintaining top

engineering talent. However, top talent is not the only focus.

Founder and CEO Scott Scherr believes that all employees are

important to company success, frequently saying, “The true

measure of a company is how it treats its lowest-paid employee.”

By using its own UltiPro solution to support its “People First”

culture, Ultimate encourages person-centric design when

developing its solutions. Employees can provide better customer

service because they intrinsically understand not only what the

product does but also why it is important. While Ultimate benefits

from having its own technology available to connect employees,

the culture of engagement is primarily viewed as the direct result

of a senior leadership team that is passionately committed to the

employees as part of a “virtuous cycle”—one that encourages

employees to provide exceptional customer service, which then

translates to shareholder returns that can be reinvested in the

employees. This “virtuous cycle” has resulted in the company

being ranked among FORTUNE’s “100 Best Places to Work” every

year since 2012, as well as being listed in Forbes’s “Top 10 Most

Innovative Growth Companies” in 2014, with an 18.4 percent

average sales growth rate from 2008 to 201315 and year-over-year

revenue growth since 2002 (see Figure 9).16 e

15 Source: “Most Innovative Growth Companies,” Forbes.com, June 2014, www.forbes.com/growth-companies/list/.

16 Source: “Ultimate Software Financial Highlights,” Ultimate Software, 2014, www.ultimatesoftware.com/Investor-Relations-Annual-Report-Financial-Highlights.

www.forbes.com/growth-companies/list/

www.forbes.com/growth-companies/list/

www.ultimatesoftware.com/Investor-Relations-Annual-Report-Financial-Highlights




Getting Started: Lessons from Employee- Centric Companies

As the three Cases in Point in this bulletin highlight, having a leadership

team that will passionately champion an employee-centric culture

is critical to creating and maintaining such an organization. Texas

Roadhouse, Camden Property Trust, and Ultimate Software were all

founded by leaders who built an intense employee focus into the

fabric of their companies. However, for many other organizations, the

challenge will be to develop a leadership culture that supports moving

from employee engagement initiatives to an integrated employee-

centric strategy. HR can facilitate this transition by conducting internal

market research on employees focusing on:

• Identifying employee needs, motivations, and preferences. This

should be based on key factors such as age, job function, and time

with the company. What are the key “de-motivators” for your

employees? Is your work environment fun?

Source: Ultimate Software, 2013.

Figure 9: Employee-Centric Strategies Drive Year-over-Year Growth at Ultimate Software

$55.1 $60.4 $72.0 $88.6

$114.5

$150.1 $178.0

$196.3

$227.8

$269.2

$332.3

$410.4

2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 $0

$50

$100

$150

$200

$250

$300

$350

$400

$450

Total Revenue (in Millions)




• The strength of your employer brand. Resources like GlassDoor

and exit interviews can provide insight into how your actual

employment brand compares to what you want it to be.

• Quantifying the cost of turnover. Make employee retention rates

and reasons for leaving a standard factor in workforce analyses.

• Calculating the cost of the complexities of work. Identify

opportunities in which investment in integrated systems and tools

could streamline effort and increase productivity.

• Identifying internal structures that restrict or block the flow of

information. How do structural and political factors, compensation,

and technology support or undermine an employee-centric culture?

By developing insights into the nature of the work environment at an

organization, HR leaders are in a unique position to foster

conversations and drive the changes needed to develop a more

employee-centric organization.

Conclusion

Let’s return once more to the story of our fictional employee, Marcy.

If Marcy worked for an employee-centric company, she still might have

days when she left frustrated. On most days, however, Marcy would feel

that she was valued as an individual and that the company cared about

her success. Marcy’s pride in her company would delight her customers,

and she would recommend the company to her friends as not only a

fun place to work, but as a place where she finds encouragement and is

respected as an individual.

Employee-centric organizations are different from other companies in

their approaches to employee engagement. Using the same strategies

that build customer loyalty and satisfaction (e.g., personalization,

self-service, and a strong employer brand), these companies use their

technologies and business processes to build employee passion, which

translates into higher retention rates, higher growth, and increased

shareholder value.




• Employee-centric organizations strive to build employee

passion in order to reduce turnover and increase the

quality of customer service.

• These organizations integrate fun into the company

culture; activities are generally designed at the local level.

• Building an employee-centric organization takes

time, concerted effort, active leadership support, and

supportive technology.

• HR can foster the integration of employee-centric

values into the employee life cycle.

• HR technology can support employee-centric efforts

by streamlining tasks, personalizing the experience for

employees, communicating the employer brand, and

fostering employee interaction and collaboration.

KEY TAKEAWAYS




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