In the News

News Organization: People

When the pandemic hit, Ultimate Software was completing a merger with Kronos Incorporated, forming one of the world’s largest cloud companies. A stressful time to combine operations? Sure. But also a useful reminder that, in times of uncertainty, transparency and cooperation are vital.

News Organization: CNN

"This crisis has made it clear how crucial it is to bring a deep sense of empathy and understanding to the workplace." --Cécile Alper-Leroux, vice president of product and innovation, Ultimate Kronos Group

News Organization: HR Executive

About six months ago, HCM giants Kronos and Ultimate Software announced they would merge in a record, industry-changing merger valued at $22 billion. Starting Oct. 1, the newly formed company will be called UKG, standing for Ultimate Kronos Group, the organization announced this week.

News Organization: South Florida Business Journal

Four months after workforce software providers Kronos Inc. and Weston-based Ultimate Software completed their merger, the combined company said its new name will be UKG, or Ultimate Kronos Group.

News Organization: Boston Business Journal

Kronos Inc., one of the largest private companies in Massachusetts, is rebranding after its merger with a Florida software provider. Four months after Lowell-based workforce software provider Kronos and Ultimate Software completed their merger.

News Organization: HCM Technology Report

Ultimate Software and Kronos, who closed their merger in April, unveiled their new corporate identity and began hinting at plans for their combined future. Beginning October 1, the merged companies will rebrand as UKG, for Ultimate Kronos Group, and adopt the tagline “Our purpose is people.”

News Organization: Fast Company

A female executive details the different experiences she had coming out as a queer woman and coming out as autistic and explains how companies can create safe, non-stigmatizing cultures.

News Organization: The Wall Street Journal

A few weeks ago, Dave Almeda sent a note to the more than 12,000 employees at Kronos Inc. and Ultimate Software Inc.—two human-resources-technology firms that merged this spring—informing them that, instead of Sept. 8, the combined company’s return to the office would be pushed back to Jan. 28.

News Organization: Forbes

The technology we use at work now has to be just as seamless as what we use at home, because the lines between these two spaces are increasingly blurred. Workplace productivity and business continuity now rely on accessible software, people-centric design and access from anywhere.

News Organization: Forbes

It is difficult to ascertain if an employee feels “stuck” in a dissatisfying job or feels threatened by a new co-worker. Listening and empathy skills help, but leaders also need a framework for these ongoing conversations.

News Organization: Forbes

Research shows that investment in building trust — both from employees and customers — is an investment in your bottom line. Here are some key considerations to make sure you aren't leaving trust out of the equation.

News Organization: The Wall Street Journal

Workers at Ultimate Software Group, Inc. and Kronos Inc., which recently merged, began submitting many more time-off requests after the company announced in May that offices would stay closed through Labor Day, says David Almeda, the company’s chief people officer.

News Organization: The New York Times

Cara Pelletier of Ultimate Software, a Florida-based human resources tech company with more than 6,000 employees, told DealBook that “the work does not end with today’s ruling.”

News Organization: CNBC

Cecile Alper-Leroux, vice president of product and innovation for Ultimate Software, a company that develops cloud-based human capital management software, adds that adaptability and creativity — which are often considered soft skills — will also be increasingly important.

News Organization: Forbes

During a global crisis like this, every type of leader is being tested. I believe the pandemic will be a reckoning in more ways than one, as the global economy’s once-in-a-lifetime contraction is rewriting the social contract between employer and employee in real time.

News Organization: Forbes

Organizations must demonstrate a fuller understanding of their employees’ lives outside of work by creatively supplementing traditional company and benefits offerings to ensure that their people and their families can absorb the new stressors of life in quarantine.

News Organization: Forbes

In their remote work survey last year, Ultimate Software found that remote workers are nearly twice as likely as in-office employees to feel “frequently misunderstood or misinterpreted” in the workplace.

News Organization: Inc.

With virtual workplaces, those who struggle with communication and social interaction are put at a disadvantage. We need to level the playing field.

News Organization: HCM Technology Report

COVID-19 has reinforced that business continuity is not just about protecting the business systems and our customers–it’s about protecting our people and their families.

News Organization: Forbes

As we transition back to our offices, Cara Pelletier, Director of Diversity, Equality and Belonging at Ultimate Software believes many of the intimate adaptions we made to remote working can be used to reshape a more humane workplace.

News Organization: Fast Company

Working from home is one thing; working from home while your entire family is also home is quite another. It can be hard to get things done with distractions, especially if you’re helping your children do schoolwork remotely, too.

News Organization: TLNT

This is an unprecedented time for businesses, but it underscores the importance of one of the major trends in our predictions: the need to develop an adaptive workforce.

News Organization: Business Insider

Business Insider chatted with HR and workplace communication experts to compile your step-by-step guide for dealing with work when you think you have COVID-19.

News Organization: Forbes

For managers to best support the unique needs of their employees, it is essential to identify the type of remote workers who make up their virtual team.

News Organization: HCM Technology Report

Your remote or displaced employees need you now more than ever, but you cannot lead if you cannot communicate. Pivoting to establish effective and completely new lines of communication between you and your new remote workforce should be one of your top business priorities.

News Organization: FORTUNE

Those happy UltiPeeps have helped Ultimate Software score highly every year on Great Place to Work’s Trust Index Survey, which measures and evaluates employee engagement at thousands of companies globally.

News Organization: HCM Technology Report

Twelve days after announcing its imminent merger with Kronos Inc., Ultimate Software kicked off its 2020 users conference with a concerted effort to assure customers any resulting changes would be good changes.

News Organization: HCM Technology Report

Ultimate Software and Kronos, both controlled by the private equity firm Hellman & Friedman, will merge to form a single HR technology provider with $3 billion in revenue, more than 12,000 employees world-wide, and an enterprise value of $22 billion.

News Organization: HR Executive

Analysts offer insights on the just-announced $22 billion marriage.

News Organization: The Wall Street Journal

Ultimate Software and Kronos Inc. are merging in a deal creating a big new player in workplace-software products. The all-stock deal will create a company worth roughly $22 billion including debt, the companies said Thursday, confirming an earlier Wall Street Journal report.

News Organization: Reuters

HR application software providers Kronos Inc and Ultimate Software Group Inc said on Thursday they would merge to form a cloud-based workforce management company valued at $22 billion.

News Organization: HR Executive

Ultimate Software and Kronos Inc. released the news of the definitive merger agreement Thursday. According to both companies, the move will form one of the world’s largest cloud companies, valued overall at $22 billion.

News Organization: Business Insider

The rankings are based on employee surveys asking over 60 questions centered around employees' ability to reach their full potential at the company. Inclusion is one of the most essential factors for employee satisfaction, according to Fortune.

News Organization: FORTUNE

This morning, Fortune published its 2020 ranking of the 100 Best Companies to Work For. The top ranked firms are often the bar-setters for employee benefits and perks and more recently setting business standards for inclusion.

News Organization: FORTUNE

Ranking high on this list isn’t just a function of generous pay, benefits and perks—although those certainly help, as Ultimate Software (#2) demonstrates.

News Organization: FORTUNE

The survey reaches companies with more than 4 million collective employees, making it the largest ongoing survey of employee engagement in the workforce.

News Organization: Inc.

We know that automation and A.I. are standardizing repetitive tasks and lowering labor costs; it's also leaving many loyal employees out of work because of it. To gather perspective on the workplace of the future, I sought advice from Cecile Alper-Leroux, VP of Human HCM Innovation at Ultimate.

News Organization: Money

Employees can receive a 45% match on every dollar they contribute to their 401(k) plan through Ultimate Software. The company doesn’t include any caps on the match.

News Organization: CNBC

Regardless of the specific role, one key responsibility for all D&I specialists is to encourage engagement from staff across the organization. That’s true regardless of a company’s size, said Cara Pelletier, director of diversity, inclusion and belonging at Ultimate Software.

News Organization: Forbes

Giving has been core to our culture at Ultimate Software since day one. Over the years, as we’ve grown from humble beginnings with four people into a billion-dollar company supporting thousands of employees and customers worldwide, we’ve been extremely fortunate to give at a scale we never imagined.

News Organization: Nasdaq

Make the core values on which your company culture is based very clear. Some of these will overlap, and that's OK. If you've got integrity and outstanding customer service as two of your core values, they'll actually complement each other.

News Organization: USA Today

For the many Americans who enter the workforce each year, few decisions are as consequential as choosing a career. Picking a profession is only the first step, however. The next is deciding which company or organization to work for.

News Organization: Forbes

The rise of these “as a service” (aaS) offerings has overlapped with the elevation of “experience” as a key strategic consideration for business leaders. This isn’t a coincidence. They both represent changes in the way we think about our businesses, customers and employees.

News Organization: Forbes

While there are many factors influencing how your people feel about work, your company culture provides the foundation and ultimately sets the tone.

News Organization: Forbes

A business is a group of unique people working toward the same goals -- we’re in this together and we care for one another. Show new talent how the values and mission support them and their colleagues, and how every person matters for success.

News Organization: Fast Company

If we’re truly going to move the needle on workplace D&I, it’s essential to engage leaders and decision-makers—most of whom fall within more privileged groups. When we shift the mindset of the people who hold the power, we enact change in a sustainable and democratic way.

News Organization: Forbes

At Ultimate Software, we’ve embraced remote work as part of our commitment to supporting the success and happiness of our people — no matter where they work.

News Organization: Forbes

The team at Ultimate Software came up with a new concept after surveying a group of employees. They found that that the majority of employees aren’t achieving balance, but instead, are striving for a “blend” that takes into account their personal obligations.

News Organization: Inc.

In order to learn about actionable changes executives can make today to prioritize diversity and inclusion in their companies, I spoke with Cara Pelletier, director of diversity, equality and belonging for HR technology provider Ultimate Software.

News Organization: Fast Company

Annmarie Neal has worked remotely for most of her career. Now as the chief human resources officer at Ultimate Software, she’s based in Colorado while the company’s headquarters is located in Florida.

News Organization: The Motley Fool

Working from home can even be a solid career move. In fact, in a new report by Ultimate Software, 90% of remote employees say they feel very productive.

News Organization: Forbes

These days, the generational gap in the workplace seems starker than ever. The average age in the C-suite is 54, and CEOs and CFOs are actually getting older on average. Meanwhile, millennials have represented the majority of the U.S. labor force since 2016.

News Organization: Fortune

Hospitality giant Hilton topped the list of the best large workplaces for women, followed by business application maker Ultimate Software and grocery store chain Wegmans Food Markets.

News Organization: Fast Company

This is why it’s important to provide benefits and support and show rather than tell women how valuable they are to the organization. One example is Ultimate Software, which, not surprisingly, topped InHerSight’s list of the 20 Best Companies for Working Moms.

News Organization: Inc.

The common narrative is that remote workers are isolated, disengaged and cut off from their company’s culture. A new survey from Ultimate Software suggests that many of these assumptions are outdated, but challenges remain.

News Organization: Forbes

Artificial intelligence technology’s increasing sophistication and prevalence has led to incredible disruption in the world of work. Successful organizations are learning to become more personal, intuitive and supportive while leveraging innovative tools to embrace agility and direct AI strategy.

News Organization: Forbes

Interestingly, a recent study from Ultimate Software revealed that remote workers aren't just surviving, they are thriving. They are not only saving time by skipping their commute, but 50% of them reported feeling less stressed when remote.

News Organization: Fast Company

“While onboarding experiences set the foundation for your employees’ relationships with your organization, exit interviews can be the difference between a burnt bridge and an open door,” says Kathleen Pai, vice president of people at Ultimate Software, an HR technology provider.

News Organization: Forbes

Artificial intelligence (AI) and natural language processing (NLP) are enabling a more inclusion-conscious recruiting process and helping to ensure the strongest candidates aren’t accidentally overlooked.

News Organization: Fortune

To determine the 100 Best Workplaces for Millennials, Great Place to Work analyzed anonymous survey results from more than 4.5 million people, who responded to more than 60 survey questions. Ultimate Software, a maker of HR applications, ranked No. 1 on this year’s list.

News Organization: Forbes

Scott Scherr, the CEO of Ultimate Software: “A few years after founding Ultimate Software, I received a copy of The Winner Within, a leadership book by legendary basketball coach and current Miami HEAT President Pat Riley. I’ve made it a point to re-read it almost every year since.