Video: 10 Minute IT Jams - An update from UKG

UKG puts people first. That's the message from Neil Song, Vice President for APAC and Latin America at the HR technology firm, who shared insights into the company's vision, recent innovations and the challenges facing Australian businesses.

"Our purpose is people," Song emphasised, sitting down to discuss UKG's expanding role in the market. Known for its suite of HR and workforce management solutions, the company's aim is clear. "What it needs to do is unlock outcomes for people within the workplace," he added.

UKG provides a range of tools—including HR, payroll, and workforce management systems—tailored for organisations of all sizes. Song described two flagship offerings. "UKG Dimensions is our flagship product in the enterprise market space and UKG Ready is our solution that is optimised for the small to medium-sized business," he explained.

The company's reach is impressive. In the APAC region alone, UKG has operated for more than two decades, with a workforce of over 300 employees and about 800 clients. "We have more than 300 employees across the region, with the majority being here in Australia. We have approximately 800 customers across the region that run the gamut from small up to some of the very largest employers," Song noted.

UKG has established networks in several sectors, particularly in healthcare, retail, and hospitality, reflecting the makeup of the Australian economy. "We built communities," Song said, highlighting targeted initiatives in these industries. "Specifically in retail, hospitality as well as healthcare, since there's a lot of commonality that all different flavours of healthcare are confronted with from a workforce perspective. Similarly, from a retail perspective, we have a vibrant network of partners across the region that we work with."

As challenges such as staff shortages and skills gaps grip the employment market, UKG is investing in the future. The recently launched 'Elevate' programme, delivered in partnership with local universities, offers internships and graduate opportunities to nurture new talent. Song described the initiative as "a feeder programme for us. We want to bring in new talent - talent that has different skills - but also since we're very focused on diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging (DEI&B), that's one of the ways we can facilitate that process."

He noted the urgency of such schemes amid the ongoing war for talent. "The talent battle that we have here in Australia has never been higher," Song said. "It's specifically a great thing to be doing now with staff shortages and skills shortages at the moment."

Innovation is also front of mind for UKG. Besides its internal development, the company is growing through acquisition. "We always look for acquisitions that could be complementary to the current offerings that we have. We just acquired a UK-based start-up which focuses on workforce planning and budgeting, and we'll be feathering that into the solution set that we have. Secondly, and maybe even more importantly, we acquired a company about a year ago called Great Place to Work," Song explained.

Great Place to Work, widely known for its workplace culture surveys, integrates into UKG's broader approach to help clients "become not a good place to work but a great place to work for all." Song said, "It really helps our customers realise what's possible when they invest in their people. In talking with CEOs around the world, everyone wants to talk about people, and certainly no more so than as we've gone through COVID and our new normal as we're moving on."

Digital innovation and data-driven decision making are core to UKG's current strategy. With every employee in each client company using the platform multiple times a day, Song said UKG has "unprecedented and unparalleled access" to workforce data. "Employers have unprecedented access to information from their employees. So, to the extent that we could take things like Great Place to Work and DEI&B and have it co-located and resident within our core product, that will give people the ability to use artificial intelligence and machine learning to give them more information quicker, so that it's more like headlights for the company versus looking in the rear-view mirror."

Ensuring cultural relevance and community engagement is another plank to UKG's approach in Australia. Song serves as the executive sponsor for the firm's Reconciliation Action Plan within the country—a framework for organisations to support national reconciliation with First Nations people. "That's a journey that we've undertaken over the last year or so, and there's more that we'll be doing there over time," he said.

Inclusion also plays a significant role internally. "We're very proud to have recently been certified as a family inclusive workplace, and one of the things we're most proud of is that Diversity Council Australia has given us an 82 percent rating of diversity versus the norm in Australia, which is 49 percent," Song shared.

While compliance and cost savings remain important, Song stressed the wider mission. "Directionally, we're laser-focused on not just driving compliance and driving cost savings for companies, but really our purpose is people and driving employee experience, and helping people actualise becoming a great place to work."

Looking ahead, Song underlined UKG's continued commitment to innovation and inclusion as it edges further into the digital future. "I think it's important to note that we operate across all industry sectors. Our purpose is people, right, and that means a full suite of solutions that deal with HR, payroll, workforce management solutions for all people," he concluded.