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Credit Union Invests In Its Employee Journey
August 15, 2022
Watch how Listerhill Credit Union employees embrace the company culture the HR team is striving for in the video above.
Listerhill Credit Union is a financial services company that values people over profits, as Vice President of People Operations Mallory Watkins notes. But the HR team’s ability to prioritize culture was compromised by a disjointed, inaccurate people management solution. Fragmented recruiting, onboarding, and payroll put a substantial time burden on the team and left too much room for human error, not to mention creating a lackluster employee experience.
According to Gallup’s State of the American Workplace survey, only 12% of employees strongly agree their organization does a good job of onboarding new employees. Recognizing that an employee's first days on the job set the tone for their engagement with the company, the HR team at Listerhill knew they needed an upgrade. After a thorough evaluation, Listerhill chose to shift its HR and payroll program to Paylocity.
With Paylocity’s modern, all-in-one system, first days on the job now become opportunities for HR to connect with employees instead of filling out endless paperwork. As employees continue their journey at Listerhill, its digital-forward company culture removes friction for both HR and the employees they serve.
In Paylocity, Listerhill Credit Union found a responsive and available HR and payroll provider they can trust to help them create a rewarding experience for their 280 employees.
“The time we save using Paylocity frees us up to focus on employee engagement, and we can now run regular monthly events focused on employees.”
Mallory Watkins, Vice President, People Operations
The Challenge: Disconnected System Risks Accuracy
With an unsupportive, unavailable provider and critical functionality stretched across multiple platforms, Listerhill's HR team couldn't be a resource for its employees.
When Mallory started at Listerhill, the company was using Paycor as its HR and payroll solution, and there were issues from day one. The HR team had to perform everyday tasks in separate systems, and there was no way to ensure everybody was on the same page. As Mallory explains, “Recruiting didn’t talk to payroll, which didn’t talk to timekeeping. You had to update in all three places.” The solution didn’t meet the needs of the company, especially when it came to data insights, automation, and above all, creating an accessible and straightforward experience for the people using it.
Inaccurate and Unreliable Reporting Proved Risky
Before Paylocity, reporting was inconsistent. Plus, Mallory and her team often had to manipulate the data after the fact to ensure accuracy. For 401(k) data, the process involved pulling the information, manipulating it, saving it, and then copying it to a separate spreadsheet. Mallory and her team knew they needed a system with robust reporting and data capabilities.
Manual Processes Blocked Progress
Many critical HR functions involved manual steps, including onboarding. As Listerhill operates on a weekly pay cycle, it’s imperative that new hires are in the system within four days after they start so they can receive their first paycheck on time. This was impossible with the previous solution, making a bad impression for new members of the team. Moreover, Mallory’s team had to enter employee information during each step—recruiting, onboarding, timekeeping, payroll— making HR functionality redundant and repetitive.
Poor User Experience Impacted HR and Employees
Listerhill’s previous HR and payroll solution came with a mobile app, yet there were multiple versions, some of which required an access code. In fact, the usability was so poor, Mallory would advise employees not to use it. Consequently, there was no centralized hub for employees to access timely information and no digital infrastructure to support a connected company culture.
“Our company had implemented Paycor a few months before I started. I didn’t like it from the beginning - nothing was easy.”
Mallory Watkins, Vice President, People Operations
The Solution: Modernizing Elevates HR
In need of a digital solution to save time and money, Listerhill turned to Paylocity to help them transition from administrative overload to culture building.
Improved Recruiting and Onboarding Reinforce Culture
With Paylocity implemented, Mallory and her team have transformed recruiting and onboarding by streamlining and automating the entire process. From using Recruiting to identify top talent or reconnect with applicants when a position opens up, hiring is easier than ever. Mallory adds, “Once a candidate accepts an offer, Paylocity Onboarding lets us send most of what they need to fill out before their first day—like their I-9—so there isn’t a big stack of paperwork when they arrive. We’re able to jump right in and get started!” Now, Mallory and her team can spend Day One getting to know new team members.
Thinking Forward With Data Insights
Paylocity’s Data Insights is a game changer for Listerhill. Mallory explains, “There’s info I can get in 10 minutes that would’ve probably taken me 10 hours with our previous provider.” Besides removing unnecessary steps, Mallory and her team gained access to real-time reports so that when leadership needed to discuss a potential headquarters move, Mallory could immediately pull up a map of where every employee lives to determine who would be impacted by the move. Additionally, Listerhill has more than 60 employees nearing retirement age, and by utilizing generational data, Mallory can plan for the future, identifying who may be leaving soon, who can be upskilled to replace them, and even plan activities like retirement parties to show employees they’re valued and appreciated.
Mobile Access Inspires Employees to Connect
Mallory finds a solution in Paylocity’s mobile app which gives employees a variety of options at their fingertips. She explains, “With Paylocity’s mobile app, our employees like being able to see their paycheck, get their W-2s, see if they’ve clocked in, everything, all on their phone.” But beyond being the go-to place for information, the mobile app helps Listerhill support its culture by engaging employees on Community, Paylocity’s online social collaboration hub. Mallory mentions, “We post a Motivational Monday quote or saying that we schedule for each week on Community. It created a connection between employees at all our locations like we didn’t have before.” So, employees can check their pay and experience company culture, all in one place where everybody can gather digitally, regardless of whether they’re working remotely or at different locations.
“We post a Motivational Monday quote or saying that we schedule for each week on Community. It created a connection between employees at all our locations like we didn’t have before.”
Mallory Watkins, Vice President of People Operations
The Results: Replacing Manual with Meaningful
Automated recruiting and onboarding plus buttoned-up data analytics enable the HR team to advance company culture in new and innovative ways.
Employee Engagement Comes Into Focus
One of the most substantial benefits of switching to Paylocity is that it frees up time through automation for Mallory’s team to focus less on administrative duties and more on people. She notes, “With Paylocity, we’re able to make sure culture is a priority because culture helps us attract and retain talent.” With Community, Mallory can coordinate a Tuesday workout group, share kudos for employees, and post job opportunities. With onboarding, recruiting, time tracking, and payroll automated, Mallory and her team can focus on being a resource for employees and creating opportunities for engagement.
Data Insights Saves $210k Per Year
With Data Insights, Mallory and her team were able to pull reports that revealed there was little benefit to keeping credit union branches open on Saturdays. By shifting to a five-day-a-week schedule, Listerhill saved $210,000 per year. Plus, access to accurate, real-time reports has streamlined communication with leadership. Mallory notes, “Being able to see statistics on a dashboard is so convenient if you’re in a meeting—especially with the C-suite—when topics are brought up. You know you have up-to-date info.” Now, everybody has the data when they need it, and cost saving initiatives are much easier to identify and make happen.
Switching to Surveys Puts $15k Back in Savings
Listerhill already had a survey provider, but opted to use Paylocity Surveys for 7-day follow-ups, 100-day follow-ups, internal move surveys, 3-year surveys, 5-year surveys, and more. Mallory says, “We prioritize following up each survey with a handwritten thank you card from us. We then review the survey and address any concerns with employees over the phone, via Zoom, or in-person. Paylocity helps us close that communication loop, which is vital to make sure employees trust us.”
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