UKG, a leading provider of HR, payroll, and workforce management solutions for all people, today announced that TravelBrands Inc., one of the largest travel companies in Canada, is achieving excellence in HR and workforce management and experiencing significant time and cost savings with UKG technology following its merger.

A division of H.I.S.-Red Label Vacations Inc., TravelBrands offers flights, hotels, cruises, and vacation packages as well as access to travel agents worldwide through its wholesale and retail divisions. The organization went live on its full-suite UKG solution in 2021 for a seamless human capital management (HCM) and workforce management experience that led to substantial efficiencies and cost savings of $150,000 in just the first year.

“The results we’ve experienced with UKG are magnificent,” said Diana Valler, chief human resources officer at TravelBrands. “A few years ago, we went through a merger and acquisition. Each company had its own HR system, and each was limited in what it could do, and it was important to come together as one company with a single employee experience. To achieve the scale we needed, we had to move to a robust, automated platform. We chose UKG to manage our entire employee lifecycle and the transformation has been quite magical.”

In its first 12 months with UKG, the travel company experienced a 10% reduction in turnover and a 25% decrease in the amount of time to resolve HR and payroll issues, as well as a 50% reduction in time spent generating weekly and monthly financial reports.

“In the past, many of our processes were manual,” said Valler. “For example, we had challenges pulling reports, and our timesheet process was a burden on managers as they had to complete approvals by the end of each day. A single error could lead to hours of extra work, resulting in additional burden and expense to the company. UKG has made us more efficient by automating and streamlining our HR, administrative, and payroll processes, resulting in lower overhead costs and a reduction in turnover.”

These administrative improvements have improved the overall employee experience, starting with recruiting.

“Recruiting has been a game changer for us,” said Valler. “Almost immediately, we saw a reduction in attrition because our people now feel part of our company from day one. We can communicate with them first as job candidates, then easily onboard and progress them through the system while providing access to important information along the way — all within UKG.”

Previously lacking insight into the day-to-day performance of employees as well as the ability to analyze workforce trends, Valler says the combination of people analytics and performance management has played a significant role in helping TravelBrands make better decisions about its people, their career development, and opportunities for growth within the company.

“Now, we can see where our people are in their work journey as well as how they are inputting their goals and progressing toward those. We didn’t have that ability in the past,” said Valler. “With access to that information, we can reward our employees for their performance, ensuring a culture of high productivity, and make the best decisions in support of the company as we continuously look for ways to improve and innovate.”

Deeper insight into employees and their preferences — along with UKG and TravelBrands’ shared commitment to people — is also helping the organization attract and retain a more diverse workforce and have more meaningful conversations around diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging in the workplace.

“People come from different backgrounds and it’s important to listen to them and understand how they think, how they feel, and what’s important to them,” said Valler. “UKG gives us tools to meet our people where they truly are, based on their unique needs, and optimize performance and productivity accordingly. We are fortunate to have a partner in UKG, whose purpose is people, as that belief is also core to our DNA.”

“Our technology was built specifically with people in mind, by providing organizations with actionable insights into their workforce to optimize operations, drive productivity, and make better business decisions,” said Chris Todd, CEO at UKG. “Having helped many customers navigate the complexities of mergers and acquisitions — and going through a historic merger ourselves — we know the crucial role technology plays in bringing people and businesses together. The success TravelBrands continues to experience is an example of what can be accomplished when like-minded organizations come together and put people at the center of their business strategies.”

Supporting Resources

• About TravelBrands.
• See how TravelBrands is earning accolades for success with its full-suite UKG solution.
• Learn more about UKG and why our purpose is people.
• Research from Forrester, “The Total Economic Impact™ of UKG Pro and UKG Dimensions,” shows an 89% return on investment and payback within six months.
• For the seventh straight year, UKG Pro ranks highest in 2022 Gartner Critical Capabilities for Cloud HCM Suites for 1,000+ Employee Enterprises.
• Follow UKG on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and YouTube.

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