Why A Comprehensive HCM & WFM Health Assessment Matters

In our last blog, we talked about five signs that it could be time for a UKG Pro® and/or UKG Workforce Management™ system health assessment. To help you visualize what that process actually looks like, I compare it to caring for a home. A solid foundation and regular upkeep help ensure your investment stands the test of time.

I’ve spent more than 20 years working in the HCM and Workforce Management space, and if there’s one thing I’ve learned, it’s this: your systems must evolve as your business evolves. What worked beautifully at go-live may not work nearly as well years later – but that doesn’t mean you chose the wrong system. More often than not, it means it’s time for a thoughtful assessment.

One analogy I often use with clients is the idea of building and living in a house.

When you first implement an HCM or WFM system, it’s like building a brand-new home. You sit down with an architect, talk through your needs, make design decisions, and rely heavily on assumptions about how you’ll live and work in that space. At the time, those assumptions are reasonable – and necessary.

You choose the layout, the finishes, and the functionality based on what you know then.
But just like with a house, you don’t truly understand how well something works until you’re living in it.

Once you’ve moved in, you start to notice things. Some are small:

• • “I wish we’d picked a different paint color.”
  • “This carpet isn’t as practical as we thought.”
  • “We should have added more closet space.”

Others are bigger. The kind of things that make you scratch your head and wonder how it ever seemed like a good idea. I sometimes joke about the equivalent of putting the toilet in the middle of the living room. It technically works… but it’s clearly not ideal.

In your HCM and WFM systems, this shows up as:

• • Processes that technically function but feel overly manual or cumbersome
  • Workarounds that have become “the way we do things”
  • Configurations that made sense years ago but no longer align with today’s business

And just like a home, once you start living with it, your needs continue to evolve.

Then life happens.

Maybe you have a new baby and suddenly the home office needs to become a nursery. The space didn’t change, but its purpose did.

The same thing happens in organizations all the time:

• • Growth or contraction
  • Mergers or acquisitions
  • New labor models or scheduling needs
  • Regulatory changes
  • Shifts in leadership or strategy

Your HCM and WFM systems may still be solid, but the way they’re configured may no longer support how you operate today.

Over time, many homeowners discover closets they barely use or spaces that could function much better with a small redesign. In systems, this is incredibly common too.

During assessments, we frequently uncover:

• • Features that were never fully implemented
  • Capabilities clients didn’t realize (or forgot) they owned
  • Functionality that’s available but underutilized
  • Updates or upgrades never installed or configured

These “nooks and crannies” often represent untapped efficiency, better employee experiences, and reduced administrative burden – all without changing systems.

Even if your home layout is perfect, eventually you need maintenance.

The roof wears down. The water heater ages. Windows become inefficient.

If you’ve been living in your system for many years, the same principle applies. Those configuration decisions made long ago may no longer be optimal. Software updates may not be fully leveraged. Meanwhile, system efficiency slowly erodes.

A system assessment is your opportunity to step back and ask:

• • Is this still configured in the best way?
  • Are there areas creating unnecessary friction?
  • Where can we modernize without starting over?

 A comprehensive system assessment helps bring these opportunities into focus so you can address them with confidence.

When you engage our team for a comprehensive HCM and WFM system assessment, we’re not just looking for what’s broken.

We focus on:

• • Ensuring you’re using the system optimally
  • Identifying underutilized or unused functionality
  • Explaining why certain processes feel hard today
  • Recommending practical changes to improve flow and ease of use

We do this work every day – across industries, across UKG Pro, UKG Ready®, and UKG Workforce Management – and that perspective matters.

This is one of the most common questions I hear. Sometimes weekly, and even sometimes daily.

The good news? UKG platforms are powerful, flexible, and highly configurable. In many cases, the system itself is absolutely still the right fit. What’s needed is a fresh look at how it’s been set up and how it supports the business today.

Before jumping to the conclusion that you need a new system – or resigning yourself to living with ongoing pain points – we strongly recommend starting with an assessment.

Our goal is simple: help you be comfortable in the home you live in.

That means making clear recommendations, prioritizing what matters most, and helping you build an actionable plan to resolve pain points together. It doesn’t have to happen all at once, but in a way that’s realistic and aligned with your business.

Your system should work for you, not the other way around.

Sometimes, all it takes is a thoughtful renovation – not a complete rebuild.

Ascend Discovery

We begin with a high-level discovery conversation with key stakeholders to understand your business goals, challenges, and expectations. This includes identifying primary contacts and power users and reviewing your current system configuration at a high level with minimal lift from your team.

Identify Key Pain Points & Evaluate Current State

Next, we review your current workflows, processes, and integrations. We document known pain points, inefficiencies, and roadblocks, and identify where current system usage may be misaligned with your business goals.

Configuration Examination & Analysis

Our consultants then perform a deeper dive into your system configuration. We assess historical setup decisions for current relevance, identify underutilized modules or features, and uncover manual workarounds, duplicated efforts, or missed automation opportunities.

Present Findings & Key Insights

We synthesize our observations into clear, meaningful insights. This includes highlighting inefficiencies, improvement opportunities, and alignment gaps, as well as identifying quick wins and longer-term strategic enhancements.

Curated Assessment Report

Finally, your team receives a curated report summarizing key findings from the assessment. This report is designed to support informed decision-making and provides a clear, prioritized path forward for your HCM and WFM strategy.

Before deciding to change systems – or continuing to live with unnecessary complexity – a comprehensive assessment helps you understand whether your current UKG platform is truly being used to its full potential. UKG Pro, UKG Ready, and UKG Workforce Management are powerful, highly configurable platforms. In many cases, the solution isn’t replacement, it’s optimization.

An assessment gives you clarity, confidence, and a roadmap. It helps ensure your system evolves alongside your business, supports your people effectively, and delivers the efficiency and experience you originally envisioned.

Ascend helps organizations get the most out of their UKG investment – today and into the future.

If you’re wondering whether your system is still the right fit, where inefficiencies are coming from, or how to make your day-to-day processes feel easier – we’re here to help.

Let Ascend help you feel at home in your UKG system again.

Take the first step toward a more efficient, aligned, and future-ready HCM and WFM platform.
Complete a UKG Health Assessment Readiness Quiz to find out.

View our UKG System Health Assessment Webinar