Going live with UKG is only the beginning. Your organisation changes, your people change and, because UKG is a cloud platform, the technology continues to evolve too.
But how do you know when your internal team could benefit from Application Management Services (AMS)?
From my experience, there are five signs I would look for.
1. You keep hearing: “It’s not working”
This is often the first sign.
But when someone says the system isn’t working, the question I ask is: is it really not working, or is the solution no longer configured to do what you now need it to do?
You may also find yourself making frequent manual changes or corrections. Processes such as timekeeping or scheduling should, as far as possible, be self-sustaining, with the right checks and reporting in place.
If manual intervention is becoming part of everyday operations, it’s worth looking at why.
2. People no longer remember how to use it
Training can’t be a one-time activity.
People leave, new employees join and even experienced managers forget processes they don’t use regularly. In industries with high employee turnover, that knowledge can disappear particularly quickly.
I sometimes compare it to driving. You might have learnt how to drive years ago, but if you rarely drive on a dirt road, would you immediately remember how to handle one?
UKG is similar. Change management, training and reinforcement need to continue beyond go-live so that people know how to use the solution properly.
3. It takes too long to make changes
Another warning sign is when the business asks for a change and months later it still hasn’t happened.
Usually, I see a combination of two problems: “I don’t have the time” and “I don’t know how to do it.”
Your team may know what needs to change but lack the specialist knowledge to make it happen. Or they may spend hours searching for the right resource or guidance without finding the answer.
AMS gives them somewhere to go when they get stuck.
4. Your ticket backlog keeps growing
When tickets keep coming in but aren’t going down, you may simply not have enough resources.
An internal team of one, two or three people can’t be an expert in every area of UKG. With AMS, you’re not limited to the knowledge sitting within that small team. You have access to a broader group of specialists who can support more complex requirements.
That additional capacity can help keep the workload — and the pressure on your internal team — under control.
5. You’re not keeping up with what UKG can do
UKG is a cloud system, so it doesn’t stand still.
New features, fixes and functionality are introduced regularly. The challenge for an internal team is finding the time to review those changes, understand them and work out which ones could benefit the business.
We often find that a customer is trying to solve something using their existing knowledge when a newer capability could make the process easier.
Turning those signs into action
AMS gives your internal team access to the specialist knowledge and additional capacity they need to keep UKG working for the business — not just today, but as requirements, people and the platform itself continue to change.
And that’s ultimately where I see the value of AMS.
It’s not simply about fixing tickets. It’s about keeping your knowledge, your people and your UKG platform evolving together.
Recognising some of these signs in your own UKG environment? Talk to one of our UKG experts to explore how we can support your team