WESTON, Fla., Dec. 13 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Ultimate Software
(Nasdaq: ULTI), a leading provider of Web-based payroll and workforce
management solutions, announced today that First Horizon National Corp.
(NYSE: FHN), one of the nation's most respected bank holding companies, is
using Ultimate Software's on-demand delivery model, Intersourcing, to help
manage rapid expansion. Leveraging UltiPro Workforce Management's Web access,
robust payroll processing capabilities, and ease of use to become more
strategic and improve efficiencies, First Horizon has added over 3,500
employees to its payroll in three years without adding to its 30-person HR
and payroll staff. The company expects to continue to grow over the next
three to five years, and looks forward to using the solution's Web-based
functionality to further increase productivity.
"The UltiPro portal has allowed my staff to move away from tactical
activities, such as changing an employee's direct deposit information or
looking for an employee's review date, so they can spend more time dealing
with larger issues. Plus, they are simply able to serve more people now that
they are not caught up in minutia," said Karen Sones, senior vice president
of operations and systems for First Horizon. "By serving as a central, online
location for employees to view payroll information, UltiPro assisted us in
migrating to a paperless payroll, and now we are saving $40,000 annually in
mailing costs alone."
Since going "live" on Intersourcing in 2002, First Horizon has used
UltiPro's Web-based capabilities to:
* empower employees and managers in 800 locations with the capacity to
access and update personal information, decreasing the human resources
staff's administrative workload
* give its workforce 24-7 access from home or office to their own
payroll, HR, and benefits information, including benefits choices during
annual open enrollment
* provide managers with the ability to review and update staff details
such as job history, compensation, and required training without phone calls
or e-mails to HR
* increase the accuracy of First Horizon's reporting, resulting in fewer
hours spent inputting data and more time reviewing the quality of data before
it impacts employees
* address the unique payroll needs specific to financial organizations
For instance, the bank has many employees who provide mortgage services
to customers. These employees may receive a salary plus commission or be paid
on commission alone. They are also assigned pretax marketing expense accounts
that must be maintained, replenished, and tracked. Adding another special
characteristic to the payroll process, mortgage employees who are paid
monthly must have the employee-paid portion of their benefits deducted
biweekly. Ultimate Software partnered with First Horizon to automate many of
these processes.
"With UltiPro, we are able to handle more transactions without increasing
headcount," said Sones. "UltiPro enabled us to streamline many processes that
used to be manual and make them more accurate. Audit reports created in
UltiPro add another check and balance to the system -- and we don't need a
team of programmers to write the reports."
UltiPro's ease of use has helped First Horizon's staff reduce training
costs and accomplish tasks quickly. Sones reported that her team in the HR
call center requires little formal instruction to become proficient in
answering questions related to benefit plan participation, job-related
information, or individual paycheck details. The financial institution's call
center specialists are able to move through UltiPro to find answers and
respond quickly to employee inquiries. In addition to streamlining the call
center process, First Horizon has automated its benefits enrollment process.
Ninety-eight percent of its employees have enrolled online for benefit
programs with no special training, saving hundreds of hours of manual
processing of paper forms.
"We appreciate UltiPro's intuitive design. There's a practical logic
about its navigation, so it's relatively easy to locate information or
complete a process even if you haven't done it before," Sones added. "This
ease of use plays an important role in efficiency and productivity gains
because our users can operate the system independently, quickly, and
properly. It's an important component in helping us provide the best possible
service with the lowest possible headcount."
"Many of our larger customers like First Horizon appreciate
Intersourcing's convenience factors along with the scalability and
comprehensive HR, benefits, and payroll functionality that come with the
UltiPro Workforce Management product-set," said Greg Swick, senior vice
president of sales for Ultimate Software. "We've worked closely with First
Horizon to understand its business objectives, and we're pleased that we've
been able to help facilitate the management of its growth and contribute to
the achievement of its strategic HR objectives."
About Ultimate Software
Ultimate Software, a leading provider of Web-based payroll and workforce
management solutions, markets award-winning UltiPro as licensed software, as
a hosted application through Intersourcing, and as a co-branded offering to
Business Service Providers (BSPs) under the "Powered by UltiPro" brand.
Employing approximately 500 professionals who are focused on developing the
highest quality products and services, Ultimate Software was named the 2005
Payroll Provider of the Year by the Human Resources Outsourcing Association
and listed among the 2005 Top 25 Best Medium-Sized Companies to Work for in
America by the Great Place to Work Institute and the Society for Human
Resource Management. Ultimate Software customers represent diverse industries
and include such organizations as The Container Store, Elizabeth Arden, The
Florida Marlins Baseball Team, The New York Yankees Baseball Team, Nintendo
of America, Ruth's Chris Steak House, SkyWest Airlines, and Trammell Crow
Residential. More information on Ultimate Software's products and services
can be found at http://www.ultimatesoftware.com
UltiPro and Intersourcing are registered trademarks of The Ultimate
Software Group, Inc. All other trademarks referenced are the property of
their respective owners.
For Sales Information:
Ultimate Software
Phone: (800) 432-1729
Web site: http://www.ultimatesoftware.com
SOURCE Ultimate Software
CONTACT: Darlene Marcroft, Ultimate Software, +1-954-331-7444, or
darlene_marcroft[at]ultimatesoftware.com