The Heartland Center for Behavioral Change aims to transform the lives of those most vulnerable by providing treatment services and assistance in minimizing this population’s involvement in the criminal justice system.
Leading this meaningful work is CEO Kyle Mead, who since taking on the role of CEO has concentrated on streamlining processes, enhancing the employee experience and consolidating vendors, so that Heartland’s employees can focus on delivering impactful care. Thanks to the recommendations of financial and auditing consultant Forvis Mazars, and ADP, he was able to do just that.
They took the time to listen, address our questions and guide us through aspects we didn’t even realize we needed to understand. Implementations are well within ADP’s wheelhouse and they were dedicated to ensuring we implemented the best product possible.
Kyle Mead,
Chief Executive Officer
Heartland Center for Behavioral Change
Challenges
- Operational inefficiencies were widespread due to the reliance on multiple disconnected systems
- With multiple new financial and HR platforms launching simultaneously and no HR director, Heartland needed assurance that their new HR and payroll platform would have a straightforward implementation
- Heartland aimed to preserve its longstanding benefits broker relationship while introducing a new employee benefits experience
How ADP helped
- With the help of ADP Workforce Now, the Heartland Center for Behavioral Change transformed its payroll and HR processes by consolidating four systems into a single, user-friendly platform. This integration worked seamlessly with their new Sage ERP, improving data accuracy and eliminating the need to manually transfer data between systems. Kyle and his leadership team were now equipped with real-time data to make well-informed business decisions and by utilizing features such as Carrier Connections, employee self-service, and the Voice of the Employee, ADP empowered Heartland to deliver a best-in-class employee experience.
ADP Solutions
- ADP Workforce Now®
The challenge of inefficient systems
Upon stepping into his role as CEO, Kyle encountered significant operational hurdles, particularly regarding the lack of system integrations. “We were bringing on individual vendors to solve individual problems. Not looking at the big picture led to a reliance on multiple systems, creating inefficiency and the potential for costly errors.”, he says. “Logging into all these different systems, trying to meet our HR and payroll goals, was very human-error prone.” This highlighted the urgency for a more cohesive solution.
Forvis Mazars suggests the right fit with ADP Workforce Now
Initially, Kyle and his team chose C Biz, hoping it would serve as the one-stop shop they needed. However, they quickly discovered that it did not meet their expectations. At that point, Forvis Mazars, Heartland’s auditor intervened and recommended Kyle explore ADP. Their representative at Forvis Mazars was familiar with ADP’s proven track record and confident it would provide the comprehensive solution Heartland required.
“At that time we didn’t have an HR director. We were implementing Sage, an ERP new to us so we couldn’t just put things on hold. And even though we didn’t have an inhouse payroll or HR expert, we weren’t going to compromise. We were relying on ADP to deliver our vision.” ADP not only met their needs but also skillfully guided them through the implementation process. Kyle explains, “They took the time to listen, address our questions and guide us through aspects we didn’t even realize we needed to understand. Implementations are well within ADP’s wheelhouse and they were dedicated to ensuring we implemented the best product possible.”
A unified platform for enhanced efficiency
One of the most significant advantages of ADP Workforce Now is its seamless integration into a single platform. In the past, using multiple vendors meant that payroll, HR, recruitment, benefits and time and attendance data had to be downloaded and manually verified. Kyle expressed his relief, stating, “If I missed entering a former employee’s data in just one of our systems, we could end up paying that employee after they had left. We really need everything on one platform. I love that I no longer have to log into four or five systems.” The enhanced efficiency of having everything in one place not only saves Kyle time but has also led to cost savings. He estimates that he is saving around $1,000 a month thanks to the efficiencies provided by ADP.
Kyle values ADP’s commitment to acknowledging his long-standing relationship with his benefits broker, the Miller Group. And thanks to ADP, Heartland was able to strengthen this relationship through its Carrier Connections integration, a custom interface between the Miller Group and the ADP Workforce Now platform. “I stood firm on certain points, such as maintaining my relationship with the Miller Group. The success of Heartland Center was important to ADP, and they collaborated with me to ensure it would work,” he states.
Enhancing Employee Experience and Retention
From its leadership team to its managers and front-line staff, ADP Workforce Now has transformed the employee experience at Heartland Center. “We like being able to present a variety of options to our employees, like the Wisely payroll card” Kyle notes, emphasizing the importance of offering different pay options, especially for employees without a traditional bank account. He also likes having integrated options like 401(k) plans embedded directly within their financial platform. “Better reporting helps employees provide the documentation needed to get a loan against their 401(k),” he added, illustrating the tangible benefits of this ADP integration.
Kyle has also noticed a significant reduction in the amount of time it takes to onboard new employees now that he isn’t switching between multiple vendors during the process. “We have definitely noticed a decrease in errors now that we aren’t working with so many vendors and going through so many duplicative steps,” explains Kyle. Once the ADP benefits modules is fully implemented, he is confident that employee satisfaction around onboarding will only continue to grow.
With these new capabilities at their disposal, Kyle notes, “We haven’t even begun to explore all of ADP Workforce Now’s modules,” highlighting the potential for further improvements, especially in talent retention. Now, after their first 30 days, employees are asked to complete a survey. “Using ADP’s survey tool, Voice of the Employee, Heartland is capturing employee feedback and data. Previously, we relied on SurveyMonkey – a separate, and unsecured platform that required yet another login and subscription fee.”
Looking to the Future
This newfound clarity allows Heartland to remain agile and “right-sized,” with ADP providing the necessary support. “We don’t have to wait to plan and implement; we now have the data, and the sky’s the limit,” he says confidently.
He is also eager to take advantage of the training and certification features available in the ADP Workforce Now platform. “Certifications and licensing are essential in mental health and healthcare. We look forward to the day when all of our team’s certification and renewal information is consolidated on one platform. I am confident that ADP will support us when that day arrives,” he adds.
Reflecting on the partnership, Kyle states, “ADP has been a crucial ally in our transformational journey. We expected that many of our requests would be met with a ‘hard no,’ but ADP consistently seeks ways to say ‘yes’ and create positive outcomes.” Thanks to their collaboration, the Heartland Center for Behavioral Change is now better equipped to serve the community more efficiently and effectively than ever before.
