Increasing WOTC Screening Compliance with an Integrated Solution
Automated Work Opportunity Tax Credit (WOTC) screening and compliance saves this supermarket compliance manager time — and also saves tress.
As Talent Management Compliance Manager for United Supermarkets, Marka Branson oversees many of the company's compliance programs, including pre-employment screenings such as background checks, drug screening, I-9 compliance, unemployment claims and Work Opportunity Tax Credit (WOTC) for 17,000 employees in 96 stores, a manufacturing plant and two distribution centers.
Marka recently spoke to us about her experience with ADP and her relationship with her dedicated account manager, Lyn, who, along with ADP's leading-edge technology for WOTC screening, helped remove the burden of manually screening applicants for WOTC, which resulted in an improvement in the financial benefits the company receives. Here's what Marka had to say:
Moving From Paper and Spreadsheets to Automated WOTC Screening
"Before we automated applicant screening for WOTC, we were using a paper packet. We just handed it to applicants and had them fill it out whenever they came in for their interview. Then it was up to the hiring managers to complete their portion of those forms and mail or fax them to ADP. Half the time they would fax them to us, instead of to ADP, and they didn't come through clearly."
"There was a lot of tracking. I was running all kinds of reports — weekly reports, monthly reports — there are so many different ones that I had to access through our website, and I had to email them to all the stores. It was a major headache for me to keep track of all that."
"Since we've integrated with our applicant tracking system, Oracle Talent Acquisition Cloud (Taleo), I run one report every Monday to ensure that the hiring manager completed the last step of the process that's now fully automated. Once an applicant who has completed the screening is offered a job, the hiring manager simply clicks a link to show that the person has been hired. That sends the employee information and job offer information to ADP; if they miss this step, they show up on this Monday report. When we started out with Oracle Talent Acquisition Cloud, there were probably 60 to 80 people on that report every week, and now it's down to 25 to 30 because I send it out every Monday with instructions."
Smooth Integration With a Dedicated Implementation Specialist
"ADP has a great team to work with to get everything set up. Sara, the ADP integration specialist, worked with the third-party consultant that we engaged to do the work in Oracle Talent Acquisition Cloud. Implementation was very smooth. We actually did three things at once. We integrated ADP's WOTC screening with Oracle Talent Acquisition Cloud, we implemented a new I-9 management solution and we changed our background screening provider. Three huge projects all at once, but the ADP piece was so simple. Sara and our consultant communicated with each other, they sent each other specs, performed testing and set everything up behind the scenes. Then we just looked at it to make sure it all functioned the way we wanted it to, but it was very little effort on our part. The ADP piece was definitely the one that went the most smoothly."
"In the beginning, I was running all those reports and constantly reaching out to the stores, following up and sending notices to get the paper packets filled out. Lyn kept telling me, 'You don't have to do this on paper, they can screen on a phone, they can screen on an app, they can screen as part of the application process within Oracle Talent Acquisition Cloud.' Finally, we got approval for full integration with Oracle Talent Acquisition Cloud, which happened about a year ago. Now the WOTC screening questions are part of every job applicant's application process."
Saving Time and Trees
"The single most impactful change I've experienced since integrating ADP's WOTC solution with Oracle Talent Acquisition Cloud has been time savings. It's saving me a lot of time and we're not killing all those trees! I used to spend three to five hours a week on WOTC paperwork; now, I'm spending 30 minutes."
Monumental Jump in Screening Compliance
"In the past, we weren't necessarily screening every single applicant because we were using the paper packets, and a lot of them fell through the cracks. Just the other day, I pulled a report on screening compliance and we've seen a 30 percent increase in the past year. It took a few months for us to really start to see the increase, but we're up to about 95 percent screening compliance, which is awesome. As a result, our credits will likely increase substantially as they are processed."
Time to Focus on Other Compliance Areas
Because of the integration of ADP's WOTC solution with Oracle Talent Acquisition Cloud, the time I'm saving is being put to better use, allowing me to focus on the other compliance responsibilities of my job. In my role as compliance manager, I need to make sure that the company is compliant in many areas, so that extra time back in my week is a really big help!"
QUICK FACTS
- Company: United Supermarkets
- Headquarters: Lubbock, Texas
- Industry: Retail Grocery Chain
- Number of Employees: 17,000
- Payroll Platform: Infor (Lawson)
- Product: ADP® Work Opportunity Tax Credit (WOTC)
- Learn more about United Supermarkets at https://www.unitedsupermarkets.com/
