Interview with Nicole Bello, Vice President, EMEA, UKG

UKG, which stands for Ultimate Kronos Group, is a culmination of the powerhouse brands –   Kronos Incorporated, Ultimate Software and PeopleDoc – united together to create one of the world’s largest cloud companies. At UKG, we operate under the tagline “our purpose is people” which is a reflection of the values the collective brands hold in high regard. People are at the heart of UKG.

Our CEO Aron Ain has often said that great businesses are powered by great people, so in everything we do, every decision we make, we put people at the centre of it. And we walk the talk, often soliciting feedback from employees, customers and prospects to assist in decisions about the brand. In fact, we’re in the throes of evaluating employee suggestions of what we should call ourselves – prior to the merger, we were Kronites and UltiPeeps.

It’s exciting to be part of an organisation that truly cares about the input of its people and works hard to instil a feeling of belonging and purpose. The importance of our people is further supported by our recent ranking as 6th in the UK’s Best Workplaces to work in tech – the third consecutive year we’ve been honoured on the list.

What is so unique about our new brand is the synergies between the three company’s product offerings, as they allow us to offer an innovative, cohesive HR Suite. Our products and services empower organisations to bring the perspective of people into the centre of what they do in order to digitise HR, HCM and workforce management practices that address challenges of the future of work today.

By doing so, companies are able to better manage compliance complexities, control costs, boost productivity, increase employee engagement and improve the employee experience, allowing them to meet the challenges of tomorrow.

 

 

What advice would you give to other aspiring female entrepreneurs?

 
The most valuable piece of advice I can give to any aspiring female entrepreneur is to listen and offer flexibility both to your teams and to yourself. As a leader, my main focus is always on people because I truly believe that if you help people become the best they can be, then they are going to do more and flourish, which ultimately drives results.

The new world of work we’re operating in has brought on increased stress for many and contributes to a number of different issues, including burnout and poor employee engagement. By bringing in greater fluidity into the way we work, we enable ourselves and our people to be more motivated, productive and empowered, and this is where I feel adopting what I call, work-life integration helps women in business.
 

 
Work-life integration is all about getting things done, but during the times of day that allow you to do so. This means that when you’re working, you’re all about work and when you have other responsibilities then you’re focused on those. Every day is different – some days you could be bringing you child to school in the morning, then logging on to complete work tasks later on. Some days I focus on family in the early evening and log back on after my kids go to sleep to complete urgent tasks.
 
I believe that encouraging an environment of work-life integration helps people get the most out of what they are doing. That being said, everyone’s situation is different and there are innumerable employee profiles to consider, but I strongly believe that by offering a more malleable approach to the traditional 9-5, both your teams and you will thrive.
 

What can we hope to see from UKG in the future?

 
UKG is well positioned to serve the needs of customers across Europe and around the world. For Europe in particular, customers will have access to an innovative end-to-end HR and workforce management solution that will inspire their people from pre-hire to retire.

UKG will enable organisations to digitise HR and workforce management practices that address challenges of the future of work today by connecting employees to their work and their colleagues, developing strong leaders and teams, providing insights that promote better business outcomes, and helping organisations develop people-centred HR programmes and effective operations—demonstrating that, when companies focus on caring for their people, they will see more engaged employees that yield positive long-term results.

The pandemic has accelerated the arrival of the future of work, presenting new challenges for businesses and employees, not only where we work, but how we work. Greater demand from workers and greater complexity in business structures now presents us with the opportunity to reboot work and build a better version instead of a return back to normal. Our technology enables this and assists businesses in transforming their HR, workforce management and HCM processes.