Sability is an HCM professional services firm providing system implementation, managed payroll, and HR strategy & advisory services to companies across the U.S. and Canada. For over twenty-five years, the Sability team has built a reputation on building strong customer partnerships and delivering the highest quality services and customer satisfaction ratings.

For over twenty-five years, Sability has helped some of the largest companies in the US and Canada through multiple HCM evolutions or disruptive revolutions: from mainframes to client-server, from client-server to the web, and most recently the adoption of HCM solutions in the cloud.

This week, Raven Intelligence had the opportunity to sit down with Sability’s CEO, Rob Leonard, and talk about what makes the Sability team stand out (full video interview at the end of this article). Rob has spent his whole career within HCM and has now been at Sability for 12 years. Prior to that, he held leadership positions in both Product Strategy and Professional Services at Ultimate Software and as a Vice President at a workforce management software company. Sability was a trusted partner to Rob during his time at both organizations, so he knew their people well and built relationships long before joining the team.

Standing Out from the Crowd

Sability boasts a 9.94 / 10 average partner satisfaction rate as compared to the industry average of 8.29. So, what are they doing differently than others?

Sability supports their customers with “before, during, and after-implementation services.” In addition to the actual implementation of products, their team brings broad industry experience and deep technical product knowledge to their customers that can be applied at any stage of their HCM journey. Those who are looking for managed services can also outsource functions, such as payroll or garnishments, to leverage Sability’s expertise. 

“I would recommend engaging an implementation consulting partner from the VERY beginning of the project!”

– Project leader in a North American manufacturing company implementing Ultimate Software products

The merger of Ultimate Software and Kronos uniquely positions Sability as compared to most HCM consulting partners. Prior to the merger, Sability was a top partner to both organizations for over 10 years. 

Now that the merger is complete, Sability’s team has the ability to consult with and implement the full suite of UKG products for customers and their pre-existing relationships allow them to tap into internal resources when needed to keep things going smoothly or pivot when needed.

Who are Sability’s Customers?

Sability’s customers spread across a wide variety of industries and range anywhere from 500 employees to 50,000 employees. They focus on building relationships with their clients and providing continuity of resources assigned to clients, which allows Sability’s team members to really get to know their customers and serve as a long-term partner in the customer’s HCM journey.

“Good service isn’t about the sales pitch. It’s about the people who are working on your project,” said Rob Leonard, CEO of Sability.

With existing customers, Sability continues to nourish their relationship by supporting their ongoing software needs. For example, software can become misaligned with a business over time. Sability can help their customers evaluate small investments to realign their software products to continue making the most of the products implemented.

Due to their unique history with both Ultimate Software and Kronos, Sability can also support existing UKG customers who own half of UKG’s product suite and want to evaluate the benefits of expanding their UKG portfolios.

Sability’s Consulting Team

Sability’s consultants bring a unique perspective because they’ve been in the customer’s shoes before. When recruiting, Sability looks for people that have at least 5 or more years of experience in HCM and a genuine desire to help others. Employees looking for an organization that will appreciate their contributions and treats them well will find a home at Sability.

“There’s no B team at Sability,” Leonard mentioned.

“The people at Sability make all the difference. They are knowledgeable, friendly, and responsive – which is something you don’t always get. Sability has assisted us with UltiPro Time Management programming/pay policy/shift premium programming and BI. They understand the products well and have done a fabulous job helping my company get the outcome we need.”

–  Project leader in a North American Healthcare & Medical company implementing Ultimate Software HCM and Recruiting / Onboarding

COVID-19’s Impact on Team Growth

Sability was already a virtual organization with project managers and consultants spread across the US and Canada, so the change to a completely digital operation wasn’t a hard adjustment. The Sability team was already in the habit of doing daily video calls, so there was no “pivot” period.

To their benefit, Sability isn’t geographically constrained, so they can bring top talent to their team, where ever they happen to be.

“A lot of top talent ended up on the market due to covid, so we grew quite a bit during this time,” said Leonard. “We could have grown faster than we did, but we’re okay with growing slow as long as we maintain quality.”

Taking Challenges in Stride Throughout Implementation

The Sability team operates by the basic principle of “Do the right thing and treat our customers right.”

Leonard also noted that, when there are issues, the Sability team tries to get in front of challenges early. Rather than brush problems under the carpet or waiting, they strive to have a plan in place in case it’s needed down the road.

“We want long-term, client relationships,” Leonard said. “Call it being lazy, but I don’t want my phone to ring off the hook with problems;, so we try to get it right the first time.”

“I do not give reviews lightly. The professionalism I received from Sability with our Time Management project exceeded my expectations. Not only was it set up correctly, but the team there also trained me on the module. I highly recommend Sability.”

– Project Leader in a North American Finance / Banking / Insurance company implementing Kronos Time & Labor Management 

Open communication with customers is also a big player in keeping expectations met. They also have direct lines of communication with internal UKG team members, due to Sability’s previous consulting relationship with the two companies before Ultimate Software and Kronos merged.

“Achieving industry-leading on time and on budget ratings really stems from one premise,” Leonard said. “Tell people what you’re going to do for with them. Be honest and upfront about how long it’s going to take and what it’s going to cost, and then if you deliver on that, they’re going to be a satisfied customer.” 

Not All Partners Are Created Equal

Rob also left some helpful advice for those who might be looking for an implementation partner in the near future.

“Companies should be okay with having a relationship with a partner from the beginning of their projects. Having a partner doesn’t mean something is going wrong. It doesn’t hurt to set up a relationship with a partner so when you do need them, you already know each other.”

Rob also noted that not all partners are created equal. Websites like Raven Intel have a valuable purpose to help customers get a sense of what’s different from one logo to the next. If you’re considering a specific partner, you can also ask the software vendor to learn about that partner’s reputation internally.

2023 Plans

With the merger of Ultimate Software and Kronos, Sability has some exciting plans for 2021. They are currently building API integrations with some insurance companies, which will be a big step forward for the current users of UKG Pro. They plan to help their customers evaluate their options for product expansion and want to stake their claim in the market as the partner best suited for full suite product implementations of UKG software.

They also anticipate growing their managed services offerings, which seems to have been accelerated even more due to COVID-19. Companies are realizing that if their payroll person is out sick, they have no one to run payroll that week. Sability can help companies of all sizes manage the complex payroll laws and serve as a strategic partner, so employees being out sick doesn’t interrupt pay schedules.

For more information on Sability, visit their Raven Intelligence profile to read their customer reviews or check out their website.