Global Hospitality Company Uses UKG Pro to Support Aggressive Growth Strategy and Seasonal Hiring

UKG, a leading global provider of human capital management (HCM), payroll, HR service delivery, and workforce management solutions, announced that City Experiences, a hospitality company that offers water-based experiences, land-based experiences, overnight cruise experiences, and ferry and transportation services around the world, is using UKG Pro to win the war for talent and give its global workforce a shared technology infrastructure.

“The same HCM environment for all employees makes everyone feel connected”

City Experiences offers cruises in the United States, Canada, and the U.K., and in 130 countries through its Venture Ashore brand. The company houses employee data from seven countries in Pro, and employees have access to their data in English, French, Spanish, and Italian. The company uses Pro to aggregate global employee data for improved decision making and uses the solution’s recruiting and onboarding functionality worldwide. The company’s HR challenges include hiring and retention, an issue impacting the hospitality industry globally.

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“We’re now in a different world from 2019, and Pro has helped us navigate our biggest HR challenges,” said Justin Thulien, SVP of HR at City Experiences. “The success and survival of our company depends upon our ability to recruit talent. If we don’t have enough people to staff a boat, that boat doesn’t sail. UKG Pro Recruiting gives us the ability to instantly evaluate the effectiveness of our recruiting and engagement efforts, and its reports on time-to-hire help us accelerate our recruiting process. In today’s environment, if you can’t close the deal and get an employee hired quickly, someone else will.”

Thulien noted that a robust recruiting process is just the start of the company’s talent management strategy. UKG Pro Onboarding provides new hires with a fast and meaningful introduction to the company, minimizing paperwork and promoting an immediate sense of connection.

“We are committed to building out the crew experience for our employees, so they have the best possible 30, 60, 90 days, and beyond,” said Thulien. “Pro Onboarding makes employees feel comfortable and productive immediately, and the user-friendly interface helps employees feel welcome even before their first day. We also have a very seasonal business, with cold weather impacting our ability to operate during winter months. With Pro, the rehire process to get people back in the system is seamless.”

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Thulien reported that City Experiences has undergone rapid global expansion through acquisition during the past few years, and a single HCM solution for all employees helps unify the company’s culture.

“The same HCM environment for all employees makes everyone feel connected,” said Thulien. “The UKG Pro mobile app has been particularly helpful in this regard, as a majority of our employees work outside the office, whether from home or traveling from port to port. The mobile app gives our employees direct access to their HR data, and they can stay up to date on company news through the Pro dashboard. This positive employee experience is also an important retention tool.”

“Innovative hospitality companies around the world are seeking ways to increase the speed and effectiveness of their recruiting process,” said Chris Todd, president at UKG. “We are pleased that City Experiences is gaining substantial efficiencies with our solution as well as sustaining its global culture with Pro.”

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