Ghirardelli Chocolate Company Enjoys World-Class Support and Increased Employee Satisfaction with Ascentis Payroll
Bellevue, Wash. (September 01, 2009) – Ascentis Corporation, a market leader in easy-to-use human resources software and online payroll services, provides unmatched customer support to Ghirardelli Chocolate Company. A recent interview with Renee Primer, Ghirardelli payroll manager, demonstrates how Ascentis works closely with its clients to ensure ultimate performance and peace of mind.
Primer says: “The customer service experience with Ascentis has been excellent. I’ve worked with larger, nationally-based payroll companies in the past, but the support we get from Ascentis has been truly exceptional. The fact that they’re willing to come to our offices and train us onsite is an amazing contrast to other companies.”
When Ghirardelli needed custom GL configuration, Ascentis responded quickly and comprehensively. “When we needed to reconfigure our general ledger, the Ascentis client support representative took the time to ask us all the right questions, went back and customized our system, and then presented a great solution to us. I found the experience phenomenal,” Primer said.
The ability to test new configurations has been an invaluable advantage for the payroll department. “One of the most powerful capabilities we have with Ascentis Payroll is the ability to test before we launch major systemic changes. For example, we can easily set up new directories and test pay codes or integrations with other systems before we actually process payroll. Because of this thorough test capability, we know new implementations or configurations will work and as a result we push out an accurate payroll every time,” Primer said.
When manual processes became overly burdensome, Primer realized that expanding the capabilities of the payroll department using employee self-service made economic sense and would improve employee satisfaction. “The payroll department was spending a lot of time with paperwork and manual processes. We were printing and mailing pay stubs, which cost us administrative time, paper and postage. It took time out of our schedule, and created a lot of busy-work for the payroll department. It made sense to think about amplifying our capabilities through a self-service delivery model,” Primer said.
After implementing Ascentis Employee Self-Service, Ghirardelli employees were able to be more involved in their payroll experience. “By allowing employees to bypass the payroll department, they can be proactive in ways that they couldn’t experience before. For example, employees find it very convenient to be able to quickly add or change their direct deposit information online. The tax simulator has been a great tool for them to use when making decisions about withholdings. Employees now view check stubs at their convenience, and see W2 information. Overall employee satisfaction has definitely improved, and the administrative burden on the department has been significantly reduced,” Primer said.
Source: Ascentis
