Tech & Innovation Blog
Celebrate National STEM/STEAM Day with ADP
Early Talent, Impact, Women in STEM
Celebrate National STEM/STEAM Day with ADP
Grace Hopper Celebration 2022
ADP is a place with opportunities to grow, from supporting young talents to providing resources for women technologists.
According to Microsoft’s study in partnership with KRC research, young girls lose interest in STEM as they get older. However, the study found 63% of middle school girls who know women in STEM feel powerful doing STEM. By connecting and building their confidence in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math), we can make a difference in our future workforce.
By hosting STEM events, increasing the number of STEM mentors, and building an inclusive environment, we can all take part in encouraging young talents to develop their interests in the field.
Supporting Young Talents
With a commitment to growing opportunities for women in STEM, ADP’s International Women’s Inclusion Network (iWIN) Business Resource Group (BRG) was proud to offer insight and guidance to new technologists, even before the young talents begin their careers.
ADP just participated in the amazing and successful GirlHacks 2022 Hackathon. Aini Ali, Vice President of Major Accounts Operations and member of ADP’s International Women’s Network Business Resource Group (BRG), had this to say about it, “The iWIN BRG was proud to sponsor the event that aligned closely with our mission to provide tools and a network for women and children of all ages,” Aini said.
This year’s GirlHacks, a 36-hour women-centric hackathon, featured motivational speakers, discussion panels, and mentoring programs created to inspire women and support advanced career growth. ADP iWIN BRG would like to thank the EMPOWER committee and members who generously donated their time to engage with the students. We encourage you to learn about the fantastic opportunities for collaboration and partnership our BRGs offer.
Internship: Let Talents Shine
Nina P.
With core values of inspiring innovation and social responsibility, team leaders and associates are constantly promoting the GPT Development programs, summer internship positions, and work opportunities across ADP. We take pride in providing resources and connecting with next-generation talents.
Nina P., a Data Science intern, met with her mentors weekly during her two-month internship at ADP. She utilized the 30-minute sessions to discuss project progress and personal growth.
“I love connecting with people both in and outside meetings. Everyone was there to share ideas and brainstorm together,” Nina said. “When I return to school, I’d encourage future interns to ask questions and reach out to as many people as possible from day one.”
Nina described her two-month data science team experience as innovative, with hands-on opportunities. She was assigned to work on projects that led her to learn new technologies. Nina also widened her area of interest in tech as she dived into using Natural Language Processing (NLP) which was not her focus of study at school.
At the end of her internship, the Data Science team was pleased to offer Nina a full-time position. “I am so happy to have accepted the position as a Data Scientist at ADP following my graduation from Georgia Institute of Technology,” Nina said. “I am thrilled to be surrounded by such a brilliant group of innovators starting in December!”
Women in Technology (WIT) 2022
Women in Tech Scholarships
ADP sponsors scholarships to encourage women to pursue tech careers through the Women in Tech (WIT) organization, promoting STEM opportunities for young talents.
In June, ADP was a VIP sponsor of 2022 Women in Technology (WIT) Connect, one of Atlanta’s most engaging and interactive events for science, technology, engineering, arts, and math (STEAM), with over 700 top-level executives and leaders attending. This event was about giving back and supporting the development of young girls and women in STEAM. The event highlighted the WIT Girls, Campus, and Single Mothers in STEAM, awarding scholarships to the WIT Girls and WIT Campus students.
Jimmy Adams, Senior Vice President of Global Product & Technology, and Melanie Shook, Vice President/General Manager of Small Businesses Services, presented the scholarship of $15,000 to Rian T., a student in Information Technology at Georgia Gwinnett College. Rian, the WIT Campus Scholarship third place winner, would be using the scholarship to fund her studies.
Jimmy Adams and Melanie Shook Presented
2022 WIT Campus 3rd Place scholarship
As the Executive Sponsor for WIT, Melanie shared her journey helping with the WIT scholarships to her recent appointment on the WIT Advisory board.
“STEAM careers have always been part of my DNA. As an industrial engineer out of college, I made it my mission to promote the advancement of these fields and did so individually,” Melanie said.
Fast forward 20+ years later, she connected with WIT and was immediately drawn to the organization and empowering girls and women in STEAM. In addition to WIT, ADP is a National Club partner for Girls Who Code, and a sponsor for the Grace Hopper Celebration.
“I’m proud to work for a company that encourages leaders to drive an increasing presence for women in STEAM,” Jimmy said. “It’s been great watching the Atlanta WIT events and community grow over the past years.”
ADP also celebrated the current and future female leaders in tech at another WIT Awards ceremony in October. The awards included Girl of The Year, Campus of The Year, and Women of The Year, along with a WIT Build Her Up award for an individual who championed women in their networks, workplaces, and communities.
“The mission remains the same, and I can’t wait to meet the girls at the WIT Campus Next Level Up Mentorship Program closing event in Alpharetta,” Melanie said. “I’m excited to see what the future holds in our partnership.”
For the Campus Club of the Year award, we presented $5,000 to Georgia Gwinnett College as the top college campus across Georgia, recognizing their sponsorship with companies for workshops, competitions, mentorship, and internship placement.
“Providing opportunities for women in technology will enable a more diverse workforce for ADP and all technology companies in the future,” Jimmy said. “There is a lot of momentum with our WIT partnerships, and the future looks bright!”
Manjula (seond from the right) and her team
The Future: Support Women Technologists
Women make up more than 50 percent of our workforce at ADP, and we continue encouraging them to celebrate each other’s achievements to build an inclusive culture here.
Manjula G.
“I am passionate about ADP’s commitment to support WIT and other programs,” Manjula G., Senior Director of Product Development, said. “The opportunities allow us to foster a workplace that attracts, engages, and retains the top tech talents, building reliable and innovative HCM solutions for our clients, partners, and associates.”
Initiatives such as supporting talents and building business resource groups for women technologists have also helped ADP earn recognition from different organizations.
We are named one of the Top Companies for Women Technologists Winner for the third year by AnitaB.org. Further reading: Meet ADP Women Technologists who spoke at Grace Hopper Celebration 2022.
Celebrate National STEM Day with us! Consider volunteering, joining mentorship programs, and giving back to the communities.
#NationalSTEM/STEAMDay #GHC22 #ADPTech #WomeninSTEM #YoungTalents
Interested in a tech career at ADP?
Click here to search for your next move, and visit Who We Hire.
Tech & Innovation Blog
How to Determine if Returning to a Company is the Right Choice?
Voice of Our People, Career Advice, Career Insights
“To me, ADP is a tech-first company where innovations are always welcomed and are prioritized first.”
To Boomerang or not to Boomerang: How to Determine if Returning to a Company is the Right Choice?
David C.
According to a recent article, The Rise Of Boomerang Employees During 2022, published by Forbes, experts noticed a rising number of boomerang workers—meaning people who left their jobs and are returning to the same company.
We recently met David C., Senior Director of Application Development, at our tech New Hire training and discovered his boomerang story and learned more about his career journey. With more than 20 years of experience in a wide range of technologies, including DevOps Solutions, Datacenter Architecture, Product Architecture, Storage Architecture, Cloud Architecture, virtualization technologies, Active/Active, and Standard Disaster Recovery Solutions, David shares key elements to consider before returning to a company.
Coming to ADP
David’s ADP career began in 2000 when he worked as a consultant in product engineering, installing web-based applications into the hosting center. He had different roles throughout his career and landed in Development, leading MyADP/Mobile DevOps teams.
“I went from analyzing products for installing, building, and testing Disaster Recovery Sites to working for client support, infrastructure, deployment delivery, automating process, and moving to AWS,” David said. “It’s always fulfilling to grow with different teams at ADP!”
His team worked to support production clients and development groups for deployments, delivery, performance, and monitoring, where they tracked the daily health of all environments residing in the hosting centers.
Migrating all our data center from Roseland to Bridgewater in 2002 was a memorable milestone in his career. “I was so proud to receive the President’s Award for growing our data centers to support our products,” David said.
Over the next few years, he worked with more teams and helped launch the MyADP product. David was extremely honored and proud to be nominated for ADP President’s Club hosted in Spain, where they celebrated Sales and IT’s achievement in 2014.
David and his wife in Spain
Taking a Turn
David’s career journey took a turn in 2019 when he left ADP to work in DevOps for a bank, supporting more than 150,000 users. The new environment was a growth experience for him.
“I’ve learned about supporting structure, especially crisis management and reliability-related topics in the banking industry,” David said.
A significant difference he noticed between working for a bank and ADP was our environment and emphasis on tech. “I value our focus on tech. To me, ADP is a tech-first company where innovations are always welcomed and are prioritized first,” David said.
It was difficult for him to leave ADP after 19 years, and he’s so glad to be back. “I came back after two years at the bank. The leadership teams at ADP always make me feel included. Friendships and the culture were the biggest reasons I decided to come back,” David said. “The bonds you build at work are irreplaceable.”
David and His Family
Boomerang Self-Assessment Questions
We were curious about David’s decision-making process before he returned and asked him to share some insights.
He gave us these five questions to ask before returning to a previous employer:
1) Why did you leave the company?
2) Has the direction of the company changed since you left?
3) Were you concerned about the company’s previous direction? What were the concerns?
4) What role are you taking when you return? Are you moving to a position you previously couldn’t?
5) Do you see yourself growing in the new position? Does the path lead you to the future you envision?
You might be interested in exploring other good reasons for returning to your former employer. Recommended reading: What to Do When You’re Returning to a Company You Used to Work For by Harvard Business Review.
Returning to ADP
David took a big step by returning, and he’s happy to grow his career within DevOps as they build the infrastructure for automation. When we asked for details on why he returned, he shared with us how amazing it was to see the teams expanding in a great direction. During his two years away, the team continued building a solid support system for clients. Every day was a learning experience through virtual, in-person networking and mentorship.
“As an associate, I enjoy working at an organization where they value each employee, providing guidance and support programs,” David said. “I was especially grateful for ADP’s support in my education. I worked full-time while taking classes online and graduated with an Associate Degree in Business Administration.” The balance between family, work, and personal growth is the foundation for David’s passion as a Senior Director of Application Development at ADP.
Welcome back, David!
Interested in a career in Application Development? Let’s work together!
Learn more about working at ADP here and our current openings.
Podcast: ADP’s UX Leader on Data-Driven Design
Podcast: ADP’s UX Leader on Data-Driven Design
Transcript
Mark:
Welcome to PeopleTech, the podcast of the HCM Technology Report. I’m Mark Feffer. My guest today is Joe Kleinwaechter, the vice president of Global UX for ADP. Among other things, it’s his job to make data accessible and useful. So he’ll tell us about those efforts, about how you make use of tens of millions of records and whether analytics and HR deserves all the attention it gets, on this edition of People Tech.
Mark:
Hey Joe, it’s good to see you again. Could you tell me what you’re working on right now? ADP’s a big company, deal with a lot of data. You are basically in charge of helping people get access to the information. So what’s that translate to on the ground right now?
Joe:
On the ground, my job is a lot of questions. Asking lots of questions and trying to really understand. One of the greatest challenges with us as human beings is that we think we have a really good understanding of others and we only understand it through our lens. And so trying to dismiss that and constantly realize that people do things a lot differently than I do on a daily basis. So my job is to figure out when they need data, when they need access to something, why do they need it? What are they ultimately trying to do? Not necessarily, yeah, maybe they’re trying to get their pay slip, but why are they doing that? What’s the bigger picture?
Joe:
Because it’s in that understanding of what they’re actually trying to do and those emotional states they have, that I can maybe get them there quicker to the end, rather than through a series of steps such as this is the way you always get your pay slip. So I really focus a lot on trying to listen for things that don’t make sense to me or are cognitive dissonance to the way we think about the world.
Mark:
Do you have an example of that cognitive dissonance?
Joe:
Yeah. It’s funny. You think that, listen, if I wanted to pay in the old days, if I wanted to pay somebody, I would have to go to my wallet, give them money because that’s where the money was, in my wallet. And it was only until you realize later that the money was just there because that’s all we had. People didn’t want to have a wallet. People didn’t want to have money. They wanted to ultimately give something in exchange for something else. They didn’t even want to spend money. They wanted to go get a cup of coffee at Starbucks.
Joe:
And then Starbucks figures out guess what? If I have a card for you, I can keep on file for you, or I can know about you. I can maybe help you get there better, not just in paying for the money, but maybe there’s something else. Your favorites, your history. How you operate. Things that make you happier as a customer that maybe you didn’t think about when you pull out your wallet with your Starbucks case, $20 for my coffee. But at the same time, what were the other things along the way that maybe could have been easier for you? So in my job, it’s not just about how do I go and look at my pay. I got to figure out what are they really trying to do? Are they trying to figure out if they have enough money to pay something? Or better yet, maybe they have some ambitious goals to try to accomplish and I can help them along that way. And that’s exactly what we’re doing in wisely right now, in our wisely product line.
Mark:
Now, obviously ADP has a ton of data and that’s kind of factored into your work, I would think. How does it factor in? How do you approach making all of this data digestible and useful?
Joe:
By ignoring most of it. I know that sounds kind of contrarian, but you could get absolutely awash in all of the data. Data’s a really fascinating thing. They say from a mathematical sense, data never lies, no, but, reading it does, right? Somebody could say something perfectly legitimate, but you can interpret it a lot of different ways. So the danger you have with lots of data is that the more you read, the more you make it confused. And what you have to do is take the data and figure out, okay, what can I start with as a hypothesis? Does the data support this? Does it not? And if it’s not, how do I change and pivot on my hypothesis? Those pivots often come by taking that hypothesis and trying it out with people. Seeing does it resonate?
Joe:
Okay, this says, this says this about the great resignation. This is what we know about it. Is that really what’s happening down there? And that’s where UX comes into play. Because we then go out and say, okay, we have this hypothesis, the data says this, what really is it? Is it really true or not? Maybe there’s other ways to interpret that data. And that’s probably one of our biggest challenges, there’s many ways to look at data and you can make data loo, however you want, right? The old statistics line, right? You’ve got to figure out a way that it’s unequivocally true for the people that you serve and localized to their needs. That’s the hard part about data.
Mark:
Okay. Can you tell me a little bit about the technology that’s behind all this? What’s going on under the hood?
Joe:
You mean gathering the data?
Mark:
Not just gathering the data, but putting it together and presenting it in a way that’s usable.
Joe:
Yeah, I think the biggest thing we have to focus on really is what are people actually doing versus what does the data? So the data gives us a starting spot, but really the really good data comes from what they’re actually doing as they’re using your software, for instance. How are they using it? What are they doing? So the best data is the one that actually follows them doing what they’re trying to do, rather than maybe some larger data set that gives you great demographics and breakdowns, but doesn’t really get personal enough. So what we typically do, I’ll give you a great example. In one of our latest products here called Intelligent Self-Service, we actually go back and look at all of our calls that come into the service center. And we find out which ones are the most plentiful, because those are the ones that are probably, our hypothesis is, nobody wants to call into a service center. Nobody wants to call cam Comcast, right? Or call Google. They don’t want to do that. So therefore, how can we subvert those calls ahead of time?
Joe:
Well, okay, we go and look at the top 10, and this is what they’re calling in for. It doesn’t really tell me why or what their circumstance was, or other characteristics like do they really need a human, maybe they need some confidence. We then take that data and apply it in, let’s say hypothesis. We say, listen, people want to know, for instance, who their HR benefits person is whenever they do this. We then watch the way they behave using our software and say, okay, at this time we think they want this. And that combination will help them not call. So it’s a series of hypothesis driven design along the way that takes the data that we see in the call center, combined with the demographics of what we know from our products and how they use our products. Combined with what the user did at that moment, that triggers us wonderful little in, we use the AIML phrase, this black magic that happens with AIML that causes us to say, oh, these things when together have a high degree of confidence that what he’s trying to do is this. Give him this.
Joe:
Now 20 years ago, I mean, we’ve been try AI for a real long time, right? For a very long time. And what makes it really good today is that the models have gotten so good that we’re right far more than we are wrong. Remember the old days of Clippy trying to figure out what you were trying to do? Hey, it looks like you’re trying to write a resume. Irritating as all get out. But now we know what you’re actually trying to do with some high degree of confidence, because we have so much data that built that model so great that we actually have a good idea that maybe not only can we tell you what you need, but maybe we can actually do it on your behalf if you want us to.
Joe:
And that’s really where the state of experience is going to, can we be predictive? Can we be insightful? Can we be intuitive to what they’re trying to do and then be bold enough to offer to do it. And then when we find out that we’ve got really high degree of confidence, that we can do it every time, maybe recommend doing it on their behalf, without them knowing about it, if that’s what they want. That’s the model that the experience is going to.
Mark:
Well, how does this all fit into ADP’s efforts overall?
Joe:
In which respect? In terms of the UX, the experience model, this intuitive model?
Mark:
Yeah.
Joe:
So I would say right now we recognize that the big position that ADP has different than a lot of others in the industry and competitors, is that data, is the wealth of data. It would not be wise for us to ignore the fact that’s a competitive differentiator. So we use that data all over the place. So what’s really key? Our data sciences inside of ADP are pretty, pretty high level. And I say that with the great degree of confidence, because I’ve seen it operate on myself. Our AIML models that we have out there for telling where you’re going to go separates from everybody else. Now, since we have all that data, now the question is what’s the right thing to do with that data? What is the proper thing to do with the data?
Joe:
And our view is really simple. If it helps our clients, our customers, our users out there to do something that they wanted to do or to make them aware of something that they want they should know, then that’s good. Right? So it’s the alignment of that big data through a good model to get into the data at the right time. That’s across the whole product line. That’s across everything ADP is trying to do. We’re trying to become, a little bit like a barista at Starbucks where we know you enough that maybe we have your coffee ready for you because you always do that. You come and say the usual. Okay, good. Here’s the thing that took you half an hour to spout out before, now happens as you get in line. And that’s what ADP is really trying to do, is to be there before even you are there.
Mark:
I mean, obviously there’s a lot of technology behind this and that makes me wonder, how has the technology evolved over the last 10 years say. Which as the technology was evolving, it seemed also that the use of data was spreading. And I’m curious about, first how the technology became more of a foundation. But also how did the growing demand for it influence the technology and vice versa?
Joe:
Yeah, there’s a couple of things. It’s funny having been in many industries that relied on data. There’s a good natural checks and balances with the using of data as we know. There’s good ways to use data. There’s bad ways to use data. And it’s different for every person. I used to, and I still do, refer to something called the creep factor. Something is creepy. Back in 2002, if somebody told you that you need to get in your car because your flight is going to leave in a half an hour and the roads are blocked, you’d be kind of like, well, that’s kind of creepy. How did it know all this stuff, right? And you go, well, that’s creepy. But there’s a point at which you say but that’s useful. Okay.
Joe:
In the early days, we didn’t expect people to have all of that data. Now we’ve come to the point where we are growing up with societies where our kids and all others just assume you have that data, just assume that data is out there. It’s a different world about what we assume the data. Right or wrong, or whether you have that data, they make an assumption that data is there. Therefore, why wouldn’t you use it for me? How dare you not use it to help me become better? And that’s a far cry from where we were in the early 2000s, where how dare you use that data, to the point we said that data’s actually pretty useful. I kind of like the fact that you can do this for me. And then you start allowing a little bit more data, a little bit more data. And next thing we have data fields all over the place that are being mined for lots of different reasons.
Joe:
First, it was just concrete data, physical data. Now it’s behavioral data. How you operate, where you move, where you go. And to the point that it’s useful, great. But there’s always this paranoia that it’s not being used in the right way. And that’s something that I think is really healthy. I think that’s a really healthy check on making sure that we are good ambassadors of that data.
Mark:
What do you mean by paranoia around the data?
Joe:
Well, I think anytime somebody knows something about you that you either A, didn’t want them to know or didn’t know that they know, there’s a natural paranoia in us that asks how are you going to use that? What are you going to do with that, right? And knowing that if this were a benevolent world where everybody was going to use it, right, we’d have no problem with it probably. Not everyone, but a higher majority. But now we’re in the place where we have to be very careful about those that want to use the data to harm us or to use it in a way that annoys us at the very least, right? The scam calls that you get all the time, all the phishing techniques that are being used, things like that. There’s a whole black science of UX out there to trick you to go do things because they have some data, right?
Joe:
There’s reason HIPAA was set up, right? There’s a very valid reason why HIPAA was set up and needs to be needs to be respected and done because of the bad that you could do with that data they aren’t governed correctly. So we treat governance with data incredibly, incredibly important. It’s at the top of what we do in all of that governance. We know we have an ethics board. We have our chief data officers constantly making sure that we are using data in an ethical way. And that it really truly not only is just ethical, it’s got to be valuable. It’s got to be something valuable for our clients and our customers. Otherwise, it’s just data.
Mark:
I’d like to shift gears a little bit for the last few questions. Delivering data in the flow of work, the whole notion of in the flow of work is gaining a lot of traction. A lot more vendors are exploring ways to present their products that way. Does that pose any particular challenges for a data service or is it better? What’s your response to it?
Joe:
Yeah. There’s a fascinating thing that I learned, again back in the early 2000s, I worked at a company that we decided at the time Google had come up with Appliance, right? That you could put inside your internet and all of sudden you could use as a search engine localized to your internet. We put the Appliance up there and it didn’t perform well at all. We let it run. We let it run for a couple of months and it kept getting data. It could never, the finds were just not good. They weren’t even close to what you would get on the internet. And what we learned from the Google data scientist at the time was the reason that the internet is so valuable as a search tool and so accurate, is because it has so much heterogeneous dat. Data that doesn’t appear related but in a way is, and that heterogeneous data gives us a much greater chance of finding that needle in the haystack that you’re looking for.
Joe:
Whereas inside of a company, it all looks like the same thing, give me the latest dev report, give me the latest financial report. It’s more of a monocosm of stuff, and therefore you couldn’t find things. As we start meeting people on the go, where they are, we now have the chances for other types of data to improve that. Now depending upon where you land on the privacy of knowing where you are, geofencing and things like that, there’s a lot that can be done by knowing where you are. The question is by knowing where you are could you also use that for nefarious means? Yes, I guess so. Sure.
Joe:
So you’ve got, I think the real challenge is, as we learn all this new data, what’s right to keep and what’s right not? And that’s not necessarily our choice, right? That needs to be our client’s choice of what’s valuable because again, going back to the creep line, if I know where you are and I can offer you this new service, it should be your choice, whether you want to exchange that data for that service. Not we’re going to take this all from you.
Joe:
Companies have gotten in trouble in the past. We’re going to take this data. We’re going to read where you are and not tell you, and we’re going to give you a great product. Even if it may benefit you, the fact that you took that without my knowledge makes me suspicious that you may take it to do something else. And I think we’ve got to be really, really careful that having an honest conversation, a full disclosure and a strong ethics policy behind your data is really going to make the difference. Now with that in place, now I can meet people where they are. I can see where they are. I can get a lot more information.
Joe:
A great example. One of our customers has a lot of field workers, right? And they have their phones on, they got GPS on their phones. If they want to transmit their GPS information, great, they’ll be great. They can do it. We can tell when they’re going to clock in, when they’re going to clock out and maybe even clock them in automatically. So we get rid of the single biggest call, to most HR departments, is I forgot to clock in. Can you clock me in? I forgot to clock out. Can you clock me out? Something as simple as that, just by turning on GPS location. Is that valuable or not? Well, that’s kind of a client thing, isn’t it? You tell me. Is it something you want to exchange for that? Then I have put governance about what I’m not going to do with that data. That’s just as important. And maybe I’d say is even more important. Because just because I have the data doesn’t mean I can use it however I want. I’ve got to use it in a prescriptive way,
Mark:
Joe. Thanks very much. Really appreciate it.
Joe:
My pleasure, Mark. Thank you.
Mark:
My guest today has been Joe Kleinwaechter, the vice president of global UX for ADP. And this has been PeopleTech, the podcast of the HCM Technology Report, a publication of RecruitingDaily. We’re also a part of Evergreen podcasts. To see all of their programs visit www.evergreenpodcasts.com. And to keep up with HR Technology, visit the HCM Technology Report every day. We’re the most trusted source of news in the HR tech industry. Find us at www.hcmtechnologyreport.com. I’m Mark Feffer.
Tech & Innovation Blog
Devi R., Senior Director of DevOps, Builds Products with Empathy
Women in STEM, Voice of Our People, Innovation
“STEM, to me, is beyond degree and credentials. It’s about applying and leveraging engineering knowledge and empathy toward every product.”
Devi R. is a technologist who enjoys exploring the world and inspiring others. She joined ADP in 2020, building the ADP’s flagship MyADP with her team in Global Products & Technology. She’s been to 54 countries and all seven continents. Devi loves traveling to South Africa for natural scenery and Portugal for the history, art, architecture, and food!
Coming to ADP
Engineers build products with a purpose in mind and the goal of designing for people. I came to ADP with that mindset and found myself in a place that shares the same value.
I have been a consumer of ADP’s payroll product since 2006, so I was excited to hear about the MyADP business app project and took the opportunity right away. I thought, “I want to work on this!” It’s been two years since I came to ADP, and I’m incredibly grateful to be in a culture that values every voice.
I lead the MyADP Product SRE & DevOps teams within Global Products & Technology. For those unfamiliar with MyADP, it is a global, high traffic and volume unified UX web/mobile solution using Cloud technology. Our product is in the Top 10 business applications in the app store. Millions use the product to perform human resources, financial services, onboarding, performance management, payroll, time & attendance, benefits, retirement services, etc.
If I asked myself how my passion began, I’d say it was the endless possibilities in the field that continue to inspire me, including innovation awaiting discovery. When it comes to DevOps, I appreciate the opportunity to perform transformation across various products because it motivates me to strive for better results with my team.
Day In Life as Senior Director, DevOps
To give you an overview of my day, we get an average of between seven to 10,000 transactions every second on our product platform. My team keeps track of the error rate, meaning even 1% can be a considerable number in this user pool. The task makes my role as a technologist critical. It’s no longer about the technical skills that determine if someone is qualified; instead, it’s about empathy for what one is building.
Behind every product my team makes, we understand there are real users and the real impact the product brings to their lives. As a technologist, I make sure the technology is practical and human-centered. With a large amount of data and information, I am proud to say we handle data with security, precaution, and care. We use the data to help people, making user privacy our top priority.
STEM, to me, is beyond degree and credentials. It’s about using engineering knowledge and empathy toward every product. I stay at ADP, where I surround myself with associates who value client feedback and user experience.
Devi and her husband in Antarctica
Women in STEM
With various tech roles in the industry, I recommend young technologists invest in education and explore as many options as possible in life. The field continues to evolve and challenge the leaders with innovation, changes, and automation.
All the elements above make working as a woman technologist meaningful. I remember serving as one of the women and telecommunication junior board members for a year in my previous company. We collaborated across the nation to understand and research women technologists’ career paths at that time.
Six of us dove into why there are not enough female technologists in the field and quickly learned that many young girls get distracted from pursuing STEM early in their education. The first drop in interest in Tech happens between middle school and high school. We saw a 70% decline in enrollment to 10% by the end of that period. I encourage educators and technologists to inspire young girls, especially at around 8th grade in middle school; the earlier, the better.
As we did more research, the 10% enrollment in STEM when they first enter college drops further by the time they reach junior year. I had the same experience and recalled being one of 15 girls out of 100 students in the classroom. By the time I graduated, there were only three of us left. I kept thinking this would change over time but soon realized we are not there yet. Research conducted by the American Association of University Women (AAUW) shows why gender gaps are particularly high in the computer science and engineering fields. Download the Why So Few Women in STEM Report here.
Devi at Miscanti Lake near Atacama in Peru
Experience the Reality in the Industry
So, what can individuals do to help close the gender gaps in STEM?
I am passionate about finding out what and how to make young talents focus on STEM early in their career, including providing the right tools, giving concrete advice, and demonstrating the reality in the industry. If you are a student or a recent college graduate, check out our campus programs here.
ADP offers a Development program where young talents get an opportunity to meet with leaders and understand our products. Some of them already have a STEM career, and we provide a taste of the real world before hiring them at the end of the program to become full-time associates.
I’m motivated to mentor these recent college graduates and show how much impact their decision to pursue Tech can bring. When facing intersections in their choices, I tell the young women technologists to try everything. It’s essential to understand what interests you and remember that true passion brings you further in life.
Whether building a product or entering a new career track, I encourage you to be empathetic towards the people you work with, creating a product for everyone.
Interested in a tech career at ADP?
Click here to search for your next move and visit Who We Hire.
Tech & Innovation Blog
My ADP Coming-Out Story
Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
Whether it is Women’s month, Pride month, or every month over, under, or in-between our personal lives and our professional lives, every moment matters. You matter.
My ADP Coming-Out Story
By Taylor L.M., Information Security Project Manager
Woman. Femme. Queer. Daughter. Wife. Mother (of two). Sister (of seven). Friend. High school drop-out and Wellesley College graduate. Political science major. Data Security Professional.
I proudly shared everything listed above except for the queer part when I started working at ADP nearly eight years ago. That’s not to say I didn’t celebrate everyone else’s “out” statuses. I was in ADP’s Pride Business Resource Group (BRG), where I walked in parades. I rejoiced when we won Obergefell v. Hodges and laughed hysterically with friends when Melissa Ethridge handed Ellen a toaster oven. Yet I continued to “hide” that part of myself in the corporate environment. I was in a relationship with a man, so most assumed, and no one asked. When that relationship didn’t work out, I began dating a woman. I just switched her pronouns to him. But that little omission began to feel like a lie, especially as our relationship grew more serious.
Although I knew ADP supported the community and made huge cultural and legal strides, I was still afraid. I was afraid my co-workers would see me differently – afraid my team would wonder why I had been keeping this secret. Mostly I was afraid that my experience didn’t really “count.”
Did I deserve to be a member of this community that I was simultaneously supporting and keeping at arms-length? In hiding who I was, would people think I had been ashamed before I told the truth, even as I had rallied alongside this community and stood up for their and our beliefs? Had I somehow been complicit in the negativity, ignorance, and distrust of those who do not support us?
I no longer wanted to hide when I fell crazy, madly, deeply in love with Jennie. I wanted to stand up and shout to the rooftops. I wanted to bring my whole, authentic self to work. To be clear, I didn’t climb on the roof at Windward Parkway (don’t do this, it’s dangerous, and you will likely end up hospitalized or in jail). Instead, I chose to take incremental steps to test the waters, as they say. I started by telling one person, then another. I gradually changed he/him pronouns to she/her pronouns in conversations. I showed up at our team’s holiday party with Jennie on my arm.
Jennie and I got married last September, and I proudly displayed one of our wedding pictures on my laptop. Every time I screen-share, I share the bliss of two people in love. I never did see a raised eyebrow, a smirk, nor detected a micro-aggression. That’s not to say that those things don’t still happen all over the place. If you or someone you know is facing discrimination at work, research your rights and get help.
Taylor and Jennie
I’m glad to share that my experience of “coming out” at ADP has always been met with kindness and acceptance. We live in a time when labels can be ascribed to all of us – each is a unique, complex human, yet we are all the same. We struggle. We rejoice. We feel pain. We feel joy. We heal from the past, and we look to a brighter future. More than anything, we all love and seek to be loved in return. In this journey, I’ve learned that every experience counts. Every step I took made me feel better than the one before it. I could have stopped anywhere on that progression, and the outcome would have been the same: I belong, and so do you.
Whether you are “out” to one or all, not yet ready, or a faithful ally – you too belong. Everyone who celebrates love has a role in our community and this movement. Whether it is Women’s month, Pride month, or every month over, under, or in-between our personal lives and our professional lives, every moment matters. You matter. (And our community is always giving out free toaster ovens.)
Let’s work together!
Learn more about what it’s like working for ADP here and our current openings.
Tech & Innovation Blog
APIs vs. Web Service: What’s the Difference?
Learning Curve, Innovation, Application Development
Key takeaway: All web services are APIs, but all APIs are not web services.
APIs vs. Web Service: What’s the Difference?
We live in a digital age where almost everything is done through an API or Web Service. Have you ever wondered about the differences? Why should you care? This blog breaks down the differences between APIs and Web Services and explains why you might need one or the other for your business.
Definitions
Application Programming Interface (API):
APIs are a set of routines, data structures, and protocols that support building applications. You can find them in libraries or operating system services such as those offered by the language in your projects.
Web Service
Web Services are a way to provide machine-to-machine communication over the internet. W3C defines them as software systems designed for interoperability and connectivity among devices, people, or organizations across networks.
APIs vs. Web Services
Key takeaway: All web services are APIs, but all APIs are not web services.
Style of Communication
- APIs: takes in any style of communication
- Web Services: supports styles such as Simple Object Access Protocol (SOAP), Universal Description Discovery and Integration (UDDI), and Web Services Description Language (WSDL)
Operation
- APIs: Don’t need a network
- Web Services: Need a network for its operation
Web Services 101: Three Things You Need to Know
1) Web Services can be developed by one company, used by another, and hosted by a third company.
2) Developers can write Web Services in various languages and still have them communicate with one another by exchanging data using web services.
3) Web means HTTP protocol, and Service refers to request/response. Web Services are not tied to any operating system or programming language.
APIs 101: Three Things You Need to Know
1) APIs and industry standards make communication easier between different programs. They don’t indicate or restrict how you use the data. What you do with the information is in your control.
2) APIs allow you to get data between two systems in real-time. This means that you don’t have to wait for the data from one system to be copied over to the other system. You can start using the data as soon as they are entered into the first system, saving time for your team.
3) An API defines how data is stored and transmitted between systems. An API also means the operations required to process the data.
With industry-standard APIs in place, it’s now easier for one organization to say, “we support HR-Open version x,” and other organizations will know precisely what that means by learning the industry-standard API definitions and documentation when it comes to data representations and operations.
HR Open Standards Consortium (Leslie on the right)
Future Integrations: How Can You Help?
ADP works with two industry standards at ADP: HR Open Standard and LIMRA. We spoke to Leslie E., Senior Director of Application Development, and she shared with us her take on integrations for our Human Capital Management (HCM) products.
Q: What’s the difference between using HR Open standard and LIMRA?
Leslie: ADP participates in two industry standards to understand the future of application development. If you are looking for help with your HR integration from a full hire to retirement, then HR Open is a great option. If you are more interested in voluntary benefits, LIMRA would be your perfect choice.
Q: What’s the future of using API standards? 
Leslie: Using API standards is critical in moving forward. Our job is to make sure that we’re doubling down on investing our time to make these standards usable. A great best practice is to work with partners on terminology and sample data, then go through the translation step.
Q: What’s the future in application development?
Leslie: Moving forward, I’d like to see us all use integration and standards instead of building custom layouts. But it’s only possible when we work together to design, enhance, and maintain standards, ensuring they are meaningful and effective in application integrations.
As our world becomes increasingly more complex, the need for APIs will continue to grow. They will allow businesses to quickly and easily bring together various applications to share data while hiding the details of how those systems work. The industry standards set by API providers help ensure that both sides of the integration use the same structure or schema, making it easy to repeat the implementation with other partners.
Q: Why should we care about industry standards?
Leslie: Efficient communication comes from using industry standards. Industry standards allow us to define a system record, translating our languages and partners’ languages into one common language. In the end, we provide a better experience for our clients, improving accuracy and reducing errors. It’s a win-win!
Q: What’s one piece of advice for developers interested in using APIs?
Leslie: When sharing information, remind your teams to be highly content-conscious when transmitting and securing the data sets. We have a detailed security review checklist for our partners here at ADP. Make sure everything you are doing in data transmittal follows strict security guidelines!
Final Thoughts
Developers continue to find ways of combining the two services to build more fantastic applications. The web APIs vs. service debate is not one with a clear-cut answer, but the benefits for both sides are adding more possibilities to application development.
Do you prefer using one over the other? Both APIs and Web Services serve as essential cores in the field and are especially useful in different projects. Remember, while APIs can be one or offline, Web Services require a network. The overlapping idea is that all web services are APIs, but not all APIs are web services.
Interested in a career in Application Development?
Learn more about what it’s like working for ADP here and our current openings.
Tech & Innovation Blog
Nicole P., Senior Director of Application Development, Shares Traditional Vs. Agile Methodology
Women in STEM, Voice of Our People, Innovation
Agile allows teams to move faster and build better products, enabling developers to work through the development cycle in a shorter timeframe.
Nicole P., Senior Director of Application Development
Coming to ADP
Nicole P., Senior Director of Application Development, celebrates her 15th work anniversary at ADP. She received her master’s degree in Computer Science from the University of Georgia and started working as an Application Developer in 2007. “I look for the opportunities to grow, learn, and make an impact,” Nicole said. “I stay because I have never run out of opportunities to develop professionally. There are always interesting topics to tackle at ADP.”
Her current project transforms and streamlines the Sales and Underwriting process for ADP’s TotalSource business while providing a user-friendly, digitally guided Prospect Portal Experience to engage and delight prospective clients. “The project also reinforces our value by providing data-driven insights throughout the entire sales process,” Nicole said.
Defining STEM
Nicole and her family
“As a technologist, STEM is about problem-solving and innovating. It equips us to solve different challenges in the world,” Nicole said. Her first internship after graduate school later turned into a full-time job, creating device drivers that controlled satellite broadcast equipment. “I was amazed to create something out of nothing. With just bits and bytes, this equipment could control the equipment from anywhere in the world. I still feel the magic today in performing tasks with new technologies.”
Nicole believes her passion for always looking for creative solutions drives her in the STEM field. “There’s nothing more energizing than having a supportive team, a whiteboard, and a problem to solve,” Nicole said. “It is rewarding to make progress that helps drive business outcomes for our clients. I enjoy the opportunity to problem-solve in my daily job.”
Traditional Vs. Agile Methodology
“I learned about the differences between the traditional and agile methodology in one of my projects. We started with traditional waterfall and transitioned to using the agile methodology,” Nicole said. “As the project progressed, we solved the bugs we found earlier. My team found early testing and feedback to be helpful and led us to find problems sooner.”
Standard waterfall methodology takes a very linear view of problem-solving and application development with heavy upfront analysis followed by design and development. This process might require months or even years before the team ever got to collect client feedback. By then, client needs might have changed, and the solution may no longer fit their needs.
On the other hand, the Agile methodology allows teams to move faster and build better products. The method enables developers to work through the development cycle in smaller increments time-boxed in a few weeks. “The agile method allows us to code tests and get feedback early. As a result, we end up with a better product overall, incorporating the ability to pivot as a client’s needs change,” Nicole said.
Team Efforts: Collaboration
“One of the challenges in working with multiple teams across many initiatives is to make sure that we are collaborating in a way that allows us to leverage all the exciting innovation happening across the organization,” Nicole said. She ensures developers aren’t duplicating efforts and building the same things across different teams. “We must be certain to prioritize the right initiatives that drive the most values for our clients and business outcomes at ADP.”
Nicole tracks remote work and hybrid workforce models in application development, imagining the future. “We’re going to see a lot more applications and innovative technologies to help teams stay connected and engaged in projects, and helping companies manage their remote workforce.” Read about how AI/ML are driving innovation and opportunities at ADP and watch the 2022 Workforce Trends video here.
Proudest Project: Transformation
Nicole was proudest of a project called Greenfield. The project completely transformed the way that our TotalSource business services clients. “Our tech team for HRO and our TotalSource business teams partnered together to reimagine our internal business processes, service model, and technology, enabling our ADP outsourcing business to grow and provide best-in-class service for our clients,” Nicole said. “It was the most interesting, exciting, and challenging project for me. We came together to solve impactful problems for our clients and businesses while innovating with the latest technologies.”
During this time, Nicole’s team also underwent an exciting Agile transformation, releasing features at the end of much shorter development sprints. “We were putting valuable software into the hands of our clients and business partners much faster and more frequently,” Nicole said. “Ultimately, that allowed us to build an even better product due to a quicker feedback loop and the ability to pivot as business needs and priorities changed.”
“Using Agile, we involved our entire development organization, 15 scrum teams, and our business partners,” Nicole said. “It’s been about five years since we our transformation, and we still see the impacts today.”
Nicole (third from the left) at Grace Hopper Celebration
Tech Community: Campus Recruiting Events
Nicole attended the Grace Hopper Celebration twice and participated in ADP recruiting events there. She loved meeting other women technologists, and together with ADP recruiters, helped extend some of the 90+ offers made. Nicole even worked on a team for a couple of years with one of the technologists recruited from a Grace Hopper Celebration.
Nicole is also active on ADP’s campus recruiting program and new hire program, meeting future technologists. She works with Brandon P. from the recruiting team, going through all the resumes. “We have a great campus recruiting program with our talent team. I set up booths on different campuses at their career fairs, meeting the students as they stop by looking for either internships or full-time opportunities,” she said. “I share with the students what we do at ADP and help them identify good fits with their interests.”
The students ask frequent questions like: What technologies is ADP working on? What are the required technical skills? When students at career fairs ask, “I’ve only worked on Java for a year, should I apply?” she encourages future technologists not to let fear get in their way and to apply. “We expect that coming from school. However, we are more interested in candidates’ passion for technology and their ability to learn,” she said.
Advice for Future Technologists
Nicole P.
As for advice, Nicole said, “Find something you are passionate about and work hard. Be curious and persistent in pursuing your goals.” Nicole also said, “You can learn as you go; it’s impossible to know everything in advance but have faith in yourself—have confidence in yourself to learn different tasks as you grow.”
Nicole recalls her experience teaching Intro to Programming to undergraduate students while pursuing her master’s degree. She found teaching rewarding because she loved sharing knowledge with others. “Occasionally, students would come in and tell me they changed their majors to Computer Science after taking my class,” Nicole said, “Which was amazing.”
Other advice? She encourages future technologists to keep learning, stay open-minded, and look for mentoring opportunities. “I’ve been fortunate to participate in an emerging leader program and connecting with people who helped me along the way,” Nicole said. “I looked at my career differently through mentorship and appreciate my mentors who’ve guided me along the way.”
Interested in a tech career at ADP?
Click here to search for your next move and visit Who We Hire.
Tech & Innovation Blog
Looking for an Internship or First Job? Here’s the secret sauce to getting hired
Early Talent, Intern to Full-Time, Career Advice
A great candidate needs to come to the table with something to offer, and unique skills will get attention.
Looking for an Internship or First Job? Here’s the secret sauce to getting hired
By Liz Gelb-O’Connor, Global Head of Employer Brand & Marketing
Here’s some good news for people without an advanced degree. Just because you have a higher education doesn’t necessarily give you more marketable hard skills or soft skills than someone without a bachelor’s degree.
Why? You can’t learn some soft skills in school. Money can’t buy them, and books can’t teach them. But if you have them, they can set you apart. Same for hard skills you’ve developed on your own, like learning a design tool, taking a free Google Analytics course, or nurturing your love of photography. When creating a resume for your first job or an internship, dig deep and mine your hidden treasure of transferrable skills and interests to help differentiate yourself.
ADP Interns at Roseland Headquarter
A true story for you. When I hired my first marketing intern in 2014, I wasn’t sure what to expect. So, I approached the experience with an open mind and discovered something valuable—not all critical skills were found on a resume. Sadly, despite the high cost of college and university education, not all students emerge with marketable business skills. I guess that’s kind of the point of internships and first jobs, right? To gain marketable business skills. Still, a marketing class on the 4 P’s (business majors, you know what I mean!) is almost meaningless when competing for a marketing internship, while working knowledge of InDesign will likely increase your chances.
Here’s what happened. My recruiter sent me 5-6 potential candidates for our marketing internship. During the candidate interviews, I felt like a dentist pulling teeth. Or worse yet, the aunt no one wanted to talk to at the annual holiday party. Seriously, some candidates gave one-word answers and had such low energy during the interview that I wanted to check their pulse. Pro tip: Don’t be like them.
At the end of the process, only one candidate seemed viable. He accepted a juicy Wall Street internship before receiving our offer. I wanted to give up and hire an experienced temp, but my recruiter called and begged me to meet one last candidate.
Enter Mia*, a rising college senior and transfer student. A few things stood out on her resume, neither of which she learned as part of her pricey college education: she owned an Etsy store for custom-designed party invitations and had experience using Adobe Creative Suite. Not only were these skills directly relevant, but they indicated three things:
- An entrepreneurial spirit
- Ambition to learn
- An eye for design
When we met for an interview, she came prepared with great questions and displayed an authentically positive attitude. She also sent a “Thank You” note, which some people might consider “old school,” but it shows gratitude and respect to me. All things being equal, I will choose the candidate who says “thank you” over someone who doesn’t.
Two weeks into her summer internship, I was so impressed that I offered Mia a full-time position when she graduated.
Here’s the additional secret sauce Mia brought to the table:
- Initiative – She volunteered to take on tasks that I didn’t even dream of asking her to do. I’d throw out an idea, and the conversation would go something like this, “Oh! I’ll do that. I’m not sure how to do it yet, but let me figure it out, and I’ll get back to you with some recommendations.”
- Creativity – “I have this idea for If your cool with it, I’d like to design something and show it to you.”
- Collaborative – “Do you need help with that? I can help you.”
- Organically Take on More –“I’m done with that. Do you have something else for me to work on?”
- Reliable – As a leader, I’m flexible and very supportive with time-off and vacation requests. No last-minute, unexplained absences for Mia. She always requested time-off in writing and with notice.
- Respectful – She always treated people with respect and acted with integrity.
When I build my teams, I look for these traits and skills whether someone has a degree or not.
After Mia, I hired two more interns that became full-time employees after graduation. Both went on to have successful careers at ADP.
ADP associates
Some questions you may have:
What do I do if an internship requires a specific degree?
Hard skills aren’t necessary for some internships because on-the-job training is provided. That said, some internships may require you to be a matriculated college/university student to qualify. Even so, this is where your soft skills can make a difference: collaboration, creativity, reliability, being a team player, etc. If the internship program offered is unaffiliated with current college/university attendance, you may only need the skills to do the job.
So, look at the actual internship requirements and gather your arsenal of soft and hard skills that can be transferrable to that role—then showcase them on a version of your resume.
What if the job required 2 years of relevant experience and I only have 1.5 years?
Again, examine your transferrable skills and highlight them. You may have less than two years of experience in that exact role, but what else do you bring to the table? Showing you are an avid learner and taking the initiative to develop other skills will demonstrate traits that could make you even more valuable than someone with those two years of experience.
So, when you interview for an internship or your first job, think beyond your resume. Think about how to showcase the skills you have that make you an asset, a functional part of a team, and uniquely you in a way that adds something to a role. Please, don’t be the candidate with a low pulse rate. Be the one who shines with positivity and shows how you will make the existing team even better and stronger.
How did it all turn out for Mia? She stayed with our company for over 3.5X longer than the average new grad. We even featured her in one of our employer brand campaigns for our campus channel. It was indeed a pleasure to watch her learn, grow, and thrive in our company, where she moved from marketing to a tech UX Design position. We are still in touch on Instagram as she travels the world and navigates the next chapter of her career.
For more, listen to Life @ ADP Podcast Episode 3: Tips for Interviewing, How to Make Lasting Impressions, and Helpful Hints.
*Name changed for anonymity
Interested in Internships, Marketing, Sales, or Technology positions at ADP?
Click here to search for technology positions, here for internships, and here for marketing & sales positions.
Why Employees Are Dedefining What Work Will Look Like in 2022
Why employees are redefining what work will look like in 2022
As the wants and needs of workers evolve, employers will need to keep up next year.
Topics: 2022 preview | Career Development | Company culture | Coronavirus | Diversity and Inclusion | Employee Benefits | Engagement | HR Technology | Learning and Development | Recognition | Recruiting | Retention | Talent Management | Top Stories | Top Stories
Over the past nearly two years, there have been tremendous changes in how and where work gets done, along with a rising digital transformation accelerated amid the global pandemic—both of which fueled businesses to streamline workflows, empower and engage teams, and optimize for future growth. This pace of change is now quickly becoming the norm, as innovation builds further momentum. As we continue to see such significant change, what will the world of work look like in 2022?
Author Aaron Smith
The answer to that depends upon the fact that the global workforce itself stands changed as well. In fact, ADP Research Institute found that 64% of the global workforce was negatively impacted by COVID-19, including 28% who lost a job, were furloughed or were temporarily laid off, and 23% who took a pay cut. These labor market shifts have led workers to reprioritize their needs, further redefining how and where work gets done and adding pressure for employers to meet their emerging demands.
As we head into 2022, employees are driving work’s transformation. Leveraging ADP’s data into the workforce, here are four key trends shaping the evolution:
Employee visibility will be redefined
According to ADP Research Institute’s People at Work: A Global Workforce View study, in just one year, three-quarters (75%) of the global workforce made changes or plans to change how or where they live, with that trend even greater (85%) among Generation Z. Additionally, ADP surveyed small and mid-sized U.S. employers and found that 66% already have a hybrid work model in place, helping to account for this shift.
Related: What ADP Research indicates is fueling the Great Resignation
With workers no longer sharing one central location and many businesses currently operating across a mix of hybrid, on-site and remote locations, businesses will need new opportunities to increase employee visibility. To better understand the needs of a dispersed workforce, managers will use people data to gain insight into how teams are performing. This data provides employers with the real-time insights they need to drive employee engagement and performance.
People and purpose will drive workplace culture
As changing work models shift workplace culture, employers will look for new ways to build connections. ADP Research Institute found that U.S. workers who feel they are “strongly connected” to their employer are 75 times more likely to be “fully engaged” than those who do not feel connected. With connection driving engagement, employers will need to refocus squarely on their people and center initiatives around the larger purpose that unites the workforce.
To build a workplace where everyone can thrive, employers will embrace people-centered initiatives. This includes maximizing workforce flexibility through working arrangements, benefits programs and policies, and giving workers the tools they need to be successful. As businesses look to foster connection, the focus on diversity, equity and inclusion will continue to evolve, broadening perspectives and driving true, measurable progress.
Reliable data and expertise will power resiliency
The already-complex regulatory environment will see additional operational and compliance considerations in 2022, as employees continue in their remote and hybrid work arrangements. ADP’s HR Survey Series with HR Outsourcing found that nearly 20% of U.S. companies with 25-99 employees concede they are currently facing challenges with compliance and regulatory issues. That percentage could increase as regulations change.
See also: Want real change? Look to data and analytics
Leaders will need to rely more heavily on real-time data to guide decision-making and stay ahead of compliance mandates. Timely, quality data will enable businesses to act on important decisions with confidence. For example, to better manage return-to-the-workplace policies including vaccination tracking and testing, employers are using people data.
Greater innovation will accelerate growth
As business models evolve amid global shifts, organizations will turn to technology to help drive efficiency and expand capabilities by eliminating task work and refocusing efforts on strategic growth initiatives. This evolution points to the rising trend of adopting technologies that create efficiencies while enhancing the employee experience.
We’ll additionally see a surge in skills-based hiring as roles continue to evolve amid a digital transformation and the pandemic’s impact on the labor market. ADP Research Institute found that more than one in four workers (28%) report having taken on a new or changing role due to pandemic-driven labor market shifts; for Gen Z workers, the number jumps to 36%. Since the pandemic began, many workers were required to learn new skills and take on additional or alternate duties beyond their usual jobs to adjust to new work models, many of which have become permanent operational changes.
Workers understand that these new skills make them even more attractive in a tight job market, and they will continue to pursue new opportunities—internal and external—where they can apply their unique strengths. Businesses wanting to retain valuable employees and accelerate employee performance will need to make sure they are providing opportunities to develop newfound skills or embark on a new career trajectory within the organization with more potential for growth. Additionally, employers will also rely on technologies, such as machine learning, to identify workers with the right skills in unique places, such as former applicants who may have previously applied for alternate roles.
Looking forward
As the dynamics of work continue to shift in the year ahead, employees will play a large role in how businesses adapt. To drive business performance and growth, people are the key to success. Without people who feel connected to the work they’re doing and empowered by their employers to succeed, growth is but a goal. Only when working in tandem can businesses and their people achieve their fullest potential.
Aaron Smith is senior vice president of Product Development at ADP.
Tech & Innovation Blog
Cheryl L., VP of Product Management, Inspires Her Team to Ask Better, Meaningful Questions
Women in STEM, Voice of Our People, Innovation
Cheryl’s team asks themselves: How can we develop the most innovative payroll engine? How can we do things differently? How can we transform? Let’s dive deeper.
Cheryl L., VP of Product Management, Inspires Her Team to Ask Better, Meaningful Questions
Coming to ADP
Cheryl L., Vice President of Product Management and Strategy, leads the product management and strategy team for ADP’s next-gen global payroll solution. She is an adaptable leader with management skills capable of delivering results from strategy to execution. Cheryl is passionate about helping companies transform and grow through outstanding customer and user experiences. She has experience in working cross-functionally, communicating, and influencing all stakeholders.
Cheryl L.,VP of Product Management
Before coming to ADP, Cheryl worked in consumer retail management consulting. “I always enjoyed making an impact, so I wanted to join a client-focused company that was data and technology-driven – a company that understood the importance of the digital world and technology,” Cheryl said. “ADP was the one company I never found a reason to say no to, and that’s how my journey began.” She stayed at ADP because she loves the people and the culture here. Her teams and managers support innovative ideas, embracing a positive working culture.
Leadership: Teamwork
There are different strategies in ADP’s transformation to a technology company, including focusing on leadership, developing innovative technologies, and making global impacts. Cheryl believes ADP’s transformation to a technology company has different meanings to different teams. “From business operation to data science, everyone’s contribution matters. We’re in this together and I’m so glad to be a part of the journey,” she said.
Leaders at ADP advocate diversity and inclusion efforts, embracing associates from different teams and years of service. “You could be a frontline worker to meet the company’s executive officers and know they’d love to hear your thoughts,” Cheryl said. “I appreciate the mindset we have as a group, and I believe understanding every associate’s voice benefits engagement and productivity.”
As a leader, she appreciates her team’s ability to approach problems with logic. Her team enjoys passionate debates with critical thinking. People on Cheryl’s team educate and have intellectual conversations with each other, never shying away from challenging questions. “My team is great at asking questions. Why? What can we do differently? How do we influence others to approach their work? What is the best we could provide?” Cheryl said. “I appreciate the availability and openness in teams at ADP. Each mindset has a unique, diverse lens in approaching problems.” We are proud of the working culture at ADP, where we promise every associate with career advancement and personal growth.
Mentorship Opportunities
Cheryl in front of Taj Mahal
ADP does an excellent job by providing different mentorship opportunities for technologists. As Cheryl reflects on her career at ADP, she shares methods to identify the opportunities and how she connects with people across various teams. “I felt it from day one that people recognize and value all mentor-mentee relationships,” Cheryl said. “I encourage associates to let people know you’re looking for a mentor.”
As a mentor in the technology group, Cheryl believes mentorship is important because it’s not just about work; it is about growth, receiving practical advice, and gaining perspectives. She has been a mentor for the last two cycles in a formal mentorship program, connecting with other women technologists. “Each round of mentorship takes about six months, and the experience has been fascinating,” Cheryl said. “I have been in contact with every mentee since the program ended. It’s a long-term professional connection that empowers, inspires, and makes a difference in one’s career path.” She feels privileged to get to know people outside of her areas and help them think through the challenges, the opportunities, and the focus of their careers.
STEM: Foundation in Life
Cheryl received a B.S. in Electrical Engineering at the John Hopkins University and an MBA from the University of Texas at Austin. With years of education and working experience, she defines STEM as the foundation of every discussion. “It is the foundation of science, technology, engineering, and math. STEM is about the ability to solve problems with evidence and to think logically,” she said. “This type of thinking helps me connect with absolutely anything and anyone in the world.”
She recalls sharing with a friend about her niece making paper airplanes over Thanksgiving. The scenario reminded Cheryl of her time in school, studying math and science. “We talked about aerodynamics and related topics. The experience comes back to the core science,” she said. “It’s the ability to use mathematical and experimental technique employed logic to solve any problem that comes your way.”
Advice for Women in STEM
Cheryl (second from the left) and Her Friends
There are endless possibilities in technology development and those who work in tech. “You’re not limited by anything. I encourage women technologists to keep learning because you would apply the knowledge in unexpected areas of life. All you must do is to try. Getting a no is not the worst thing in the world. Don’t be afraid of rejections. Those experiences are helpful for you to acknowledge the right causes, giving you time and opportunities to analyze the outcomes,” Cheryl said. “You could then think about how to pivot, do something new, and change. We should be more afraid of never getting the experiences in the first place.”
Cheryl sees changes as evolutionary and essential in her career path. She went from working at a top-three management consulting firm on beauty and consumer brands to working in payroll and technology. “I’m excited to move from strategy to product with ownership and ability to drive more tangible outcomes,” she said. “I’m excited to figure out what my next step is, continuing leading teams and meeting great minds at ADP.” She is grateful for her decision to come to ADP, working with talented associates and managers.
Outside of Work: Baking Hobby
Cheryl’s Homemade Apple Pie
We are interested in learning what recharges the associates. For Cheryl, baking brings her joy and laughter. She bakes once a week outside of work and enjoys reading about desserts. She was excited to share she created a small delivery service in her community during the pandemic. “I started driving around, delivering the sweets to my friends who lived close to me,” Cheryl said. “My absolute favorite is Apple pie, and I’m also obsessed with making marshmallows from scratch.” Her friends are so lucky to have her!
#ADPTech
To Cheryl, #ADPTech is creative, passionate, and innovative. “I believe you must be passionate about what you’re doing and why you’re doing it. I appreciate my teams and their innovations, always asking the essential questions,” Cheryl said. “We ask ourselves: How can we develop the most innovative payroll engine? Let’s figure out the ecosystem. How can we do things differently? How can we transform? How can we think differently? What does it mean if we chose one direction over the other? Let’s dive deeper.” At ADP, we value feedback and outcome together as a team, tackling every step of the challenges together.
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