Acquisition has significantly changed the culture - it's become a toxic workplace due to an investment company takeover - Senior Product Designer UKG Employee Review

1.0
29 Sept 2021
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Fully remote work with autonomy (though this is changing) Benefits, 401K match, and unlimited PTO (if these go, everyone will leave)

Cons

Since the acquisition the culture has **significantly** declined - nothing like Ultimate Software's phenomenal culture, and it's very sad. Ultimate Software was #2 on the Best Places to Work for a reason -- UKG is NOT Ultimate Software. The leadership has been filled and promoted solely from the former Kronos organization, and it's all older white men-- this has created a lot of corporate bureaucracy and politics -- less collaboration and no unification between the different product areas -- as evidenced by the dramatic attrition over the past year. People are literally submitting their resignation notices every day. Titles seem arbitrary and there's no clear distinction between a Senior, Lead, Manager, Director, or Principle any longer. The remote culture formerly felt unified and cohesive, with opportunities to meet colleagues in person through events and community philanthropy, but this has ceased (even with the pandemic, the virtual interactions are rare and feel very contrived). The company was acquired by an investment firm, which precipitated the merger, and it's very apparent in the way the organization nickel-and-dimes everything -- and the way the company no longer invests in its employees. It's become apparent that many of the people in leadership don't have a full understanding of the tech behind the HCM software, particularly when it comes to creating a seamless and engaging user experience. I don't feel connected to the organization in any way anymore - work feels very siloed on the product side, with no support from above.

Explore other reviews about UKG

1.0
25 Jun 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

There was once a great company named Ultimate Software, it was destroyed by a hostile takeover from H&F, a private equity firm, and a merger with Kronos to become UKG. There are very few Pros since that time.

Cons

When this company was Ultimate Software, prior to the takeover from H&F and the merger with Kronos, it was a world class company with top shelf people. The company Motto was "People First" and they truly lived by that motto, never a layoff, great working environment and stealer benefits. Since the takeover and subsequent merger with Kronos, to become UKG this company has taken a path of "Money First", which is understandable given the greedy nature of Private Equity Firms like H&F. They have systematically closed most of the offices across the US and have been expanding their footprint in Noida India, for obvious reasons. The leadership that has been put in place by H&F is clearly focused on IPO. And we all know what that means, clean up the books and make the company look as good on paper as possible. Can you say "Lipstick on a Pig". This was once a great company when it was run by Scott and Viv but now it has gone the way of the Private Equity management and is heading for a great fall.

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