Health Clinic Modernizes, Streamlines Employee Solutions

The Challenge

San Luis Valley Behavioral Health Group (SLVBHG) has been providing critical support and care for the people of the San Luis Valley in Southern Colorado for nearly 50 years, and they needed an HR solution that could help them go beyond payroll in caring for their workforce. In 2020, they decided to make the shift to Paylocity. “Our previous payroll provider was fine for payroll but had nothing in HR and recruiting. It was extremely bare bones,” says CHRO Toni Martin.

SLVBHG’s mobile clinic drives around the valley to bring care directly to those without transportation, which means their employees are often on the road. They needed a solution that would allow them to communicate with employees, help them track inventory, and streamline manual processes.

Finding nurses with prescriptive authority and other specialized, certified talent is an ongoing challenge, particularly in the rural area where the clinic is located. Coupled with no formalized onboarding program for new hires and disparate, antiquated systems, it became clear SLVBHG needed to make a change.

“We really needed an all-in-one integrated solution that could also track our inventory, such as phones and laptops. We were looking for a software that could take care of our recruiting needs, that would roll that information into onboarding, that would flow into payroll and benefits. We also needed better integration with our benefits. That was one major issue we had is our previous solution; it didn’t integrate with our 401(k). Paylocity fit the bill—it was everything we needed all in one place.”

The Approach

At the beginning of 2020, SLVBHG turned to Paylocity to streamline their HR and payroll processes and bring everything into one system. The mobile application allowed employees to access the time clock, their paychecks, and company announcements, which came in especially handy for mobile clinic staff.

They recently held their open enrollment period with the new platform. “Open enrollment was fantastic,” says HR Assistant Adam Vasquez. "It saved me a lot of time, headaches, and even an ulcer. Everything seemed to work just great, and it was a super simple process.”

A successful open enrollment process often starts with great communication. The team at SLVBHG started using Paylocity’s internal communications and social collaboration tool, Community, to raise awareness across the organization about open enrollment. “We have been using the platform to try to get people more involved and engaged. We celebrate birthdays and anniversaries with the platform,” says Toni.

The team at SLVBHG knows that recognition is a big part of a positive company culture. They celebrate employees with awards such as Employee of the Month and Caught You Doing Something Good. They leverage Impressions, Paylocity’s recognition tool, to issue virtual kudos to team members like “great job” or impression badges like Get it Done. “I recently sent a reminder email out, asking people to take a minute to recognize each other. And there was a flood of Impressions," says Toni. "I think it is just going to take a little time for people to get used to having the tool and using it daily, but once they remember it’s there, they love it.”

Taking Complications Out of Compliance

Managing compliance can be cumbersome for HR professionals. Paylocity’s Compliance Dashboard was a game changer for SLVBHG. “The Compliance Dashboard saves me a lot of headaches, especially at the end of the year before the 1095s have to go out,” says Adam. “It has been extremely helpful to keep up with the requirements monthly, and the dashboard allows me to quickly see what actions need to be done. It also is very useful in tracking I-9s. I used to have to go person by person and create our own spreadsheet. It cost us tons and tons of hours; now it’s a push of a button.”

Onboarding the Recruiter

In the past the team at SLVBHG struggled to find qualified candidates for their open positions. They couldn't believe the number of people who applied to the first job they posted using the Paylocity Recruiting module. This was the first time they had experienced an abundance of qualified candidates for an open position. Toni says, “we’ve had more interviews for this specialized role than [all roles] in the last five years!”

With the shift to Paylocity, they also decided it was time to bring on a dedicated recruiter, Hank Maxwell. As a new hire, Hank got to experience the new solution from Day One. “It only took two days to navigate and learn the system,” says Hank. “It’s super easy to learn, and when you put information into the system, it’s all automatic and filters through the employee journey. And it’s definitely going to save us money because it streamlines so many other programs.”

With Paylocity’s Onboarding implemented, Hank got to experience the new process firsthand as an end user. Hank says, “It was the smoothest hiring and onboarding experience I’ve ever had!” Prior to 2020, SLVBHG had to manually enter information, and the first day was spent filling out paperwork. There was no formal onboarding process or a welcome message from the CEO. Simply put, the experience was lackluster.

Onboarding tasks like signing off on the employee handbook, safety protocols, and HIPAA regulations can now all be done through Paylocity before new hires even step foot into the office. The team is working on filming videos of all office locations so employees have an engaging snapshot of the entire company from the start. Video can be an effective medium for showcasing company culture and allowing new hires to feel at home right away.

“Paylocity makes it mobile friendly and easy,” says Toni. “On their first day employees get their computer, keys and a nice welcome bag. It’s such a better experience. Paylocity helps us do all the other stuff up front, so we can focus on our people. It has also reduced about two to three hours of paperwork!” HR Assistant Torie Parks chimes in, “It’s a more personal experience and gives off that family-feel environment from their very first day.”

Reporting Up

Data has never been more important in the HR world. For the first time, Toni and her team can pull the data they need in a matter of minutes and take it directly to their leadership team. “I am working on some reporting from 2019 and had to go to our previous provider to get the information,” says Toni. “Then I remembered they don’t have the reporting features we do now. I had to manually pull the data and create spreadsheets. That would sometimes take me up to 10 days [with our previous provider]! With Paylocity, I can pull a report in a matter of minutes, and it puts the information in a pie chart, or I can drill down into the details. Our CEO is very visual, and having the information in a way he can quickly glance at and understand has been huge.”

The data is also helping the team identify how to adjust their strategies based on direct feedback from employees as they leave the clinic. “I’ve been working with Paylocity to get our information in our Turnover Report, and moving forward we are gathering this information during exit interviews and surveys,” says Toni. “Having information on where people are finding us and why they are leaving can really help us focus our efforts. We’ve never had access to that kind of data before. Now we can make more strategic decisions with the data. That is helping us form our future.”

The Payoff

Paylocity’s integrated, all-in-one solution has helped the SLVBHG team modernize their entire employee experience, right down to clocking in and out from their mobile devices. “We’re issuing a daily survey related to COVID-19, and I can see the results right on my phone," Toni says. 

And the key element of partnership has been a critical part of their experience. “Paylocity’s customer service has been great,” says Toni. “Our previous provider wouldn’t respond. With Paylocity, I haven’t had a time where I called or sent an email to our account manager and didn’t have a response that same day. If I have ever a question, I just pick up the phone and they walk me through it.”

The icing on the cake for SLVBHG of an improved employee experience and reduced administrative work is time-savings. One of the biggest examples is that their mobile clinic staff can access everything they needed on-the-go directly from their mobile device. 

“Paylocity is the full HR package. It integrates well with everything, and while we had a lot of that with our previous provider, it wasn’t to the degree we have it with Paylocity,” Toni states. “Even the mobile app is way better than our previous app. I feel like Paylocity reinvests in the product and is always updating. Whether I’m working from the office or home, all the information I need is at my fingertips.”