Kendall Hunt Publishing Customer Story | Automated Time Management

Turning the Page on HR Complexity in Publishing

Family-owned Kendall Hunt Publishing (KH)—formerly William C. Brown Company—has been in business since 1944. Based in Dubuque, Iowa, the nearly 80-year-old parent company has multiple companies under the KH umbrella, including Great River Learning and Westmark Enterprises. With more than 20,000 titles in print and digital e-books, KH serves both the higher education and PreK-12 markets.

KH’s 350 employees work out of offices in Iowa and Florida and remotely in 29 other states. The makeup of their workforce is 50% exempt, 40% non-exempt and 10% part-time. Managing the HR needs of a workforce of that size has its challenges, so they are fortunate to have a seasoned senior payroll and benefits administrator like Melanie Zakrzewski on their team.

The Quest for a One-Stop Shop

Before moving to isolved, KH utilized ADP for payroll services while relying on paper timesheets, PTO calendars and enrollment packets, which was a chore to manage. They were looking for a one-stop shop for payroll, time and benefits—a solution that could greatly improve their processes.

“The administrative burden has been lifted! It has improved our processes greatly. Custom reports have saved countless hours during our benefit audit. What used to take us two weeks to pull and gather for our auditors is now down to a few days.”

— Melanie Zakrzewski, Senior Payroll and Benefits Administrator

In 2014, KH turned to HK Payroll Services, a regional reseller of isolved People Cloud™ that was eventually acquired by isolved. At that time, Zakrzewski was working for HK Payroll and was responsible for implementing KH onto the isolved platform. With her vast knowledge of the platform, she has been able to tailor the solution to fit KH’s business needs as they grew.

This also has impacted their bottom line. It's estimated that People Cloud’s simplified compliance reporting saved KH up to $35,900 over a three-year period.

In addition to Payroll (including tax filings and W-2s), KH utilizes Benefit Services (including ACA forms, carrier connect for EDI feeds to carriers, 401(k) 360 feed and COBRA administration), Giving & Volunteering, Attract & Hire, Time & Labor Management, Onboard & Develop, digital handbook acknowledgement, WOTC integrations and more.

Kendall Hunt Publishing saved an estimated $35,900 in three years with People Cloud’s simplified compliance reporting.

Single Solution. Countless Benefits

When asked how HR and the employee experience has improved since working with isolved, Zakrzewski lists the following benefits:

Employees access time, payroll and benefits information all in one place.
The Adaptive Employee Experience provides an easy layout and mobile access.
Employees enjoy a smooth hiring and onboarding experience.
Managers can easily review resumes and make hiring decisions through the platform.
No more paper—time management and benefits processes are now automated.
EDI feeds eliminate the manual burden of updating carriers.
Managed COBRA administration saves time and improves compliance.

With many administrative tasks now automated, Zakrzewski can focus on more strategic initiatives. “We have more time to spend on company culture, interacting with our employees, being an HR department that not only looks out for the company, but also their employees.”

Having worked for a payroll vendor, Zakrzewski appreciates the effort that goes into creating good customer service and recognizes isolved’s commitment to customers. “Hands down the best support. Our team is amazing, from our Customer Support Representative to our Success Manager. Everyone works together and their dedication is appreciated. They're the real superheroes. isolved listens, they hear our feedback and take it into consideration with updated features and enhancements. isolved is robust option for anyone searching.”