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Small and midsized businesses (SMBs) face unique challenges in engaging employees and managing administrative tasks without dedicated HR teams. To address this, UKG, a leading global AI platform for HR and workforce management, has announced the launch of UKG Beacon and a suite of new AI-powered capabilities within its UKG Ready solution. These innovations are designed to help SMBs reduce administrative burdens, build stronger company cultures, and operate more intelligently. UKG Beacon, accelerated by the acquisition of the employee recognition platform Mo, integrates directly with workforce data to deliver intelligent, data-driven employee engagement and recognition.
UKG launched UKG Beacon, an employee engagement solution for SMBs.
It integrates the acquired Mo platform with UKG Ready's workforce data.
Beacon provides real-time recognition and predictive engagement nudges.
A new Paycheck Agent in UKG Ready answers payroll questions using AI.
Other enhancements automate scheduling, reporting, and document management.
The goal is to unburden frontline managers and simplify SMB operations.
UKG Beacon is designed to make employee recognition timely, personal, and data-driven. By leveraging workforce data from UKG Ready, the solution can prompt managers to send immediate recognition during key moments, such as after a busy shift or project completion. It uses predictive analytics to suggest engagement activities and personalizes acknowledgments based on individual employee preferences, increasing the effectiveness of recognition. Chris Kiklas, General Manager of UKG Ready, described it as “a quantum leap forward in employee engagement for the small business and midsized market.”
Beyond engagement, UKG is embedding agentic AI directly into UKG Ready to automate routine tasks. The new UKG Ready Paycheck Agent uses UKG Bryte AI to instantly answer common paycheck questions from employees and managers, providing clear explanations that reduce the workload on HR and payroll staff. This "behind the scenes" AI helps SMBs operate more intelligently without requiring additional technical expertise from their teams.
A key focus of the new enhancements is to free up frontline managers from administrative duties. New capabilities include AI-guided self-service scheduling setup, seamless applicant interview scheduling integrated with Google and Microsoft calendars, automated EEO-4 report generation, and improved document management. These tools are designed to help managers focus on their teams and customers rather than repetitive paperwork and compliance tasks.
The introduction of UKG Beacon and the expansion of AI within UKG Ready represent a significant empowerment for small and midsized businesses. By combining intelligent recognition with practical AI-driven automation, UKG is providing SMBs with the tools to create more connected, human-centered workplaces while simultaneously improving operational efficiency. This allows them to compete more effectively for talent and build a culture that supports both performance and employee well-being.
UKG is a leading global AI platform for HR, pay, and workforce management. Unifying award-winning solutions with the world’s largest collection of workforce data and people-first AI, UKG delivers unrivaled insights into today’s workforce, helping organizations in every industry turn data into decisions that elevate productivity, culture, and the customer experience. Trusted by more than 80,000 organizations across 150 countries, tens of millions of employees — from small businesses to global enterprises — use UKG every day.
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