Name: How Forbes Advisor transformed global HR in just 8-weeks
Uploaded: 2025-09-10T19:16:25.787Z
Duration: 1 h 12 s
Description: How Forbes Advisor transformed global HR in just 8-weeks

Transcript for "How Forbes Advisor transformed global HR in just 8-weeks": Okay. Hi, everyone. Welcome to today's webinar. Thank you so much for being here today. So we are super excited to be kicking off this chaos to control how Forbes transformed their HR system globally, webinar. And I'm really excited for our special guest today. We have Paige Erickson. She is the senior director of HR at Forbes Advisor. And so and also a Rippling customer. So super excited to dive into your journey and how you were able to transform your system with Rippling and just also your role in HR at Forbes Advisor. So thanks so much for taking the time to meet today. Of course, Vanessa. Happy to be here. I'd love to kinda set the stage by talking a little bit about the beginning of your journey. So what did your day to day and kinda life in HR look like before Rippling? Yeah. Great question. I think like many individuals in HR, majority of our day is spent, honestly, in the people data, but it depends on how that's set up and organized. So for us, it was a lot of spreadsheets, a lot of manual kind of maneuvering around, also utilizing multiple platforms depending on, you know, where our individuals are geographically. So we, prior to Rippling, had five different platforms, or HRIS systems that we were using across the board to manage our EOR employees, our Canadian employees, UK and US. And then we ultimately had one hub, that we use as the HRs HRES system, for, like, our reviews and things like that or PTO requests. So there was a lot of manual, updating across all those platforms. And as you can imagine, sometimes things were missed, if we were updating in one and not speaking to the other. So, the day to day was making sure that everything was up to date across all those platforms, but then really making sure that, obviously, the data was aligning across all those platforms as well. So, overall, I guess, you could say just in one word, it was very manual or manual. Yeah. No. Five systems is a lot to manage. Yes. And, like, I can imagine just, like, everything is scattered, and it's like, how do you keep track? Yeah. I mean, yeah. There were obviously, there had to be a method to the madness, but there were definitely times that we would update or catch an update that we made in our HRIS system that didn't speak to payroll. So there were sometimes that, you know, someone got a increase, a one off increase that we updated in the HRIS system. It wasn't necessarily speaking to the payroll system. So we had that unfortunately happened a few times, which, you know, if you're in HR, that never feels good to miss something like that. So, there's a lot of need for a system that just spoke as a whole to all of our employees, and it wasn't just siloed for specific countries and things like that. Mhmm. So when you were, like, in that setting Mhmm. What was, like, the the breaking moment where you're like, okay. Like, if things don't change, like, I don't know if we can keep going. Like, what was that for you? Yeah. I would say it was a couple of different variables that were coming into play. We had, experienced an acquisition, that involved, individuals in The US, but also, the potential for contractors or potential, EOR employees in, a country that we did not have access to at the time. So when we're going through the acquisition process, it was extremely manual. And when when I say, like, individual like, individually, we were onboarding employees. Mhmm. We couldn't bulk update anything, in our previous system. So that was a huge overhaul for us at the time during that acquisition that when it happened, I said to my boss, if ever we go through another acquisition process, we do not have the capability to do this seamlessly, with our current system in place. And we did have, a potential acquisition coming down the pipeline as well that we were you know, I was nervous. I was like, I don't think we are in the place to do that acquisition with the system we currently have. So that was one piece of it is that we just in terms of if we ever were to bulk hire or have a large acquisition come through, we just weren't in the place to sustain or, you know, our team would be drowning for days to do that. But then, also, just in general, the systems that we were using, it was becoming for our payroll team, which is a per a team of one. The just working across all five platforms was just a I feel like a burden. You know? That's a lot to ask someone to be managing five different payroll systems, making sure that all of that is being processed accordingly. So that was just something from a headache perspective that we, as a team, we were just working we were not working smarter in any capacity in that regard. So, but then if you know, I'm being honest. I think just the system itself that we were on was not I feel like we it was a bit dated. So we I feel like we weren't working in, like, a modern system, and we being a more, like, startup, consumer marketing company, our team moves very quickly, moves very fast, and, honestly, our employees are very smart. So, you know, not having an HRIS system that was a bit dated and convoluted for them to even process was a little bit of an embarrassment on the HR side. You know? We really wanted to be utilizing a platform that was intuitive, and our employees actually enjoyed jumping in there and working. I know that sounds silly. But to No. It makes sense. To ask them to complete, you know, a quarterly review in a system that they don't even understand how it works and like, slow and clunky. Yes. And they're very smart, was kind of like, oh, gosh. What are we doing to our employees? I feel like it also made you know, not everyone loves to do employee reviews, so I feel like it just made that process a little bit more, challenging to get our employees to wanna complete it in the first place because it was a burden for them to complete when it was so clunky. And that's even just, like, one example of what our employees didn't like about our previous provider. So, like I said, a couple variables. And then, last but not least, you know, just general HR needs and re from a reporting standpoint, we could not get reports properly out of the out of our old system. And it was becoming to the point where, like, we felt we were gatekeeping data from our finance team, and it just the flow was not flowing. So we really needed to make a change there, and just make everyone's lives easier, especially, like I said, we're a very fast moving organization, and we we didn't need people getting bogged down from the HRIS system. So Totally. And, like, I think it's also just giving HR in general, like, a a bad rep if it's, like, a clunky system where you're forcing people to do, like, performance management reviews on. It's like, we like, as in HR, it's like you didn't even choose that yourself. It's like, might as well have a system where people enjoy it. You know? So Yeah. Exactly. And I feel like it's sad to say, but I was getting really frustrated, and I'm, from our team's perspective, the owner of the HRIS system. So I was pre at our previous or with our previous and then also with Rippling. Mhmm. And, you know, being that our employees are frustrated and I was frustrated, it just wasn't creating a good, like, workflow between any anyone, our team or the employee population. Whereas with Rippling, I'm obsessed with it. And so I I love that. Yeah. I'm a little bit too eager, about it, and I feel but I feel like that helps the employees kind of also gain interest in it and excitement about something that could be relatively boring to them, but that, you know, when you, as the owner of the platform, feel like you have the knowledge of the platform, also, enjoy working in it yourself. I feel like it helps troubleshooting and also onboarding a new system even that much more seamless and positive for the employee. Yeah. So I I definitely feel like my oneness of it and, like, positive experience with Rippling really, pushed that through too, which I know that was kind of a tangent. But No. No. No. No. I love it. And we're gonna dive deeper into that because I think that's, like, amazing that you are obsessed with it. Like, I mean, I don't think that's, like, a better feeling to have also when, like, a tool just changes, like, the way that you operate in your role in HR, but I'd love to save that for a little bit. Yes. Yeah. But I I'm really interested in what you were saying about, you know, that, acquisition of the global teams where everything was scattered and you're like, okay. This is, like, an one variable for I don't think we can do this again. And, like, I think that's something really great about rippling is, like, the global aspect where you have everyone aligned. But I guess okay. So, like, if we were to take the next step, you were frustrated, you were stuck in this old clunky system, And then you you you decide to to make the change, and you you choose Rippling. Mhmm. But, like, how did you get your entire team aligned in, like, eight weeks? Like, how did you get everyone set up by Jan first? Like, walk us through that. Yeah. Well, for one thing, I think, I'll take you back even further. I kind of went behind my boss's back, and I don't no one else do this. I'm not saying this. It's just what I thought I should do. And, I was like, you know what? I wanna bring a solution to the table to my boss versus saying I hate our HRIS system and complain about it. That's smart. You you were solution or wait. That's so good. Yes. Solution or we'll go with that solution oriented. So I heard about Rippling years ago back in 2019 even before I was at Forbes Advisor. But at the time in 2019, they were or you guys were not really doing EOR or global employment or you were just starting. So we had bypassed Rippling at my previous organization because we needed something more global. So fast forward to 2024, I was like, you know what? I'm gonna check out Rippling again. I had heard from a another friend of mine in HR that they were using Rippling and enjoying it. So I just dipped my toe in and then, got connected to your sales team, and that was back in March 2024. So we had been talking to Rippling for months about just, you know, doing demos, understanding the platform. So we were really immersed in, you know, and getting really pumped up about the platform. And then every day that I was in my previous HRIS, I would cry. You know? So I'm really getting really getting connected and wanted to be playing really badly. Genuine connection from the beginning. Yes. Exactly. Oh my gosh. But I will say that so then by the time that we really had the sign off, we had put in our, you know, notice to our former HRIS system. And, you know, with that, we had to do that for all five organizations that we are working with. So Got it. So I was like, this was a big move then because it's, like, five different okay. Yeah. Making sure we're checking contracts, making sure we're giving notice in a proper amount of time. I if I had to say anything that's the most important thing, make sure you can get out of your contracts and you're providing that notice as soon as possible. And then, yeah, once we had bought buy in and a 100% sign off, to move forward with, it was, I think it was, like, just under ten weeks, maybe even eight with the holiday weeks that we were kind of chatting about, because we had Thanksgiving in there, and then we had the Christmas and New Year holiday. So it was a really short runway to get everything up and running for January 1. Wow. But it was the best implementation experience that I have gone through, and I've implemented this. Rippling will be the fourth HRIS system that I've implemented in my HR career. And, hopefully, the last or, you know, only the only implementation I'll ever do moving forward is Rippling because it was just so seamless. Your team on the implementation side is so knowledgeable about the product. Also, I think the way that implementation is set up where it, where you have your main implementation specialist, but there's different individuals they bring in depending on what module you're implementing at that time, I think really helps, streamline the process for, obviously, your team, but then also for us because we just know that we have different meetings with individuals. Everything is kind of moving in a parallel moment. And I think what helps is that, you know, you don't have to complete one thing to move on to the next thing. You can be implementing, onboarding benefits and, you know, recruitment at the same time, which Simultaneously. Yeah. Exactly. As well as doing EOR at the same time. So I think that really helps. We also had a streamlined approach where we basically talked to our implementation specialist about our priorities for January 1, and then streamlined the rest of implementation from there. So I think a perfect example of that is that, obviously, US benefits mandatory to have set up as a Jan one. So that was a big priority for us in those first eight weeks as well as payroll. But then, you know, time like, time and attendance or, I guess, one a better example would be, like, the reviews. We didn't need reviews stood up in in January. So we made sure that payroll benefits were implemented right away, and we felt good about that going into January. And then we kicked off, you know, goal setting in the review process at the January. So we had more of a a staggered implementation approach. We also didn't, onboard all of our employees at one time, and I think that that's something unique to maybe having a global, employee base. But, for example, like, the calendar year for, The UK is, you know, ends at the March. So we had them onboarded in April to help with the tax year. Makes sense. So that's just an example of how we didn't do everything, like, all at once. And that's, I think, something really unique with Rippling is that you, your team is really great at understanding the business needs of the specific client and working with them to make sure, at least in our experience, to make sure that, you know, everything is just staggered as, you know, as it needs to for the business. And I think as the implementation specialist on the client side, that really ease, you know, the anxiety of doing it in eight weeks. Mhmm. Mhmm. Because it wasn't, like, a full eight week. Everything was done in eight weeks. It was, like but we got the big stuff done. Then You got, like, the big chunks done in the eight weeks. So it's like, okay. If someone were, like, listening to this and they're kind of, like, concerned since, you know, the year end's coming, but we Yep. But, obviously, like you said, it's, like, Jan first. You gotta get your some stuff set up by then. So it's, like, what would be their kind of, like, eight week playbook of, like, must haves based off of your experience? Like, what would you tell them if you were to, like, summarize it really simply? Yeah. Number one, if you have, well, for The US specifically benefits, if you're doing open enrollment, and if you're going through that process, that would be my number one priority of making sure that you're aligned with the work, you know, the workflow on the Ben admin side with Rippling. Just whether you're in the weeds on that or you have a broker team, just making sure that everyone is in lockstep with the benefits because I think that alone from an HR like, even for me, we're on Rippling, but, like, oh, open enrollment is always a stressful period for, they you know, HR. So I feel like making sure that that's good, making sure that you're all set too with payroll, those would be my top two for The US for sure. If you have global employees, just making sure that, you know, your onboard you know, onboarding time frame for those employees aligns with your business needs too and also that Rippling is aware of that. And I think that ties into EOR. So we had a great experience working with EOR. We have employees in seven different countries now. Honestly, I lose track because we we It's a lot of countries. A lot of employees. EOR. But, you know, that was also different. We had cert employees in Australia who were onboarded right away January 1, but then we all but we had employees in Italy who were onboarded in May. So kind of a a varying implementation for that too. So I would just make sure if you have EOR employees that you're working to understand the timeline that works best for your company. Mhmm. And, also, that that process is something that I would make sure it'd be in lockstep with Rippling on too. They the EOR team is great. They have extreme knowledge of anything you need to know EOR related. So it made that process, very streamlined as well. But it was definitely something we had to kinda sit down and, like, work through the different timelines because each country's off boarding and onboarding is a little bit different. So Yeah. I know that's a lot of info, but I like No. This is, like, so helpful. Like, I love it. Like Right. Yeah. And I think people watching like, this is what this is what we wanna, like, share just the the kinda, like, walk through the breakdown. And so no. We I I appreciate that you're willing to, like, go into the Okay. Yeah. Cool. Yeah. I also don't I think, and I don't know if you wanna talk about this now, but I think also just, like, the communication internally is something to really keep top of mind with Within your company Yeah. With Forbes Advisor? Yes. I actually yeah. Like, I wanted to ask you about that. Like, how did you, was there any, like, resistance to just getting everyone on board and, like, finance IT and, like, the executive team? Like, what did that kinda look like? What is the internal kinda Yeah. Like, breakdown that we have to know when we're doing implementations? For sure. I mean, I think figuring out who your key stakeholders are outside of your core HR team is most important when even, like, going through the eval process. So for us, like, ours was obviously IT, but then also finance. They are involved in a lot of areas of just, like, reporting. And I wanted to make sure if we were moving over to a system that they felt fully supported from this new system because our old system did not help them at all. It made, in my opinion, made finances job 10 times harder than it needed to be. And so I wanted them to feel that they had involvement in the In the system. In the system. So you guys are now working together? Yeah. Mhmm. Got it. So it's like HR kind of evolved in terms of the the structure of HR and finance and, like, the connection that you guys have together. Yeah. I mean, we were always in lockstep to begin with, but I think what was cool about Rippling is we have the NetSuite integration. So payroll is completely intertwined with finance now. The second we process payroll, it's, you know, moved into NetSuite. So and that's through the integration that you all have set up. But, also, I was, you know, a cog in the wheel for a lot of what finance needed from a reporting side of things when we were on our previous provider. This way with Rippling, and what I really wanted to showcase was that they could be owners of their own reporting. They could jump in and, you know, report on whatever they needed to, obviously, if they had the access to. They can make, you know, reports be automatic, send to them, you know, on a monthly basis, and I just wanted them to feel just as excited as Rippling or about Rippling as I was. So finance was a big piece, but IT was easy, in the sense of our, our IT team had used Rippling pre at a previous role. So they were like, oh, yeah. We know what that is. They knew how to do it. Yeah. This is cool. Let us know what you need. So IT was an easy sell. For finance, I just wanted to really make sure, that they were bought in because I also didn't want them I didn't want them to come over to a new platform and have the same challenges. So that was more of a personal that was like, okay. I just I want them to feel good about it too because they did not better with our old, which I understand. I didn't feel good about it either. So with that, once we got buy in there, you know, we we included them in different demos. We wanted them to see everything and ask any questions that they had. So we really involved finance, maybe more so than other, you know, potential clients might, but we I really just wanted them to be involved and feel the oneness as well. So that was huge for us. And then once we got buy in, it was kind of like, okay. Like we said, we only had eight to ten weeks to do it. So like, it's go time. Yeah. So then do this. Exactly. So then from an internal standpoint, we just tried to communicate as soon as possible that we were transitioning. And like I said, a lot of our employees were not happy with where we were at before. So the feedback, you know, wasn't we didn't have necessarily feedback, but we had encouraging words from people saying that, oh, exciting. Like, can't wait to move away from x. You know? But it wasn't until we really did onboarding and started rolling it out that we were receiving responses from employees saying, like, so intuitive, completed my onboarding in ten minutes. We even had people write on the feed saying, so much better than x calling out our old HRIS system. So, you know, they were throwing shade at the old HRIS, but, honestly, that made me feel good. I was like, as long as we're already it. Yeah. Already seeing the positive impact, and it's easy for them. And like I said, we have very brilliant people on our team. So, you know, if they think it's easy to use, then I'm feeling like I won the lottery. So that was good. But we did communicate early on. Hey. We're transitioning as of January 1. We'll be providing more details. Not to get super in the weeds on this process, but, I mean, we wouldn't even ask specific to depending on the country that they were located in, we sent out specific kind of, like, onboarding details or timelines to that individual and or, country. Because since we have so many different specific countries and different timelines, we just wanted the employees to feel that they were, you know, getting the information that they needed. But and, also, we were being as transparent as we could because I think, obviously, we're dealing with people's benefits and payroll. And so we just didn't want there to be any holes, and any question marks on what was gonna be happening during that time for their specifically payroll. Mhmm. So we were maybe a little bit over communicative, but I think in the end, it really helped our employees feel like they were in the know. And, when they got the email from Rippling to onboard, there was no questions on what was going on there. Wow. That's like you you were the person who let, like, all of that. I think you you don't like, you kinda changed the whole system really for for the whole company, actually. That's awesome. And you've and I and I love actually that you were really, like, proactive about getting finance on board because I think it's so crucial to make sure, like, everyone is aligned. And this is not just, like, changing HR. It's also changing finance and IT and all that. So no. That's awesome. And the fact that they were, like, raving about it Yeah. How how did that feel? Like, right like, the quick wins, like, you know, how did it feel when you started seeing the the impact on the people? Yeah. I mean, that obviously always feels good, I think. And maybe I'll echo or maybe other HR professionals will echo this. No. You don't always hear positivity sometimes in HR. It's not I mean, it's just the nature of the job. Right? You know, you're you're here to help employees work through challenges and things. So when you do hear something really positive, especially when it comes to, like, a platform where they put in their PTO or do a review cycle, it it me it feels really good. I I also just feel, like, when you hear things from, you know, your finance team that they're saying, oh, wow. This is really cool. Or, for example, our finance team now is wanting to look into other modules within Rippling, from, like, a spend perspective. Like, we didn't sign on with spend previously because we had just implemented a new, expense reporting system. But now they're already kind of like, we no. We should move this all to Rippling. So even hearing that, feels really good to see that, you know, a team that previously was not having the best experience on a platform that we as HR owned to now wanting to move more of their systems over to it. Yeah. There's nothing. There's no better feeling. And, like, that's so cheesy, but there really isn't. I just think I think it just shows that it is making everyone's life a little bit easier and having everything in one place. And there's nothing wrong with wanting to be more streamlined, I don't think. And I think that's what everyone is striving to do, especially when you're working at a company where everything is moving at a 100 miles a minute. So yeah. No. It feels good. Definitely. I think it's def this set transition to Rippling for me has been one of the most positive experiences for, like, my own professionals. How? Like, I'd love to learn about that. Because, like, it's it's like it changed you as a as in your yeah. Like, how how like, walk us through that or just Well, you're you're really pumping my tires, but I do think that I No problem. Because HR deserves to, like, finally get the recognition. Like, you guys are, like you know what I mean? Like, the Yeah. But no problem. I know what you mean. I think that it was just to see the challenges we were having with our previous setup, and it's not even just the HR HR system we were using, but it was just our overall workflow that we were doing before. It's crazy to think now, you know, eight months into this, but that's how we were working. That we were actually processing five different payrolls on five different platforms monthly. That's crazy. You know? That is something that I just the time that we were not wasting because that's just what we knew. But the time that now we've been able to reallocate elsewhere, I think that's even just one example of the lift we've made. The other thing is that, like, from an onboarding perspective, we do hire a lot. And so we were individually sending, like, onboarding packets to peep I like to call them well, you guys call them packets at Rippling. But, like, individually onboarding, employees, that could take, depending on, you know, the day, thirty minutes per individual. Whereas here, you can bulk bulk onboard multiple people at one time. I I don't even know the limit of people you could bulk onboard at one time. But even that, I mean, that has changed the game for me, and everything is just so Like, what's that one because you said the word before was, like, manual before rippling was manual. What's the one word after? Oh, man. In terms of how you feel about, like, everyday going to work now too. Okay. That's not really a word, but I just feel like we're a phrase maybe. But I just feel like we're a well oiled machine. Like, it just everything is, like, move you know, moving. And I hate the to, like, take your guys' tagline, but, like, the ripple effect. Because now the way we've set things up is that when one thing happens over here, it triggers all of these other elements to happen that before we were manually doing. So it just there's no thinking, I guess, involved from my side. It's like I just know I have it all set up how it needs to happen, and I don't have to even think twice about it once something is triggered, if that makes sense. Yeah. And I think, like, our onboarding flow is a perfect example of what, you know, what that entail has entailed and what has changed. So that's, like, where I where I go, when I think of just, like, what has been lifted off my personal plate. But, yeah, I think well oiled machine. We're still we're still working out some of the machine parts, you know, because they're I think that's one thing about Rippling is that you go into it with all you're like, this needs to change immediately. This needs to change immediately, and you get those done. But then what's cool, the longer you're on the platform, you kind of realize, oh, these other areas of our business can be brought into Rippling and make this a little bit easier for us too. So I think the longer you're on the Rippling platform, you start to understand the platform more. You also start to get more creative with how you wanna use the platform. And I think that that's been, for me, a really positive experience of just like, oh, we can we're not done yet. Oh, it helps. Never ends. It's like an infinite amount of things you could actually build now. And, like, you're you're kinda like a you're, like, able to vibe code almost, like, just automations or whatever. And, like, I know that you mentioned you'd like, we can walk through the the one that you had built yourself. Actually, maybe this is a perfect time. Do you wanna talk about that one? Sure. Yeah. So I think the kind of what I was saying with the onboarding is that previously, it was extremely manual where we would get an offer letter. We would have to, you know, plug it all into our HR system, but then I would have to manually send a couple emails here and there to get everything else squared away with different departments or their manager or, just in general, get the rest of the flow configured for the individual who is being hired. And in Rippling so I do wanna caveat this. We're not officially utilizing the recruiting platform or module. We still had, a year on our contract with our current ATS. So we were running that out, and then we're gonna move over to Rippling. So I'm really excited about that because once it's from recruitment, basically, there will be, like, nothing for anyone to do. Got it. Yep. Well but right now, what we do and do you want me to share my screen? Yeah. No. Please share your screen. We'll go through it. Okay. Cool. Let's see. Okay. Can you see this okay? Yes. Okay. So, obviously, everyone, I think, maybe you've seen a demo or you haven't yet. But Some people, like, might not have. Might not. Also, we can we can cut out this part where you're doing the Okay. Don't worry about it. Okay. Great. You can imagine, like, that the person the average person watching this has maybe heard of Rippling. Some of them have, like, never even gone into the system. Okay. Okay. Perfect. That's good to know. Okay. So when you're in hiring, what my favorite part, this is kind of what I've been, harping on a few different times during this conversation, is that, you can either select individual or you can select multiple people. And this is my favorite way to hire anyone because we typically you know, what I've now started to do using rippling is, like, I'll wait till the end of the week till we have all of the offer letters signed, and then I'll do everyone at once because going in here and manually doing it for one person, it's easy to do. Don't get me wrong. But if you're hiring in bulk, if you're if you're hiring multiple people a week, the hiring multiple people tool is the best. So you can click continue, and then, you can either So wait. Is this a automation you've built yourself? Oh, no. This is just in the system. Got it. Okay. I just wanna show this really quick Yes. Because then I wanna show the automation that triggers what it Perfect. Amazing. Okay. So in the bulk hiring, obviously, you can do as employees, select the country, and then you can upload an upload in Excel or or CSV and then or add their details yourself, whichever you prefer. But the best part is that once you're in the hiring system or hiring funnel, The way I've set it up is that we have multiple documents that get sent out depending on the country, which is part of what I like about the automation. So, let me see. Where documents? So this is part of the hiring flow that we've configured is that I have different templates set up, for onboarding that all of these letters or documents send out to the employee depending on their location. So I've configured it specific to if they are only a US employee or if they're if it's something like our employee handbook, that goes to every single employee no matter their location. But the system itself automates that all once the documents are in the system, which So it knows. Yeah. And you can knows. Yeah. And you can configure things as, like, as detailed as possible where it's like this only for example, like, this is our Canadian benefit guide. So this only goes to Canadian employees. Whereas, this is our concur, which is our expense reporting. This goes to every single country no matter what. So you can, like, you can take, personalize and customize all this? Yes. Yep. Yep. And then for another example is that we actually have, an India team as well that has a very unique, onboarding flow because they have a a bit more of, like, I would say, more government documents that they need to sign that our, India HR team was handling manually. And we configured this as well to be in templated form. So all of this is for only India, and only gets sent to the India team when they're being onboarded. So it's very you can streamline it however you want and also customize it however you want depending on the document. In addition, you know, some of it can be a notice where it's just a format sent to them and they just can download it and use it. Or, for example, our employee handbook requires a signature. So in the system, you can set it up where it will make the employee kinda, like, acknowledge it, as well. And that would be dated in the system and saved in their employee profile. So I like how you can toggle between either it's just like a static document that they can have on file or it's something that we need acknowledged on the back end as well. So that's yeah. That's awesome. Like, not only the type or the country, but, like, the type it's like, so you get really specific exactly what you want. Mhmm. Exactly. Yeah. I love it. So that's everything that happens in the onboarding flow that we've automated. So that this this is what gets sent to the employee, but then there's the other piece of the puzzle, which is what I've done in workflow studio. And workflow studio is a game changer for a lot of reasons, but, this is what helps the ripple effect in Rippling. And so you can set it up where depending on a change or an update in the system, x y z will happen after that. So I think the best example is, again, with a a continuation of our onboarding. So we'll just jump in here. I think you can review the workflow here if it's loading. Okay. So we set this up where when an employee is updated, meaning their, status is updated in the system. So you can see here we have different filters. This is really small. Right? Is it It's okay. I can see it. Okay. Yeah. Or you could I I don't know if you can zoom in a bit. Like I think we're gonna just edit this. Okay. Sure. You guys. Okay. This might be better. So this is the trigger details, and this is what you would do for any sort of workflow where you would set it up based on, a change in the system. So, again, this is when an employee is updated, and then you can add filters. And so we have, a a couple different filters. One is when the stat employee or employment status changes to accepted, meaning they've accepted the offer. But then also, when it's not tied to our India entity. Again, this is because they have a completely different flow workflow, and so we've created two different workflows in the system, based on the entity. Mhmm. So you can configure this with the filters as, you know, detailed as you want. This is just how we have this one. But then the best part is that once this is the workflow is triggered, it sends all of these three emails that I've set up automatically. Automatically. So you don't even have to this is where you're saying you don't even have to think literally. Wow. Make sure the individual is in the system and then all of this triggers. And so it sends to this IT email sends to our IT support. It, has a detailed email about their start date, title, and then it pulls in all of this personal data from Rippling and sends as well, to the IT support but also to me. So you can configure this however you want to send to, a specific employee. For example, our finance email goes to specific individuals on our team, and those are their emails tied to Rippling so you can have it set up that way or send to an external email. And then, again, it just pulls in the specific employee details below, and you can configure this however you need. You can also add an attachment, which we don't do, but you can do that. And and then the third one just to cover off is a manager email that we send to kind of confirm with the manager. Like, hey. Your new hire starting. Here's what you need to do before their start date. And so, again, the second the employee is added or their status is updated to accepted, all three of these emails configure themselves, you know, through the magic of rippling, and they're sent to who they need to be sent to. And The ripple effect is there. Yeah. So that's one of my favorites in terms of how that's made my life easier. I'm gonna publish it. Could you, like you could not like, could you do this before, like, ever? Not no. Like, not as specific as you can get in Rippling. Not at all. And so how much time do you think this has saved for you? Oh. Like like, maybe, like When the onboarding, I think, used to take me thirty minutes an individual. So Per person. Yeah. Wow. Per person. Per and you were you're hiring a ton of people. Yeah. Okay. And now I would say, if I'm doing just one individual person, it's a five minute process. Wow. So That's a lot of time when you add it up. Yeah. I know. A lot of time. Yeah. Maybe we shouldn't do the math because then the next step will know how free I am. Just kidding. No. But that's, like, that's, like, that's amazing. I'd I mean, what okay. So then now where do you where do you gotta spend that time? Because before, you were probably drowning in logging in one person thirty minutes a time. Yeah. I think where I get like, what I do with the rest of the time is actually still, I think we're in the thick of, like, really building Rippling out. So in a way, it's yes. I'm so glad that's freed up, but now I'm still building out other aspects of how we wanna use Rippling. For example, the next thing that I'm gonna be working with our technical account manager on is making, a custom object, which will be, like, our new hire tracker, which right now we just use a external spreadsheet. So, like, bringing that into Rippling. So I got like, I was kinda talking about, once you get, like, your foundation set up, that's, I feel like, now where the fun starts. Now you can really start building out more of the, you know, custom apps and things like that in the system. So I feel like we're still, like, doing that, if that makes sense. We're still You're still, like, in the journey. Like, in the kinda it's it's evolving. Yeah. For, like I guess, also, since I know that Forbes Advisor is, like, a very global company Mhmm. How did you, like, measure the success of, migrating the global team to Rippling? Oh, gosh. That's a good question. We didn't I guess we didn't really measure it in, like, any way that maybe would be helpful. Like but I didn't Wait. You could you could stop sharing your screen if you wanted. Yeah. Because I unless there was more. Was there more that you wanted? Oh, one other one thing I did wanna talk about Go actually, scrap the question that I asked about the global. Go into the the rest of the the workflow. Okay. Yeah. Because I want you to be able to finish, like, sharing all that. Okay. One, one other workflow that I wanted to share that kinda ties into the buy in for, for finance that we were talking about earlier is that we, part of the journey for our finance team monthly that they do is they do a starter and labors report. Previously, it was a manual Excel spreadsheet that myself and our head of recruitment would update on manual or manually monthly, and we would forget to send it. We'd have to be reminded. I mean, it was, you know Chaos. Yeah. Chaos. We were able to create a custom, starters and labors report. Again, this was during implementation. We said, like, this was a report that we really wanted set up. That's also something to note during implementation is that there is a period of time where you can kind of select or work with a Rippling team member to create any custom reports and workflows, and that was by far the most exciting aspect of, like, implementation. So one of the reports that we wanted to make sure we were creating was the starters and leavers report and then making sure that it was automatically sent so that no one had to think about it. So we made the report in reporting. It obviously updates on a monthly cadence and myself, our head of recruitment, finance, they all have access to the report. But it also set up a workflow in the system where the monthly on the first day of the month, a new report will be kind of created and an email will then be sent or this report will actually be sent in an Excel form to myself, our head of recruitment, and our, finance team. So even if they never wanted to go into Rippling and look at the, you know, find the report, it's automatically sent to them on the first of the month and myself and Nicole, who's our head of recruitment, we don't have to do anything. It's all Wow. And the system That's that's when you you made it. Yeah. You automated. Okay. Yeah. So that that's one I mean, I think that just ties into kind of the conversation we're having about making sure if I we have finances buy in, but also that we're setting up the system to, like, work smarter, not harder and doing things that help everyone out. Like, now Nicole and I never think about this report. It's just It's just, like, easy. You don't even have to wow. Yeah. So And it's, like, finance is also happy because you guys don't have to go back and forth, I assume, anymore as much. Yeah. And, also, I think it's huge because the report is living and breathing in in Rippling. So, like, if they ever wanted to check it mid month, they could go in there and it would still be updating. Like, live almost. Mhmm. Yep. So it's not manual anymore. It's, like, completely pulling from the system because all the data is, like, in one place. Yep. Mhmm. Yeah. So if they ever needed to check, you know, why a number's off or why we paid set a little bit in severance and they're like, who was that to? Mhmm. They just have the report. Amazing. Yeah. So I did wanna make sure to share that with you because that was No. That's that's a great one. I'm, like, glad that you shared. I feel like I'm learning too as you're sharing all this. Mhmm. And I I feel like also just shows the, like, variety of automations you can build. There's not just one thing. You can really solve so many problems on Rippling because it's centralized, and it's very, like, user friendly for the HRIS manager almost. Yeah. Yeah. And I think another one to share, which, like, is kind of hard to share with the screen share, but I'll just I can talk through it, is that we in The UK, there's a probationary period, which requires, you know, us to get sign off from the manager that they've passed the probationary period. And so we created an automatic, survey that goes out to the manager after the probationary period is completed that the it says, did they pass or fail the probationary period? And then that's automatically documented for us. And before, we would have a formal process where we'd have to, like, you know, have a reminder to email the manager, get that sent out. Whereas now, Rippling just does it based off the probationary period calculation, and it's automated to the manager. So if there's a problem, I'm sure Rippling has a solution is basically my point. Wow. I love it. Yeah. And I I'm excited to see, like, the more things that you solve. I feel like in a month, I'll probably, like, check-in and be like, Paige, what'd you what'd you build? Yeah. I probably built some other crazy automation. I hope so. Yeah. I'm very excited about our custom object. I think that'll be amazing. So, yeah, we we still have things to do. We're not eating bonbons over here. That's for sure. Yeah. I guess for well, first off, like wow. I can't even, like, I'm I'm kinda speechless because I went into this webinar, like, wanting to learn about your journey, but it's just, like, the amount of things that I'm seeing, like, rippling change for you, it's honestly very inspiring for me just to realize, like, how much was on your plate before that people might not even have known. Mhmm. And, like, the fact that you're able to, I don't know, change your whole, like, operating system almost, and it's it's it's really cool. And, like, I think a lot of people watching this can relate too, and, hopefully, they'll they'll feel more empowered to, like, make a switch even, like, with the year end coming. So I guess, like, to those who are watching this Mhmm. And or, like, to our audience, and some of them may be, like, on the fence. You know, the year's end is not too far away, but there's still time. Like, what would you tell them? What would what would you say? Do it. Just do it. You know? I don't know. Like, I if you're able if you have the support internally of, you know, your, I don't know, CFO, CEOs buy off. There's no question. I think it was the best thing we did for our team in 2025. I'll I'll actually follow-up with my boss right after this to see if she agrees. But, it's a very nerve wracking jump. I get that, especially because the burden does land on the individual in HR who's making this move and making this decision. But I can tell you it changed the game for us on a daily on a monthly basis of just our workflow, our processes. And if there's anything that you are feeling like you're not getting through your current HRIS system, it's definitely worth the switch because it's just it's not worth the headache. Like, I don't have a single, like, headache about Rippling. I think that says a lot. I would be so frustrated previously on a daily or weekly basis about something that wasn't working or finicky or whatever, and I don't feel that way at all about Rippling. Don't get me wrong. Like, there have been things like hiccups that we've had to work through, but the team is just so the support, you know, like, support and just easy access to getting on the phone with someone through support if there is a challenge. Like, it's an it it's a no brainer for me, I I think. I don't wanna I don't want anyone to be like, this girl on this webinar told me to do it. But, yeah, I would if you have the support internally, it's worth it for sure. And where do you see yourself in, say, like, I don't know, five years or two to five years with in terms of, like, where do you see yourself evolving in your personal career too in HR? Like, what would you think is ideal for you? Because I know that you mentioned, it's not easy to be in HR. So so what would what would that kind of vision look like for you? Oh, wow. You're with the hard hitting questions at the end. I can say this. I don't envision myself in any other career but HR. So as challenging as it is, it's extremely rewarding at the same time. And I love working with people, and I love helping our employees and being supportive to them when they are going through something that's not maybe, you know, maybe challenging or whatnot. So for sure, we'll still be in HR somewhere. I have no plans in terms of what that looks like, but and, hopefully, I'll still be using Rippling. So that's the one thing. Wherever I end up, I'm gonna be convincing everyone that this is the only payroll system to use. So, look out. But yeah. Like, rip Rippling's probably not gonna get rid of me. We can't get rid of you. Yeah. So but, yeah, I this is I might need to think journal about this because that's a that's a big question. But definitely in HR still. Definitely still using Rippling. Last question is, like, why do you what what makes you, like, stay in HR even though it's so challenging? Like, what about it, like, like, what about it do you feel, like, make it it makes you feel or makes you realize, like, this is what I was, like, born to do? Like, what is it about it? I well, I do love a good challenge. That's for sure, in general. But I think I'm a very people oriented person. And previously, before I moved into HR, I was in account management. So I was in advertising and PR and put on the account side. So client facing and, you know, if our client had a problem, I was the one handling that. And the way I look at it as I basically am doing the same thing. It's just now my clients are our internal employees. So access to all the people. Yeah. So still, like, you know, you are it is a, like, a client these are our clients. Like, we need to make sure that they're happy. If there's an issue, we need to work it through with them. If there is something positive, we need to clap about it too. So I feel like it was a good it was actually, like, a very good transition from account management because I took a lot of my learnings from that and moved it into HR. But I think at the end of the day, what it is is I'm a very people oriented person, very solution oriented as well. But then, also, I do really enjoy, like, the, global side of it and, like, the complexity that comes with employment. So I think, you know, I've learned a lot about, like, employment law, global employment law. So there's a lot more that comes into HR than just, you know, like, payroll. And I think that that's a really exciting experience too is seeing all the different facets of, human resources. And then I think working for a company like Forbes Advisor that is, you know, pushing the limit from, like, just even consumer marketing, but also just in general how we are as an employer, has been a huge reason why I love being in HR too. So I wanna say that, like, we are able to kind of carve out some really awesome policies and things that maybe I wouldn't have had that experience at another organization. So I do have to give some props to, Forbes Advisor on that. So, long winded answer, but I think that's why I like it. I think so too. I know. I I love that, and I think, also, it's like HR should be doing HR is so much more than payroll. Like, people will and people do realize that or, I guess, you know, people in HR know that. So it's it's awesome that you've been able to find that almost freedom with rippling because you're kind of able to do what you're what you're meant to do. You know? Like, the the hard stuff, the people stuff, and, the strategic stuff. So I'm I'm excited to see, I guess, where your career or where you where your journey takes you, but in HR, obviously. But, I think you're gonna do awesome. And, and, yeah, thank you thank you so much for Yeah. For sharing everything. And I really, like, learned a lot about about how Rippling has changed the game for you, but also just even about Rippling too. I think you're, like, a master about it too. I don't know if I'm quite a master yet, but I do like I said, I'm obsessed with it. So, yeah, I love it. And thank you for chatting with me. And if there's any another time you need to chat, you know, I'm here. I've got I've got a lot to talk about. So Well, we might we might be doing, another another webinar with Paige maybe in the future. So everyone watching, stay tuned. Subscribe to the I'm telling HR newsletter. Yeah. Perfect. Yeah. No. Okay. I don't have any other questions. So this this wraps up our talk. Thank you again. Yeah. Really appreciate it. Of course. Love spending time here, and thank you for taking the time out of your day to to do this. Yeah. No. Seriously. I need your your wisdom with the with the community. I hope it was good. But let me know if you need anything else. Yes. Okay. Well, thank you everyone for watching too, and I'm gonna stop the recording. Perfect.