It has been over a year since ADP acquired Celergo. At the time, I expressed some concern about whether this move would really benefit customers. My fear was that ADP’s likely desire to monetize this investment not only would stifle innovation, but also the value their customers ultimately would receive.
Based on our understanding of migrations of ADP Streamline customers to the ADP Celergo platform, this fear may be turning into reality.
Adding value through acquisition
Don’t get me wrong: There is absolutely nothing wrong with a business acquiring assets to bolster a product line. Companies do it all the time. We did it with our acquisition this year.
We expect that when companies make such an investment, they do it to bolster the value of their business and product lines. Of course ADP would work to get customers using the acquired the asset. But how does a migration benefit customers?
Everyone has to benefit
The trick in this whole equation is the exchange of value: Will the customer receive commensurate or greater value than the pain and costs incurred from moving to a new platform? There’s the rub. The offer of migration to a new platform has to be an exploration in new levels of service and greater value. If it is, then there is authenticity in the offering—because it benefits both the provider and the customer. If there is not, then it’s a money grab by the provider.
For customers, the beauty is that you have the power to vote with your dollars. If you’re struggling to understand how a migration will benefit your business and offer greater value than your current solution, then you’re probably not feeling good about a change—especially when the change affects such a critical business function like payroll.
You have the final word
If a provider is initiating a migration, and after careful consideration you find there is great value attached to said migration, then change may not be such a bad thing.
However, if you’re having a hard time identifying the value of the change, it may be an opportunity to evaluate your options. If you’re going to have to make a change anyway, maybe now is the time to explore alternative solutions? Only you can control your business’s destiny.
For us, the bottom line is that we want companies in our market to succeed—whether it’s with us or elsewhere. We have had many consultative conversations with organizations that resulted in us recommending solutions other than our own. We believe that acting as a true global payroll partner means offering solutions, but also advising companies to do what’s best for their own business.
If you’d like to learn more about our advisory approach and how we put clients’ needs first, contact us today so we can schedule a consultation.
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