At SHRM25, Paycom and Graeter’s Ice Cream Showcase the Power of HR Automation

At the SHRM 2025 annual conference, Alexandra Wilson, vice president of human resources at Graeter’s Ice Cream joined Tiffany McGowen, senior executive vice president of human resources and talent acquisition at Paycom, for a session titled Taste the Difference: How Automation and Innovation Empower HR to New Heights, which explored how Paycom’s software solution helped transform Graeter’s HR team, from managing daily tasks to driving strategic growth across the company.

Overcoming Manual Struggles

Before Paycom, Graeter’s two-person HR team handled every task manually. Any changes that needed to be made to employee information were faxed, the onboarding paperwork was handwritten and payroll took days to complete. During one particularly busy week, the team had to onboard 220 new hires. Verifying paperwork for each one took about 15 minutes. “When payroll was done, I said I would never do that again,” Wilson recalled.

That decision marked the beginning of Graeter’s move toward more efficient, streamlined processes.

With Paycom’s single system in place, the team eliminated paper-heavy workflows and centralized employee information. McGowen added, “If we use the technology at our disposal to handle all of these things, we can empower ourselves and employees to own their data and really give HR the freedom to do meaningful strategy and employee-supporting work, which is why we all got into HR in the first place.”

Transformational Results

Adopting automation led to measurable gains. New hires now complete paperwork ahead of their first day, with Paycom’s software tracking every step in the onboarding process to ensure everything is completed. Payroll preparation time dropped by 83%. Self-onboarding saved 138 hours each year. “[That’s] over three full-time workweeks cut out of our onboarding process,” said Wilson.

Audit prep time decreased by 96%. Within nine months, the company achieved $356,578 in ROI based on team members’ usage alone.

Graeter’s also saw stronger communication and higher engagement across the organization. A July 2024 survey commissioned by Paycom and conducted by PSB Insights found that 91% of HR professionals say automation helps employees manage their own data.

McGowen noted, “Now we have more meaningful communications with leaders and allow the technology to answer the easy everyday questions.”

A May 2025 Paycom survey of 1,000 full-time U.S. employees, showed that 57% of full-time U.S. employees would feel more confident if they had control over their HR details. It also found that those very familiar with their HR tech are five times more likely to describe HR as trustworthy.

McGowen emphasized that the person who knows most about any individual is the individual themselves. Putting them in charge of their own records builds trust and allows human resources to shift focus toward long-term growth.

How Paycom Enhances the Employee Journey

The impact of HR tech reaches across the full talent lifecycle. From position planning to offboarding, smart systems bring accuracy, consistency and speed to tasks that once slowed the team down.

“Managing change is difficult,” McGowen said. “But automation provides much-needed consistency and empowers HR to make informed decisions about the organization at large.” With that new level of reliability, people operations can evolve from daily execution to strategic growth.

Wilson shared an example of how this transformation helped a staff member named CJ. He uses Paycom to manage his finances and now contributes to his 401(k) after seeing in real time how deductions affect his paycheck. “He can see in Paycom how much his check is adding up to and plans accordingly,” she said.

CJ’s story illustrates the ripple effect of giving team members the autonomy and resources to take control of their own development. He even nominated Graeter’s for a workforce recognition award, citing the company’s commitment to training, growth opportunities and long-term career success. “It’s part of approving each of their own paychecks with Beti®,” Wilson added, referring to Paycom’s industry-first tool that puts payroll directly in the hands of employees.

His experience shows how access to the right resources can lead to more than efficiency; it fuels confidence, fosters development and strengthens the organization from within.

A Smoother Employee Lifecycle

Full-solution automation impacted the entire employee lifecycle at Graeter’s with:

● Centralized position management that supports better workforce planning.

● Streamlined background checks that speed up hiring and reduce risk.

● Smoother and more accurate onboarding

● Easier time tracking and benefits enrollment

● Faster and more accurate payroll

● Performance reviews and compliance tasks that are consistent and manageable.

These upgrades gave HR the capacity to step into a more strategic role, creating space to connect with staff and contribute to long-term business goals. The results speak for themselves: 100% employee usage of the technology and more than $350,000 in ROI in under a year.

“It’s transformed the lives of our managers,” Wilson said.

The transition to digital processes didn’t compromise accuracy; it improved it, giving her team peace of mind regarding compliance readiness. Graeter’s story demonstrates how full-solution automation can go beyond efficiency gains to build trust, foster collaboration and strengthen the organization as a whole.