Payroll and On-Site Support

Case Studies > Payroll and On-Site Support

Having a dependable payroll system is
 important for every school district. Teachers and administrators rely on timely, accurate paychecks and expect to receive them regardless of
 the circumstances.

Like many administrators, Scot Ecker, director of business services at Muskego-Norway School District, located 30 miles 
southwest of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, is committed 
to paying the district’s 550
 employees accurately
 and on time. Although he
 always has employees’ 
best interests in mind, Ecker can attest to the fact that unexpected situations sometimes occur that can derail payroll from being processed on time. 

"WE HAVE A SOFTWARE PROVIDER THAT IS UNMATCHED IN THE INDUSTRY. SKYWARD WAS THERE FOR US EVERY STEP OF THE WAY."

Three weeks earlier than anticipated, Ecker and his wife were thrilled to welcome their baby girl into the world. Since he wasn’t anticipating such an early birth, Ecker was not yet prepared to miss work and had many loose ends to tie up.

While at the hospital finishing his work, Ecker received another surprise, this time in his inbox. The email stated that his sole payroll clerk had taken an unexpected, indefinite medical leave
 of absence. With Ecker out of the office and
 no one at the district to process payroll, Ecker was concerned about the very real possibility of employees not receiving their paychecks on time.

Ecker immediately took control of the situation. His first step was to contact his Skyward account executive, who collaborated with the project manager assigned to Muskego-Norway. Together, they were able to identify a consulting and support specialist who had expertise working with payroll software and could go to the district to provide assistance.

The Skyward specialist worked on payroll with a district bookkeeper and an emergency substitute Ecker had hired. Two days later, payroll was complete and the crisis was averted. 

“I have always appreciated the customer service of Skyward because wherever I have been we have never missed a payroll, no matter what the circumstances might have been,” he said. “Skyward has always stepped in to help with that... Even though I have been a Skyward customer in various districts for over a decade and have always had good customer service, what I experienced has exceeded any expectation I could have had.”

"I HAVE ALWAYS APPRECIATED THE CUSTOMER SERVICE OF SKYWARD BECAUSE WHEREVER I HAVE BEEN WE HAVE NEVER MISSED A PAYROLL, NO MATTER WHAT THE CIRCUMSTANCES MIGHT HAVE BEEN."

After the payroll incident, Muskego-Norway trained a substitute payroll clerk and improved the district’s payroll processes. In addition, Skyward has provided ongoing assistance and online documentation for the clerk to reference.

Ecker is proud to say that the district has continued to meet every payment date since the incident.

“We have a software provider that is unmatched in the industry,” said Ecker. “Skyward was there for us every step of the way. Each time [we were worried about processing payments on time] they have provided someone onsite to make sure we met payroll. Now that is service.”

Follow-Up Resource: Payroll and Timeclock Tools 

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