Ultimate Software Announces Annual List of Distinguished "HR Heroes”

Ultimate Software (Nasdaq: ULTI), a leading provider of unified, end-to-end human capital management (HCM) SaaS solutions for global businesses, today announced the recipients of its 2010 "HR Heroes” award.

Ultimate introduced its HR Heroes program in early 2010 to honor human resources and payroll professionals who are demonstrating best practices in their industry, establishing creative HR programs, or solving business challenges by using UltiPro’s unified HCM solution.

Ultimate’s 2010 HR Heroes are:

• Pam Fitch and Heidi McCoy of Westward Seafoods, a premier provider of Alaska’s natural and healthy seafoods
• Julie Sternagle of Kinetico Incorporated, a leading manufacturer of water treatment systems with a network of dealers in nearly 100 countries
• Sudi Korba of PSAV, the leading provider of audiovisual and event technology support, with approximately 6,000 employees working in more than 800 global locations
• Jenny Surma of The Chicago Cubs baseball organization
• Kathy Jones of K-VA-T Food Stores, a privately owned grocery chain that employs almost 13,000 associates in more than 100 locations
• Bruce LePard of American National Insurance, which has approximately 3,000 employees and offers a broad line of products and services in all 50 states
• Nancy Stefanowicz of NFI Industries, one of the top logistics companies in North America
• William Pokluda of Daymon Worldwide, a global leader with 40 years of experience in building brands with its business partners through business solutions and services
• Cathie Hollowell of General Growth Properties, a publicly traded REIT that owns, develops, and operates regional shopping malls across the U.S.

"At Ultimate, we have the opportunity to see firsthand how much of a difference applying the right technologies can make to organizations that take a strategic approach to human capital management,” said Scott Scherr, president, CEO, and founder of Ultimate. "This past year’s HR Heroes demonstrated the substantial impact that HCM technology can have on a business—from successfully addressing a range of unplanned HR challenges to meeting tight deadlines to boosting business performance. Their conviction, hard work, commitment to quality, and passion for HR are what make Ultimate’s family of customers such a valuable peer network.”

With company values that include personal empowerment and workforce connectivity, one of Ultimate’s HR Heroes—Sudi Korba, vice president of HR for PSAV—and her team re-evaluated the company’s HR operations, identified key changes that would foster strategic HR decision-making, and deployed numerous HR-focused improvements across the company. Immediate rewards for PSAV included greater speed, accuracy, and control across all of its HCM processes.

"We didn't want to duplicate what we have been doing—instead we are adding immense value to our company, and we expect even greater rewards as we move into the future,” said Korba. "By activating UltiPro and restructuring key processes, the HR team delivered a dramatic change to our business in less than one year. My HR Heroes award is dedicated to my team.”

With the help of nearly two dozen colleagues, William Pokluda, senior manager of human resources for Daymon Worldwide, also re-engineered his company’s HCM processes by using UltiPro. Results include powerful reporting and business intelligence, role-based access for global employees, and a near-paperless HR operation. Pokluda believes the HCM improvements that UltiPro is delivering are promoting a culture of empowerment, out-of-the-box thinking, and self-sufficiency among its workforce.

"We’re all about people, and we want Daymon Worldwide to be a great place to work. With UltiPro, we are fundamentally transforming the day-to-day functions of HR and payroll so we can be where we want to be in the near future,” said Pokluda. "We now have a truly unified HCM platform, and as a result, we are improving collaboration, making more informed business decisions, and supporting a culture of communication. HR professionals can be HR heroes with the right team and the right technology. For us, the right technology is UltiPro.”

For more details on the exceptional successes of these and other HR Heroes, please visit: http://www.ultimatesoftware.com/hr_heroes.asp.

About Ultimate

A leading provider of unified human capital management SaaS solutions for global businesses, Ultimate markets its award-winning UltiPro solution as an on-demand service through Software-as-a-Service (SaaS). Based in Weston, FL, Ultimate employs approximately 1,100 professionals who are focused on developing the highest quality products and services. In 2010, Ultimate was named an Optimas Award winner by Workforce Management magazine. In 2009, Ultimate was awarded first place in the People’s Choice Stevie® competition for Favorite New SaaS Product and was ranked the #1 best medium-sized company to work for in America by the Great Place to Work® Institute for the second consecutive year. In 2008, Ultimate was the first HR/payroll SaaS provider to be audited and awarded the ISO/IEC 27001:2005 Certification for security management and was recognized for having the #1 "Best Product Development Team” in the nation by the American Business Awards. Ultimate has more than 2,000 customers representing diverse industries, including such organizations as Adobe Systems Incorporated, The Container Store, Culligan International, Elizabeth Arden, Major League Baseball, The New York Yankees Baseball Team, and Ruth’s Chris Steak House. More information on Ultimate’s products and services can be found at www.ultimatesoftware.com.

UltiPro is a registered trademark of The Ultimate Software Group, Inc. All other trademarks referenced are the property of their respective owners.

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