#25x25Interview | Ionuț Gherle (UCMS by AROBS): If we left the market, many businesses would return to the old-fashioned bureaucratic methods of personnel management and payroll

Another installment in the #25×25 Interview Series, a special editorial project powered by Schoenherr si Asociatii SCA, featuring 25 companies that have been in business in Romania for 25 years, sees us talking to Ionuț Gherle, CEO of UCMS by AROBS.

Starting with a bit of historical background, what can you tell us about your company’s entry into Romania back in 1996 and about your industry as a whole back then?

Ionuț Gherle, CEO UCMS by AROBS: UCMS by AROBS has entered the Romanian market to cover a gap in the industry. In 1996, the company was launched on the software solutions market under the name of Depart Software. At that time, the market needed solutions to digitize the systems through which contracts were issued and salaries were calculated. To meet these needs, the company launched dp-Payroll application, which took over an important part of the manual processes, thus helping companies to gain much more time and streamline repetitive work.

How did your company navigate during all those years in Romania in terms of goals, achievements, challenges, and opportunities?

Ionuț Gherle, CEO UCMS by AROBS: Gradually, the need for a software solution that manages human resources began to appear. This is how the HR software was built. It was meant to manage the most important processes, from recruitment, document management, time & attendance, training and evaluation, to offboarding. As a result, True HR application was developed in 2002. A few years later, Work Solutions, a new company specialized in outsourcing solutions, opened its offices in Bucharest. Work Solutions entered the Romanian outsourcing market in force, the number of customers was growing, as well as the number of employees. However, the year 2008 came with a new change for the company. Together with Work Solutions, our company back then, Depart Software, became UCMS (United Company Management Systems). TMF Group took over UCMS in 2016. Throughout all these changes, the company continued to support businesses, as it has been doing since the first application, and to invest in progress: identifying new business needs in Romania, while the portfolio of functionalities of the two applications became increasingly complex.

What is the proudest moment for your company in its 25-year history?

Ionuț Gherle, CEO UCMS by AROBS: One of the most important moments for our company took place in 2019, when AROBS acquired UCMS Group, opening a new business line based on the HR solutions markets. As a result, UCMS, now part of AROBS’s growth strategy, rewired the focus on the technology side of the HR field. UCMS by AROBS is now active on the Romanian HR applications market for 25 years. Through these years, our software solutions, True HR and dp-Payroll are being used for more than 500 businesses. Over time, the reliability of the two software products, True HR solutions and dp-Payroll have been continuously improved to meet the challenges of the industries we are working with, such as banking, BIG4, BPO, IT, healthcare industry, manufacturing, retail, automotive, media & advertising, transportation, service and construction.

Moving into the present, how would you describe your company’s role in the current social and economic context?

Ionuț Gherle, CEO UCMS by AROBS: Currently, UCMS by AROBS meets our partners with 19 modules in True HR and 19 in dp-Payroll. Recently, the Work From Home feature was launched, which helps partners to more efficiently manage the hybrid way employees work and to combine remote work with office work in a very well-organized mix. Another important point regarding the companies’ perceptions of technology in the efficient management of employees was the law 208/2021, regulating electronic signatures. In this sense, we developed True Electronic Signature, a new functionality within True HR applications. This allows the digital signing of documents, whether they are employment contracts, additional documents or certificates, while generating documents for a high number of employees at once.

We are always vigilant to the needs that arise along the way. We can do an imagination exercise. If we left the market, many businesses would return to old fashioned, bureaucratic methods of personnel management and payroll, which take up a lot of time and slow down work. It is essential for us to be aware of any legislative changes that occur and to implement them in our applications as soon as possible, so that our partners can submit their updated declarations on time.

No one has a crystal ball, so we won’t ask about the next 25 years. But looking into the future, how do you see the road to 2030 for both your company and the industry you represent?

Ionut Gherle, UCMS by AROBS: Moving forward, UCMS by AROBS wants to invest in technology, so that, in the near future, all HR and payroll processes will be digitized, and even automated, always paying attention to existing requirements and trying to anticipate new market needs. Also, existing solutions will always be complemented with new features. In addition, we want to continue to grow, to expand the team. Our vision for the coming years is very much focused on the professionals we will hire to offer the best solutions to our partners.

Today, organizations are leading remote workforces that require digital HR tools. The most extensive transformation over recent years has been the complete change from traditional, manual HR processes to digital, automated ones. While most businesses probably already began their HR digital transformation journey, the last year and a half was an eye-opener for those who had not. The challenges of managing a remote workforce during a global pandemic highlighted the need for every business to adopt digital HR processes and best practices, since HR departments have become top priorities in each company.

As for our company, our vision for the coming years is very much focused on new technologies and new features for our software solutions and the investment in the professionals from our team.

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