Aspire 2025 Recap: What Leaders Need to Know About UKG's AI-Powered Workforce Future
When we walked into Aspire 2025, we knew AI would dominate the conversation. Before the event, one of our teammates, Betina Allen, jokingly guessed we'd hear "AI" at least 50 times in the keynote, and she wasn't wrong. But what stood out wasn't just the technology itself. It was how clearly UKG positioned AI as a people-first accelerant, not a replacement.
Across every product demo and breakout, the message was consistent: AI should help your people do less manual work and more meaningful work. For operational leaders already navigating labor shortages, scheduling volatility, compliance pressure, and shrinking budgets—that shift matters.
Below is your recap of the most important updates from Aspire and what they mean for your organization.
Workforce Intelligence Hub: Turning Data intointo Real Decisions
One of the biggest themes this year was intelligence. Not more dashboards, but more actionable insight. The new Workforce Intelligence Hub brings together data from Workforce Management, HR, and Payroll into a single foundation.
Leaders finally get what they've been asking for:
Real-time metrics tied to staffing, labor spend, and workforce health
Cross-platform visibility without exporting spreadsheets
Benchmarking against industry peers
Automated actions driven by embedded AI agents
For anyone running lean: healthcare units fighting callouts, retail stores balancing coverage, public sector teams managing overtime, this means faster, better decisions based on patterns you can actually trust.
One of the most-requested capabilities over the years has been simple: "What are other organizations like ours doing?" With this hub, you can finally answer that.
Dynamic Labor Management: Real-Time Staffing Adjustments
Dynamic Labor Management was arguably the most impressive demonstration. Think of it as real-time situational awareness for labor. The system detects unexpected demand surges or slowdowns and alerts managers instantly, giving them the ability to reallocate staff before the impact hits:
In retail, a weather event pushes shoppers indoors
In hospitality, a sudden storm shifts labor from pool to restaurant
In healthcare, a census spike requires float staff immediately
In distribution, order volume surges in an hour window
Instead of waiting for the schedule to catch up (or manually pulling people around), the system surfaces the imbalance and suggests action in seconds.
For industries with thin margins or strict service-level targets, this is a game-changer.
Project Alto: Conversational AI for the Frontline
This product received the biggest applause, and for good reason. Project Alto brings conversational AI directly to frontline workers. Employees can use Siri or Google Voice to:
Check their schedule
Request time off
Swap shifts
Ask "How much will I earn next month?"
Identify open shifts that fit their availability
Explore internal growth and skill-building opportunities
No more hunting through menus. Just natural voice prompts that meet employees where they are.
Managers also benefit from a companion capability, allowing them to ask questions like: "Show me the top three employees who worked the most overtime last week."
Instant answers. No navigation required. This isn't a chatbot. It's a true AI assistant, one designed to reduce frustration, support autonomy, and improve retention.
Strategic Workforce Planning: Now Expanding Beyond Retail
While not new, Strategic Workforce Planning is evolving quickly. Built first for retailers, the solution helps organizations forecast long-term labor needs, analyze staffing gaps, and run what-if scenarios based on labor standards, demand, or organizational strategy.
What's new is its expansion into other verticals—especially healthcare. Healthcare-specific enhancements include:
Planning by patient census
Staffing based on acuity and ratios
Skill and certification requirements
Long-term headcount modeling for new units or acquired facilities
For leaders trying to balance safe staffing with financial targets, this moves workforce planning from reactive to strategic. UKG is seeking two healthcare beta customers for early access, including implementation support.
The Big Takeaway: AI Isn't Replacing People, It's Elevating Them
Throughout Aspire, one theme kept resurfacing: AI helps you do less busywork and create more impact. From scheduling and staffing to forecasting and employee self-service, these tools don't remove the need for leaders or frontline workers. They remove the friction that gets in their way.
Better staffing decisions
Faster insights
Smoother employee experiences
Higher workforce engagement
Less administrative drag
Leaders from healthcare, manufacturing, retail, and the public sector all asked, "How quickly can we implement this for our teams?" The answer is faster than expected, as many tools can be activated quickly, primarily depending on organizational readiness.
Closing Thought: Aspire 2025 Was About the Future
The innovative tools showcased at Aspire are already being rolled out, not five years from now. Their purpose is simple: Focus more on people, not processes.
If you're curious about how these capabilities can fit into your current Workforce Management (WFM) or Human Capital Management (HCM) systems, our team would be happy to discuss it with you.
The future of workforce management is here, and it's more human than ever.
About Improv
Dr. Sarah Inman is the Senior Vice President of Healthcare at Improv, where she leads strategic initiatives that help healthcare organizations optimize workforce management, scheduling, and operational performance.
Improv partners with hospitals, dental groups, and ambulatory care organizations to design sustainable workforce systems that reduce administrative burden, improve staff engagement, and enhance patient care outcomes. Dr. Inman’s work combines practical experience, data-driven insights, and a deep understanding of the human side of healthcare operations. You can learn more about the team at www.improvizations.com.
