How Deseret Power Streamlined Union Payroll and Reporting with Criterion

Deseret Power has been providing energy to Utah and surrounding states since the late 1970s. Today, the electric cooperative generates about 460 megawatts to supply its members across the region. Its subsidiary, Blue Mountain Energy, operates the Deserado Mine, which produces coal and delivers it by electric train to all the company’s power plants.

Before Criterion, Deseret used an enterprise resource planning (ERP) system to manage HR data for more than 250 employees across three locations. This created major inefficiencies for their HR and Payroll teams. Processes were slow, repetitive, and heavily dependent on IT support.

Criterion’s modern HR platform changed all of that.

To learn how Criterion helped modernize Deseret Power’s systems, we spoke with three of their key leaders:

• Danny Clark (VP of HR for Deseret Power)
• Sam Hadden (HR Manager at Blue Mountain Energy/Deserado Mine)
• Edgar Gardner (HR Manager at Deseret Power plant)

“I definitely like the ability to change things, adapt … A lot of it I can just figure out or do myself.”  — Sam Hadden, HR Manager, Blue Mountain Energy/Deserado Mine

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Challenges

With a large union workforce (roughly 125 employees), Deseret had to follow strict overtime rules and manage a pay structure with several rates. Employees often shifted between job classifications mid-shift.

With the ERP system, these unique rules required temporary pay upgrades and constant adjustments, just to run payroll. Heavy customizations and workarounds made testing and changes nearly impossible to manage without help from the IT team.

“The payroll process with [our previous platform] was a nightmare. It was a huge process, took a really long time, and was really complicated.” — Sam Hadden, HR Manager, Blue Mountain Energy/Deserado Mine

The ERP’s reporting tools also limited HR’s visibility into timecard issues. To make corrections, they had to track down employees or supervisors directly.

Reporting after payroll was just as challenging. Splitting data by company and labor group required a lot of manual work.

In the end, using an ERP for HR simply wasn’t a good fit for Deseret Power. The company needed a true HR platform that was more user-friendly and capable of integrating when needed.

Criterion delivered all that and more.

Solutions

Deseret Power has now been using Criterion’s HR, Payroll, and Talent Engagement modules since 2022. When their former VP of HR began exploring Acumatica as a modern ERP, Acumatica recommended Criterion as an HR partner.

Ultimately, Deseret decided to keep its existing ERP — but Criterion still rose to the top as the ideal HR solution. Within the year, Deseret migrated HR and payroll workflows to Criterion with complete success.

Sam Hadden now leads most implementations and handles updates for benefits, deductions, and other system changes across Deseret and Blue Mountain.

“I feel really comfortable with [Criterion]… the more I use it, the more features … you realize it has, and it's pretty beneficial.” — Sam Hadden, HR Manager, Blue Mountain Energy/Deserado Mine

Today, everyone at Deseret relies on Criterion, including 45 employees at Blue Mountain who use it daily. All staff at Deseret Power access it at work while union employees without company computers submit requests and view time cards through the mobile app or a home computer.

“For the most part, almost all of our employees use the phone app.” — Sam Hadden, HR Manager, Blue Mountain Energy/Deserado Mine

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Results

Since using Criterion, Deseret Power and Blue Mountain Energy have seen several positive results, including:

Faster, Cleaner Payroll Cycles

Before Criterion, payroll was slow and complicated with a high risk for error. Now the process is streamlined, with clear visibility into timecards and faster issue resolution. Union payroll rules are now handled automatically in Criterion — with much less IT support.

Once all timecards are approved, Sam says the entire payroll process can now be completed in a single day.

“It was a huge blessing for me when we switched to Criterion doing payroll.” — Sam Hadden, HR Manager, Blue Mountain Energy/Deserado Mine

Now, their weekly rhythm is quicker with Criterion:

• On Mondays, they run reports to spot timecard issues, fix them quickly, and import updates into the payroll batch.
• Blue Mountain Energy processes two batches each cycle, while Deseret Power runs one batch on the opposite week.
• From there, Criterion makes it easy to import non-automatic deductions and quarterly HSA uploads, calculate and verify payroll, then transmit it directly to the bank.
• The team can also generate check-request reports for 401k, other benefits, and union dues.
• By Thursday, pay stubs are automatically emailed to every employee.

Seamless Integration With Vanguard

While Deseret opted out of the Acumatica integration, Criterion was able to easily integrate with Vanguard for retirement plan management. Now, payroll deductions and matches from Vanguard are automatically factored into payroll in Criterion.

Every Monday, Deseret’s HR team simply logs into Vanguard to verify the amounts. This gives the team confidence that contributions are accurate and on time without adding manual work.

Powerful Reporting for More Efficient Processes

Reporting is now faster, easier, and more flexible. Built-in reports and custom reports (created with SQL by Deseret’s IT team) are available at no extra cost.

• Built-in payroll and overtime reports help identify missing or incomplete timecards quickly. This empowers HR and payroll to fix issues without chasing down multiple people.
• Sam uses reports for everything from employee rosters to termination lists.
• Danny uses Criterion for compliance reporting, including 5500 IRS filings, ACA reporting, Vanguard audits, and W-2 reporting.
• Other reports track workers’ comp wages, incentive pay, and more.

Plus, reports can be filtered by entity (Deseret vs. Blue Mountain) and by labor group (union vs. management) with a simple checkbox.

“I like that we can go in and do all of our own reporting, and that [Criterion doesn’t] upcharge us for building reports.” — Danny Clark, VP of HR

Position History for Workforce Mobility

At Deseret, most employees start as general laborers before bidding into higher-rated positions. Union employees often move between roles more frequently than in other industries, following strict rules about when they can change jobs.

Now, Deseret uses Criterion’s position history feature daily to:

• Track frequent job changes in union roles
• Validate qualifications for promotions
• Manage time-in-position rules
• Support timely service awards

“I'm always looking at the position history… I use it daily.” — Sam Hadden, HR Manager, Blue Mountain Energy/Deserado Mine

Greater HR Autonomy and Agility

HR can now manage benefits, deductions, payroll issues, and reporting without relying entirely on IT or vendor support.

“We have control over everyone’s timesheets, everyone’s vacation — I can see everything! I’m not stuck waiting on managers.” — Sam Hadden, HR Manager, Blue Mountain Energy/Deserado Mine

Edgar adds that cleaner employee data entry is one of his favorite improvements with Criterion, with less jumping around the system and a more logical workflow.

Exceptional Support Experience

With Criterion, Deseret gets consistent, personalized support from a dedicated account manager. The team can get help creating custom reports, configuring changes, and tailoring the system to their needs.

“The thing I liked about Criterion … we were getting answers from the same person every time — and that was helpful. You don't get sent off to a foreign country where nobody knows how to use their own software. You get personalized help, and I really like that.” — Danny Clark, VP of HR

See How Criterion Can Simplify Complex Payroll and HR

Criterion HCM gives organizations like Deseret Power and Blue Mountain Energy the tools they need to manage complex and unionized operations with ease.

We built Criterion for the realities of multi-entity, multi-union, multi-location industrial organizations. Our platform handles intricate pay rules, streamlines custom reporting, and empowers HR teams to do better, more efficient work.

Want to see how Criterion can streamline payroll and simplify HR for your team? Book a demo today.