Organizations that implemented the Dayforce human capital management platform achieved a 176% return on investment and $6.8 million in net present value over three years, according to a new study — with costs recovered in under six months.
The findings come from a Total Economic Impact study conducted by Forrester Consulting and commissioned by Dayforce. The research evaluated how organizations with large hourly workforces use the platform to consolidate HR, payroll, and workforce management into a single system.
How the study was conducted
Forrester interviewed Dayforce customers and built a composite organization of 7,500 employees across multiple locations to model the financial impact. Before implementing Dayforce, those organizations relied on multiple legacy systems that required manual reconciliation, carried higher payroll error risks, and offered limited visibility into workforce data.
Because the study was commissioned by Dayforce, HR leaders should weigh the findings accordingly, though Forrester is an independent research firm.
Where the value came from
The study identified five major areas of quantifiable benefit for the composite organization:
- Scheduling efficiency: A 60% reduction in scheduling time for frontline managers, delivering $4 million in savings through template-based scheduling and employee-managed shift swaps
- Reduced turnover: A 20% decrease in hourly worker attrition, saving $2.6 million, attributed to self-service scheduling tools and on-demand access to earned wages
- Technology consolidation: $2.6 million in savings from retiring legacy HR systems
- Payroll efficiency: A 35% reduction in payroll resources, valued at $1.4 million, through fewer reconciliations and payroll errors
- Administrative time savings: $160,000 saved by automating reporting, auditing, and onboarding tasks
The study also noted qualitative benefits including lower compliance risk, reduced unplanned overtime, and improved employee experience, though these were not assigned dollar values.
What customers said
Brandy Garnero, chief human capital officer at Foundry Commercial, was among the customers quoted in the study.
“Dayforce has far exceeded my expectations,” said Garnero. “The technology works, the partnership is strong, and the impact on our business — from helping to reduce turnover and compliance risk to improving HR productivity — has been transformative.”
Chris Armstrong, chief customer officer at Dayforce, said the results reflect what the company hears from clients regularly.
“Today’s leaders are under real pressure to justify the value of every dollar spent, while also managing increasing compliance complexity, enhancing their planning precision amidst uncertainty, and supporting the growth of their people,” said Armstrong. “We believe this study reinforces what our customers tell us every day: every investment they make needs to deliver specific, measurable value in key business outcomes.”
The bottom line for HR buyers
For HR leaders evaluating HCM platforms, the study offers a concrete financial framework — though individual results will vary based on organization size, existing systems, and implementation approach. The full Forrester report is available through Dayforce.
