Automatic Data Processing, Inc., commonly known as ADP, is an American provider of human resources management software and services. ADP pays more than 40 million workers worldwide and serves more than 800,000 businesses from small business to global enterprise in 140 countries.
History
In 1949, Henry Taub founded Automatic Payrolls, Inc. as a manual payroll processing business with his brother Joe Taub. Frank Lautenberg joined the brothers in the company's infancy. In 1957, Lautenberg, after successfully serving in sales and marketing, became a full-fledged partner with the two brothers. In 1961, the company changed its name to Automatic Data Processing, Inc., and began using punched cardmachines, check printing machines, and mainframe computers. ADP went public in 1961 with 300 clients, 125 employees, and revenues of approximately $400,000 USD. The company established a subsidiary in the United Kingdom in 1965. In 1970, Lautenberg was noted as being the president of the company. Also in 1970, the company's stock transitioned from trading on American Stock Exchange to trading on the New York Stock Exchange. It acquired the pioneering online computer services company Time Sharing Limited in 1974 and Cyphernetics in 1975. Lautenberg continued in his roles as Chairman and CEO until elected to the United States Senate from New Jersey in 1982. From 1985 onward, ADP’s annual revenues exceeded the $1 billion mark, with paychecks processed for about 20% of the U.S. workforce. In the 1990s, ADP began acting as a professional employer organization. Around this time, the company acquired Autonom, a German company, and the payroll and human resource services company, GSI, headquartered in Paris. In September 1998, ADP acquired UK-based Chessington Computer Centre that supplied administration services to the UK Government. Kerridge Computer Co. Ltd., a dealer management systems provider to auto dealers, primarily in the UK, was acquired in 2006. In 2007, the ADP Brokerage Service Group was spun off to form Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc. In January 2017, ADP acquired The Marcus Buckingham Company, to bring to ADP clients a more scientific approach to employee engagement and performance. TMBC, and its founder Marcus Buckingham, are pioneers in using data and research to drive talent management practices that help managers build engagement and increase performance in their teams. Their unique approach empowers managers to coach employees based on their strengths and custom-design teams based on those strengths. In October 2017, ADP acquired Global Cash Card, a leader in digital payments, including paycards and other electronic accounts. With this acquisition, ADP gained an industry-leading proprietary digital payment processing platform that enables innovation and added value services for clients and their workforces, as well as a large, diversified client base that has shown consistent growth. In January 2018, ADP acquired WorkMarket, a New York City-based software platform company that helps businesses manage freelancers, contractors, and consultants. With this acquisition, ADP built on its current portfolio of industry-leading payroll and human capital management solutions that help clients and workers modernize the way work gets done while unlocking productivity, engagement and growth. In 2020, ADP was ranked 227 on the of the largest United States corporations by revenue. ADP has also been included on for 14 consecutive years and has earned recognition from as one of the top companies for diversity and inclusion in the United States for 11 consecutive years. ADP currently has about 58,000 employees worldwide and its fiscal year 2019 revenues were $14.2 billion.
Products and solutions
ADP offers human capital management solutions and for HR, Talent, Time Management, Benefits, and Payroll for small, midsized, large and global organizations.
In 2007, the ADP Brokerage Service Group was spun off to form Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc., removing about $2 billion USD from ADP's total yearly revenue. ADP distributed one share of Broadridge common stock for every four shares of ADP common stock held by shareholders of record as of the close of business on March 23, 2007.
CDK Global, LLC
Formerly called ADP Dealer Services, CDK Global was formed October 1, 2014 and provides integrated technology services and solutions to over 27,000 automotive dealerships internationally, as well as vehicle manufacturers. In 2010, ADP acquired the automotive marketing company Cobalt. BZ Results, winner of the 2006 “Innovative Company of the Year”, was purchased by ADP in 2006. At the time, BZ Results was valued at $125 million. On April 7, 2014, ADP laid off several Dealer Services associates in a reorganization and 3 days later announced plans to spin off the Dealer Services division as a standalone company. On August 19, 2014, ADP Dealer Services announced that the name of the new company, post-spinoff, would be CDK Global. Both S&P and Moody's downgraded ADP to AA in April 2014, after the dealer services unit was spun off.
Controversy
ADP fired salesperson David Schwartz in 2018 after he questioned the legality of ADP's policies and then reported the company to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and Financial Industry Regulatory Authority. ADP fired Schwartz on July 18, 2018. Since Schwartz's reporting these policies to the Federal Government, ADP sued the salesperson for "misappropriation of trade secrets" and "breach of duty of loyalty" among other claims and he countered with whistleblower charges against ADP under the . Among Schwartz’s claims was the allegation that ADP trains and pressures its salespeople to push Simple IRAs rather than SEP IRAs "allowing ADP to hold billions of dollars and generate compounded interest on the money while they hold it." Another Schwartz claim was that ADP trains, incentivizes, and pressures its salespeople to send "falsifying" social security numbers of new client participants to governments on tax forms so that ADP collects payroll deposits from the client as soon as possible.
