ADP was founded in 1949 as Automatic Payrolls by brothers
Henry and Joe Taub, who were soon joined by Frank Lautenberg (who rose to the
position of CEO before becoming a U.S. Senator from New Jersey for 29 years).
By 1961, when the company went public, it had invested in punched-card
machines, mainframe computers, and check-printing equipment, and had changed
its name to Automatic Data Processing. Today, from its headquarters in
Roseland, NJ, ADP manages payroll, human resources, and benefits for about
570,000 companies worldwide, from start-ups to multinationals. ADP’s main About
Us page (“Who We Are”) is here.
OVERALL GRADE: B
Products/Services: A
The graphic across the top of the main About Us page is excellent. Rather
than a pretty picture, it provides four easy-to-grasp but extraordinarily
impressive statistics about ADP, including the fact that ADP transferred $1.3
trillion within the U.S. in 2013, and that it’s one of only 4 U.S. companies
that have AAA rankings in both Standard & Poor’s and Moody’s. Corporate
storytelling by data: very fitting here. The graphic is followed by an
excellent summary of ADP’s services - always a good policy, but especially important
when the company name doesn’t give a clue to its business. After the graphic
and summary, we’re given links to a message from the CEO, a list of major
awards, and contact information. This is a good set of options, arranged in a sensible
order.
The Awards
& Recognition page is well designed, with the logo of the organization
that gave the award, a summary of the reason, and a link to further
information. Clearly this page is kept up to date--there’s already a 2014 award
listed.
A testimonial page would be a useful addition, particularly
if the testimonials were chosen to emphasize the variety of ADP’s services and
the benefits of using them. A timeline with the company’s founding and rapid
growth would add some corporate history and also reassure actual and potential
clients of how sound the company is.
Personality: B
The main About Us page has a link to a clear, focused message
from the CEO: well done. The Leadership Team page offers the opening lines of
bios about management. Clicking the More button for each loads the rest of the
brief bio. Nothing surprising here, but they’re adequate. Our Commandment 3
of About Us pages is “Reveal thy personality.” More information on the
founders and the company history would help with that.
Accessibility: C
The contact options start at the foot of the main About Us page, with a range of social
media. Other contact pages are scattered across the site: one for U.S. offices
(under an Office Locations link on the main About Us page), one for worldwide
offices (under an “ADP Worldwide” tab at the top of the page), and yet
another (the Contact Us
page) for sending a form email or checking a FAQ. To save visitors time and
confusion, all these options should be repeated on the main Contact Us page.
TAKEAWAY
Websites tend to grow by accretion. Have an outsider check
your site regularly to ensure that important pages such as your Contact Us page
remain well organized and up to date.
Does your Web site’s “About Us” section
accurately convey your organization’s history and capabilities? Every two weeks
we evaluate one example, grading it in three areas that are key to potential
customers: Personality (Who are you?), Products/Services (What can you do for
us?), and Accessibility (How can we reach you?). To talk about your About Us
page, contact us!
Today’s example was chosen at random;
CorporateHistory.net has no ties to this company.
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