Easy-to-use Time Registration with Good Expansion Options
To create better control over the hours worked by staff, LOODS 5 decided to move away from Excel to a dedicated time registration system. After a few diversions along the way, the lifestyle and home wares retailer ended up implementing the Efficient application provided by Kronos. Efficient is an easy-to-use, highly functional solution for time registration and planning. Since then, LOODS 5 has come up with a whole range of plans for expanding Efficient further.
LOODS 5: a short history
LOODS 5 is a facilitating lifestyle and home wares store in which various importers, wholesalers and manufacturers offer their products for sale, which range from sofas to accessories for the home. LOODS 5 does not have any of its own products, but instead offers shoppers a comprehensive array of goods, ranging from fun accessories to pure designer goods, provided by over 250 different suppliers.
The store is located in innovative factory premises and is divided into various units, each one representing a different home wares provider. Sales for all suppliers are registered at a single cash register point. The takings are then settled meticulously every week with each supplier.
LOODS 5 operates on a cash & carry-concept: anything you see in the store, you can buy immediately and take with you, but you can’t order anything. The range of goods rotates constantly and bulk trading means that the collection is always changing.
LOODS 5 has grown strongly since it was first established at the beginning of 2000. A second location at Sliedrecht opened in 2007 in addition the original site in Zaandam. Both locations work mainly (70%) with the same suppliers. The range is supplemented by local suppliers.
In total, 105 people work at LOODS 5 in the two stores, warehouses, cafeterias and offices.
A time registration system that meets requirements
When the company first began, management of staff hours was always handled in an Excel spreadsheet. “At that time, our offices were still in the retail store itself,” says Sander Noordermeer, Finance Manager at LOODS 5. “This meant we had more natural control over staff. Since then, though, we have moved to new office space. To keep a closer eye on hours worked, as well as planning, registration, management and reporting, we switched to a time and registration system.” LOODS 5 was brought into contact with a company that handled staff planning and time accountability systems through its provider of ICT goods.
The company proposed a package that appeared to be too cumbersome for LOODS 5’s needs. “The menu was far too complex,” recalls Noordermeer “The way hours worked was authorised also wasn’t what we wanted. And we underestimated the effect the system would have on our people and in the store.”
“So after two years, we decided to go in with a new provider who was entirely of our own choice and who we felt good working with. That was when Kronos came into the picture. They made an immediate good impression on us, including in terms of user-friendliness and functionality.”
Fast and efficient
LOODS 5 opted in the first instance for a time registration and planning application, Efficient 4.2. This Kronos solution gave LOODS 5 and affordable and easy-to-use environment to work in for everything to do with working times, absences and attendance at work. “Very little changed for the staff, per se, because they had had to clock on and off in the morning and evening previously,” says Conny Vangelen, HR Manager at LOODS 5. “The major difference was in the way all of the data was processed. Just one click at the end of the month gave us an overview of all the overtime worked and who had been sick when and for how long. We had been able to obtain the same information with the previous solution, but there were lots of different steps along the way to get there. We also had to do extra administration to ensure that everything was kept neat and tidy. In the beginning with Efficient we used to do a parallel check to make sure that everything was actually right and also to get to know the system. Now we don’t do that anymore, which saves us a lot of time.”
As far as planning is concerned, holiday arrangements are the most important thing for LOODS 5. “But that is just a question of working ahead,” says Vangelen. We start by establishing the planning for the year and entering it into the system. If something changes, the schedule can be altered quickly and very easily. Because there are so few changes to make, the system also stays up to date at all times. “On average, there are 20 employees working at each location on a daily basis,” she says. “Not everyone has anything to change every day. So any adjustments are kept to a minimum. This also means that your planning for the next day is also virtually up to date.”
Wishes for the future
In the meantime, LOODS 5 has already come up with a long wish-list for the future. At the moment, a warehouse overseer keeps a check on who goes in and out of the warehouse. In the future, the home wares store wants to be able to register who is actually on the premises. “We know most of our suppliers well, of course,” says Noordermeer, “but not always their staff. Having access control will enable us to have a better idea who is paying how much attention to his units and we will also be able to report this back to the supplier itself.”
There is also talk of creating a link with the payroll office. Currently, the application calculates how much overtime has been worked at the end of the month. This is then passed on to the payroll office. “But it would be great if we didn’t have to do that any more,” says Conny Vangelen.
“We first want to start by using the basic applications in Efficient properly and get to know it thoroughly before we expand the solution,” says Vangelen “Thanks to Kronos, we know what the options are.” Any expansion can happen in a hurry, if needed. However, expectations are that there will soon be more LOODS 5 outlets and only then will there be any expansion of Efficient.
“The major difference was in the way all of the data was processed. Just one click at the end of the month gave us an overview of all the overtime worked and who had been sick when and for how long.”
Conny Vangelen, HR Manager
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