Telecommuting is a valuable perk our example company offers its tech associates. The software development firm has 18 permanent employees and hires contract workers on an as-needed basis. The organization operates completely from a virtual office and benefits from the lack of costly overhead and the ability to attract skilled professionals who have no interest in commuting, spending their days in a cubicle, and wearing shoes at work.
All of the workforce, including the company owner/manager work from their homes. Ten of the permanent employees are full-time developers and eight cover revolving round-the-clock tech support shifts. From the beginning, this three-year-old business used the latest video-conferencing and customer support technology but didn’t automate timekeeping and scheduling until recently.
Like many companies with a virtual office, the owner trusts his employees and has found them to be motivated and productive. The timekeeping and scheduling issues centered around the hourly tech support personnel and the contractors. The owner/manager was frustrated that many shifts were left shorthanded which increased customer wait times. He was worried that they would start losing hard-earned clients if he couldn’t keep his support shifts fully staffed. The owner didn’t mind if his techs traded shifts, as they were all equally qualified. There just wasn’t a realistic way to keep everyone on the same page when the schedule was kept on an Excel spreadsheet on his laptop.
Paper time cards were fraught with errors and slowed the payroll process. At the end of each pay period, the employees would scramble to fill in missed shift start and end times and the owner knew that guesstimating was probably costing him more in hourly wages.
Solution – Workforce Management Suite
The owner assigned one of his tech support team members the task of researching Workforce Management systems. The woman had a friend with an at-home customer service job who raved about how Workforce Management Suite had improved processes at her company, so she checked out the SwipeClock website. She learned that Workforce Management Suite consists of TimeWorksPlus (for employee time and attendance), TimeSimplicity (for scheduling), and TimeWorks Mobile (the mobile app for iOS and Android). She recommended Workforce Management Suite to her boss, they implemented the system in just a few minutes, and they have never looked back.
Workforce Management Suite Clears Up Confusion
With Workforce Management Suite, all associates can check their time card, accruals, and schedule. In addition, they can easily submit shift change requests to the trade board and receive a notification when another worker picks up the shift. Shorthanded shifts and scheduling mix-ups have been eliminated and customer wait times have decreased significantly.
Cloud-Based Solves Compatibility Problems
Tech employees who work from home don’t always use the same hardware and software that is used at the corporate office. Because Workforce Management Suite is cloud-based, it functions seamlessly on desktops, laptops, iOS and Android devices. It also eliminates the need for pricey software upgrades.
Mobile App Improves Time Card Accuracy
As mentioned previously, old school paper timesheets have a high rate of error. Telecommuting associates often forgot to keep their time card current and had to recall hours after the fact. The owner embedded the TimeWorksPlus login portal into the employee dashboard so his team members are reminded to punch in as they begin their shift.
If your business operates in a virtual office and you need a Workforce Management system designed for telecommuting, call SwipeClock at 888-223-3450 to schedule a demo of Workforce Management Suite.
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WorkforceHUB includes TimeWorksPlus, TimeSimplicity, TimeWorks Mobile, and ApplicantStack. We’ve just added recruitment, onboarding, benefits enrollment, performance reviews, and employee engagement! WorkforceHUB is created for busy employers like you who need to reduce cost-per-hire, streamline scheduling, automate time tracking, maintain regulatory compliance, and lessen labor costs.
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