CASE STUDY - TIME & LABOR MANAGEMENT - AUTOMOTIVE Improving Human Productivity Through Software as a Service
Auto Auction Drives Business Faster with Automation in Data Collection and Payroll Prep The Beginning Propel HR is a service provider based in South Carolina with a business model that coincides with both Administrative Service Organizations (ASOs) and Professional Employer Organizations (PEOs). Propel HR manages payroll, employee benefits, HR and workers compensation for its customers while helping drive down costs. This approach offers Propel HR s customers an opportunity to get back to the basics of business, while outsourcing less mission-critical administrative duties to Propel HR. While reading an issue of PEO Insider, a Propel HR executive took notice of an advertisement featuring SaaShr.com. After asking around and hearing positive feedback from existing SaaShr.com partners, Propel HR opened the line of communication. At that point we were just offering PEO services, but we wanted a time and labor management application to become a more viable option for organizations with over 100 employees. It was clear that SaaShr.com s application was the best on the market, which lead us to a partnership, explained Aaron Cullip, Director of Sales at Propel HR. Along Comes Carolina Auto Auction Carolina Auto Auction is situated in Anderson, South Carolina, and was recently ranked among the Top 15 Independent Auto Auctions in the Nation by Used Car News. The organization services customers throughout the United States with a full offering of dealer consignment, fleet, lease, daily rental, insurance, and financial institution vehicles. Carolina Auto Auction was started in 1990 after its owners, purchased the three-lane facility from bankruptcy court. With no existing dealer base, the owners carefully and methodically grew the auction into what is now: an eight-lane facility with consignments totaling more than 1,400 vehicles a week and a dealer base of more than 6,000 dealers. We find that most organizations already using a time and labor management application want a new one, while organizations that have not implemented one, don t recognize the need for one, stated Cullip. Additionally, organizations with less than 50 employees have significantly less of a need compared to organizations with over 200 employees. Carolina Auto Auction, an organization with over 300 employees and an existing time and labor management application its owners were unhappy with, was Cullip s ideal prospective customer. There were several problems with the application we previously had in place, explained Jodi Merrit, Payroll Manager at Carolina Auto Auction. So, Tommy Rogers, our General Manager, brought several applications to the table. After seeing the time and labor management application Propel HR had to offer, everyone was extremely impressed and we concluded that no other application matched its level of functionality. Through SaaShr.com s private-label, or white-label, model, Propel HR branded the application it provided to Carolina Auto Auction as Propel HR Time. End-user Profile Company Carolina Auto Auction Industry Automotive Headquarters Anderson, South Carolina Problem Delays and downtime with application, issues collecting employee punches, and manually editing punches that resulted in numerous deficiencies within payroll processes. We were just offering PEO services, but we wanted a time and labor management application to become a more viable option for organizations with over 100 employees. After seeing the time and labor management application Propel HR had to offer, everyone was extremely impressed and we concluded that no other application matched its level of functionality. 2 of 6
Carolina Auto Auction s Problems & The Solutions Carolina Auto Auction incurred problems in the following areas with its previous application, which were solved by implementing Propel HR Time: Data Collection Issues: The data collection devices Carolina Auto Auction previously had in place did not integrate with the application being used. We could not get employees enrolled on the time clocks for almost nine months. Once we were finally able to begin enrolling our staff on the devices, there were additional issues that resulted in us having to re-enroll the employees numerous times, explained Merrit. There was never a point when we had 100 percent of our employees enrolled on the clocks. Because the data collection devices were not synchronized with one another, an employee would be enrolled on one device, and only able to clock in on that particular device. The initial enrollment did not automatically transfer to the additional devices within Carolina s location. Solution: We provided Carolina Auto Auction with the same type of data collection devices they previously had, the only difference was the application the devices interfaced with, stated Cullip. By providing a small software appliance which resides behind Carolina s secure firewall, the time and labor management application and data collection devices communicate more efficiently. The Synchronize Hand Templates feature within Propel HR Time shares an employee s hand template among data collection devices without manual intervention or the need to enroll employees in more than one device. Additionally, the feature Backup Hand Templates, stores the hand template of each employee within their employee profile. Together, these two features ensure that if an employee is enrolled on one device, they are enrolled on all devices and no employee needs to be enrolled more than once. Enrolling employees was a breeze with Propel HR Time. It only took a minute or two for each employee, and once I enrolled them, I didn t have to do it again, said Merrit. Delays and Downtime: Being that the clocks they had in place did not seamlessly integrate with the application, they did not reflect data in real-time. If the power were to go out, the clock would reset. And if daylight savings time took effect, the clocks did not recognize this, explained Cullip. Since there was nothing in place to create a bridge among the data collection devices, one device s clock could be counting faster than another. Meaning if two employees punched in at exactly the same time at separate data collection devices, the punches could reflect different times. At some points the clocks were as far as an hour behind. We had people come in and work on them, but we would find ourselves with the same problems after they left, stated Merrit. The application had down-time somewhat frequently, added Merrit. This meant, the application could not be accessed at certain times and employee punches would not be recognized until the application was functional again. Solution: Previously, Carolina Auto Auction s application collected data in a store-and-forward, or polled, manner, which caused these hefty delays in punches. Now, through the use of this software appliance, commonly called middleware, punches are collected from each device in real-time. This means punches are reflected in the application as they happen, explained Cullip. Jodi Merritt Carolina Auto Auction Previously employed by WestPoint Stevens Clemson Complex, a textile plant, for more than 10 years, Jodi Merritt developed and fine-tuned her skills in manufacturing production, industrial engineering, scheduling and forecasting, accounting, payroll, and human resources as a whole until the plant closed in 2005. Currently, Jodi is the Assistant Office Manager at Carolina Auto Auction and oversees accounting, payroll and human resources for the more than 300-employee organization. Enrolling employees was a breeze with Propel HR Time. It only took a minute or two for each employee, and once I enrolled them, I didn t have to do it again. 3 of 6
Additionally, there is no differentiation in time between devices because the time displayed on the clocks is directly pulled from a computer. The redundancy associated with this application is a nice benefit. For instance, if the power were to ever go out, punches would be stored in the devices until a connection is re-established, at which point the middleware would push those punches to the application, stated Cullip. Since implementing Propel HR Time, we haven t experienced any downtime with the application, said Merrit. This level of uptime is in direct response to the level of redundancy (power, internet connectivity, etc.) and other core infrastructure components that are part of the hosting facility where the application resides. Manual Edits: The issue that took up most of Merrit s time was the manual edits she had to complete each pay period. On the day of an auction, we have 160 drivers coming in to transport the vehicles to each auction lane, said Merrit. These drivers are not scheduled to come in until 9:00 a.m., but a majority of them were coming in as early as 6:00 a.m., to drink coffee and converse with other employees. They are, however, told that they will only be paid for their scheduled hours. Now, through the use of this software appliance, commonly called middleware, punches are collected from each device in real-time. In our organization, hourly employees have a strict schedule that must be adhered to. Each time payroll needed to be processed, I had to edit punches for about 80 drivers to adhere with their scheduled hours, unless management let me know the additional hours were warranted, stated Merrit. Solution: With Propel HR Time, we were able to set up rounding rules so that employees punching in early or leaving late automatically have that punch rounded to their scheduled time. Now I don t dread doing payroll anymore. I only have about 15 to 20 edits per pay period and these are the correction of missing punches that, in total, only take a few minutes to complete, explained Merrit. Additionally, we can create customized schedules for our employees. All we had to do was set up our daily business requirements, and the schedules were automatically populated. In total we were able to cut more than two hours off of our payroll processes each pay period. Additional Benefits These organizations have incurred additional benefits in the following areas: Easy-to-Use and Support In the two years we used the previous application, we never really gained a level of comfort with it, explained Merrit. The transition onto Propel HR Time, however, went very smoothly and I was comfortable with it after just two or three pay periods. Since implementing the application we ve even been able to start using direct deposit. If there is ever a problem on the customer s side, Propel HR can support that customer by shadowing the individual using the system. Using the shadowing tool, I can see what a customer, like Jodi for instance, is doing and walk them through any reports or new features they re using, said Cullip. Aaron Cullip Propel HR Aaron learned the payroll industry firsthand and was mentored by a top sales executive with Paychex. After a successful tour with Paychex, Aaron found a home as the Vice President of Sales with Propel HR in Greenville, SC. For the last two years Propel HR has produced over 100% growth in sales year after year. He and his staff remain focused on service and building relationships with clients and prospects. Since implementing Propel HR Time, we haven t experienced any downtime. 4 of 6
Intuitive Reporting We use the application for everything: time off requests and accrual balances, bonuses, scheduling, reports, the list goes on, noted Merrit. Because our payroll packet is so large, I need to generate weekly reports involving financials, hours and pay rates. It s really beneficial, for instance, if minimum wage increases, we can quickly run a report for all those employees making minimum wage and use mass edit capabilities to alter their pay rate. A detailed audit history keeps track of modification, additions and deletions within the system. Additionally, we have a lot of departments ranging from the drivers to clerical employees to marketing. So, it s nice being able to run those reports and group labor dollars by each department, said Merrit. With Propel HR Time, Merrit has access to over 50 standard reports within the application. In total we were able to cut more than two hours off of our payroll processes each pay period. Expanding Customer Base Since partnering with SaaShr.com, Propel HR has provided its services to customers with several hundred employees. Without this time and labor management application, we would not have been able to attain these larger customers, stated Cullip. The minimal upfront cost of the application enables our customers to make a quicker buying decision and use the service for a lower total cost of ownership, while providing our organization greater visibility into costs and profit margins over the life of a customer relationship. Without this time and labor management application, we would not have been able to attain these larger customers. For more information: Visit www.saashr.com Call toll free 866.722.9952 International callers 908.722.9952 5 of 6 2010 SaaShr.com