How Shimmers Shaved Off Time from Grueling Scheduling

The Challenge:

Before using TrackSmart, Amy made weekly schedules by hand for each of the four locations, which she would send out in a text message. But, any time an employee needed time off or couldn’t work his or her shift, she’d have to update the schedule and resend it to her employees, making it difficult to keep track of who was working and when. And, payroll had to be calculated — manually — which took three hours. It was becoming a frustrating and time-consuming burden; Amy needed to find an easier alternative to texting schedules and calculating payroll.

“I started researching online and looking for something simple that did not hurt my head or my eyes visually,” Amy says.

The Solution:

Now, using TrackSmart, Amy has significantly reduced payroll time from a few hours to a few minutes. She especially appreciates how employees can manage their own time and schedules, allowing more responsibility to help prepare him or her for future careers.

“They have the opportunity to go into the mobile app and put in the days they need off during a certain timeframe,” Amy says. “It holds them more accountable, and I don’t have to wait for them to respond to me.”

Another helpful aspect of the app is easy accessibility for Amy to go in, select each of her four locations, and see who is working. The app even has a record of the shift history for reference.

Each employee’s phone number is stored in the app, so she can reach anyone quickly, without saving his or her phone number to her personal contacts. And when a shift becomes available, employees in that location will automatically receive an email, so they can pick up the extra shift if interested.

“That has taken a huge burden off of me as far as not getting shifts covered or worrying about when a shift gets covered,” Amy says.

Having the tools to increase scheduling and payroll efficiencies has given Amy the chance to strengthen her management skills and delegate responsibility to others.

“TrackSmart has made it easy for me to let go of being in control and let the managers run the business,” says Amy. “The more I can free myself up to do other things in my business, the more money I’m going to make.”

Also, using timecards made it impossible for Amy and Wes to take a vacation together because she had to physically be at her business for payroll. Using TrackSmart TimeClock, she now has the flexibility to complete payroll from anywhere — and was even able to enjoy a real vacation because of it.