Cashbuild, a leading local retailer of quality building materials and associated products, has been successful in establishing a firm footing in the market and has used this position to apply strategy and support growth. It recently invested in the services of an established provider to maintain the efficiency of its HR department and ensure that this discipline could keep up with the progress of the business.
The Company sells directly to the public via its network of 226 stores, and growing across Southern Africa, including South Africa, Namibia, Lesotho, Botswana, Swaziland and Malawi. It employs over 4500 people.
Executive management agreed that the Company had to invest in a comprehensive time & attendance system to support its expansion and to comply with regulation and legislation. There was also a need to achieve a higher level of accuracy in terms of time & attendance – and do so within a specific budget.
Cashbuild had to acquire the services of a credible partner to achieve these objectives. The partner had to be experienced and have a firm track record of service delivery within T&A, HR and payroll.
Accsys was identified as the service provider of choice. The company is a member of the Business Connexion Group (BCX) and a national supplier of people management software and hardware solutions targeting HR, payroll and T&A.
Cashbuild liaised with Accsys over the best possible solution and considered three options: manual recording, Employee Self Service (ESS) with a biometric system and ESS without biometric recording (manual capturing).
Following consultation with Accsys, Cashbuild opted for the last option – ESS without biometric recording.
Obstacles
The reality was that this option still meant a number of obstacles had to be overcome, particularly in so far as the capture and storage of records for time & attendance management was concerned.
Cashbuild was aware that it would have to ensure daily capturing, that access to infrastructure had to be provided for and done in a way that would not negatively impact on operations or customer service levels, and it would have to take a proactive approach to ensure the accuracy of capturing.
In addition to the accurate collation of time worked (time off owed to employee and time owed to the company), the Company also had to make provision for training on the use of the system.
With consistent help from its solution supplier Accsys, Cashbuild made the responsibility to capture time & attendance records that of respective line management.
To address the issue of accuracy, Cashbuild initiated several steps including a weekly exception report, weekly online time management report, automatic escalation to one up manager if leave applications are not approved within seven days, as well as the maintenance of manual attendance registers – audited to ESS.
In order to adequately ensure effective training on the use of the system, Cashbuild equipped its line management with the necessary skills and thereby ensured that there was a pool of master trainers trained on the system to meet immediate requirements.
Cashbuild has successfully implemented a system that facilitates individual online access to critical HR processes and procedures. This has ensured the accurate and cost-effective recording of time & attendance information, a sustainable and effective system that will support the growth of Cashbuild as it applies its expansion program.
“We are delighted with the progress that our client has made in transforming its time and attendance management. We look forward to many more years of service and support to Cashbuild as it grows in stature,” says Teryl Schroenn, CEO of Accsys.
Executive leadership at Cashbuild has commended its service provider for its professionalism, expertise, knowledge of the market and technology, all of which has added measurable value. “The integration of this solution has added enormous value and helped us to successfully negotiate a change in our systems and thereby retain the efficiency of our HR component,” adds Peter Champion, HR Executive, Cashbuild.
