info@spica.com
Improved workforce accountability, welcomed by employees
Solution: SPICA All Hours
Content:
- Why did one of the first Slovenian e-bus vendors choose SPICA's solution?
- How did SPICA's solution improve employee time and attendance tracking?
- Why is the CEO also very satisfied?
- Industry: Bus sales and servicing
- Organization size: Small
- Number of employees: 15 full-time employees
- Special features: Among the first in Slovenia to sell electric buses
Among the first in Slovenia to sell e-buses
“Previously, we would have had to stand at the entrance to find out if employees were arriving or leaving on time. Now we have the data,” says Ms. Tina Izlakar, business secretary at Dualis.
The Maribor-based company Dualis is the only authorized representative and service provider for the bus manufacturer IVECO BUS in Slovenia. This company was among the first in Slovenia to start offering IVECO electric buses as part of its regular offering.
The company is privately owned, founded in 2009, and today employs 15 people. In 2017, it was named the best small company in the Podravje region.
Challenges: the old system relied solely on trust
Before the trial period in December, employee working hours were tracked manually. Employees wrote down their own arrival and departure times. “At the end of the month, we manually transferred the data into digital form and prepared it for the external accounting service, which used it to process payroll. It was very time-consuming,” says Ms. Tina Izlakar, business secretary at Dualis.
Ms. Tina Izlakar adds: "The old system was based on trust because it’s hard to watch every employee to see if they correctly recorded their arrival or departure time. Sometimes someone would forget to record it and then add it later at the end of the month. Sometimes a vacation day would also be forgotten that way."
In the early days, when the first team was in place, this wasn’t such a problem, as employees understood their work responsibilities, arrived on time, and approached work responsibly. Later, some new, younger employees joined, and according to Ms. Izlakar, things weren’t quite the same anymore. Around the same time, legislation was introduced requiring digital tracking of time and attendance.
One month of testing was enough
Last December, they tested SPICA’s All Hours solution, and by January, they had implemented it. For the first month, they still kept manual records alongside the new system, and by February, they fully switched to the new time-tracking system.
“I spent a month checking and adjusting the initial All Hours settings, while also keeping a manual record as a backup to ensure there were no errors that might affect employees. The older employees were eagerly waiting for the new system because they wanted everyone to consistently follow working hours,” says Tina Izlakar.
This was important not just for workplace relationships but also because of the nature of the work. If someone has a coffee in the service workshop, they have to leave their workstation, meaning it counts as a break. So now, if you want your morning coffee, you have to come a bit earlier. The older employees were immediately happy with the new solution, the younger ones a bit less so," says Tina Izlakar.
Mobile and browser clocking are only accessible on premises
The new SPICA time-tracking solution was recommended by Dualis’s accounting service. It was also the most suitable option among all the offers, says Tina Izlakar, especially because of the user-friendly app.
Employees clock in and out with key fobs at terminals, and they also have an app on their phones and access via computer’s browser. However, the key fobs are mainly used. Clock-in and clock-out via the app is only available on company premises. Outside the company, the app is used for requesting leave, sick days, and other exceptional cases.
In principle, all employees work on-site. If there’s an exception, older workers in the team inform Ms/ Tina Izlakar, who, as the business assistant and time-tracking coordinator, manually enters the information into the system.
Some employees who are more tech-savvy use the app to report deviations, such as business trips. "Annual leave is usually requested through the app, and I approve it unless there’s any issue," says Ms. Tina Izlakar.
The CEO has an overview of time compliance
According to Ms. Izlakar, the CEO is very satisfied with SPICA’s solution because it gives him an automatic overview of working hours at the company. Ms. Tina Izlakar: "If someone violates working hours, we call them in for a talk, and things usually improve. Previously, we had to stand at the entrance to know if workers were arriving or leaving on time. Now we have the data."
There were no surprises regarding working hours violations. It was expected that some employees would be initially bothered by the new solution, while others would welcome it. With the small number of employees, Ms. Tina Izlakar can check daily whether arrivals, departures, and breaks are being properly recorded. She logs reasons for any deviations immediately. All of this is significantly easier than before SPICA’s solution was introduced.
There are already some signs of better adherence to working hours, although they haven’t yet reached the goal. Most employees do their jobs well; the main issue is punctuality. With the digital system and real-time attendance tracking, they’re gradually building a culture of greater responsibility and transparency.
Meanwhile, SPICA’s support team ensures that answers and solutions to Dualis’s inquiries are available the same day.
Advantages
Employees:
- Those who want culture of responsibility and transparency in working hours are very satisfied and welcome the solution.
Director:
- Has an overview of employee compliance with working hours.
Business secretary:
- No longer needs to rely on trust alone, as she now has automatic time and attendance data.
