System Overview
Over recent years, the industrial workplace has been evolving into a casualised and contract-driven workforce (representing over 35% of workers) focussed on projects and outcomes. From abattoir workers to storepersons, tradespersons to cleaners, lawyers to call centre operators: the challenges to efficiently find the most qualified, cost effective and motivated staff for short assignments are critical to business success. By using Cascom, the process of matching high volumes of the most appropriate staff to work assignments can now be efficiently done. Here is the entire process:
- Casual staff access the system via a web interface (at work or at home) and log in their availability to work, preferred work locations and times. Availability can also be placed via SMS text message for those staff not always near a computer.
- When staff are required to fill vacancies due to sick leave of planned absences operations managers, foremen or staffing services simply log into the system and specify time, skill and location. Vacancies can also be placed via a short-code SMS for those managers not always near a computer (eg after hours or site managers).
- The system then automatically matches the most qualified, cost effective staff to the vacancy and sends out a work request via SMS and/or email.
- Casual staff who receive a request simply reply via SMS to accept the offer.
- Once accepted, the system sends confirmation of the work details and contact information to the staff member via SMS.
- The manager is electronically alerted via email and/or SMS as open positions are filled or remain unfilled.
- An additional feature of the Cascom system is the ability to send outbound communications (eg registration reminders, core-skills training sessions, policy changes, emergency alerts) direct to all members of the casual bank.
- Safe scheduling alerts, demand planning, work histories, performance management, regulatory compliance, award compliance are all part of the extensive Business Intelligence reporting capabilities that give managers unprecedented views of the workforce.
Results
When replacing time-consuming, expensive and cumbersome manual processes Cascom delivers both tangible and intangible benefits. Generally the cost of running the system is recouped in telephone savings and reduced administrative costs. Here are some of the benefits experienced by existing Cascom users:
- Dramatically reduced the amount of time spent by management filling vacant shifts (up to 90%)
- Reduce hard costs such telecommunications, administration labour etc
- Enable focus on more strategic staff resourcing and training issues to drive recruitment and retention
- Empowering the casual workforce to align work preferences without prejudice
- Creating a stronger sense of community among the Casual workforce through communication leading to increased staff retention
- Optimising the available casual pool to increase casual pool utilisation by up to 30%
- Commercial governance of all Agency use – a powerful online Agency interface ensures all agency placements are from an approved Vendor list, are user-limited and are fully auditable
- Industrial governance– skills, training, registration, professional certification, police checks, workcover insurance, GST.
- Build the size of Casual pool through choice, transparency and better workforce management
- Getting the job done! – on time, on budget to drive customer satisfaction and profits
- Cascom manages workers of all grades and specialties: tradespeople, white collar, blue collar, hospitality staff etc
Delivery
We think of Cascom as a platform, not a product. Based on constant feedback from our customers, and a rapid development environment, ongoing enhancements are regularly released. The design of the system caters for configuration without programming. Cascom is delivered to the market in the following manner:
- Software-As-A-Service model – no impact on IT resources
- No upfront capital expenditure for software licenses
- No annual license support/maintenance fee
- Free regular upgrades
- Transaction-based commercial agreement – only pay for usage
- 6-8 week implementation time
- Works in many environments:
- Multiple/single facility
- High and Low Agency use
- Decentralised and centralised Casual staffing models
- Urban and Rural
- Any worker classification