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Orignal Link: http://www.siliconrepublic.com/news/article/11026/business/evolution-to-paperless-time

Evolution to paperless time
15.07.2008
A software company based in NovaUCD, the innovation and technology transfer centre at University College Dublin, has launched a product which will allow recruitment agencies to forget about paper-based timesheets.

Evolution, which was founded in 2006 by ex-Microsoft and SoftCo employee Alistair Thacker, designed the product called TempSheets.com for recruitment agencies that place temporary staff.

It allows the workers to complete and submit their timesheets online. These timesheets are then approved by the client company before being electronically submitted to the recruitment agency with all invoicing and payroll calculations already completed.

“As far as we know there is no competing product to TempSheets.com. Usually when agencies decide to offer online services, they tend to have their own in-house IT department. Smaller agencies don’t have such resources.

This product allows them to compete head-to-head without making a major capital investment, as there’s no need to install a server. They can access it via the web and once they make the decision to go ahead, it can be up and running within a week,” said Thacker.

“Normally from a smaller agency point of view the fax machine goes mad at 5.30pm on a Friday and timesheets come in with all sorts of things written on them that don’t make them easy to process. Someone then has to key them in and work out invoicing and payroll. This product ensures timesheets are entered in the format they should be and calculations are made automatically.”

Evolution is a ‘spin-in’ company to NovaUCD, explained Thacker. Following its acceptance on Enterprise Ireland’s M50 Enterprise Programme, it started out with a product called VacationTracker.net in 2006. This is an easy-to-use, web-based service which enables companies to more efficiently manage their employees’ planned and unplanned absences.

By Sorcha Corcoran

Original Source: http://www.ebusinesslive.ie/newsletter/Story/4/1117/ob.html/210 

Case study: RecruitmentPlus
Founded in 1999 by current managing director Anne Fanthom, RecruitmentPlus provides recruitment services for the pharmaceutical and healthcare industries. The firm employs 16 staff spread across its headquarters in Stillorgan, County Dublin and two other offices in Dundalk and Limerick.

The business has taken an active approach to utilising its website to attract business. Every job listing on the firm's books is posted online and the site is updated daily. But making the most of its website is just one element of the recruitment firm's IT strategy; this is a company that uses IT as the key enabling factor to attain its core objectives.

Fast provision of services for customers, along with retention of quality staff, have been key goals for the firm since it began life nine years ago. The business has used IT applications to help it achieve these targets.

Employee benefits
RecruitmentPlus has succeeded in retaining many of the firm's original staff. "We are nine years in business and have low staff turnover," says Fanthom. Many of these employees were previously healthcare professionals and it was important to Fanthom that the firm hold on to staff with this experience.

In order to help cater to the lifestyle needs of the firm's staff, RecruitmentPlus has enabled home working for some of its employees. These workers are able to access the corporate network remotely through a virtual private network (VPN) provided by IT supplier and training provider MoreSoft.

"Many of our employees' lifestyles have changed since they first joined us. Some of them have families and home working allows them to better balance their work and quality of life," says Fanthom. "So few companies offer [home working] so the sense of loyalty is greater."

The benefits of teleworking have also been felt by the business. "There certainly hasn't been a drop off in productivity; in some cases it's even enhanced performances," says Fanthom.

Client communication
On top of improving relations with staff, the firm's use of IT has aided relationships with its clients. A two-pronged approach to databases has proved fruitful for the Dublin-based firm. RecruitmentPlus uses SW2, a database created by Irish recruitment software firm ProjectHouse, to manage applications for the full-time positions it advertises. "When a CV comes in via email, the information is auto-populated into the database at the touch of a button. It means our staff don't have to copy and paste all the data," explains Fanthom.

The system has also improved the ability of client companies and candidates to communicate with one another. "All you [the user] has to do is go into the database, hit a button and it will send the CV to the relevant employer," Fanthom says. The SW2 database also enables client and candidate to communication via text message or email, through a simple one-click process. The database has proven so popular with the firm's clients that many have chosen to buy the system and use it in-house to manage internal human resource functions.

For managing applications for its temping service, RecruitmentPlus has opted for a different technology. The company uses an online temping database provided by TempSheets.com, an Irish firm based in the Nova innovation centre in University College Dublin. Fanthom says it allows staff at RecruitmentPlus to quickly assign temporary staff to firms at short notice.

That system displays relevant information such as the location of the candidate and their access to transport so RecruitmentPlus can find the best person for specific tasks. Client businesses are notified of who is taking the position through an online timesheet. Likewise, the candidates can view the assignments they have been given via their own online timesheet. At the end of the week the system automatically computes a timesheet for the business so the candidate does not have to fill out a sheet manually.

Building on experience
Sometimes the adoption of a technology in a business is a result of a Eureka moment. But more often it's experience that plays a decisive role in choosing the right tools to do the job.

Fanthom used the knowledge she gained over 20 years in the recruitment sector to find the right databases to meet her firm's needs. "I worked with [recruitment firms] Adecco and CPL and I was very much involved in seeing the databases offered to these companies," she says. "Having used four or five different models over the years I had a good idea of what I needed for RecruitmentPlus."

The next step for the firm is to upgrade to SW3, a new web-based database from ProjectHouse. Fanthom opted to go with the upgrade after consulting with an associate in the US who had used the system. She says it is important for SMEs to speak to other firms in related markets in order to find the right IT applications.

"Go out and talk to plenty of suppliers. I made the mistake at the beginning of not investigating around but I have learnt from this experience," she says. "Shop around and talk with others in your industry to see what works for them."

Evolution has updated our support centre to better improve the service we offer to our customers.

Please visit: http://support.evolution.ie whenever you require support for VacationTracker.net or TempSheets.com.