Advanced Life Systems of Yakima, Washington joined the eSchedule family in 2014.
Supervisor Art Molina came to us in the summer of 2014, concerned about the time it was taking him to manage the rotating schedules of his 45+ employees. At the time, Art was doing the schedule in Excel and it was becoming unwieldy and difficult to manage.
PROFILE, before eSchedule
- 45 employees
- 6 ALS ambulances, staffed 24/7
- 2 wheelchair vans
- Employees work rotating shifts/schedules including multiple stations
- Scheduler using Microsoft Excel to manage multiple schedules
- Initial time spent doing scheduling with Excel: 30 hours per month (7 hours per week)
- Different manager oversees employee time cards
- Yet another manager handles certifications and training records
- CONCERNS:
- “Spending too much time adjusting and keeping the schedule accurate.”
- “Employees had to make a phone call to pick up shifts.”
PROFILE, with eSchedule
- Using the full eSchedule suite including biometric time clock
- Scheduling time reduced by 50% (down to 3-4 hours per week)
- Scheduling & time clock are integrated, with easy export to payroll provider
- Training manager handles certifications within the software
- Employees can view their schedule, in real-time, 24/7 and bid on shifts quickly and easily only
We spoke with Art recently to get his thoughts on how things have been going over the last year. Here’s what he had to say:
How long has your agency used eSchedule?
“Just under a year.”
What do you see as the biggest benefits to using eSchedule?
“Accurate keeping of employee times while they’re on-duty. The significant drop in hours paid for adjusting and keeping the schedule accurate. Easy for the employees to use.”
Why did you choose eSchedule over other options or solutions?
“I searched and tested a few other programs found this one to be the easiest and less expensive program to use and fit our need as an EMS provider.”
Has eSchedule customized any portion of the software for your agency? If so, how was the process of setting it up and what was the end result?
Yes, we have a rotating schedule and it was customized for us which made it even easier to use. The process was easy. I just told the tech support what I wanted and how we were going to use it and it was done.”
What do your employees like most about eSchedule?
According to the my employees, being able to access the schedule, request time off, bid for shifts, and accurate counting of their hours worked were was most liked by them. Also, being able to do away with multiple forms for off-duty request, time-off/sick time requests.”
What do your other managers (supervisors / schedulers / training admins, etc.) like most about eSchedule?
“The simplicity of the program being able to access it from multiple places. Not having to be at one computer to make changes while out on calls.”
How was it working with eSchedule initially? Were we responsive to your needs? Able to accommodate your requests?
“Yes, very accommodating. Requests were, and continue to be responded to quickly.”
Anything else you’d like to share?
“Most programs are not perfect. Being able to tailor the program to our organization was paramount. eSchedule did that for us and continues to do that for our company.”