Case Study: Renfrewshire VJB Offers Flexi-Working To Staff With hfx

Renfrewshire Valuation Joint Board (VJB) is an independent organisation established by the VJB (Scotland) Order 1995.

Officially opening on 1^st April 1996, Renfrewshire VJB has one location and 49 staff members that manage council tax banding, non-domestic rating and electoral register for Renfrewshire, East Renfrewshire and Inverclyde.

The Business Problem

The organisation supports flexible working for its staff, allowing them to request different start and finishing times and working from home. From June 2014, all employees in the UK were given the right to request this.

However, Renfrewshire VJB did not have the technology systems in place to properly manage and monitor how staff were using their time.

It required an ICT solution that would allow it to track changing working patterns – a system that would reveal each staff member’s location, when they work, their sick days, annual leave and “flexi-time” they had earned.

As a public sector organisation that recently experienced a Public Services Network (PSN) audit, it was essential that Renfrewshire’s solution met security compliance requirements.

Solving The Problem

Renfrewshire VJB opted to choose hfx after it demonstrated that adoption of its software would benefit both employer and employee.

Although the organisation had previously inherited a technology system for management purposes, it required much upgrading before it was entirely suitable for purpose.

“The hfx system has been welcomed by staff as it provides a totally transparent way to record working time, including business absence,” said Joe Gallacher, senior admin officer at Renfrewshire VJB.

“It enables us to correlate and calculate working hours, meal allowances and travel claims easily and promptly and we can see at a glance who is in the office,” he added.

The new system provides a way for Renfrewshire to integrate time and attendance, access controls and staff shift patterns while offering the management team valuable insights and reports and improving efficiency.

Renfrewshire says being able to offer flexible working so effectively is great motivation for staff.

The Results

According to Gallacher, while the exact extent of savings achieved has not yet been calculated, it is predicted lots of money will be saved via the new management solution.

For example, every staff member has an ID card that allows them access to the building, rooms within it and the ability to use equipment such as photocopiers.

Gallacher says that because people can actively see how many times they have logged onto such equipment, how much paper they use and other resources, employees are now actively working to reduce waste because waste is now something that can be tracked properly.

“Our hfx system gives us a fantastic management tool for security and for flexible working – it has enabled us to implement new working rules seamlessly, is easy for staff to use and has given us the opportunity to retain experienced staff with new working policies,” claimed Alasdair MacTaggart, Renfrewshire’s assessor.

MacTaggart and Gallacher say that the next steps are to fully integrate the ID card system with the time management programme in order to manage the high security environment required by the PSN auditors.

© 24N.biz