How to Troubleshoot Apps for the Modern Connected Worker
Connectivity helps to meet staffing needs @ city of nanaimo september 2011
1. Connectivity helps to meet staffing needs
Mobile generation brings shift in scheduling
BY DENISE DEVEAU, FOR POSTMEDIA NEWS SEPTEMBER 20, 2011
Sandy Raddysh uses a shift management program from Vortex Connect Inc. to automatically send out open shifts at the
Aquatic Centre in Nanaimo, B.C. whenever someone calls in sick, and the response is almost instantaneous.
Photograph by: Derek Spalding, for Postmedia News
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For Sandy Raddysh, almost every workday presents a new scheduling challenge. Visiting pop stars make
it even worse.
"(When) a Katy Perry concert comes to town, everyone wants the day off," he says.
The manager of aquatics for the City of Nanaimo juggles schedules for 65 to 75 staff members, most of
whom are under the age of 25.
"Managing a younger workforce is difficult and brings lots of inherent challenges - like whether people
show up on time, or even come to work at all," he says.
But there's a plus side to working with this generation. "They're very mobile, and very connected,"
Raddysh says.
2. "Everyone has a phone or access to a computer. What's great is we can tap into younger people's
connectivity to manage our staffing needs."
Raddysh uses a shift management program from Vortex Connect Inc, a Toronto-based developer of
mobile task management solutions. Now when a staff member calls in sick or doesn't show, he doesn't
have to pick up the phone and call people one by one. "That always led to mixed results, because it was
difficult to get hold of people," he says.
He simply goes online, enters the information on the time, location and activity (e.g. lifeguarding, swim
instruction) of the shift that needs to be filled, and it's immediately sent out to all the appropriate off-duty
staff members via their communication vehicle of choice -email, voice messaging or texting.
"It's very effective. The shift is pretty much filled immediately," he says.
Michele Deziel, senior direc-tor, core product line for Kronos Incorporated in Chelmsford, Mass., a
developer of workforce management solutions, notes that scheduling was one of the first mobile
applications developed for human resources needs. "We heard constantly about how customers needed
to be able to notify people about an open shift at the last minute," she explains. "Now they have the ability
to instantly connect with numerous employees using voice, text or email."
Mobile connectivity is gaining considerable traction with the food service and retail sectors, as well as
essential services such as law enforcement and health care in which full shift coverage and the ability to
communicate information in a crisis are critical concerns.
Deziel reports that when one health care organization switched to a mobile shift management program, it
was able to fill a shift within two minutes. That's a big leap considering it used to take at least an hour of
phone calls. "It takes the drudgery out of dialing for dollars."
In today's connected world, employers need to be able to reach employees at multiple touch points,
whether that's through their smartphones, cellphones or tablets, says Colleen Wong-Sala, new business
development manager for Vortex.
While using mobile for HR management crosses all age groups, it's especially helpful for businesses
where turnover is high, such as food service or retail, or with a large population of employees under 25
who only want to communicate via social media or texting, she says. "It's is an effective way to reach that
population, whether to communicate pay information, vacation status, schedules or available openings."
Certain types of businesses are also seeing the advantage of mobile for situations such as incident
reporting or product recalls requiring a rapid response. "
