Syntegro

Solutions for Access and Time Management

Frank De Weser, the Managing Director of Syntegro, a Belgian company that develops solutions for access and time management states: “This year, we have done away with the 9-5 culture for good. The traditional clocking-in system has been on the decline for quite some time now anyway. Employees and employers alike are seeking more freedom when it comes to organising their work schedules. For employers it is a way of changing the working hours to suit the company’s pressing workload, and employees long for that perfect work-life balance.”

This has already been a growing trend in recent years, but COVID-19 has given the process further impetus. For many workers, ‘flexible working’ and ‘self-rostering’ are no longer principles in theory, but they have become a daily reality. According to Frank: “Home-working is now part and parcel of their working life. People are also increasingly switching between departments and even subsidiaries, and the working environment is being rearranged to suit the projects in progress. Another major lever is the way in which staff performance is being recorded. Here we note a shift from hours worked to services rendered: employees are recording what they are doing more than their hours of attendance.”

Flexibility and Performance Reconciled

Frank states: “Workforce management plays a crucial role in achieving all of the above. Time tracking and staff planning are becoming increasingly intertwined. Freedom and flexibility are great, but one must take into account both the legal obligations as well as the company’s in-house agreements. Of course, customer service must also be safeguarded. If a particular member of staff wishes to start later or wants to take an afternoon off, one of their colleagues must be able to stand in for them to ensure continued customer satisfaction.”

This poses a serious challenge both for HR and for the people managers, because traditional time sheets will no longer do the trick. Project tracking and staff planning are becoming more integrated. This is where a software solution such as that of Syntegro comes into play. Its main advantage is that the tool offers a total solution, both in terms of staff planning, time tracking and project tracking.

Frank explains: “The employer can determine the minimum staffing levels for all the various teams within their company. In turn, employees can list their preferences and when exactly they would like to work, taking into account other colleagues and their respective preferences. The various smart software modules then also factor in the various contractual clauses and the contracts of employment.”

“For example, the time tracking system can already tell you in advance who will be working next Friday at 1 pm. And the system will also check their total number of hours worked this month. In this way, there is no need to have someone working overtime unnecessarily or to pay them time and half.”

Delegating and Automating

The Syntegro software platform is entirely cloud based to ensure that both the HR department and the workforce can access it easily from any PC, tablet or smartphone with an internet connection. The staff manage it all themselves from their own PC or smartphone. This is not just simple to do but digital HR also helps with employer branding. Frank explains: “The younger generation certainly like that aspect. They check their work schedule online and they always have real-time insight into their time sheets, their holidays, etc. It is also easy for them to apply for leave or submit bicycle expenses claims, etc. If someone wants to report their absence, the required certificate can easily be photographed and forwarded by phone to the relevant person. Expenses claims are also forwarded automatically to the accounts department for payment. All this is fully personalised to the employee: they only see what concerns them.”

This system enables the company to delegate staff monitoring. This reduces the workload for the HR department and minimises errors. A survey in the American trade magazine Workforce revealed that approximately 50% of all managers reported that errors in time tracking are of great concern.

Total Solution

One of the main advantages listed by Syntegro is that the software modules are fully integrated. Frank states: “Imagine, for example, that an employee applies for leave in the time tracking system. The manager can then consult the planning module to find out whether the staffing levels are low at that particular time. The manager will then have to explicitly approve the application for leave. Or just imagine that you allocate a particular work schedule to a member of staff. The planning module will then immediately state where and when that person can be employed based on their particular skills. Let’s say, if a member of staff holds a forklift licence, they could work in the warehouse, for example.”

Project Tracking

The Syntegro software also enables you to quickly and easily track projects to check your company’s workload and expenditure. Frank explains: “You can also link our solution to other software packages, such as an ERP system. Companies who have to invoice end customers for work performed by their staff, for example. Perhaps you have a field engineer who has spent one hour repairing a washing machine. This hour of work will then automatically be recorded on the customer’s invoice.”

Belgian employment legislation is probably one of the most complicated in the world - Frank De Weser - Managing Director Syntegro

Affordable Bespoke Software

However, the main advantage of the Syntegro software is that you can tailor our standard software to fully meet the customer’s requirements. Frank explains: “Our core business is time tracking, project tracking and planning. Our standard solution offers so many different calculations and functionalities to set up workflows, that we can literally configure it 100% to automate complex employment rules and regulations and other agreements. There is no need for any software development and this shortens project time scales. In addition, Syntegro ensures that all contact with the customers is handled by specialists. Our salespeople, project managers and support workers do more than just answer questions. They are real consultants who are highly knowledgeable about employment legislation.” In order to remain future-proof, the in-house Belgian R&D team develops all the coding for Syntegro.

ROI Guaranteed

There is an increasing number of large and medium-sized companies that really value the total software solution. According to Frank: “The Belgian employment legislation is probably one of the most complicated in the world. This means that a high-performing HR department requires a lot of manpower to perform time-consuming work, such as entering all the various employment contracts, processing meal vouchers, calculating bonuses, paying overtime, handling a wide variety of queries and compiling social security documents. Our software automates all these processes. There are huge cost savings to be made and these go hand in hand with much improved efficiency. Investment in our software pays for itself in no time at all.”