Aspen Square—Using Technology to Work Smarter
For over 46 years, Aspen Square had used
the same basic method to track time and
work completed: employees manually
completed a physical time card, the cards
were gathered, and then the information
was shipped from the properties back to
the main office. This method was rife with
opportunities for mistakes, not to mention a
paperwork nightmare.
Headquartered in West Springfield, Mass., Aspen Square owns and manages
over 100 residential and commercial properties throughout the country
containing approximately 19,000 units. Many of the company’s 1,200+
salaried and hourly employees work at several properties each day— and
sometimes on multiple projects at each property—creating literally
thousands of time-related transactions per day.
For over 46 years, Aspen Square had used the same basic method to track
time and work completed: employees manually completed a physical time card,
the cards were gathered, and then the information was shipped from the
properties back to the main office. This method was rife with opportunities
for mistakes, not to mention a paperwork nightmare.
Aspen Square recognized the need to move from a paper-based tracking
system to an electronic solution. Management, along with company CIO Jason
Lindwall, put together a team to evaluate and recommend potential solutions.
The team was charged with finding a vendor that could automate the
company’s complex time tracking process, and help streamline overall
operations.
Although the Aspen Square team wanted to automate as much and as quickly
as possible, they also faced the very real challenge of employee buy-in. Most
of the employees at Aspen Square are cleaners, landscapers and general
maintenance workers with little or no technology training. And because most
Aspen Square employees spend only about 10 percent of their time at their
desks each day and the other 90 percent in the trenches, they needed a system
that was both easy to use, and fast.
The team began to research potential time and attendance solutions. In
addition to ease-of-use, they also looked for an application with flexibility
in both the type of information it could track and the way employees entered
their time. And, they wanted a web-based application tied to a strong, central
data center so the company could have faster and more reliable access to
system- wide information.
The team went first to the large time and attendance providers, including
Kronos, ADP, Ceridian and others. Most of what they found was much more
complicated—from both an end-user and features perspective—than
Aspen Square needed or wanted.
During their search, team members came across Qqest’s website. They
contacted the company and were immediately connected with Dan Higbee, director
of the company’s Premier Division.
Higbee, who had just joined Qqest from another large time and attendance
vendor, quickly went to work identifying a solution that would address all of
Aspen Square’s needs.
“Although we are a mid-sized company, Dan treated us like we were
his biggest customer,” said Lindwall. “He knew exactly what we
needed.”
With Higbee’s help, Aspen Square selected Qqest’s TimeForce
product to track time and attendance activities for Aspen’s employees
nationwide.
In addition, Higbee and the Qqest implementation team were able to
customize the software to track maintenance and service activities, which
allows Aspen Square to chart real costs for each activity.
Aspen Square rolled out the first stage of the application to employees at
the home office, who then traveled out into the field to teach other employees
how to use the new system. “We got everyone at the home office on board
first, we built champions,” said Lindwall. “Then they went out
into the field and taught other employees.”
In the beginning, all employees used web-based clocks. However, the IT
team discovered that with up to 12 employees keying into the virtual clock at
the same time, the process was too time consuming. Aspen Square worked with
Qqest to achieve an ideal ratio of approximately 1:1 physical clocks versus
web-based clocks, “With TimeForce, we can have multiple data entry
methods,” said Lindwall. “This flexibility has been crucial in
achieving the quick-and-easy process we need company-wide.”
TimeForce gives Aspen Square the ability to more accurately track employee
time and make staffing adjustments when necessary. “This feature alone
has resulted in a huge cost reduction in overtime pay due to more efficient
scheduling,” said Lindwall.
One of the most dramatic results has been the decrease in the time it
takes to process payroll. Before TimeForce, it took five full-time Aspen
Square employees three days to process 1,200 timecards. With TimeForce, which
seamlessly integrates with Aspen Square’s ADP payroll system, this
process has been reduced by half to just 1.5 days. Not only has the time saved
cut the overall cost of processing payroll, but it has also resulted in some
unanticipated benefits. Aspen Square’s shipping costs have decreased by
two to three percent because most time and attendance data is submitted
electronically instead of being sent on paper through the mail.
Thanks to the new automated process, managers have a much better handle on
actual costs. Also, both time and project tracking, and payroll processing are
much more precise and accurate. TimeForce gives Aspen Square the ability to
create customized reports for just about any information they need.
Aspen Square is also seeing a big impact on morale and employee
performance. With the previous paper-based system, the company’s payroll
staff barely made the deadline each week. Not only did this situation put
enormous stress on employees, it prevented them from spending time on much
more important duties.
With TimeForce, productivity and morale at Aspen Square are on the rise,
employees are under less stress, and there is a much lower turnover rate.
Employees have more time to answer questions and take on new duties, including
benefits management. In fact, since implementing TimeForce, Aspen Square has
been able to increase employee benefits and add a program manager by shifting
staff from payroll to benefits—all without hiring additional staff or
increasing costs.
“Qqest’s TimeForce has been the ideal solution for us,”
said Lindwall. “The implementation process has been smooth, and because
there are no transactional fees, we don’t feel like we’re getting
nickel-and-dimed to death. But more importantly, TimeForce has created real
change within Aspen that helps us work better and smarter. It’s not
every day that you see a piece of software have this kind of impact.”
