Intelligent data for customer-focused retailers
Epicor Scheduling+ is a cloud-based workforce management platform that helps independent retail businesses streamline labor management, reduce labor expenses, and improve overall operational efficiencies.
“We selected the Epicor Scheduling+ solution to streamline the employee scheduling process and reduce the amount of time it takes for management to organize those schedules,” said Johil Parbtani, general manager of Miami Home Centers. “Prior to implementing Epicor Scheduling+, our scheduling methods were completely manual-we would take an Microsoft Office Excel grid with a list of employees and try to appropriately fill in the needed labor timeslots.”
“This was laborious and there were many mistakes with our staff schedules, including employees not being paid for the hours they worked. Because of Epicor Scheduling+, schedules are accurate, staff is being paid accordingly, and our management team now has extra time to focus on other key business needs.”
Cloud-based environment
Epicor Scheduling+ enables employees to receive their schedules and tasks via e-mail, text, or online through a personal dashboard. “A significant feature that led us to choose Epicor Scheduling+ software is the fact that it's a cloud-based application. Our employees have instant access to their schedules on any mobile device or in the online portal. They can view their hours to make sure they are accurate. And then, before the paycheck even comes out, they know how much they are getting paid. It keeps our employees and entire business accountable,” said Parbtani.
More calendar control
Too much back-office effort was taking away from serving Miami Home Centers customers. “Before we started using Epicor Scheduling+, there were a lot of problems in the back office. For example, the HR and management teams had to spend countless hours fixing schedules and paycheck errors, when they should've been spending that time with customers. Now, there are fewer problems and almost no fixes that need to be done. With Epicor Scheduling+, they can copy and paste old calendars quickly. Then, with the new reporting tool, they can see how many people are punching in early, how many people are missing days, etc., so it's a lot easier to control and oversee our employees,” said Parbtani.
“The other great part of it is that it's so seamlessly tied to our Epicor Eagle system data. Managers can basically schedule according to whether we are over or under budget for the day/week/month. This really helps us keep tabs on our finances.”
Serving customers, better
Overstaffing is expensive and happens frequently with retailers that are committed to serving customers promptly. If retailers are overstaffed, they can blow a week's staffing budget in a day. If they guess too low, customers are left waiting, and they may move on to other stores. “With Epicor Scheduling+, we have the right amount of employees during our busiest times. So, we don't have too many customers and not enough employees, or vice versa,” said Parbtani. “We can really avoid having bad customer service because we don't have enough people on staff. This helps us differentiate our business from the big-box stores. High-quality customer service is our specialty and Epicor Scheduling+ helps us keep it in the forefront.”