Charleston, SC - Imagine what additional tasks or projects supervisors could accomplish if they were to save over 800 hours of time a year...that’s the equivalent of 20 work weeks. The Charleston County Consolidated 9-1-1 Center in North Charleston, South Carolina indicates they save all of this time because they switched from one online staff scheduling system to another which is faster and more user friendly.
“The program we used before took too many steps to be able to approve items. For example, if you wanted to approve the leave of a Sheriff's office dispatcher but the leave was being filled by a fire/ems dispatcher there were multiple steps that had to be done. You would have to approve the leave and click to create the associated overtime. When the overtime was created, it would be created in such a way as to only allow a Sheriff's office dispatcher to be assigned. You would have to go in and modify the overtime to add in the other discipline, wait for it to be updated, and then go back in and assign the correct person filling the spot. Another issue with that program was that, although it was web based it wasn’t mobile friendly at all,” explains Kristina Russell, Shift Supervisor. “We switched to Aladtec because it is so much easier to use, faster and very mobile friendly.”
When scheduling about 100 staff members and four two daily shifts, saving time and the ease of use of a scheduling system is very important. “If you take one supervisor working on the schedule to create and fill overtime, approve leave, add in sick leave, etc. for 4 hours per shift from each squad that would equal out to 56 hours. After switching to Aladtec we’ve reduced the time spent scheduling by 16 hours a week,” adds Russell. “Aladtec’s time savings also allows for the ability to work further ahead in the schedule therefore getting overtime filled earlier and resulting in more notice for forced OT.”
One feature contributing to the ease of scheduling is Aladtec’s Drag and Drop capability. You can simply click on a chosen item and drag and drop to change it...for example, moving an employee to a different position or shortening/lengthening a person’s shift is very simple and fast with just a click of the mouse. “We like the drag and drop feature because it allows for easy shuffling of our staff to fill holes in the schedule. I also like the time calculating reports and the fact the schedule views can easily be customized to show as little or as much as you’d like see,” Russell says. “One thing that is unique for us, is that each employee has a different skill set and Aladtec allows us to easily identify that and accounts for who can work which disciplines/positions as needed.”
The staff appreciates the switch to Aladtec too. Russell states employees have mentioned that they like being able to see options that are available for trades or overtime right on their home schedule calendar view. She adds, “Another aspect of Aladtec they like is being able to see which position they are scheduled for so if they need to find overtime for themselves they know which disciplines they can use to fill their spots.”
Aladtec is available through an annual subscription based on the number of people using the system. They also offer an optional time clock, free training, free updates and free customer support. “If we request changes be made within our Aladtec system to suit our needs, their support team will gladly help us change it. They always offer to assist us in any capacity,” shares JoTavia McPherson, Administrative Assistant II, Charleston County Consolidated 9-1-1 Center, North Charleston, South Carolina.
About Charleston County Consolidated 9-1-1 Center: The International Academies of Emergency Dispatch has formally awarded Accreditation to the Charleston County Consolidated 9-1-1 Center as an Emergency Fire and Emergency Medical Dispatch Center of Excellence. They are only the 24th Emergency Fire Dispatch Center and the 171st Emergency Medical Dispatch Center in the world to be awarded the highest distinction for their comprehensive implementation and compliance with the Fire and Medical Priority Dispatch System and associated 20 Points of Excellence. For more information visit www.charlestoncounty.org
About Aladtec: They proudly provide online employee scheduling and workforce management software to over 1,500 organizations, primarily within the Public Safety Sector. These customers count on Aladtec every day to help them save time and improve efficiency. For information about their affordable industry specific options, or to try a free trial, please visit www.aladtec.com.
