In the world of retail, it is difficult to imagine a successful organization without a clear system for tracking the attendance and labor of its employees. Today, we would like to share with you the story of how the well-known electronics retail chain “Mechta” implemented the clockster system for staff management.
The “Mechta” company specializes in retailing electronic consumer appliances, and their in-store employees play a key role in providing quality service. Their team of 4,200 employees includes consultants, warehouse managers, and cashiers, each with a unique role in ensuring customer satisfaction.
In late October 2021, the management of “Mechta” met with the clockster team and decided to conduct an experiment by signing up for a trial month at only one of the branch locations.
Today, in more than 10 cities in Kazakhstan, “Mechta” employees work with the clockster, which allows them to manage their time and labor resources more efficiently. This is an example of how small changes can make a significant impact, even in such a large company as “Mechta.”
HR challenges and staff management in “Mechta”
Prior to the implementation of clockster, staff management processes in this retail chain were carried out using fairly traditional methods.
Meetings and daily surveys
Before the clockster, every morning in “Mechta” stores started with a daily meeting of the store administration, including directors and their deputies. During these meetings, employees were surveyed on whether they were present at their workplace. This survey allowed for the identification of absent employees and appropriate action to be taken.
Supervision during the day
Further, throughout the workday, supervisors responsible for certain departments checked the presence of employees until the end of the workday. This was another step in ensuring discipline and staff control.
Schedules and notifications
The store’s deputy director played a crucial role in creating schedules for the upcoming month. Employees communicated their need to open sick leave or vacation through their immediate supervisors or via WhatsApp messages. All this data was then transmitted to the HR department.
Time sheet reconciliation
“Before the implementation of clockster, my colleagues from the HR department and I used to reconcile the time sheets at the end of each month, which took us about 2/3 of the days. The timesheet, with all the corrections made in it, was sent back to the store, to the director or his deputy, for reconciliation and identification of corrections in it, because the actual presence or absence at the workplace of the employee could only identify them. And so it was with all departments, which took a lot of time.”
Payroll
The offices in the branches of the “Mecha” network are located far away from each of the divisions. The senior HR manager at the Astana branch, Alexandra, shared how daily operations were plagued by specific problems: “Many problems arose because deputy directors and managers could not keep track of all employees and confirm their punctual attendance or presence at the workplace. Sometimes, this was further complicated towards the end of the month, and there were cases where an employee opened a sick leave note on the 30th or 31st of the month, and the deputy director might not have entered these adjustments in the time sheet in a timely manner, leading to overpayments.“
Seeking solutions to staff management issues
With an increasing number of stores in the “Mechta” chain, reaching 100 stores, and the need for more efficient staff management, the management decided to search for an automated solution for staff and attendance tracking, as well as employee schedule and leaves management. This search led them to clockster system, marking a new phase in “Mechta’s” staff management.
Why clockster stands out among other staff management solutions?
During their quest for the optimal staff management solution, “Mechta” considered various options. However, clockster caught the company’s attention for several key reasons.
National Product
“First and foremost, we were interested in the fact that it’s a Kazakhstani product, and after that, we immediately scheduled a meeting with the company’s manager.”
Personal Introduction
clockster’s company manager, Temirlan, demonstrated the program’s capabilities and provided a trial period for “Mechta’s” management. “During the trial period, Temirlan was with us 24/7, addressing all our numerous questions. This approach aligns with our company’s values, which is why we chose clockster.”
Trial Period
The implementation process began with one unit of one branch of “Mechta” in October 2021. The responsibility for monitoring schedules and data accuracy in clockster system was assigned to the deputy director of this branch. “Surprisingly, both the management and employees quickly adapted to using the program, and they had no issues with attendance tracking. During the initial period, printed reminders were posted everywhere to ensure employees remembered to clock in and out.”
The trial month was successful, and shortly after its conclusion in November, the company began cross-referencing the time sheet with data in the Clockster system.
Gradual Implementation
“After signing the contract between LLP ‘Mechta Market’ and LLP ‘clockster,’ we began the implementation process on April 1, 2022. This process took about 3-4 months, and we implemented it step by step, branch by branch.”
Adapting to the new system
In the beginning, the implementation of clockster for the “Mechta” company posed a challenge, especially considering the organization’s scale. It was necessary to ensure that each employee had the correct data entered, had a schedule in place. Also correctly recorded their check-in and check-out times. It took about two months for the “Mechta” team to adapt to the new system. However afterward, work became more efficient and transparent.
clockster introduced innovations to “Mechta’s” staff management, making the company’s operations more modern and effective.
How improved staff management with clockster impacted customer service and satisfaction
“One of the most noticeable changes after implementing clockster was the speed at which we could inform staff about changes in their work schedules.”
The push notification feature turned out to be genuinely valuable for the “Mechta” company. Also especially during periods of high demand and increased sales. Now, employees instantly receive notifications about necessary schedule changes and can easily plan their time. This allowed “Mechta” to provide higher-quality customer service and increased customer satisfaction.
Additional useful features of clockster beyond attendance tracking
In addition to lates control, clockster provides its clients with several additional features that have proven particularly useful for the “Mechta” company.
“We actively use the Task Manager and the Announcements feature.”
The management of “Mechta” also uses the Announcements feature to post job vacancies tailored to their internal team. This not only saved time in recruiting candidates. It is also allowed their employees to promptly see information about available positions within the company.
clockster has not only become a powerful tool for staff management but also a partner that helps provide better customer service and improve team performance, which is of paramount importance to us.
In conclusion, the collaboration between the “Mechta” company and clockster is a story of changes and innovations in staff management. We shared this story, starting from how the well-known “Mechta” company faced challenges in staff management to the implementation of clockster and continuing to tell how our solution changed their approach to management.
With clockster, the “Mechta” management could quickly notify their staff about schedule changes, significantly improving customer service during periods of increased demand. Enhancing customer satisfaction has always been a priority for “Mechta,” and clockster has become a reliable tool in this process.
The additional features provided by clockster, such as managing employee schedules, Task Manager and publishing Announcements, have also proved to be really helpful in optimizing time scheduling and internal communication in the company.
clockster has become a trusted partner in staff management, helping streamline processes and improve customer service. We are proud of the positive impact our system has had on the the “Mechta” company’s business. We are confident that clockster’s benefits can also be valuable to other companies striving to make staff management more efficient and modern.