Success story:
David Ross Education Trust
Since the implementation of Access PeopleXD, David Ross Education Trust has seen a considerable reduction in absence-related errors, an increase in visibility of staffing data and reduction in the time taken to produce reports.
Challenge
- Limited access to employee data and reporting
- Time-consuming & manual paper-based HR processes
- Sickness absence couldn't be recorded or covered
Approach
- Cloud-based HR software designed for the education sector
- Flexible & scalable software to add additional, integrated modules
- Self-service functionality to reduce HR admin
Results
- Streamlined & centralised HR processes
- Comprehensive reporting capabilities
- Reduced absence and disruption in schools & academies
Background
The David Ross Education Trust is a network of unique and diverse academies, committed to becoming one of the top-performing multi-academy trusts in the country.
Recognised as one of 11 system leaders nationwide, the Trust works with 34 primary and secondary schools across the country.
Their schools range from smaller rural primaries with around 50 children, to much larger secondary schools in the centre of urban areas.
The Trust has over 1,900 staff committed to improving the life chances of young people across the network.
What were the challenges?
Without HR software, the David Ross Education Trust struggled to access relevant employee data and report on payroll, absence, and appraisals. Their HR processes were completed manually in paper and spreadsheet format, which was time-consuming, disjointed and at risk of error.
Without any reporting functionalities, the Trust lacked visibility at a board or school level on absence or sickness. This presented challenges and disruption, particularly with employees being affected by COVID-19, as sickness absence couldn’t be recorded or covered.
For data on payroll, the team needed to request this from their previous payroll provider. It was a timely process to gain insight into the information needed.
The investigation and selection
The David Ross Education Trust went to market for cloud-based HR software specifically designed for the education sector to streamline and centralise their HR processes. The Trust’s key criteria included:
- The ability to track and monitor sickness and absences;
- Comprehensive reporting capabilities to provide the schools and trusts with visibility of all staffing information and data;
- User friendly software for employee and admin’s ease;
- The flexibility and scalability to add additional, integrated modules to meet more of the Trust’s HR needs.
Access People was selected by the Trust, as they stood out as the leading HR and payroll software provider of choice. Access PeopleXD met all of the Trust’s key criteria, as well as provide further desirable benefits.
With Access PeopleXD’s employee self-service functionality, the Trust’s HR admin would reduce significantly as employees would have autonomy to input overtime and timesheets from their desktop or mobile. Employees, in particular caretakers, would also be able to earn and book time off in lieu (TOIL).
The David Ross Education Trust can also input employees with multiple posts into Access PeopleXD, which few other HR and payroll software providers can cater for. For example, employees with multiple job roles can be stored against a single record, even if they work in different educational areas with different arrangements.
The implementation
The David Ross Education Trust went live in September 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic. As the country was in lockdown at this time, the implementation process was done remotely.
“Our project manager was great and kept us updated at every stage of the process. He really went out of their way to provide us with the support and guidance needed for a successful launch,” says Cate Holmes, HR Business Partner at the David Ross Education Trust.
The results
Since launching Access PeopleXD, the David Ross Education Trust can easily track and manage sickness and absence, with Bradford Factor triggers automatically calculated. This feature helps the Trust to monitor and reduce absence in their schools and academies.
All employee records and documents are now centralised and secured in one place online, which has given the Trust access to a suite of 100+ comprehensive reports. These reports are run monthly by the Trust to send over to their schools. The schools then check the data, including any triggers like a high Bradford Factor score for example, so they can take appropriate action.
Since the implementation of PeopleXD, the Trust has seen a considerable reduction in absence related errors, an increase in visibility of staffing data and reduction in the time taken to produce reports.
It’s now so simple to add new starter employee records. We know with other systems that it can take ages to learn and hours to sort out, but that isn’t the case with Access PeopleXD. Our HR admins can now action this task quickly and easily. You can also undo changes and update dates with ease!
Every solution, in one place, for your people
The Access Group's HCM division, Access People, offer an unrivalled suite of solutions for businesses, including HR and Payroll, Absence Management, Workforce Management, Compliance, Recruitment, Talent, Learning, Employee Benefits and Engagement, Health & Safety, all of which are underpinned by the powerful Access Workspace platform.
The Access Group is one of the leading providers of business management software to small and mid-sized organisations in the UK, Ireland, and Asia Pacific. We help over 100,000 customers across commercial and not-for-profit sectors become more productive and efficient.
