Super-simple complex planning at HCI

If a growing company’s software doesn’t grow along with it, problems will soon mushroom out of control. That’s exactly what happened to industrial cleaning company HCI. Ever since, the company has entrusted the heart of its operations to Sparklink’s smart, integrated, and, most importantly, customizable tools. Job planning, invoicing, payroll: everything runs on a single cloud-based solution. Sans growing pains.

CHALLENGE

Replacing stubborn ERP software with tech that cooperates

HCI is a company in their hyper-growth phase. With this, comes a whole lot of ‘new’: products and services, customer needs and ways of working. However, the Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) software at HCI, like many companies, was not made to be continuously adapted and expanded. In addition, the software emphasised the digital recording of information more than being a real help in executing tasks.

In our Opportunity Scan, we uncovered a variety of bottlenecks in HCI’s operations:

• Rigid registration software which was difficult to adapt and expand

• Few or no automation of repetitive or labour-intensive work

• No smart features like suggesting the most suitable employee for a particular type of job

• 50+ Excel & Word files as a workaround for missing functionality

• Loss of time and double work due to inefficiencies in planning, processing and settling of performance and wages

• No overview of operations for employees and management

• Unreliable reporting with little to no real-time insights

It was clear that HCI needed a top-to-bottom transformation. They had no choice but to consign their old software to the bin and look for something new to clean up their operations.

SOLUTION

Untangling work schedule inefficiencies to make the unmanageable, manageable

One of the core tasks of HCI’s ERP system is job planning. This involves:

• scheduling available, certified people
• with matching, approved vehicles 
• and specialised utilities and consumables 
• for one-off or recurring assignments 
• with specific (safety) requirements and contract agreements. 

HCI's existing software lacked important information in order to correctly determine who and what to deploy for which job. Consider the availability of employees, for example, their qualifications, vehicle specifications, ... A part of that data was always tucked away in other systems or in a separate Excel sheet, as mentioned above. Tricky.

Now that all information is integrated into one solution, the software does the research and combines the parameters. The planners now receive planning proposals that they only have to confirm. We love our tech, yes. But ultimately, it is all about the people the tech empowers: No more endless searches. No more cursing under their breath!

Benefitting from Sparklink’s bespoke digital solutions for their operations, HCI can make the most of their system to optimise planning, take special requirements into account and anticipate busy periods.

SOLUTION

The Collective Labor Agreement (CAO) engine calculates what employees should be paid, like clockwork

In addition to planning, Sparklink’s integrated software solution also processes administrative tasks, without errors.

This means that workers' actual performance can be easily compared to applicable collective labour agreements and contracts of other employees or freelancers stored in Salesforce. Sparklink’s CAO Engine enables HCI to automatically calculate the actual fees to be paid, along with extra costs like mask premiums and night work.

With Sparklink’s new system in place, HCI employees receive a detailed overview of their payment. This way they can see transparently what performance they have delivered and what compensation they will receive. Now, workers can do what they love with the peace of mind knowing that no errors will creep into their payslips.

Invoicing according to price and contract agreements is now 3x faster (better and smarter too!)

Now, HCI’s Invoicing Department receives all services to be settled in a clear overview that takes into account – among other things – the applicable contracts and price agreements. This not only saves a lot of time, but also ensures that HCI is paid much faster by its customers.

SOLUTION

Real-time insights provide overview, control and – above others – peace of mind

With all information about costs – wages, vehicles, materials, amongst others – and revenues in one system and integration with their accounting software, HCI’s management can now finally monitor the most important KPIs in real time. Moreover, they can easily provide financials to the publicly listed Veolia group, to which they have belonged since 2021.

HCI Mobile App: Plan, Click, Done!

CHALLENGE

As in many companies, managing staff scheduling, especially during unexpected absences, and coordinating replacements is a major challenge at HCI.

It is essential that all parties involved quickly understand the impact of absences on scheduled tasks. Moreover, ensuring that work is accurately recorded and confirmed by the client often results in an inefficient, paper-intensive process. This can lead to delays and miscommunication among employees, managers, and clients.

SOLUTION

The mobile app we developed for HCI offers a comprehensive solution to these challenges. Employees can access all information regarding vacations, absences, and balances and submit new, smart vacation requests. The app displays which scheduled tasks are affected by an absence, making it easier to find replacements in a timely manner.

Additionally, employees can see which tasks they are scheduled for, who their colleagues are, and what materials need to be used. Crucially, the app also digitizes the work confirmation process: upon completion of a task, the actual work performed can be signed off directly in the app by the client. This accelerates the processing of additional or reduced work and the approval of work orders, making the entire process more efficient and transparent.