Clients can request staff in a number of different ways; one
particular way which is still rather popular, is through telephone
requests, which can be further broken down into two formats -
Simple and Power.
Simple
The simple mode really is just as it sounds - easy and
efficient. Any information can be inputted and as this is done, the
search will be continually narrowed down. So if the client was
requesting a secondary school teacher qualified to teach English,
immediately any other teachers would be temporarily
removed from the search.
Selecting a shift displays both default and most recently used
options, so if the same company call up requesting the same teacher
they used before, this will be an immediate option, due to
automatic history being displayed.
Whilst going through the process there will be an option to
select one or multiple dates, and single or multiple shifts; the
number of employees needed can also be selected at this time. At
this point in the process a customer reference can be added, as
well as the client requesting the staff member. If it is a client
that has been used before, their details will be automatically
filled. Towards the end of the process, key information is
automatically generated including department codes and pay
rates.
At the end of the process the selection is saved, a unique
booking reference generated, the request time stamped and the
operator who entered the request is added.
If the shift is booked it can then be entered in an employee's
availability diary and their availability updated.
Power
The power method is in essence an add on to the simple method,
allowing for further information to be added to the request. In
fact there are over 60 additional categories of information that
can be linked to the request, allowing for sheer flexibility and
the ability to meet every customer's needs.
Contract
Contracts generally involve the expansion of a single day or
shift booking and thus enable repeated requirements to be met.
Contracts can be automatically generated for a chosen period of
time where a start and end date are specified, or where the end
date is indefinite. There is also the option to change the end date
of the contract at any time. Notes can further be added to the
contracts through the power input method.
Retrospective
If a staff member is making their own bookings then the input
will, in most cases, be made through a completed time sheet. New
shifts can be added at any time through the time sheet
window.