Significant ROI within Two Years of Implementing WorkForce

In 1980, Stillwater Designs, known as KICKER, virtually invented the high-performance car audio enclosure market when Steve Irby, company founder and president, developed the Original KICKER, the first full-range speaker enclosure designed specifically for automotive use. Today, KICKER products are sold by more than 1,100 authorized dealers in the United States and served by 16 manufacturers’ representative firms, while KICKER’s export sales are managed through a network of distributors serving over 2,000 dealers in approximately 50 countries. World headquarters is located in Stillwater, Oklahoma at a facility totaling more than 300,000 square feet, with 210-plus employees.

WorkForce Challenges & Issues

KICKER was looking for easier methods to collect time. Before implementing WorkForce Software’s EmpCenter® solution, hourly employee time was collected at each employee’s computer, with salary and hourly time being entered manually into the payroll software to generate paychecks. Employees often complained about having to wait for the computer to boot before time could be entered.

The previous time and attendance system could not support the appropriate calculations required to meet regulations or business rules. For example, the system did not support calculations for different employee groups, exception conditions, accruals or leave tracking—these calculations were performed manually.

The company looked for a system to accommodate their needs system that could manage punch clocks for hourly employees and web access for salary employees, while also automating the workforce process from beginning to end.

Selecting WorkForce Software

A committee was formed with personnel from the IT, payroll, and benefits departments to research systems that would better meet KICKER’s requirements and increase productivity. After a lengthy analysis of competing products, the KICKER team unanimously chose WorkForce Software’s EmpCenter solution.

“EmpCenter offered the broadest range of workforce management functionality, so our choice was easy,” said Director of Administration Jeanne Snyder of KICKER.

The IT department also evaluated several factors, including system maintenance and EmpCenter’s ability to integrate with existing systems. They liked the zero-footprint, browser-based architecture of EmpCenter, because the software is not loaded on individual computers. In addition, EmpCenter’s data-driven configuration means that no source code modifications are needed to adapt the system to even the most complex business processes.

Implementation

“WorkForce Software worked within our budget and saved us money by configuring the software remotely,” said Snyder, who also served as the project manager for the implementation. “The EmpCenter solution was affordable, yet it offered high-powered functionality.”

WorkForce Software consultants walked KICKER’s team through easily understood methodology that included defining their process, building business rules, configuring the system, and then testing it before going live. Since all of KICKER’s processes were manual, rules had to be created for accruals, business policies, federal regulations and more.

“The implementation was a streamlined process and I was impressed with the consultant’s professionalism and knowledge of the system and our industry,” said Snyder.

Data Collection

To accommodate both hourly and salary employees, KICKER chose to implement time clocks at three locations and enforce security using a badge reader and employee PIN number. Hourly employees work in a 300,000-square foot facility, so it made sense to have the ability to record time at multiple locations.

EmpCenter’s Labor Distribution module allows KICKER to track time to specific projects. For example, when an employee enters PIN into the time clock, the time can be allocated to a specific project by the supervisor. This provides true project costs—not estimated costs.

Employees use the self-service web interface to manage personal information such as time worked, vacation, paid time-off and sick leave. Employee self-service saves HR departments significant amounts of time, because employees can access the information they typically get from HR personnel.

Testing & Rollout

Testing the system prior to an organization-wide rollout was monitored closely to ensure that data was calculated correctly and badge swipes were not lost.

“We ran every scenario during our testing phase, and documented the calculations, and then compared the results to ensure accuracy,” said Snyder. “We put every user through training, and supervisors received additional training because they were the ones who approve time based on the pre-defined alerts configured into the system. This was exciting for us, and we wanted to make sure we utilized the software’s capabilities.”

Results

KICKER’S results are consistent with WorkForce Software’s research, which found that companies typically see a two- to three-percent savings when automating the time and attendance process.

“EmpCenter was a good investment,” said Lott. “Within two years, we saw a significant return on investment by eliminating manual errors and saving time spent re-keying data into the payroll system.”