Tanda Blog

Phil Johnson

22 February 2019    |   

Understanding your wage costs from a financial report is a bit like trying to piece back together a fruit smoothie that’s already been blended. Only a fraction of employers ever master their wage costs. Those who do are able to turn what’s viewed as a burden by their competitors into their best competitive advantage. A well trained and engaged workforce is a terrifyingly sharp weapon to take to your competition. The secret to it all is actually highly practical in application. It has been proven through decades of research that links highly engaged workforces to increases in topline revenue. We’ve worked with some of the most successful companies in traditionally low margin industries. Here are three of the most potent strategies you can apply to turn your workforce into your weapon in 2019. (1) Start measuring the future, rather than just reporting the past Financial reports are good if you want to see what happened yesterday. But taking control of wage costs is a long-term game. This means managing all expenses that a company bears for the employment of a staff member. This includes everything from gross salaries and benefits to other legal employer contributions. If you want to improve your future wage cost position, you need to start in advance. Building a conceptual report of your future wage costs works well because changes to the way you manage your workforce can take a long time to flow through. That’s especially true when it comes to agreed rostered hours, employment types, and hiring strategies, which take time to materialise into long term savings. You know what Christmas trade was like for 2018, so what will it look like in 2019 with higher wage costs and new employees? What could you change throughout the year in terms of things like the types of employees you hire and their agreed hours? The difference can be significant. Scenario test your forecasts based on employment type, age, level and test the impact of unforeseen overtime. Software will greatly speed this process up. If you’re only reporting on how well you’ve done, start reporting into the future in 2019. Plan to be successful in the future so you can start moving towards your goals now. (2) Tie up loose ends with a sharp ‘day of operations’ plan A well-run shift feels good, it’s like a hot knife through butter. The perfect win-win-win for business, employee, and customer. For some businesses, this is a random occurrence, but businesses that invest in the success of their workforce replicate this effect on a daily basis. It sounds simple enough: you need the right people in the right place at the right times, and management that leads the charge from the front.   The reality is that planning and execution have many moving parts, which is why the day of operations plan holds key to your long term success. Staff levels should track your schedule, or day of operations plan, like clockwork. Any observed discrepancies should be viewed in light of demand being increased or decreased versus what was expected. At Tanda we we’ve quantified the ‘loose ends’ of a shift to be worth at least 1% of total payroll cost, based on clients who moved off manual timesheets. These represent just the small 1 to 5 minute variances here or there to what was planned, so with larger unexpected variances there can be a much larger than 1% difference between your plan and actual costs. Executing shifts with precision and recording times accurate to the minute is low hanging fruit in 2019.  You can do this by setting goals for the time between trading or production end, and the official shift end, to encourage staff to finish diligently. If the original plan results in success, sticking to the plan guarantees it. Tanda’s Live Wage Tracker lets you see wage costs in real-time and adjust staffing levels to drive profitability (3) Return Managers to the Frontline If you want to sell more, make more, and ultimately do more in 2019, empower your managers to lead from the front. This is an opportunity that most businesses leave on the table. Frontline managers are your managers who lead shifts and teams, and they lead more employees than any other level of management. Remember, frontline staff have direct and measurable impacts on top line revenue and quality — they are the doers of any company. Research shows that the most valuable thing a frontline manager can do is allocate time to lead from the front, yet frontline managers spend more time on administration than on more important things like coaching and training. In 2019, make the admin the exception. Analyse what keeps managers in their office and automate it,  so they can lead the charge from the front. Industrial engineers use the fancy term “task based observation”, but in practice finding out what to automate is as simple as analysing each piece of paper a manager touches and asking, “why?” Tanda’s Live Wage Tracker monitors your wage costs in real time as Tanda’s Award Engine calculates the exact cost of your wages for each minute of the day Master your Wage Costs Mastering your wage costs only takes a few key changes to the way you do business. First, investing in the right software will empower you to accurately forecast the next 12 months and beyond based on both reported data and common scenarios. Workforce success platforms like Tanda eliminate the need to guess how different employment and overtime levels affect revenue. Second, planning ahead and having contingencies ensure that every shift runs well and no resources are wasted. Besides having a sharp “day of operations plan”, preparing for staffing difficulties is possible with features like shift swapping that dramatically reduce no-shows. Third, ensuring that managers have a connection with both the staff and the customers gives you an edge over the competition. A manager that is not stuck in the back office understands concerns from all ends, and makes better decisions as a result. Help your business grow by implementing these three strategies today! Curious to know more about a workforce management system that can help your business get better this 2019? Book your FREE demo with Tanda today.

Joel Jensen

21 February 2019    |   

The last 10 years have been an exciting time for businesses. The growth and adoption of cloud technology have presented huge opportunities for business optimisation and increased profits. One of the most popular categories has been the adoption of Workforce Software. This type of software has been used to manage shifts, monitor staff, and ensure timely, accurate pay. This makes sense when we think about it. Employees are your most valuable business assets, but are also one of, if not your largest, cost centres. Naturally, businesses have attempted to optimise this cost by adding oversight and controls to their wage spending. But there are still lots of businesses who use paper to handle their rostering, timesheets and award interpretation. This was always to be expected as many businesses are hesitant to change what they know. Perhaps more surprising, however, is the persistence of old technology. They predate cloud technology and bearing many downsides that continue to hurt businesses. About a year and a half ago we wrote an article about why fingerprint scanners don’t work for time and attendance, and we preferred to use employee timeclocks. It turned out to be one of our most popular articles, presumably due to the number of people still using old technology and experiencing the frustrations that come with it. This week we released our completely new, rebuilt Time Clock App. It has a bunch of cool new features like facial detection, facial recognition, multiple breaks, predictive shift status, and more. We thought it might be worth an update on the downsides of fingerprint scanners and how using modern technology solves these problems. Check out the three biggest problems with fingerprint scanners below. Tanda uses facial recognition technology to ensure accurate clock ins and outs They’re expensive The issue is that fingerprint scanners are expensive pieces of hardware. Just one reliable fingerprint sensor can set you back by several hundreds of dollars. Imagine what that means for those managing hundreds of staff across multiple locations. Installation is also costly and allows little flexibility. Because of these large upfront costs, and the fact that they do little else than record fingerprints, these scanners have become an impractical investment.  Conversely, Tanda’s Time Clock app can run on any tablet device. Most of our clients run the app on a tablet worth less than $200. They’re unreliable As anyone who has used one knows, even the best fingerprint scanners don’t work 100% of the time. To solve this problem, businesses usually keep a paper timesheet below the scanner. This is fine at face value, but what employers quickly realise is that if it doesn’t work 100% of the time, it doesn’t work at all. It becomes far too easy for an employee to be running 5 minutes late, use the paper timesheet, and say “sorry, the fingerprint scanner wasn’t working”. Using a time clock means 100% of clock ins are recorded, even if your internet is down and it goes offline. It will store all data and send it as soon as you get back online. Maintenance is difficult/costly Due to the nature of the hardware, it requires a trained technician whenever there is an issue. Often, it works out cheaper to replace than repair. This presents a new problem because the devices aren’t always readily available. Compare this to a timeclock which can be ‘repaired’ more easily, at no cost, and remotely, because you’re working with cloud software. When the hardware needs replacing, it’s cheap, easily accessible, and requires no downtime. There’s something wrong when you spend more time fixing, maintaining or administering the workforce software you bought instead of working on improving the business you bought it for. Using a modern solution like a timeclock solves the problems presented by legacy software. It’s less costly, more reliable, and far more efficient. It lets your managers spend less time on admin, and more time on the frontline, training staff and engaging customers. Empower your workforce and increase your chances of business success by shifting to cloud-based workforce software today.

Rosie Ramirez

22 February 2019    |   

A spate of wage theft accusations has swept across Australia. It left in its wake damaged reputations and millions in back wages. From the small Barry Cafe in Northcote to cosmetics giant Lush, employment practices, especially involving overtime pay, have been called into question. Some smaller businesses have also come under fire, mainly in the hospitality industry, where experts say wage theft and exploitation are rife. In the mad scramble to resolve these accusations, two questions emerge. Why does wage theft happen, and how do we solve it? Complex Awards system blamed for wage theft In the aftermath of a street protest by the former employees of Barry Cafe in Northcote, owner Anne Petroulias said a lack of understanding about the awards system led to underpayment. She admitted they were unaware of the wage rates, and thought weekend penalty rates could be traded off for staff meals. “My brother looked on Google and got the wage rates. I know we did wrong and we want to rectify anything.” Could it be that the complex award system is the root cause? Chamber of Commerce Chief Executive Greg Bicknell thinks it is a major factor. “The award system is quite complex for small businesses to use,” he said.  Recent Fair Work investigations seem to support this. A cafe in Darwin underpaid three employees $4,988 in total. They apparently misinterpreted the classification descriptions under the award. It’s not just small businesses, however, as even the popular cosmetics store Lush wasn’t immune. Last month, they committed to paying back $2 million to 5,000 workers. The massive breach, according to director Peta Granger, was the result of inefficiencies in its payroll system. This occurred during the 2010 transition to the system of Modern Awards. More recently, the Super Retail group declared they will pay $7.9 million in back wages to 4,500 staff members. According to Managing Director Peter Birtles, an internal review revealed employees were not paid under the correct award. They also approached time in lieu, overtime payments and allowances inconsistently.  “This was a genuine mistake that we deeply regret,” he emphasized. Dire consequences for businesses The reality, however, is that ignorance of the Fair Work Act will not shield an employer from its consequences. Last May, employees of Burch & Purchese Sweet Studio and Vue de Monde began to sue for back payments after allegedly working for more than 50 hours a week, for just 38 hours of pay, due to the incorrect application of annualised salaries. The owners of the restaurants, celebrity chefs Darren Purchese and Shannon Bennett, risk damaging not just their own brand. They also risk their many affiliations, such as MasterChef Australia. Indeed, the price is not just financial. Businesses can quickly lose their reputation in the controversies. Recall that last year, another celebrity chef and MasterChef Australia judge George Calombaris apologised after his restaurant group was caught underpaying 160 staff members a total of up to $2.6 million. Unsurprisingly, Calombaris’ professional credibility as a judge was questioned, and the incident is likely to cast a long shadow on his career moving forward. And it’s not just the owner’s personal brand at risk, because the businesses’ reputation as an employer is too. The spotlight on underpaying businesses revealed a slew of other unethical practices. The fixed pay at popular travel retailer Flight Centre, for instance, was revealed to be $4,000 below minimum wage. They made the rest of their legally mandated pay from commissions. Employees also complained of rare breaks and unpaid overtime, likely discouraging others to pursue a career with them. And without the best people, there is no way for a business to succeed. Read more: How to Serve 200 Customers Daily in an 8-seat Restaurant Beyond payment of back wages, governments are also now considering criminalising wage theft. Queensland’s Palaszczuk government began hearings last Thursday after being contacted by 169 people to detail cases of wage theft. Victoria’s Labor Government has also promised to introduce laws targeting employers who underpay their workers, with hefty penalties of up to 10 years in jail. Using tech to comply with Modern Awards While Fair Work Commission president Iain Ross admits significant improvements can be made to make understanding awards easier, businesses need to comply with the current system and fast. There is no question that the complexity of modern awards costs a lot of time, money, and effort. According to the Australian Payroll Association’s 2018 Payroll Benchmarking Report, it costs an average of $36.30 to produce a single payslip for companies with less than 200 employees. In addition, some employers cannot keep up when superannuation and tax policies change. But times have changed. Employers are no longer limited to old, unwieldy methods of complying with various laws. Automation has been introduced to many companies around the world. Businesses subscribed to automation software are able to use an impartial system that monitors time and attendance, tracks employee rosters, and applies modern awards. One such software is Tanda, whose library of modern awards automates payroll and wage calculation with minimal effort from administrative staff. Investing in time and attendance software ensures that businesses do not make the same mistakes that are now costing others millions. The revolution has begun, and it is expected that many more will follow. In fact, research from Willis Towers Watson found that workplace automation is expected to surge in the next three years. Read more: The Digital Workforce Success Revolution: Why you need to shift to cloud-based HR today Empower staff, improve business The responsibility to pay staff correctly falls squarely on the shoulders of employers. This is true whether they’re running a large retail chain or a small neighborhood cafe. And indeed, companies can insure themselves against controversy down the line by investing in time and attendance software. However, that’s not the only reason to do it. A fair system builds trust among employees. It empowers them to do their best in their respective roles. It’s a win-win situation because it maximises the bottom line without defrauding the front line and ruining the brand. When done correctly, time and attendance automation means there would no longer be a need for staff to protest on the streets, or form digital unions to fight wage theft. Employers will automatically comply with all regulations, every time. Automation can spell success for your workforce, and ultimately, your business, in more ways than one. The recent spike in accusations has already drawn attention to the weakness in how companies compute wages; now it’s time to solve it. Want to see comprehensive workforce success technology in action? We’re ready to show you – request a demo here.

Rosie Ramirez

29 January 2019    |   

The loss of productivity and profits due to time theft has been an enduring problem for many employers across industries. It can come in many forms, from clocking out too early to slacking off at work. While it can be hard to determine exactly how much it costs, a 2017 PollFish survey revealed that the U.S. economy loses approximately $373 million to time theft every year. This is true everywhere else, not just in the US. Paying unproductive employees for their time can make companies lose millions. Below are the top 3 ways employees steal time, and what you can do about it. 1. Buddy Punching The Problem: Buddy punching occurs when one employee clocks in or out for another as a favour. Employees do this to avoid being reprimanded. They often believe that this act is not inappropriate, as it only affects a few minutes of the total hours. But some employees use buddy punching to get paid for hours or even days they didn’t work. This is more prevalent in off-site locations where monitoring systems are lax. A 2008 Nucleus Research report showed that 19% of employees admit to buddy punching. The Solution: Confirming the identity of the person clocking in or out is the easiest way to solve buddy punching. Previously, employers opted for fingerprint clock in technology but this has become less popular with increasingly strict biometric privacy laws. In fact, a data privacy complaint was filed in Illinois against a biometric equipment provider. Because of this, photo-verified clock ins are the safest way to confirm an employee’s identity. A manager can monitor if a clock in matches the employee via cloud data, regardless of where they are working. Read more: Why Fingerprint Scanners Don’t Work for Time and Attendance 2. Time Clock Deception The Problem: Time clock deception, or timesheet falsification, happens when an employee inflates the hours they worked. A 2015 American Payroll Association (APA) study found that 43% of hourly employees surveyed admit to exaggerating the amount of time they work during their shifts. Further, a shocking 25% of employees surveyed report more hours than they actually worked more than 75% of the time. APA estimates that a business that pays out $1 million in annual payroll could be losing up to $70,000 each year due to timesheet falsification. The Solution: Manual forms of timesheet monitoring is the most susceptible to deception. Companies who allow employees to write down their own clock ins and outs will often have no way of knowing whether the information is accurate or not. Even 30 minutes of falsified timesheets can already cost money for businesses. The only solution is to invest in a program that accurately records clock ins and outs, and generates timesheets at the same time. Tanda’s workforce compliant timesheets even calculates precise shift costs using either a managed award or EBA. Read more: The Digital Workforce Success Revolution: Why you need to shift to cloud-based HR today 3. Extended Breaks The Problem: Employees can sometimes take breaks longer and more frequently than they’re supposed to. For many companies, a 30-minute break extension, or five 10-minute smoke breaks, may not seem much. When done large-scale however, it can have a real impact on productivity. Smoke breaks in particular accounted for the highest cost in lost productivity, according to a 2013 Ohio State University study. The study further suggested that U.S. businesses pay almost $6,000 per year extra for each employee who smokes. The Solution: Enabling employees to clock in or out for their breaks is one way to shift responsibility for their time to them. Because automated time clock solutions can be programmed to accommodate breaks, this will come at no extra cost, and will enable businesses to monitor employee breaks better. But because this affects compensation, employers should take care to abide by laws that apply to breaks. They should also ensure that they are not deducting pay illegally. Conveniently, Tanda’s system is able to flag anomalies in breaks, and makes sure the pay interpretation is always legally compliant, wherever you are in the world. Read more: Only a Matter of Time: Punctuality and attendance in multicultural workplaces To eliminate time theft, it is essential to create a work environment with the resources to monitor and prevent it. Investing in the right software will take care of many of the administrative issues that contribute to letting time theft slide by. After these systems are in place, it is also important to increase employee engagement by making sure your onboarding process is effective, and rewarding attendance the right way. These strategies will enrich the work experience and drive productivity to benefit both the employees and the business as a whole.

Monic Del Rosario

18 February 2019    |   

Tanda is excited to announce an integration with innovative API integration company, Doshii. Doshii’s API, which connects apps with POS in real-time, allows Tanda customers to harness their data through a single integration and gain immediate insights so they can manage their businesses better. Tanda’s cloud-based workforce success software offers strong employee onboarding, payroll, and rostering features. It also gives powerful real-time insights that help businesses track the correlation between sales and labour. Through their extensive partnerships and experience in the hospitality and retail industries, Doshii helps Tanda clients predict exactly how many staff they need at any time. Doshii collates all workplace data in one place and eliminate human error in rostering. The Tanda-Doshii partnership automates admin tasks so owners and managers have time to focus on their business instead of spending countless frustrating hours dealing with rosters and payroll. This is particularly valuable in the retail and hospitality industries, as business managers can compare expected to actual figures as the day progresses – allowing them to make on-the-spot scheduling adjustments as needed. In the future, reservation data could be used to monitor staffing levels and notify a venue manager of dates with low staff allocation and high bookings. Dan Etiel, Tanda CMO, says, “Tanda’s integration with Doshii offers customers a wide range of integrations that allow them to utilise their data to grow their business. “By connecting Tanda and Doshii, customers get real-time sales data which allows them to optimise their business operations live throughout the day by making data-driven decisions. This level of insight has not been available before and is a significant step forward for real-time business intelligence.” Doshii GM, Greg Williams, explains that “having live data allows customers to control their business and fine-tune their operation as the day unfolds, instead of having to try and correct events after the fact when it’s too late to remedy.” Tanda’s platform allows business managers to build a detailed roster based on locations and teams in minutes using its simple online rostering tool. This is then shared with staff via email or SMS, who clock in and out of shifts on the fly using Tanda’s Time Clock App. Automated timesheets are then updated in Tanda and its seamless integration with payroll ensures staff are paid correctly, in half the usual time. Tanda’s full platform for Workforce Success includes: Customisable employee onboarding One-touch intelligent rostering with 5-point compliance check Time and attendance with facial detection Leave management Compliant Award interpretation for over 35 industry awards and the ability to build in EBA’s on request Payroll integrations with all top payroll solutions A mobile solution for employees to view rosters, apply for leave and offer to fill vacant shifts. Simplify your staff management and make more informed business decisions based on demand data with Tanda. To find out more, email info@tanda.co, ring 1 300 859 117, or send us a message. Have you streamlined the process for onboarding new employees? We’ve added an online paperless employee onboarding feature which is completely automated to our platform. This new feature is completely customisable, and integrates with your existing software. Check out the online demo here, where you can test drive this onboarding feature online – no sign up required!

Renée Mellish

31 January 2019    |   

Creating rosters using templates is great because in one click you have an entire roster worth of shifts. But even with templates, there are still a bunch of edits that you have to make after it is applied, for example: swapping out staff who are now on leave or unavailable, assigning staff to vacant shifts, etc. Today, we are introducing Smart Templates, a way to apply a template and have the best staff assigned to vacant shifts at the same time. You can start using Smart Templates today, by clicking the Apply Smart template option in your template menu on rosters. How it works: 1. Start by creating a template that has the coverage you know you need for the week, e.g. you know you need 3 people in the bar on Saturday night and 1 person to always be on the front desk. Note: Only vacant shifts will get adjusted so if you have shifts you don’t want to be altered just make sure those have staff assigned. 2. Apply your smart template. 3. When a template is applied any vacant shifts will have staff assigned automatically using the Tanda’s Cognitive algorithm. The algorithm works like this: Look at all the vacant shifts in the template across the week Avoid adding users with clashing shifts/leave/unavailability Avoid breaking roster validation rules Assign a cost-effective team Aim for fairness by spreading out shifts Read more: What’s new in Tanda — January 2019 FAQ Does it assign staff to shifts on a day by day basis (mon-sun) or does it look across the entire week? The way the algorithm works is it looks for the best combinations across the entire week at once, rather than doing it day by day and making the choices for available staff on the last day the least favourable. If I have shifts in my template that already have staff assigned i.e. full timers, part timers but those staff are on leave when I apply the template will those shifts be swapped out? At this stage no, only shifts that are left vacant will be filled – but we plan on making this part of a future version of smart templates.

Monic Del Rosario

14 February 2019    |   

QLD, Australia — Tanda is proud to announce Aurion People & Payroll Solutions as the Platinum Sponsor of the 2019 Workforce Success Conference to be held this 26th July. The annual event organised by Tanda is entering its second year, following the inaugural conference in 2018. The previous conference, held on the Gold Coast, attracted over 280 business owners, managers, and executives. Reianna Vercoe, Product & Marketing Manager for Aurion, said that the Workforce Success Conference provided Aurion a fantastic outlet to access a wide range of businesses, providing a great platform for diversifying their client base. “Last year was a great opportunity to meet Tanda users and understand more about what drives them.” Vercoe said. “Those insights really helped to enhance our solutions, meaning we can deliver even more value to our Tanda-integrated clients. We’re looking forward to partnering with Tanda again to make the 2019 event an even bigger success than last year’s. We were impressed by the inaugural event in 2018 making the decision to retain our spot as the headline conference sponsor an easy one.” Tanda CEO, Jake Philpot, said that he’s anticipating this year’s attendance to double that of the first event, expecting over 600 frontline managers, business owners, and executives. Philpot said the event theme, which focuses on helping businesses unlock growth through creating a highly engaged front-line workforce, is the only conference of its kind in the world: “Other workforce conferences focus solely on Human Resources practitioners or workforce planners. There exists nothing as practical as the Workforce Success Conference.  At no other conference do you see board-level executives sitting next to their front-line managers, aligned in the common goal of increasing revenue through workforce success.” The Workforce Success Conference will be held on 26 July 2019 in Brisbane. Learn more by visiting www.workforcesuccess.com/conference   * * *   Tanda is a market leader in workforce management software, eliminating paperwork with products such as the selfie time clock, intelligent rostering system, automatic award calculator, attendance-to-payroll integration, Shift Swapping, and more. Operating in Brisbane, London, Los Angeles, and Manila, Tanda is committed to raising the quality of work around the world — one shift at a time. To learn more, visit www.tanda.co.

Alex Ghiculescu

28 September 2017    |   

Every year we run a Tanda hackathon. Actually, that’s a lie — this year we’ve already done one in Manila, but we’re now gearing up for our Brisbane one, which should be even bigger. Anyway, an integral part of organising a hackathon is people asking you what actually happens at one. In this post, I will answer that question! Let’s start with the important bit. The winner of the hackathon is whoever builds the coolest thing. This is a bit different to other kinds of events which might focus on entrepreneurship, or on creating solutions to specific problems. At a Tanda hackathon, you can build anything you like, as long as it interacts with one of our APIs in some way. So what’s an API? Turns out it’s “a set of subroutine definitions, protocols, and tools for building application software” (no wonder nobody knows what an API is…). Or, if you want a useful answer — it’s a set of tools that let your program talk to Tanda. The Tanda API lets you do anything in Tanda that a user could normally do just by clicking around, like create a shift, get a list of staff, or submit a leave request. The theme for this year’s hackathon is Webhooks. I will spare you the formal definition. But basically, a webhook is a way of your program getting an alert when something happens in Tanda. So, when someone creates a shift or submits a leave request, your program can get notified and it can do something in response. Hopefully something interesting! The really cool thing about webhooks is that you can use online tools like Zapier to interact with them without writing any code. For example, using Zaiper, you could create a “zap” (a program) that posts a photo to a Facebook group whenever someone clocks in. Perfect for the selfie competition you never knew you were going to run until just now. So, back to what actually happens at a hackathon. On Friday night we give everyone free food and drinks. Then you get a chance to come up on stage and tell everyone what you’d like to build in the next 24 hours. Based on that, you can form a team and start building. For the next 24 hours, we’ll keep you fed and dranked (that isn’t a word), and there will be heaps of people from Tanda around who can help answer questions about your project, or just get really excited about it with you. Finally, on Saturday night, you get to present what you built to our panel of expert judges, and we’ll crown a winner! This year there will be a prize for the best project that uses code, for the best no-code project, as well the overall prize for whoever builds the coolest thing. At this point, I bet the only question you have left is “how do I get a ticket?” Luckily I can answer that too — just go to http://hack.tanda.co! Early bird tickets, which are just $10, are on sale for the rest of the month. Next month, the price skyrockets up to $25. So, get in early. The Hackathon is on Friday 27 October and Saturday 28 October. Can’t wait to see you there! Everyone having a good time at the Tanda Hackathon 2016. Apologies for my face.

Rosie Ramirez

25 January 2019    |   

Small pancakes run on big team effort at Little Pancake Company, a new family-run business at the Coles end of Casey Central Shopping Centre in Victoria. Rick, Wendy and their staff specialise in poffertjes, a traditional Dutch sweet treat. The Dutch often serve poffertjes with powdered sugar, butter, and maple syrup. But their menu offers more than just the traditional serves, with sweet and savory toppings inspired by different cuisines. Little Pancake Company doesn’t just serve these decadent poffertjes either — they supply everything you need to make these delicious delights from the comfort of your own home, or for your own business. Running this operation can’t be easy, so we asked Wendy just how they get it done. Maintaining an online presence Many first-time businesses forget how important it is to have a strong online presence, not to mention a well-curated one. Little Pancake Company understands the need for both, making their Facebook and Instagram accounts a treat for the eyes. Keeping these pages updated allows customers to engage with them through tags and stories. Thus, the experience doesn’t end when the pancakes are finished. The information age provides countless advertising opportunities that business owners can use to elevate their brand. With a keen eye and enough social media savvy, your business can also maintain a strong online presence. Celebrity chef and bestselling author Ed Halmagyi uses Little Pancake Company’s pans to make green banana poffertjes   But Little Pancake Company doesn’t stop at updating their pages with high quality photos and menu recommendations. They also pay attention to what customers say on restaurant review sites like Zomato, where they take the time to respond, regardless if the feedback is positive or negative. Engaging customers in this way lets them know their thoughts are appreciated. They can even quickly turn a less-than-satisfactory experience around. Listening to your customers is the best way to adjust your services. Little Pancake Company knows how to do just that. Investing in workforce technology As first time business owners, Rick and Wendy knew that they would need a straightforward rostering software. “We knew when we started our business that we wanted something that was, I guess, very simplified, and easy to use,” said Wendy. And because they could read rosters at a glance on Tanda, it won out over other platforms. “The other big thing that we use a lot is the costs that are attached to the staff members, and the changing of shifts. It was easy to change shifts and notify the staff members.” Rick and Wendy at Little Pancake Company   Freeing up an owner’s or manager’s time by lessening administrative work is one common way that workforce platforms like Tanda helps businesses. This is also the case for Little Pancake Company. As Wendy said, “The great thing is we’re having more time to spend on staff and obviously with training and making sure that the service level for what we’re doing in our business is up there. […] That’s the important stuff, because at the end of the day, the staff are the ones that help us bring in the money and keep the quality and service there as well.” Staff also benefit greatly from an easy-to-use platform, especially the mobile app. “I think they found it straightforward. So for example, with the availabilities, especially casuals, I’ve just sort of mentioned to them what they need to do. I haven’t given any in-depth explanations and they’ve managed to work it out and do it correctly. So obviously the system is very user-friendly,” she remarked. Overall, when implemented in essential business areas, technology can increase employee engagement. It can also improve the relationship between owners, managers, and employees. Inspiring customer loyalty According to Michael Barnard, General Manager of consultancy firm Customology, the most important customers are “those that come back consistently and invite their friends.” Little Pancake Company’s online presence and investment in workforce technology contribute to another important aspect of running a business in the competitive restaurant industry: customer loyalty. In crafting programs that cater to their target market, they put the customer first and understand their needs. This is evident not just in loyalty programs, but also in their menu. Little Pancake Company invests in well-curated Instagram and Facebook photographs to elevate their brand   Having a diverse clientele with different dietary requirements is the reality for many restaurant businesses today. Customers are more conscious about their diets and what they consume on an everyday basis. Little Pancake Company also offers allergy-free poffertjes as an alternative to the traditional recipe. Customers with specific needs can definitely enjoy them without problem. This includes vegan, wheat-free, yeast-free, nut-free, gluten-free, dairy-free, egg-free, soy-free, coeliac-certified, halal-certified, and kosher-certified products that can be purchased in their store or online. Won’t you keep coming back for more if you know a business is ready to cater to your needs? Little Pancake Company’s journey as a family-run first business is relatable to many, and serves as an inspiration for those thinking of breaking into the food industry. Like cooking up a scrumptious serving of poffertjes, businesses need to get the right mix of listening well, implementing modern solutions, ensuring an engaged staff, and responding to the target market. This is Little Pancake Company’s sweet and savory recipe for success, and there’s no reason it can’t be yours too. Little Pancake Company – pure bliss for your taste buds!

Enrique Estagle

26 September 2017    |   

In today’s rapidly-changing business world, the question is not whether or not you should get a payroll software solution for your business. Rather, it’s what type you should get. Before getting into too much detail, the first question you should ask is whether you should get a desktop-based or a cloud-based payroll software. And understanding their differences can help you zero in on the software you will purchase. Desktop-Based and Cloud-Based Payroll Software Desktop-based payroll software installs itself on your computer. Usually, you purchase it as a disk or a digital download from the manufacturer’s website. The software and your payroll data are stored locally on that computer. On the other hand, cloud-based payroll software isn’t installed on your computer. All you need to do login to the site with a web browser, and then you start using it. The software and your data are stored remotely in a secure data centre. Internet Connectivity Desktop-based payroll software doesn’t necessarily need constant internet access, except when sending data to organizations such as banks and tax institutions. You’ll also need to have internet access whenever the software has an update. On the flipside, cloud-based payroll software needs to have constant internet access to work. This is because all the data and calculations needed to process payroll is located on the remote data server. Access By definition, desktop-based payroll software is only located on the computer where it is installed. This means that once you’re off-site, you won’t be able to access your payroll information. Another caveat is that it’s only compatible with the operating system it was built upon. So if your business solely uses macOS or ChromeOS and the software you’re planning to purchase works only on Windows, you might have to get a Windows PC. Cloud-based payroll software only needs a web browser to work. This means that you can use it on any type of computer (or even a tablet) anytime, wherever you may be as long as you have an internet connection. And some of these solutions also offer an employee portal that allows your staff to look at their own payroll information. Security Most desktop-based payroll software encrypts the data it processes on the computer. Some can only allow you to use the software once you’ve entered a password. On top of that, it’s up to you to secure the computer itself by purchasing antivirus and other cybersecurity software. Cloud-based payroll software hosts all your information on a data centre that has multiple layers of security. And whenever you’re accessing the software via the internet, the connection is encrypted using SSL (secure sockets layer) certificates. Updates More often than not, desktop-based payroll software receives its updates via the internet. It either gets updated automatically or will require you to manually check whenever an update is available. That means that you may have to wait a while for bug fixes or feature updates. Meanwhile, cloud-based payroll software automatically updates without you even knowing it’s happening. That means that updates can happen at any time. Whenever a bug is discovered, it is fixed immediately. If there are a lot of customers asking for a certain feature, developers can make them and have it up in no time. Your user experience can get better every time you use the software. Cost As with other traditional software, you have to pay a huge one-time fee to purchase desktop-based payroll software. Regardless if your business has five or fifty employees, the cost remains the same. And if the company releases a brand new version of that software, you may have to buy it upfront once again. Most cloud-based payroll software has a more cost-efficient payment scheme. Instead of you paying for the entire software upfront, they only charge you a monthly fee based on the number of employees you have at that time. Which should you choose? In today’s business landscape, cloud-based payroll software is clearly the better choice. Internet connectivity so ubiquitous, giving business owners and managers the ability to work anywhere. It’s more cost-efficient as you only pay based on the current number of employees you have. And it has better integration with other business software. Payroll Integration with Tanda Tanda’s payroll integration feature allows it to seamlessly work with the world’s leading desktop-based and cloud-based payroll software. This cuts down your processing time from hours to minutes. Tanda works with desktop-based payroll software by exporting approved timesheets with gross wage calculation as a file, which is then imported into the software for processing. Cloud-based payroll software doesn’t need this step. Once integrated, Tanda and your cloud-based payroll software of choice sync data between each other. It gives you more time to focus on your business. Click here to find out which payroll software works with Tanda.