The Results
Transitioning from literal stacks of paper to BambooHR® helped streamline HR and payroll processes.
Faster Data Transfer: Prior to implementing BambooHR, entering payroll data was a nightmare. Not only did implementing our HRIS and payroll software save Rachael time, but because employee data automatically flows into payroll, it’s easier than ever for her to run payroll. “Before BambooHR. I honestly probably spent close to two hours a week [entering data in payroll].”
Increased Responsiveness for Employees: Self-serve functions in BambooHR replaced Rachael’s practice of manually entering PTO hours for each employee. “I've had so many people come up to me and say, ‘this is so easy to use.’ [BambooHR] just lets them know what they need, and they can click one button to get it. That's awesome.”
More Time for Career Development: After years of operating without the resources for training and certifications, Rachael used her time savings from BambooHR to help improve career development. “We were able to get two of our employees G7 certified, which in the print community is really, really important. They are both now experts, so they can certify colors on any print job anywhere. They can even help other employees become trained and certified.”
The Challenge
Despite her extensive education in HR, Rachael basically built her own HR position at RSSP. “We created the position out of nothing. We swapped some tasks, and now I’m in charge of HR and payroll and benefits and accounting,” Rachael says.
The payroll system RSSP used at the time was overly expensive for their business size and lacked supportive customer service. “The company we were with before cost more than BambooHR. They had the ability to have [HR and payroll] all in one system, but they tried to push us away from having it all in one system.”
Payroll was costing more than just vendor fees—aside from another employee handling accounts receivable, Rachael was on her own in handling these extensive and demanding payroll responsibilities. Even though RSSP is still a small business, the lack of support for payroll processes made it difficult to find time for other aspects of HR management.
This left Rachael spending half her working hours each week translating analog messages into correct data for payroll. “I don’t have many employees that are computer literate,” she explains. “They worked in a print shop for 20 years with clamshell [printing presses], not computers. I always had a stack of PTO requests on my desk, probably an inch thick, that I kept together with a binder clip. And I didn’t dare move it because if someone wanted to change something they’d come back in with white-out, leave a sticky note, or rip a piece off a box to leave a message. It was insanity.”
This first foray into HR was providing limited value to the business. RSSP didn’t have any existing culture initiatives, and with such inefficient payroll processes, Rachael had no time to spend on improving the employee experience. “I had employees tell me, ‘I’ve been here for years, and I’ve never had an employee review.’”
The Solution
After investigating different solutions and ruling out professional employer organizations as too expensive for the size of the company, Rachael chose BambooHR®. After her employees were comfortable with BambooHR, she decided to add on payroll. The combination cleared her desk and transformed the employee experience.
Things that used to take up time and space suddenly feel effortless. “It came up in conversation today,” says Rachael. “I said I don't notice when people take time off. Obviously, I have to approve everybody's time, and we have the calendar and reminders. But it doesn’t really occur to me as much as it used to because I can just go into payroll, click a little button that says ‘Get Hours,’ and it loads in there.”
Most notably, the time savings from combining HR and payroll software with BambooHR give Rachael a chance to focus on culture. This became especially important when decades-old RSSP acquired a smaller, more modern printing firm that specializes in vehicle wraps—RSSP had to change and BambooHR helped them do it.
The positive cultural changes permeate the entire company. “We have a committee dedicated to scrap eliminations so we can see where the company can save money and give it back to the employees with parties...for Halloween. We have a costume contest and a Christmas dinner and things like that, which we never had before.”
Rachael also appreciates the help BambooHR gives her in navigating a newly-remote working environment. “Never did I think I would be sitting at my dining room table working. It's just a whole new world. I can't even imagine how we would have made that happen or start remote without the tools that we have.”
