A need for accuracy and speed

G4S is a market leader in safety and security solutions worldwide. To stay competitive in the market, the company looked to improve quality and efficiency in its services. Workforce scheduling plays a key role but drawing up a schedule for 4,500 employees comes with its own set of challenges. In ORTEC Workforce Scheduling, G4S found the solution that improves the flexibility of the planning and ensures that employees are more satisfied.

ORTEC Workforce Scheduling accurately deployed thousands of employees smartly and efficiently. The company’s employees, a mix of part-time and full-time staff, specializes in aviation security, care & justice services, secure monitoring, patrol & response services, and fire & safety services. Their assistance is critical to customers’ operations. To meet demand, G4S uses a four-week planning period, which is often subject to major fluctuations. The company makes agreements with its clients for a certain number of hours per month and earns its profit margins through these contracts.

Dynamic schedules for a dynamic business

With ORTEC Workforce Scheduling. G4S makes its scheduling process more accurate and responsive. A decentralized scheduling team of more than 40 planners uses ORTEC’s solution to draw up a clear schedule that takes contract terms into account, as well as the qualifications and preferences of all employees.

A proper insight into the schedule is also vital for G4S. “We now have a better overview of our planning,” says Fokke de Vries. “The management reports are also very important for us. ORTEC Workforce Scheduling helps us to better comply with the Working Hours Act. The plan board gives us real-time information to relieve employees who have already reached their maximum working hours.” Thanks to this improved insight into the scheduling process, G4S can quickly respond to customer requests for capacity. Employees also know what is expected of them and where they will be working. When a colleague is absent due to illness or other reasons, their management can respond immediately.

With ORTEC Workforce Scheduling, G4S can automatically scan objects, work locations, and employees. This means the planner no longer has to enter them by hand. The Project Manager at G4S says: “Yellow post-it notes stuck to the planner’s monitor are now a thing of the past. The integration between ORTEC Workforce Scheduling and our administrative processes, such as invoicing and payroll processing, prevents extra work and mistakes.”

More efficiency and employee satisfaction

“Thanks to ORTEC Workforce Scheduling, we have a better balance between supply and demand,” adds the project manager. “Employees are never inactive, but they also don’t work too much overtime. That makes them happy, which results in happy customers as well. Less stress in the schedule means we can provide better customer service.”

Better insight into scheduling conditions means planners can perform their tasks more effectively. This improves G4S’ employee satisfaction scores and enhances customer satisfaction due to increased speed and schedule reliability. Compliance with the local Working Hours Act and customer contracts are automatically calculated into the schedule, along with travel expense reimbursements, allowances for irregular work hours, and overtime. ORTEC Workforce Scheduling is connected to the company’s ERP, making the administrative process faster and more reliable.

G4S also uses ORTEC Employee Self Service. ''This allows employees to request shift changes and leave online. It will also keep our employee schedules up-to-date at all times.”