Youmanage system helps award winning online drinks retailer tighten their HR procedures and reduce the risk of costly problems.

Kent-based drinks specialist, TheDrinkShop.com, has talked about the positive impact that the implementation of the Youmanage online HR toolkit has had on its business.

TheDrinkShop signed up for Youmanage to help the Company tighten up on its HR management processes and eliminate the risk of costly problems. The system proved its worth when the company recruited a new salesperson who turned out not to be the person he claimed to be.

TheDrinkShop MD, Tim Francis, explained, "Previously, we had no system to keep track of things like pre-employment checks, absence and performance. Our records were either on spreadsheets or paper and it was difficult to keep on top of what had been done and who was responsible for what. So it was too easy for important tasks to get missed.  We recognised that we needed to get our house in order and be far tighter on managing the HR side of the business and adopting Youmanage has enabled a more disciplined approach to our HR related actions and activities and has proven to be a great asset to our business.”

After reviewing a number of options TheDrinkShop decided to sign up for the Youmanage ‘Online HR Toolkit’.

"It meets all of our needs", said Tim. "Not only does it enable us to store all the important information and track key tasks, it also helps us to know what information we should be capturing. The built-in management guidance is very useful if we're not sure how to handle a particular situation.

"Generally the system means that I and the rest of our management team have got much better control of what's going on because if I want to check something I can easily do it myself without waiting for someone else to compile a report for me. The ability to access the system from anywhere whether I'm at home or out of the office is also very useful."

The system has also brought other benefits, for example managers use the file notes facility to capture the output from 1-2-1 meetings, so each employee's performance record is being tracked. Tim says, "It's helped us to be more consistent in the way that we manage people. We are very committed to being a good employer and creating the right environment for our staff and Youmanage is helping us do that."

Dave Attenborough, Operations Director at TheDrinkShop, has recently taken over responsibility for HR and spoke positively about the Youmanage system. "The fact that when I took over I had instant access to all of the employee information and documentation was a great help," said Dave. "It meant I was able to get a grip on things far more quickly."

Dave compared Youmanage favourably to other HR systems he'd used. "It's very user-friendly and well laid-out. It leads you through key processes and you can't really go wrong with it, ensuring that everything we do is in line with HR best practice.”

TheDrinkShop.com are using the Core HR system, which includes a comprehensive employee database as well as the Managing Absence & Holidays, Managing Starters & Leavers, Managing Documents, Reports and Employee Self-serve modules of the system. The company is now planning to add the Managing Performance & Development module in the near future.

Tim concluded, "For what it costs us, the Youmanage system represents a great investment. It's saving us time, helps us to detect potentially costly problems and is enabling us take a more consistent and professional approach to people management. I'd have no hesitation in recommending Youmanage to other businesses."