Croydon-based telecommunications provider, Totility, has talked about the positive impact that the implementation of the Youmanage online HR toolkit has had on its business.

Totility signed up for Youmanage in late-2008 to help the company tighten up 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.

Totility MD, Terry McKeever, explained, "Previously we had no system to keep track of things like references and driving license checks. 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", said Terry.

After reviewing a number of options Totility decided to sign up for the Youmanage online HR toolkit.

"It met all of our needs", said Terry. "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.

"The system proved invaluable when we recruited someone who was using a false identity. Because the new starter checklist is created automatically for each new employee, and we're alerted if the checks aren't complete, it meant that we detected the problem far more quickly than we would have done under the old way of doing things. Fortunately we were able to deal with it before too much damage was done.

"Generally the system means that I and the rest of the 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 in the evening or out at a client site 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. Terry says, "It's helped us 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."

Mark Algie, Operations Manager at Totility, 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 Mark. "It meant I was able to get a grip on things far more quickly."

Mark 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.

"I've got the training manual but I haven't needed to look at it yet. It's so intuitive that I was able to work things out for myself."

Totility are using the Small Business Edition of the Youmanage toolkit, 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.

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