The Cooperative for Human Services Found the Perfect Solution to Support their Mobile Healthcare Workforce

Their Story

The Cooperative for Human Services, Inc. (CHS) is a nonprofit, multi-service organization that supports adults with developmental disabilities throughout the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. With more than 400 employees who support people with disabilities in community-based settings, CHS operates 24-hours per day and provides services in hundreds of locations throughout the state from residential services, to independent living support, to guardianship services for people with intellectual and other related developmental disabilities.These program models provide a continuum of services and accommodate a wide range of support needs including services designed to support people who may have multiple disabilities, complex medical and behavioral health needs, and whose needs are changing due to age or other circumstances.

Solution

The Cooperative for Human Services, Inc. approached Journyx and presented their vision of a highly integrated, user-friendly system that addressed their complex business requirements. The renowned social services provider was using a primarily manual time, attendance, and scheduling workforce management system. But they had a remote workforce in multiple locations with many complicated skills and certifications to keep track of.

Their new system had to be capable of meeting flexible and varied scheduling needs, accounting for a range of diverse types of employees. While some employees had regular and recurring schedules, other employees worked on a per-diem basis with shifting schedules that moved frequently between locations. And because each of their employees possesses different certifications and specializations, knowing who was qualified to meet the specific needs of each of their clients was also critically important. Establishing visibility and transparency was essential for CHS management.

Another significant challenge was that CHS needed a responsive time and attendance and scheduling system that could provide information to managers in real-time and one that automated many functions to eliminate management redundancies and improve organizational outcomes.

CHS came to Journyx to implement software that improved their experience with tracking time and scheduling their workforce, replacing the slow and dreadful process of manually accounting for remote and office hours with thoughtfully designed and user-friendly automation.

Results

Journyx responded quickly to partner with the Cooperative for Human Services and develop a real-time data-driven solution to address their timekeeping, scheduling, and communication needs.

CHS wanted to increase the control of each of its employees over choosing available shifts and the hours they would be needed to work. Employees needed to feel engaged, while their managers needed bandwidth to focus on activities and strategies to enhance employee training, improve the quality of services, and enrich the lives of the people that CHS serves.

To meet this goal, Journyx combined the best aspects of its premiere timekeeping and scheduling products to achieve outstanding workforce management outcomes across CHS. With our time and attendance software, advanced scheduling add-on, and our mobile application to facilitate remote employees, CHS had all of the tools they needed.

Increasing Employee Engagement

Using the Journyx scheduling add-on to its fullest potential, CHS allowed their employees to specifically sign up for upcoming open positions and shifts in their online portal, which ensures employees can commit to hours they can keep while meeting their client’s needs.

Alternatively, employees could be auto-scheduled by having their preferences for hours, work locations, and individual certifications and skills matched automatically with an upcoming shift. Both scheduling methods in this solution promote a healthy work-life balance, provide complete coverage and quality care for CHS’s clients, give more agency to the employees, and prevent unnecessary burnout and absenteeism.

Improving Consistency and Accountability

As each employee clocks in and out, their time spent on a particular program, task, department, or with a particular client is tracked automatically, ready to be imported into payroll and accounting. Additionally, any manager can view and track who is working in real-time, with immediate visibility for where they clocked in, how long they have been there, and what tasks they were assigned on-site. And of course, the system automatically flags late punches, early punches, and absences from the approved schedule so each supervisor can ensure that every client’s needs are being met.

Once their new Journyx system was implemented, CHS saw a profound reduction of nonessential overtime. Previously, CHS averaged more than 450 overtime hours per pay period; after the Journyx system was in place. their average number of overtime hours dropped to 125 per pay period.

Rebecca Sarvela, the Director of Human Resources for CHS said “With consistent, agency-wide use of the system, we achieved our expected outcomes resulting in significant savings. It means an approximately 360 percent decrease in overtime.”

By improving accuracy, consistency, and accountability in tracking employee time, CHS was able to achieve better per-diem employee utilization and create significant savings without compromising their quality of service.

“Journyx’s solution ensured that employees felt connected to each other and CHS as a whole. It helped us make sure that every shift is covered by the appropriately trained personnel, which in turn ensured the health and safety of the people we serve.” 

– Rebecca Sarvela
Director of Human Resources for the Cooperative for Human Services

By implementing Journyx time and attendance solutions throughout the organization, the Cooperative for Human Services ensures that the robust multi-service organization continues its award-winning care to its clients and its mission is met— to empower, support, and expand the knowledge, skill, and natural capacities of the people they serve to direct and live full and meaningful lives within their community— while reducing time and resources spent on manual time and attendance tracking and scheduling.