December 2008 - Department of Agriculture and Food

Department of Agriculture and Food implements Softworks' Time and Attendance solutions

Press Release: 08 January 2003

Softworks today announced that The Department of Agriculture and Food, has signed an agreement to install its web-based Time & Attendance / Flexitime Solution. The public sector is recognised as a pioneer in promoting a family-friendly, work-life balance and the Department of Agriculture and Food anticipates the Time & Attendance / Flexitime Solution will support this policy while ensuring it also complies with all relevant legislative requirements, such as the Working Time Directive.

Following a tender process, Softworks was selected as the chosen provider for the Department of Agriculture and Food. "While we had a Time & Attendance solution in place, it required updating in terms of functionality. We needed a new system that could be integrated into our company intranet and that would be robust enough to handle the complex rosters worked by staff in some 35 locations across the country, " said Colm Ormond, Assistant Principal Officer at the Department.

The Department of Agriculture and Food will roll out the web version of ClockWise. Phase One of the implementation will be to 1,000 of its 4,500 staff. Softworks is a versatile Time & Attendance / Flexitime system from the BusinessWise suite of solutions. Embracing Internet technology, the Department will allow staff to easily access and update personal information simply through a web browser. "Such a system will really empower our employees," continued Ormond. "It supports flexibility in the workplace, allowing staff to record time worked, request days / time off, as well as view their own records. It also allows them to check holiday balances and overtime worked, all on-line. This, in turn, will reduce the administrative burden often associated with time-keeping." The Softworks' web-enabled suite incorporates ClockWise Time & Attendance / Flexitime, Annualised Hours, Exception based Time Sheets and login /logout facilities, capturing all necessary employee information.

The time and attendance solution chosen by the Department provides management with real-time reporting tools to monitor staff attendance and attendance patterns. "With such a wide variety of attendance patterns in the Department, we needed a solution that was easy to use, that provided reports that were easy to read as well as being easy to modify to meet the changing needs of the Department," added Ormond. "We anticipate that the implementation of the Softworks' Time & Attendance solution will ensure that we comply at all times with The Working Time Directive." The solution is also flexible enough to ensure the Department can cope with any changes to legislation simply, easily and in-house. The Softworks solution will interface with the Department's HR System, PeopleSoft.