I recently had the privilege of speaking with Wyclif Kpanou, Director of Operations for Westside Donuts, a large Dunkin’ franchise in New York. I wanted to chat with him to learn how and why he made the decision to partner with UKG™ (The Ultimate Kronos Group) to help improve the productivity of his workforce. Wyclif’s time is spent managing dozens of Westside Donut locations, and the managers responsible for the day-to-day operations of Dunkin’ stores.
Aside from being a really nice guy, Wyclif is busy! He spends half his day running from store to store making sure everything is running smoothly. Since Wyclif is always on the go, he and his managers needed the correct tools to keep the day-to-day tasks under control that were accessible from anywhere. From our conversations, I learned how Wyclif worked with UKG to make his team of store managers' lives easier.
Here are just a few ways Wyclif’s team of managers became more productive after upgrading to a new workforce management system:
Mobile tools for his employees
Westside Donut store managers used to spend hours of time on multiple excel spreadsheets in the back office keeping track of PTO, leave, sick days, and no shows. Wyclif put it in simple terms, “Imagine having 70 locations and over 1,000 employees and you have to manually process all of their vacation and sick time. There is no way our managers want to do that manually.” In addition to having better visibility into vacation time and sick time, Wyclif wanted his store managers to always have immediate visibility into what their store staff would look like for the day. Today, all his managers have to do is open their UKG Ready™ mobile app and they have the ability to check everything in the palm of their hand.
When Westside Donuts first implemented UKG Ready, all of Wyclif’s employees were amazed at how easy it was to request time off. Not only can they do it right on their phone, they don’t even have check with their manager. Right on their phone, they can simply look up their accrued balance in the system and know if they have the PTO or not. Managers can now take less time approving time off and making changes in the schedule because it’s as simple as clicking a few buttons. This leaves them more time to make sure everyone is where they need to be and everything is up to standards for the day, which leaves them more time to help serve guests, interact with employees that need help, and give Wyclif everything he needs to ensure operational success.
Simple payroll processing
Previously, on a typical Monday, five payroll staffers would manually enter employee time for third-party payroll processing. Wyclif would then spend three to four hours deskbound when reviewing payroll before processing, taking valuable time away from visiting stores. Now with UKG™ Ready Payroll, nearly everything is automated, and they’ve been able to reallocate two of their payroll team members. Like clockwork, payroll is now available and ready for reporting on Monday by 1 p.m. Wyclif can gain instant access to payroll data, make changes, and submit payroll all while on the go and under 10 minutes.
“I can review payroll data on my phone from anywhere, click on a button to accept it, and payroll is submitted,” Wyclif says. “Payroll is done in minutes and I have the report on my phone.” The report he gets shows payroll percentage comparisons by store and helps him determine the cause of higher payrolls. If something is off, he can ask a question and have it answered immediately and make an adjustment that day, instead of having to wait to make a decision.
“If you wait three days before you get these numbers, you’re already three days behind the power of making the decision. UKG has given us the power to make faster decisions, which has been a real benefit.”
Prepare for the next day
Wyclif now confidently knows his managers have the tools to keep their store productive for the coming day ahead. They can see who is on the schedule for tomorrow, and who took time off. If there are any changes that need to be made or shifts to be swapped, the store managers can confirm it right on their phone. They can also see the number of employees working at each location, track new hires, turnover, and terminations. This preparation allows them to set the tone for the next day and make sure everyone is aligned in their positions to have a productive day.
Wyclif has now given his store managers the tools to automate, streamline, and mobilize their workforce while simplifying all of their workdays. When your workforce has the tools to make managers’ lives easier, the beginnings of a stronger and more successful store will emerge.
For more information on Wyclif’s experience check out Westside Donuts Customer Story.
Learn more about how UKG can provide WFM and HCM solutions for your food service workforce.
