Compact Case Studies

Case Study 1

Right person, right time, right idea ... Result? This human resources co-ordinator is very happy to have a more user-friendly system for her HR records!

Sometimes the right person with the right idea to solve a problem can turn up just when they’re really needed.

This is how it was for Sharon Kroon, who has had the role of Human Resources Co-ordinator at Scholle Industries in Adelaide for two years, been employed here for 12 years.

This firm specialises in manufacturing flexible packaging (i.e. bladders) for liquids such as wine, and bulk products used in the food industry such as thick-shake mix, syrups, fruit juices and pulp. It employs 280 people, (in the Australian location).

Lots of bulky folders

"Keeping proper records for so many employees has been a headache. It’s almost impossible to keep an assortment of documents neatly contained in the traditional manila folders—let alone get to the information you want quickly and easily. And the folders themselves become very scruffy,"Sharon says.

When an employee has several years service, their HR file becomes bloated and hard to handle. Two-thirds of Scholle’s staff had been there for five or more years, so there was a real problem!

Pushing for a change

"The auditors were on my back to get some different files, Sharon says, and I was looking at folders and about to order more stationery when a Compact Business Systems staff member rang."

I told him my problem, he showed me the purpose-built files that Compact make for human resource file management, and I thought, ‘Perfect!’

Strong construction; good looks

"I really liked the way Compact’s folders are so strongly constructed, and then coated with Mylar to keep them looking good. I ordered 500 of the staff files and 200 of the workcover files so I could transfer our current staff records and have enough for new employees —and besides, there’s a discount available if you purchase in bulk.

Special order? Can do!

"I also asked him if Compact would make up a non-standard order for leave folders. He got back to me within 24 hours to say yes, they could."

A promise is only as good as its timely delivery.

Received everything within the month

"I put in our order for everything in mid-November. I was pleased to receive the HR files within one week, and the work-cover files within two. The special order had to be made up in Brisbane and sent to Adelaide, and it still reached us within four weeks," Sharon says.

I’m really happy to have a system that’s more user-friendly. I can go directly to whatever I want now, so there’s a saving in time. There’s just no comparison between our old system and this one.

"I’m also looking forward to the auditors’ reactions, when they come in April!"

Once you decide that your life will be so much easier with one of the Compact Business Systems, you DON’T want a long wait before it arrives. So Compact makes sure get your order when it’s promised, and keeps you informed.

Case Study 2.

Filling a tall order—on time—is just part of Compact Business System’s obliging service ... the other part is their brilliant HR file system!

ATCO Controls in Tullamarine, Vic, is part of the international Tridonico organisation that provides energy-efficient lighting solutions for commercial needs. The Australian office has expanded from being a family company to the point where a human resources manager is now essential.

The person in this role is Phil Turton—and he needed to set up an HR records system from scratch.

Taking the hard road that gets easier

Late in 2003, Phil contacted Compact Business Systems’ Warren McLean, having previously received marketing materials from him. Phil wanted to streamline the existing cumbersome records of ATCO’s 600 staff members into separate HR and payroll sections for better management.

We bought 600 employee files for the establishment of the HR Department, and 600 for the payroll, to replace the old all-inclusive files that had been used.

"We had to go through and split up the information they contained into very broad categories, which Compact’s system helped us to do, then re-establish a more professional-looking, simpler HR and payroll scheme. Compact’s system is very convenient for trapping and sorting that information," Phil says.

Efficient use of space with lateral system

And in terms of physically storing all the HR files, Compact Business System’s lateral filing system lends itself to our situation very well!

"It allows us to find any file at a glance, and to store more files than a regular filing system would, in the same area."

Compact’s old-fashioned ideas of service

In a world where personal service is generally diminishing, Compact Business Systems prides itself on being a people-oriented organisation and has actually increased its customer-service staffing.

Meeting this client’s special requirements within deadline

Phil’s experiences support this. He had a special requirement—to take delivery of the new filing system just before ATCO officially closed down for the Christmas period on 19 December.

"Warren was very good," Phil says. "He came out here when I asked him, and he made sure the files were despatched so they’d be available when we needed them."

We’d arranged to make the change-over and set them up during the Christmas period, when everyone was away.

Keeping the client informed

He was also very supportive in identifying what parts I wanted, and once they were sent from Brisbane, he made sure I knew just where they were, and that yes, they would certainly be delivered on time.

Otherwise I wouldn’t have been able to take advantage of our shut-down period to get the new systems up and running.

So if Warren is a reflection of Compact Business Systems’ ethos, then they certainly are a very obliging company!

Case Study 3.

Executive tells how using Compact Business Systems’ HR files assists her firm to comply with industry regulations

An unexpected opportunity presents itself, is recognised and grasped.

That’s how Golden Bros Group, a national warehousing and logistics firm based in Melbourne, came to have a super-efficient filing system for its human resources.

Went for ID; brought back HR

Rose Montague, the company’s Health, Safety and Environment Manager, recalls that a search for visitor ID tags for Golden Bros led her to a government department.

This was where she finally saw the exact type she needed—and more, besides.

She saw a human resources filing system that she immediately knew would streamline her own records, and found out that Compact Business Systems were the suppliers.

Rose tells the story

"We didn’t really have a very good HR filing system before," Rose recalls. "It was mixed and varied, and although we managed, it was labour-intensive to maintain and update."

"A Representative from Compact came out and sat down with us to show us the folders and tell us about the pricing. It was a fairly easy process," she says.

No opposition to this idea!

It may happen that when one person sees a new system that will solve problems, they meet with opposition from colleagues who can’t see the long-term gain for the short-term pain involved in setting up the new scheme. Not Golden Bros, though!

"We’re very lucky because our company is very positive," Rose says. "They were keen to have something that was going to make it a lot easier for us to keep records for what we needed to keep track of."

A regulatory role means extra care

My role is in the regulatory side of things, to make sure that we comply with industry regulations.

Now we’re using Compact Business Systems’ CR185 records for our human resources, it’s far easier to check that we do comply.

A prompt from this system

The system actually encourages people to enter information. That’s been very good for us.

So that’s the biggest benefit, from my point of view!

I couldn’t yet say that the system has directly saved us money, but if something goes wrong and we don’t have the right information, we could be liable.

"So it helps us to make sure that we are compliant with the regulations," Rose says.

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