CHARLESTON, S.C. -- St. Joe Petroleum Co. is using the PeopleMatter Platform to manage hiring and scheduling. The company began using the Platform in Sept. 2011 and added PeopleMatter SCHEDULE in May 2012. The two companies are now announcing the return on investment St. Joe Petroleum experienced since automating human resource management processes for its eight retail locations.
St. Joe Petroleum operates Fastgas Convenience stores in St. Joseph, Mo. It supplies several Conoco and BP branded c-stores, as well as unbranded locations.
The company's decentralized hiring and scheduling involved a shifting combination of managers and executive team members overseeing paperwork. Some unintentionally skipped steps, and administrators were not able to efficiently oversee the process. Managers were working from a limited applicant pool because they were not aware of the paper applications being submitted at nearby locations. PeopleMatter HIRE streamlined the process by automating and simplifying the hiring process, while increasing the visibility of applicants submitted at all locations.
"We hire managers who can run a store, but they don't typically have an HR background. PeopleMatter helps our managers easily and efficiently hire the right people," said Matt Flynn, St. Joe Petroleum director of retail operations. "We have cut the time spent on hiring in half, mostly in verification of paperwork."
HIRE's tools help track applicants, run background checks, provide pre-screening assessments and process tax credit screening all from one Platform. The cloud-based software provides a quick way for the corporate team to view the entire company's HR practices--including applications for every location, onboarding progress for new hires and any schedules, updates or requests.
Using PeopleMatter, St. Joe Petroleum:
- Improved sourcing by 40 applicants a month--a "gamechanging" statistic for a chain that hires 50 to 60 candidates a year.
- Reduced onboarding time by 96 hours a year by utilizing PeopleMatter's online onboarding, which provides step-by-step checklists for managers and new hires.
- Identified the right candidates for the company and reduced turnover by 24%.
- Increased its annual tax credits by $49,500.
"The best part for me is the onboarding tasks--the I-9, W2 and tax credits," said Janet Christmas, St. Joe Petroleum general manager. "As a manager, you get busy and can let things slide. PeopleMatter doesn't let me forget. It emails reminders and I can pop in there to finish a form, make reference calls and save notes."
St. Joe Petroleum's managers also appreciate how PeopleMatter SCHEDULE makes scheduling simple and lets them be more proactive. SCHEDULE's online, mobile tools automate scheduling and let:
- Managers edit shifts 24/7 and copy previous schedules instantly with Smart Copy.
- Employees view schedules, request time off, trade shifts and communicate in real time.
- Administrators approve or deny employees' time-off and shift-change requests with a click.
- Team members use a mobile app, web access or "D" to view, change and control their schedule.
- Corporate optimize labor management processes and easily comply with federal, state and industry labor laws.
"When scheduling with paper and pen you spend time adding up the hours--needing it to be 38 or 39 hours means recalculating and adjusting schedules over and over again," explained Flynn. "Before PeopleMatter, the company never gave managers the opportunity to track employee hours and costs. Now they can."
With PeopleMatter SCHEDULE, St. Joe's managers create schedules 67% faster and provide notice eight days earlier, allowing employees to better plan their personal schedules, and they track hours and labor costs, reducing St. Joe Petroleum's overtime by 13%.
"The biggest benefit to employees is that can take ownership of managing their schedules," said Flynn. "We've empowered employees to do that. It's a great thing for employee morale, we've actually given them the power to do what we asked them to do."
Charleston, S.C.-based PeopleMatter provides a comprehensive talent management solution for the service industry. It helps employers identify, develop and engage dependable talent to provide exemplary customer service. PeopleMatter's platform of HR tools handles hiring, scheduling, learning, recognition and performance management. Its integrated technology manages the process so employers can focus on the talent.
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