South East Coast Ambulance Service improves HR efficiency
South East Coast Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust (SECAmb) responds to 999 from the public, urgent calls from healthcare professionals as well as providing NHS 111 services across south-eastern England. The organisation has around 3,500 members of staff positioned across Kent, Surrey, West Sussex, East Sussex and north-eastern Hampshire. With numerous ambulance stations, call operation centres and make ready centres across the region, the Trust was keen to drive efficiencies through the Human Resources (HR) department and chose to implement HR case management software, Allocate’s ER Tracker.
SECAmb’s goal was to enhance its case management processes and move away from manual spreadsheets and paper-based systems. The HR department knew they needed software which would amalgamate and store all correspondence associated to casework in one central location. Ensuring that information and knowledge was accessible across the team, at the same time as enhancing the overall reporting capabilities of the department.
Karen Lavender, HR Policy & ER Manager, commented: “After reviewing a whole host of systems we recognised that Allocate’s ER Tracker was the best on the market because of its extensive functionality. It provided us with a flexible solution for tracking, recording and monitoring all our HR cases, alongside allowing us to easily share relevant information with managers. Our previous spreadsheet-based system made it difficult for the team to compare cases and identify trends, so we’re looking to fully embrace the reporting capabilities of ER Tracker”.
With intuitive dashboards configured to SECAmb’s HR policies, ER Tracker will provide the team with a visual case timeline. Not only increasing visibility and improving compliance but also helping the department to stay on top of deadlines and allowing managers to review progress to ensure that cases are on track. The ability to proactively manage grievances, disciplinaries, appeals and capability cases means that SECAmb’s HR department can look to increase its resolution rate and thereby reduce case costs.
Karen continues: “With an average of 17 new cases per month, we have a responsibility to ensure that our employee relations cases are completed in a timely manner. Allocate’s ER Tracker will allow us to pull together historic and current case information, eliminating our previously siloed approach and helping us spot trends and patterns – ultimately allowing us to drive meaningful change.”
Andy Shettle, Chief Product Officer of ER Tracker comments: “Tackling paper and manual processes is a key part of the transformation taking place in HR departments across the country. By securely consolidating information, the HR department at SECAmb will now be able to easily track case process in real-time, as well as prioritising and reviewing open cases. This increased visibility delivers proof of policy compliance but also enables the department to carry out continual improvement and increase the efficiency of their ER caseloads.”
