”We now have more quality-assured staff planning”

We talk to Agnetha Holmgren at Dalarna University about her role as a systems administrator for Retendo Academic, how the staff planning system has simplified the work at the university and in what way.

Dalarna University started the project for the transition to Retendo Academic in 2018 and all departments will use Retendo for staff planning from 1 January 2021.

Accurate information in the system saves time

“Spontaneously, I can say that, because of Retendo’s staff planning system, we now have much more quality-assured staff planning,” says Agnetha.

“Previously, we had no IT support system for staff planning. Instead, we used a number of different Excel files, some of which worked better than others,” says Agnetha. We had problems with files that would become locked and it was hard to tell which one was the latest version.

The Excel files used previously also contained many sources of error such as old course codes, incorrect objects, etc. That meant that a lot of corrections needed to be made in follow-ups. Now, the data is retrieved from the university’s source system instead and is therefore more quality-assured, which saves time for the university’s financial administrators and others.

A joint system provides a better overview and better monitoring

Thanks to the fact that the entire higher education institution now uses the same system for staff planning, it is easier to get a complete overview and to produce financial reports and other supporting documentation for monitoring. That saves time and provides the management with better supporting data for decision-making.

It is easier for the managers to plan the workload

“Before we switched to Retendo, the teacher was responsible for submitting his or her staff planning for the coming term, but in Retendo, the manager has the main responsibility for planning staff working time,” explains Agnetha. That allows the manager to gain an overview of the workload and find solutions to achieve the most effective and most balanced planning for the staff.

The managers can prevent burnout

Agnetha also emphasises the work environment benefits of Retendo Academic since, as the manager responsible, you can see the teachers’ planned workload on a month by month basis and can therefore see whether the planning needs to be adjusted. The teachers themselves can also access the system from anywhere at any time to obtain a detailed overview of their work plan in one place. That allows both managers and employees to detect over-planning – which in a worst-case scenario can lead to ill health – and to find solutions for better planning of working time at an early stage.

Fewer manual calculations

“Another advantage is that the managers now avoid having to carry out numerous manual calculations for absences and working time for staff who join or leave during the year. The system calculates these for everyone in the same way, so it’s significantly more quality-assured and saves time,” says Agnetha.

Effective procedures are important

“One general piece of advice for the best results when introducing a staff planning system is to make sure that you have effective procedures before you start: how we’re going to work, who’s going to do what, and so on,” explains Agnetha. Good internal information and communication are also important in the process. If you approach it in that spirit, the tool is clear and works well for everyone.

“I also want to give high marks to Retendo’s support, which is highly responsive and effective,” concludes Agnetha.