Vauxhall turns to technology to drive absence management improvements
The challenge
Vauxhall, one of the largest employers in the North West, has always been a technology leader, implementing new solutions to improve its business and manufacturing processes. The company boasts sophisticated occupational health, human resources and welfare support procedures, but, with irregular and demanding shift patterns in operation, it was looking for:
- a consistent method of capturing employee absence data
- an efficient means of notifying relevant management and HR departments of employee absence
- an absence recording system that would have to be satisfactorily received, adopted and utilised by employees, union representatives of T&G and Amicus, and management alike
The solution
PMI Health Group was able to provide the solution to these challenges:
- Following an assessment by PMI Health Group’s consultants of the company’s business requirements, Vauxhall recognised that Absencemanager could save it both time and money
- Absencemanager is an intelligent, voice-based software tool that immediately tells everyone who needs to know at the company, by text or email, who is absent, why and when they are likely to return. It uses the latest web-based technology to cost effectively record absence, plan ahead and provide tailored management reporting information
- Trade union representatives were involved in Vauxhall’s adoption of the software, from consultation through to implementation, and have been extremely supportive of it throughout.
The result
- At Vauxhall's Ellesmere Port plant, the first hour of production is the busiest and most demanding time for supervisors to take calls from employees notifying them of absences. Absencemanager has resulted in considerable time savings for both the supervisors and the HR team
- The system has led to a significantly improved rate for the first day capture of recorded absence – a rise of 25 per cent, from 70 per cent to 95 per cent
- With employee absence information immediately available at the touch of a button, plant managers are now able to plan ahead at a much earlier juncture, from both a resourcing and departmental support perspective
- Depending upon individual circumstances, HR can involve Occupational Health advisors more quickly and hence see employees return to work sooner
“Having enjoyed the benefits of operating Absencemanager from PMI Health Group in one of our five business units since October 2006, we are now rolling the system out across the whole of our Ellesmere Port plant’s 2,000 employees.
“PMI Health Group’s consultants have been exceptionally supportive, providing us with all the information required to implement Absencemanager successfully and helping us to configure it to meet our specific business requirements.”
Ron Roberts, HR coordinator, Vauxhall (General Motors)
Contact PMI Health Group
If your company has absence managment requirements, call PMI Health Group on 01606 352035, request a callback or complete our contact form and find out how we can help you.
