Aladtec’s system provides dispatchers anytime schedule access,
and assists administrators in eliminating time consuming workforce management tasks.
Minneapolis, MN - The work day is never over for a dispatch center like North Memorial Ambulance Services (NMAS). The shifts are not set in stone, nor do staff members have the same schedule week to week. These factors make it very difficult to schedule a staff of 30 on a spreadsheet.
“We bid shifts in our department. We used to schedule on a spreadsheet, print it off, and then leave it in a 3 ring binder for our employees to see. They’d have to come into work to view the schedule or they’d have to call in to dispatch and ask when their next shift was - or ask if the schedule was posted yet, because it wasn’t always posted at the same time. This would cause a lot of interruptions on a daily basis,” shares Jeff Mikulak, Supervisor, NMAS Communications Center, Brooklyn Center, Minnesota. “Thankfully, we went with Aladtec for online staff scheduling and workforce management. Now, staff can access the schedule from their home computer or on their mobile device. It’s very convenient, easy to access, there’s no sharing the 3 ring binder, no wondering where the schedule is and you just know where to look for it - online!”
Mikulak also says that prior to Aladtec trading shifts was a big hassle. If employees wanted to make a shift trade, they would have to call, or email, management. Then management would make sure their trade met with the department’s criteria. If it did they would go ahead and perform the switch on the schedule for the employees. Management would also have to contact the employees to let them know if their trade request was approved or not.
“Using our Aladtec system, the employees are able to perform the trades themselves. Our criteria is built in to the system so if they meet the criteria their trade is automatically approved. You can also set the system to require an admin’s approval, but we choose not to do it that way. The time I spent on trades before was significant. Aladtec has greatly decreased my workload so I can focus on other duties. I spent a lot of time determining trade requests and working on the scheduling before,” explains Mikulak.
North Memorial dispatchers can now access the schedule, and make trades, from anywhere by logging into the system through the Internet. “My employees really like being able to login from home or on their mobile device. They can easily see when they’re scheduled to work, and if they want to submit a vacation day or make a trade, they can do it all on their mobile device. It’s very convenient for them, I know they are happy about that,” adds Mikulak. “I think it’s a great, great system!”
About North Memorial Ambulance Services: It is the only Minnesota-based ambulance service accredited by the Commission on Accreditation of Ambulance Services (CAAS) and is very proud of their award-winning dispatch communication center. North Memorial Ambulance Services dispatch to nine ambulance regions across Minnesota and Western Wisconsin covering urban, rural and super rural communities and has been in operation for over 50 years.
About Aladtec: Aladtec is the proud provider of online employee scheduling and workforce management software. Over 1000 organizations, from a variety of industries, count on Aladtec every day to help them save time and improve efficiency. For information about Aladtec’s affordable industry specific options, please visit www.aladtec.com.