The challenge
Before TimeTac, Greenpeace used a different time tracking system. However, in many respects it soon no longer met the requirements of an international organization with a large number of locations and employees. Director of Technology Florian Bolka describes the situation as follows:
“Our old time tracking was based purely on Excel and soon could no longer meet our needs. In general, we have employees in eight countries as well as international colleagues who work from our location for other countries. This is precisely what pushes this time tracking system to its limits.”
Not only because this type of time tracking lacked international capabilities, but also due to its limited functionality, the desire for a modern, web-based time tracking solution grew steadily. For example, it was not possible to post working time to different tasks within a single day. Nor could multiple breaks be entered. As a result, the data did not reflect an employee’s workday with 100% accuracy.
According to Florian Bolka, time tracking in Excel also proved to be time-consuming, impractical, and not very user-friendly. This outdated way of recording working time resulted in very low motivation among employees to use the tool.
For these reasons, Greenpeace decided to consider another time tracking system that could meet the organization’s needs in terms of international usability, unrestricted transparency also for colleagues, specific and individual time entries, and user-friendliness.
The solution
Through online research, Florian Bolka came across TimeTac’s time tracking system. After taking a closer look, it became clear that TimeTac could meet the organization’s requirements.
These needs include very specific functions. For example, it must be possible to define different working time models and switch between them flexibly. Individual Greenpeace teams also need their own specific tasks and projects that are irrelevant to other teams. In TimeTac, employees can be assigned predefined or self-defined working time models, which can be flexibly changed or switched later on. Projects and tasks are created individually in TimeTac and assigned to the team or department responsible for the project. Thanks to the flexible option to book breaks at any time and switch between tasks and projects, precise and traceable records can be guaranteed.
As already mentioned, international usability plays a major role for the organization. TimeTac’s time tracking system is available in multiple languages and also offers public holiday calendars for many countries. This enables cross-border use.
Unrestricted transparency is also very important to Mr. Bolka:
“Everyone should be able to see who is currently present in the office or reachable off-site/working from home. Easier coordination of leave, which also provides visibility across teams and departments, is also an added value for us.”
TimeTac’s status overview provides a clear overview of colleagues: who is present, who is working from home, who is currently on a break, and who is on leave can be seen at a glance. Employees can also view the leave entries of their direct colleagues, provided this permission is granted. This prevents conflicts or misunderstandings in leave planning. Requesting an absence is also very simple: the employee submits a request in the system, which is forwarded to the responsible manager. The manager can then approve or reject the request with one click, while also seeing the employee’s remaining leave entitlement.
The result
Not only the fact that TimeTac was able to meet the requirements mentioned above, but also other advantages of the system convinced Mr. Bolka. These include, for example, the convenient SSO login (Single Sign-On) and the flexible pricing model. The prices of the modules are based on the number of employees who use the respective module. This makes it possible to make a module accessible only to certain employees or teams/departments and to change this flexibly. The price is always based on current usage.
Mr. Bolka was also convinced by the option to record work and project time in different ways. TimeTac offers the option to record time entries via web browser, desktop app, smartphone, etc. This led to very positive internal feedback:
“With the wide range of options TimeTac offers, we were able to give our employees a certain degree of flexibility in how and via what they record their time. That was very well received.”
Greenpeace decided to use TimeTac for working time tracking, leave management, and partly also project time tracking. In the future, there are even plans to use the workforce scheduling module for the fundraising team.
To make the introduction of the new system as easy as possible, TimeTac’s onboarding service was used. According to Florian Bolka, this service helped a great deal in configuring TimeTac and defining individual settings:
“The onboarding service provided excellent support through the sometimes quite complex permissions and settings options. With the help of the TimeTac expert, we were able to tailor the system precisely to our needs. For example, we were able to change the wording of the user interface, adjust the warning messages in the hours statement, and implement several integrations, such as a reminder for month-end closing or better integration with Google Calendar.”
Employees like using TimeTac on their smartphones to record time entries live. The simple leave request process and the overview of colleagues’ absences also ensure high acceptance. Administrators appreciate the various working time models, which can also be created individually. In addition, the status overview provides transparency for the entire organization, creating added value for both user groups.
Overall, TimeTac helped Greenpeace reduce administrative effort and “paperwork”. The organization now benefits from better control over working time balances and overtime, as well as fewer misunderstandings in leave management.
