Linking NOWJOBS and bookU saves time at Spar Lichtaart

Exchange hundreds of messages with students and flexi-workers? And cluttered Excel files to schedule permanent employees? It is a thing of the past at Spar Lichtaart. Since working with NOWJOBS and the integrated bookU planning tool, they have been saving oodles of time. 

Automated human resources management

Guy Van de Poel is manager of Spar Lichtaart together with brother Luc. Mum Martha is also still actively running the shop at the age of 75. They have been working with NOWJOBS since 2018.

"NOWJOBS is a digital platform for recruiting our students and flexi-workers. The app was a huge added value from day one, as everything is completely automatic: from recruitment to the immediate payment of the casual earners," Guy begins.

"We have built up a permanent pool of flexi-workers and student workers in the app that we call on regularly." Their existing student workers and flexi-workers were also transferred into the app. To the satisfaction of the casual earners and Spar Lichtaart.

"Everything is automatic: from recruitment to the immediate payment of the casual earners."

Useful overview

For a year now, they have taken another step in integration. "We now also work with bookU," Guy tells us as he shows us the handy planning tool on his screen. Previously, he had to make appointments with temp agencies, manage his students and flexi-workers through NOWJOBS and schedule his permanent staff through a separate scheduling tool. That is no longer necessary now. "NOWJOBS is integrated with the bookU platform. Everything is together in one user-friendly tool that gives us an instant and convenient overview of all our employees, both permanent and flexible."

Another important advantage is that the time tracker is linked to bookU. "Our employees register through the time tracker when they arrive and check out when they leave. Those entries automatically feed into bookU. We confirm the hours worked and a few seconds later, the pay is in the account of the casual earner."

Plans by department

bookU has designed a separate screentailored to retailers. "On that screen, you immediately get an overview of the different departments: butchery, bakery, dry food and so on. This is very important for a supermarket because we have to schedule employees in those different departments. Sometimes they shift from one department to another. And that is perfectly possible through bookU."

"By the way, thanks to the link between bookU and NOWJOBS, it is also very easy to fill gaps in your schedule. In fact, you can also search and recruit employees through the planning tool, as it is linked to NOWJOBS in the background," Ines adds.

A next step Guy and his team will take in automation is to use bookU's forecasting tool. "We are in the midst of preparing this so that eventually we will also have an overall picture of our personnel costs. The module allows us to maximise productivity by planning staffing according to target turnover. In short, the NOWJOBS - bookU tandem greatly unburdens us as employers. Not only is the system available 24/7, it also saves us money in addition to saving time!"