Overall Satisfaction with Ascentis
It is used for work and training scheduling and as the company time card to determine Payroll. We also have the performance management portion. However, given the level of paperwork we have and the lack of training time available to us across the organization, this component is not used.
- The scheduling function provides a good platform that allows employees to see what their schedule is. If multiple departments have need of their time, they can look and see availability. If none, they can negotiate with the employee's direct report to get them in. We use it to coordinate both work hours and training hours.
- It can be programmed to notify if someone clocks in/out early/late and awards points accordingly. Our frontline staff have a work requirement for in/out timeliness. It lets Managers know when and where to intervene with HR to bring this performance focus back into line.
- If there are log-in/out errors, Supervisors can easily make corrections. This is important when there are issues that might affect an employee's points.
- Ascentis requires that every change MUST be saved. So, if one has done a lot of work, and forgets to hit Save, then it's all for naught.
- It is not intuitive so for Supervisors and Managers who oversee staff timecards, Ascentis training needs to be built into their promotional process.
- All users need to be proactive in letting their scheduling managers know about schedule changes in time to update the schedule. Otherwise, at the backend, there is a GREAT deal of work to be done to fix time cards and points. In our organization, we have 1 scheduling manager for every program and a manager over them.
- There is a great deal left on the table in our organization because of the lack of good, easy to access, self training documentation. Being able to use everything in the toolbox requires a great deal of training which requires a significant training budget.
- It requires an organization fully committed to getting full RoI. That means either having, or developing, an organizational culture where the employees see the Ascentis tools as beneficial to them as individuals.
- Ascentis has the potential to be a good tool. However, it requires front line buy-in before roll out. An employee who already has a full plate of job responsibilities needs 1) time built into their schedule so they can fully interact with Ascentis and b) to see positive reinforcements for investing in their time pool to use all of the Ascentis tools.
I have not evaluated other products besides Ascentis. It was in use when I arrived.