Fast implementation and going live of new store through good cooperation between the entrepreneurs, the accountant and the WFM vendor: in this case you will read how we got a new store up and running quickly through good cooperation.
Albert Heijn Groen (multifranchise with stores in Almkerk, Strijen and Puttershoek) recently faced a challenging job: after acquiring the store in Puttershoek, the new store had to be 'transferred' very quickly to the administration and workforce management system of the existing stores/organization. A process that normally takes months was successfully completed in three weeks.
What makes this a successful case and transition of the new store? We spoke with Dennis Groen and Robin Groen, entrepreneurs and owners of the stores, Stef van Dijk (business consultant R&R) and Jorrit Jansen, payroll manager at accountancy-administration firm Vermetten.
"Overall, the implementation and 'going live' of the new store went very well. We already had experience using Loket and R&R at the other two stores, while the previous entrepreneur in Puttershoek was working with other systems. It is important to note that this was an acquisition of an existing, 'active' store, and not, for example, a store that had first been closed for a while and then reopened.
This brings several challenges, such as contamination in old information and the transition from existing to new systems and practices. Partly for this reason, it was exciting whether we could achieve the first salary payment on time. Fortunately, we managed to pull this off, thanks to the necessary efforts by R&R and Vermetten.
When taking over an existing store, you want to be sure that employees are paid correctly and on time from the first new pay period. The takeover of the store by other entrepreneurs leads to the necessary uncertainty for the employees, which is precisely why they and we must be able to rely on correct payment. We had also talked to other entrepreneurs here and heard that this often leads to challenges and problems. In this process you are also always dependent on different parties and this can quickly lead to delays. For example, certain required information was delivered very late by the Albert Heijn organization."
"Fortunately, through years of successful cooperation, we have short lines of communication with R&R and Vermetten. Together we set the right priorities, made the right decisions and acted quickly. Thus, we managed to get everything operational in a short period of time. This was the important first step, and now we can continue to build on this foundation and further improve the system and our way of working based on advancing insight.
It was great to see everyone involved in the project, including the incumbent staff, such as the supermarket manager. Taking the existing store in Almkerk as the starting point for the entire process helped enormously in speeding up the process. You don't have to start from 'scratch' then. We could take the intake, layout, and so on from an existing and proven successful approach, all at once. This was one of the reasons why we were successful within the short period of time."
This also applies to Vermetten and R&R and the mutual alignment: the next stores always go faster than the first. Partly because we know each other well, understand the goals, the layout the mapping and the business. This forms the basis on which we can build. We also have a lot of knowledge and experience on the Albert Heijn Groen side by now. This allowed us to speed up on all sides."
"Working with user-friendly systems also helps. The supermarket manager quickly got to grips with R&R, it was really 'plug and play' and up and running. Employee acceptance of the Job App was fairly smooth. Mutual 'advertising' was important to trigger them about the benefits of the Job App, and they were naturally curious about the paychecks when first paid under a new employer. It was important to instill confidence during the first paycheck, and we managed to achieve this without any problems."
"The good result was due to several factors. We got quick access to the old records of the selling entrepreneur and were able to consult well with Stef from R&R. We needed all the necessary information to get R&R and the administration properly 'live'. Together with Jorrit from Vermetten, we looked at how we could put the employees in Loket as well as possible. It was easy and pleasant to be able to switch quickly. When speed is important, cooperation is really essential. We experienced this as a nice process, and the result reflects this. Given the great time pressure, normally it takes 2-3 months to rig up a new store anyway, we achieved a great performance with a rollout of 3 weeks."
"As a business owner, the biggest advantage is that less time has to be spent on administration and ambiguity regarding systems and methods. Everything was taken care of right from the start, which allowed us to focus on improving the quality of the store. As a result, we were able to quickly see improvements in store quality.
The fast switching from us as entrepreneurs with R&R and Vermetten, made for a smooth cooperation. Everyone had the same goal in mind and could find each other quickly, so there were no bottlenecks. That also provided a sense of calm. At times, there were challenges with AH's speed and lack of clear communication regarding decision-making and responsibilities. This could slow down progress, but in the end it all settled and worked out very quickly.
As entrepreneurs, we say thank you for the good service and pragmatic thinking along. It had to be quick, but everything went well and we are grateful for that!"
Also read Albert Heijn Groen's extensive reference case on the results of working with R&R here.
A good implementation ensures support and a smooth transition to the (new) workforce management system. Yet many implementations fail or - due to various circumstances - do not even get started. Our extensive experience with many different customers and large and small implementations has allowed us to continuously improve our approach. Would you like to know more about our approach to implementations? Please feel free to contact us. We are curious about your organization and would love to talk to you.
