Searching
Searches can be carried out for staff, clients, or
departments/locations. Searching the system is very straightforward
and can be done in several ways; one is exact entry, where the
system searches for matches based on a single character entry. Any
field can be searched ranging from first name to payroll number.
Initially only active staff are searched, but by ticking a box the
system can search through inactive and do not use records. Another
is through extended matches, where words are auto completed to
match entries on the system, and a more ingenious way is through
phonetic match, which allows both hard and soft pronunciation
matches, so if a word is not spelt as it is sounded, you will still
be able to find it, saving time and hassle. Matches are returned in
under a second.
The use of a single button allows immediate switching between
locations and departments, which is particularly useful if a client
maintains several locations.
If a user is inputting a new entry, this can be automatically
checked against existing ones, to prevent double entry of new staff
or clients.
It is also possible for the user to carry out shift searches
against a unique booking reference, the customer reference, or
invoice number.
Filtering
Filtering is another useful feature of the software, and allows
staff (meeting each client's needs) to be found quickly and
efficiently. For example a client may request to have 20 staff that
have sufficient cocktail training and through a simple filtering
process, the system could reveal the staff who meet this
criterion.
Where shifts are concerned, filtering can be done through looking
at the dates each staff member has requested to work, the location
in which they wish to work and the skill level at which they are
at. Another feature is that filtering information can be
automatically remembered, so that next time if the client asks for
similar staff, the selection process will be straightforward.
When a specific booking is selected, the staff members profile
will open in a new window, allowing for easy navigation between the
two pages. The software also provides standard sorting where lists
are automatically put into order when the column header is clicked,
as is standard in most similar software; this feature also allows
for basic grouping, for example grouping employees into groups
based on the skills they have.