Brenda Harris, Staffing Division Manager of Applied Staffing Solutions in Reno, discovered the power of COATS Staffing Software when she implemented its built-in features and value-added options. COATS’ options enable her staff to focus on building valuable long-lasting business relationships, which is the core to Applied Staffing Solutions’ success.
Applied Staffing Solutions started nine years ago with one employee. When the company rapidly grew to three employees, they needed a reputable, all-inclusive software package. They chose COATS based on its fundamental strengths: value, integration and scalability.
As Brenda continued using COATS, she discovered more features and more benefits. “COATS is progressive,” she says. “Their research and development team keeps up with the technology and needs of the staffing industry. They try to stay one step ahead.”
“A perfect example was the HIRE (Hiring Incentives to Restore Employment) Act,” says Brenda. “Nevada has the highest unemployment rate in the nation, so the Hire Act was a great incentive. COATS made it easy to track and monitor employee eligibility, making it a seamless process.”
As COATS added new features, such as texting and email blast capabilities, Applied Staffing Solutions employees were able to do more in less time. With each new feature, the power that Applied harnessed from their staffing software increased.
Some of the most powerful features of COATS don’t deal directly with staffing. COATS helps staffing firms manage every aspect of their business, from landing sales through contact management to tracking finances through the general ledger’s budget feature to a comprehensive business dashboard through the Management Business Advisor.
The responsiveness of the development and technical support team is another powerful aspect of COATS that Brenda has come to value. “COATS is flexible. That’s one thing I appreciate about working with their team. Staffing companies, we’re a different animal. In staffing, we always have to bend and weave and that’s something we have in common, they come from a staffing background. They know this industry.”
Brenda appreciates the thoroughness of the explanations and walkthroughs that technical support gives whenever she calls. “The tech support at COATS makes sure you understand each phase of an issue before moving on to the next step.”
As 2010 began, Brenda started adding COATS value-added options. “Last year was my year to integrate efficiencies,” she says, “and part of how I did that was by adding the COATS partners: online applications, Essential StaffCARE and the Global Cash Card.”
Brenda stated the addition of online applications increased Applied Staffing Solutions’ efficiency. “Our walk-in traffic has dropped dramatically, without negatively affecting the quality of our candidate pool. It has made the recruiting process more efficient, substantially reduced paper costs, and saved a significant amount of staff time usually spent on data entry.”
Once again, COATS’ technical support helped Brenda make the transition easy. “Karen and Lisa held my hand throughout the process of adding online applications. They were there to do whatever needed to be done as we moved into this new feature.”
Brenda also expanded Applied Staffing Solutions’ power by adding Essential StaffCARE, a health insurance and benefits program specifically designed for temporary employees of the staffing industry. Essential StaffCARE improves employee retention, requires no employer contributions and is easy to implement, thanks to its integrated partnership with COATS.
Brenda has also enjoyed the benefits of using Global Cash Card. “We no longer have to spend numerous administrative hours completing payroll. This allows us more time to focus on other areas and lowers our stress.”
The power of COATS and the Global Cash Card is especially apparent during the year-end payroll and tax season. “We were able to upload our entire 2010 payroll,” says Brenda. “It saved us the cost and the time of printing, collating, managing the paper, and mailing W2s. We don’t have the worry of having to print lost W2s and tracking addresses. This feature helps me sleep at night.”
“2010 was a good year for us,” says Brenda. “We almost doubled our billable hours and because of the COATS efficiencies that we implemented, we were able to do so without hiring additional employees!”
Are you getting everything you can out of your software? If you’re a COATS user, we’ll be glad to show you all the built-in features and value-added options you can use to put some traction into your business. If you’re not using COATS, we’ll be glad to show you how shifting to a new software solution can put you on the road to growth.