Advanced Computer Software : Royal College of Nursing saves 400 working hours with Advanced’s HR management software

Published on: Tuesday 9th December, 2014 Savings achieved by automating pension auto-enrolment administration

The Royal College of Nursing (RCN) has saved 400 man hours in the last 12 months by using human capital management solution, OpenHR from Advanced Business Solutions (Advanced), to automate HR processes, emailing and pension auto-enrolment administration.

The RCN's HR team has used the solution to communicate pensions information to 900 employees and automatically record all responses and follow-up correspondence. In total, Advanced's system has been used to send out nearly 5,000 automated notifications in the last 12 months, each of which used to take approximately five minutes to process manually.

The RCN is a union membership organisation which supports around 420,000 UK members of the public and private nursing community. Founded in 1916, the organisation is committed to promoting excellence in practice and shaping health policy.  The RCN employs 900 staff over 17 sites.

OpenHR is used to manage all employee information, which ranges from basic contact details to records of attendance, training, salaries and benefits such as pensions and healthcare. The system also holds records of care, bereavement and other special leave requests.  OpenHR is also used to produce detailed management reports which are the foundation for personnel related decision making.   

Andrew West, HR Manager, RCN says: "OpenHR enabled us to manage pension auto-enrolment quickly and painlessly. We collated emails and responses from 900 staff within the system without the need for manual data entry. This saved us around 70 hours in administration time.  Overall we have saved approximately 400 hours in the last year as a result of using OpenHR to automate manual processes."

"The solution is also key to everyday HR administration, management reporting and ensuring best practice. As an organisation providing employers with HR advice and guidance, it is essential that we work as efficiently and effectively as possible ourselves, and that our own working practices stand up to scrutiny."

"In 2015 we will be introducing employee self-service which will enable staff to update personal details held centrally in OpenHR. We are anticipating further time savings as a direct result."   

Alongside OpenHR, the RCN also uses integrated finance, electronic workflow and document management software from Advanced. As of the beginning of December, the accounts team will be using the systems - OpenAccounts financial management, eBIS workflow and V1 document management - to provide access to key financial data to 100 senior managers via 'smart report' functionality.

The new functionality will provide managers with instant access to financial data that was previously only available on request from The RCN's accounts team. Typically, this information has taken individual accountants an average of three days every month to research and collate. Improved access to information will support management decision making and enable accountants to devote more time to strategic activities.

Smart reports will enable managers to drill down into monthly management accounts to view individual transactions recorded in OpenAccounts from Advanced and related documents held in V1 Capture.  The flow of information is managed via eBIS, a powerful workflow engine which ensures only authorised personnel can access information.

Alasdair Rennie, Systems Accountant, Royal College of Nursing comments: "The introduction of smart reports is a major development. Improved efficiencies will save   the finance team three days per month and enable RCN's senior managers to access the information they need to make informed decisions far more quickly than in the past."

The RCN has used Advanced's financial management solutions since 2010 to manage its general, sales and purchase ledgers in addition to staff expense claims. The systems are also used to produce reports required by external agencies including HMRC and TUC. The RCN's accounts are managed by a team of 24 accountants.

Advanced Business Solutions provides leading integrated business applications and services for the public, private and third sectors. The company is a division of Advanced Computer Software Group plc.