The DIY retailer chain jem & fix A/S has just opened the first four warehouses in Norway and has brought TimePlan in from the outset to ensure flexible resource management, correct payroll data and happy employees.
“In Denmark, we have used TimePlan for the past 15 years because the program meets our needs for flexible staff management. We have had a say in developing new TimePlan features, and the fact that TimePlan can be set up to meet our specific needs in Norway is essential to us,” says Jesper Paarup Blicher, HR & Operations Controller, at jem & fix Denmark.
He has recently visited Oslo to train the first Norwegian jem & fix employees in creating rosters, registering absence, managing HR administration and communicating with co-workers in TimePlan.
Systems that work
In 2017, Jesper Paarup Blicher’s Danish colleague, Kennet Foersom Iversen, went to Norway as jem & fix’s new country manager. He is responsible for the establishment of the first four DIY markets in Eidswoll, Larvik, Frederikstad and Elverum.
“For Jesper and I, it has been crucial to bringing systems from Denmark that just work. It is highly reassuring to know that TimePlan is already being used by other companies in Norway and that they have been using TimePlan successfully for several years. We have also found a payroll agency in Norway that already integrates with TimePlan. Correct data and payrolls are essential in any start-up phase and allows us to focus our time and energy where it is needed,” says Kennet Foersom Iversen.
jem & fix opened its first store in Fredericia in 1988 and currently has 115 low-cost DIY markets and 1,600 employees in Denmark.
“In Denmark, we reached the point where we were looking for new land to expand. We chose Norway because it is one of our neighbouring countries, and because the Norwegians are those people in Europe who spend the most amount of money per capita when it comes to renovating their own houses,” explains Kennet Foersom Iversen.
Employee satisfaction has increased
Jesper Paarup Blicher has been responsible for TimePlan at jem & fix since 2005. For him, TimePlan is not just a shift planning tool, but a resource management tool.
“At jem & fix, we think a lot about our use of resources. Not only in terms of how many employees are going to work, where and when, but we also look at competencies. Which employees are capable of doing what? Now, we have the same opportunity in Norway thanks to TimePlan,” says Jesper Paarup Blicher.
He emphasizes that employee satisfaction at jem & fix in Denmark has increased significantly after the launch of TimePlan’s Web App because the employees are able to see their upcoming rosters on their mobile phones. They can also message each other and swap shifts.
Jesper Paarup Blicher himself is very pleased with his designated TimePlan consultant, Henrik Larsen, who has played a major role in setting up TimePlan in Norway. Henrik Larsen has been working for TimePlan Software A/S since 2009 and has been a designated consultant for jem & fix since 2015.
“I am deeply grateful for the work that Henrik Larsen is doing. Especially his flexibility and positive personality. We could not have moved TimePlan so easily to Norway, had it not been for Henrik Larsen,” says Jesper Paarup Blicher.
