Aldridge Security Limited
Who are Aldridge Security Limited
Aldridge Security Limited is the largest security wholesaler in the UK & Ireland and has over 60 years experience in the industry. With over 14,000 different products in stock from 230 suppliers available from their London and Manchester branches, the Aldridge portfolio includes Locking, Ironmongery/Hardware, Access Control and Key Cutting products.
Aldridge is the largest distributor of Yale, Chubb, Union & Evva products in the UK and one of Silca's largest customers in the world for Key Machinery and Blanks. The company also offers a variety of deals and promotions in conjunction with a comprehensive customer support package including brochures, catalogues, leaflets, price lists and supplier literature.
Summary pre Cascade
Only the HR Team had access to a HR system which created a huge demand on the HR Function as all requests would come into the team, which was only a small team, which in turn created many hours of wasted manpower each week spent dealing with requests and processing manual information, such as Absence Requests, into the Company's only HR database.
The Challenge
To be able to give all Managers and employees access to their own/direct report's Employee Details as well as the ability to book absences for themselves and view/amend their personal details, thereby giving Managers/Employees more access and accountability as well as reducing the burden on the HR team.
The Decision
We had already been using Cascade's predecessor HR System - Propath in our HR department, but were persuaded that the ideal route was to upgrade to Cascade due to its comprehensive functionality, flexibility and the fact that it was web-based ensuring it was globally available.
The Solution
So far we have invested in the main Core HR system in order to deal with the issues highlighted above and are currently in the process of rolling out throughout the Company, which our staff are delighted about as they now have access to their own details. We also have the following Modules;
- Recruitment, which allows us to manage better the whole recruitment process from the beginning of the process right through to automatically setting new starters up direct from the recruitment campaign.
- Workflow, which allows us to manage electronically many processes through systems, e-mails and notifications etc. such as probation period review, salary reviews, paying Health & Safety/1st Aiders for their involvement, Appraisal Reviews etc.
- Timesheets, We are currently working with Cascade to link our Access Control staff entry system to automatically generate Timesheets from the clock-in/out data produced by the system.
- Company Documents, Policies, Procedures, Handbooks etc. can now be uploaded onto the Cascade System and we can also set up which role needs to have what documents. This is important as we are also working on improving communication in the company wherever we can.
- Training This module is vital for us as we have just embarked on a critical training programme throughout the Company aimed at addressing some of the perceived areas of weakness identified in a Customer Survey we carried out in 2007. The Training Module allows us to build up a Competence Database for all job roles and thereafter a comprehensive training programme aimed at ensuring our staff are better equipped to help us improve on those areas of weakness.
