SD Worx helps Quick restaurants in Liège operate day and night
There are ten or so Quick restaurants operating in and around Liège. Josefa Moreno has the franchise for five of these. Late hours, flexible working hours and working students who help out on weekends and holidays – staff policy in the hotel and catering industry is a specialism in its own right. That's why Josefa wanted an HR partner who would go beyond simple payroll service provision and guarantee proactive support and close contact. The Quick manager found what she sought in SD Worx.
Josefa Moreno's five Quick restaurants serve a combined total of 5,000 to 6,000 customers every week. Each location employs 20 to 25 people who serve thousands of Giants and other burgers, salads and soft drinks, week in week out. At peak times such as weekends and holiday periods, these teams are supplemented by 60 or so working students.
As the manager, Josefa oversees her restaurants' turnover. This should show an upward trend, even when events and roadworks occasionally make it hard for customers to find their way to her restaurants. Josefa also has various HR duties. Josefa: "Each restaurant has its own restaurant manager. They ensure that there are always enough motivated and well-trained employees on site. My own tasks cover everything to do with remuneration, employment contracts and legislation."
Keeping promises
"Before we engaged SD Worx, mistakes made their way into our payroll calculations on occasion", Josefa continues. "Rectifying these errors often took a lot of time. Moreover, this sometimes caused problems in paying our staff. Since 1 January 2016, SD Worx has managed the entire payroll administration for all five restaurants, including year-end bonuses and eco-cheques. Salaries are always calculated correctly now, and very fast too. SD Worx keeps its promises."
Flexible tool
SD Worx has adapted its payroll tool for the hotel and catering industry to the industry's specific characteristics: nightwork, open seven days a week, flexible hours, and more. The tool is available online anywhere, any time. "We had to replace someone unexpectedly on a Saturday afternoon", says Josefa. "We were able to enter everything remotely and the new person started work at 6pm. Such flexibility is vital in our industry."
Once hours worked are entered, the further calculations and administrative processing take place automatically. Josefa: "We no longer have to send out payslips or answer questions about leave days, as everyone can access this information online. Our accountants can get the data they need for the balance sheet and tax returns as well. This all saves us up to a day's worth of work each month."
Josefa will soon be testing a new functionality that copies the hours worked directly from the time clock. This should lead to even more time savings.
Model contracts and social-legal advice
Once in a while, her staff present the manager with questions requiring a certain level of social-legal expertise. "I just call SD Worx and it's solved", laughs Josefa. "And if the file manager cannot answer me off the top of their head, I hear from the legal department soon enough. They have various templates and model contracts available. That was useful right from the first time we needed to draw up a replacement contract."
Help, I'm in control!
Other benefits for Josefa are the certainty that everything is in order and that she is taking full advantage of all the new employment support measures. "I asked SD Worx to look over our working regulations and they supported me in word and deed. Whenever a law changes, they offer training courses. There's always something new to learn! For example, I benefited a lot from the training course "Help, I'm in control!" I felt better prepared for possible work inspections afterwards and now know that SD Worx can support me in this as well."
From one boss to another
"At my previous office I spoke from one boss to another. I found it reassuring somehow. Ultimately, however, I think my contact with SD Worx is of equal quality. Their team is quite stable; I always work with the same contact people and they take good care of my business. I also get the feeling that they are satisfied with their employer. It's just noticeable."
"In my profession, there are three essential partners – your banker, your accountant and your HR partner – and I choose them with the utmost care", concludes Josefa. "I required an HR partner like SD Worx, to not only fulfil the role of payroll service provider perfectly, but also look for ways to make my life easier and offer proactive advice."
