Time & Attendance Case Study: Frontier Bank
Regional Bank Streamlines Time and Attendance Processes with Efficient, Accurate Online Solution.
Client Profile
Founded in 1978, Frontier Bank is the largest commercial bank headquartered in western Washington. With a head office in Everett, Frontier Bank has almost 850 employees and operates more than 50 branches throughout Washington and Oregon. Serving both businesses and individuals, they offer a wide selection of financial products and services, including traditional deposit accounts, commercial and real estate lending, cash management and wealth management.
The Challenge
In 2005, Frontier Bank was experiencing growing pains. A rapid expansion process had stretched its manual time and attendance process to its limits. A system based on pen, paper and Excel spreadsheets that worked when the company was smaller was no longer sufficient and was beginning to compromise accuracy. Frontier Bank needed to decide whether to hire employees to handle the growth or use technology to provide a solution.
After a cost-benefit analysis, the bank decided that a technology solution was the best course of action. Key requirements that Frontier Bank needed any technology solution to provide were:
- Configurability: Because of a highly complex payroll process, Frontier Bank needed a technology solution that could be configured to meet their unique needs
- Scalability: Anticipated growth meant that any solution would need to be able to accommodate future expansion and be capable of coming online quickly at new locations
- Accuracy: Payroll must always be reconciled to the penny, but with a bank, the expectation of accuracy is even greater. Frontier needed an accurate Time and Attendance solution to support that expectation
The Solution
Frontier Bank considered several possible solutions, but none were able to deliver the level of configurability that they needed to meet its unique Time and Attendance needs. When the bank’s Payroll vendor, Ceridian, recommended iEmployee, Frontier Bank was pleased to discover that the iEmployee Time and Attendance solution provided the needed level of customization. Frontier Bank also found iEmployee would easily be able to grow and meet future needs as the organization grew. The web-based iEmployee solution also meant that Frontier Bank wouldn’t need to add IT personnel and infrastructure to support the change.
After a detailed cost/benefit analysis and change control study determined that an automated Time and Attendance tool would be the most cost-effective solution, Frontier Bank moved forward with iEmployee.
The Benefits
Frontier Bank’s transition to iEmployee’s automated process has been an unqualified success. Not only did they get the configurability they needed, the iEmployee solution has increased efficiency and accuracy. “What takes us seconds to do now was taking us weeks and actually longer if you added the time of the manager, the employee and the payroll person together,” said Lesley Wear, Human Resources officer for Frontier Bank.
Wear said that iEmployee has increased Frontier Bank’s payroll efficiency ratio and improved employee connection with their PTO. “We used to get constant phone calls about time off and PTO,” Wear said. “Employees are now more accountable for both the time they put in and the time that the supervisor approves.” iEmployee also makes it easier for managers to track PTO trends and patterns to see if counseling or intervention is needed.
Frontier Bank has also purchased two banks since implementing iEmployee, and the Time and Attendance solution has proved more than able to grow with the organization. “We are spread across two different states, and iEmployee has made it easier for our regional offices to track time,” Wear said. Above all, Frontier Bank is seeing a return on its investment.
“Right now, iEmployee is saving us a full-time employee with a $50,000 annual salary,” Wear said. “We believe the savings have been more than $150,000 over the past three years.” Frontier Bank believes that iEmployee means they won’t need to add staff for 10 years and eventually will equal the work of two staff members.
