feature
Among other challenges were compliance
requirements for code-of-conduct
audits.
“We need compliance on health and
safety and other policies, and all those policies
are auditable,” said Clingbine. “We also
want it to be easy for staff to see policies
on violence, harassment, safety and theft.”
Compliance requirements were generating
copious paperwork, extracting data was
cumbersome and lack of computer access
was impeding general communications.
For example, Compass Group has a free,
confidential 24-hour ethics hotline called
Speak Up.
“But unless you see the poster in the staff
area, you won’t know the number,” said
Clingbine. Clearly, an innovative digital way
to better engage the entire employee pool
was needed.
Since 2014, Compass has addressed
the problem – and gained numerous other
business advantages – with a proprietary
smartphone application named CAFÉ:
Compass App For Engagement.
“With more and more Canadians using
smartphones, we saw that as a creative solution
for HR to communicate and engage
with employees in a convenient way that
matters to them,” said Clingbine.
“From an audit perspective, it’s changed
the game,” said Compass Group chief innovation
officer, Humza Teherany, who
collaborated in creating the app. “If there’s
any audit infraction, we can go back and see
whether the employee signed off. It really
raises our organization into the digital era.”
ALIGNING WITH CURRENT
TRENDS
With the assistance of a Canadian software
developer, CAFÉ was created in collaboration
among Compass’s technology, HR,
compliance, audit, health and safety and
legal departments. It allows any employee
with a smartphone to access a gamut of
online functions, and provides enormous
access to usable data.
CAFÉ is right on trend: smartphone
use is increasing worldwide. A December
eMarketer survey estimated close to 1.91
billion users and predicted an increase to
nearly 2.16 billion in 2016. A 2014 Catalyst
study found that 55 per cent of Canadians
owned a smartphone; by 2015, ownership
grew to 68 per cent.
Now, forms can be signed and filed
digitally.
“It’s become what we call an electronic
filing cabinet for HR, held centrally at
our head office,” said Clingbine. “We have
something here that’s going to reduce wasted
time and increase HR efficiency and
audit compliance.”
EASY ACCESS
CAFÉ gives employees quick access to HR
contacts and Speak Up, a brief company
history, information on diversity, relevant
policies and – at the request of early testers
– the company job board. It can even be
used for short employee engagement surveys.
Employees who have no smartphone
can access an iPad at work, or sign on from
any computer.
The process started when human resources
contacted Compass’s innovation
group to discuss potential solutions to the
core challenge.
“We looked at understanding the current
employee experience by talking with staff
and managers. Then we assessed which
technology we could utilize to enhance that
experience,” said Teherany. “Our overall goal
was to increase employee engagement, so if
we didn’t start by understanding our users’
problem, then we really didn’t solve a
problem.”
HRPATODAY.CA ❚ SEPTEMBER 2015 ❚ 25
