Meddyg Care
Going global with strong staff scheduling software
About Meddyg Care
For the team at Meddyg Care – a specialist dementia care facility in North Wales – its mission is as simple as it is powerful. It provides its residents with the specific care they require to live out their days as happily and independently as possible.
Kevin Edwards
Managing Director
Meddyg Care
“The Planday and Xero integration has halved the time it takes to do the payroll. It used to take a whole week – now it is three days, and four if it is a challenging month.”
How using the right tool for the job halves Meddyg Care’s payroll admin time
Established in 2014, Meddyg Care now has three locations and 125 staff dedicated to that mission. By finding the right people for the job who can combine compassion and care, Meddyg Care delivers person-centred care for its residents. But behind the tailored care and resident experience is a myriad of admin tasks and accreditation that can be cumbersome and time-consuming. Starting its digital journey a few years ago, Meddyg has moved from a rota posted on the wall to a smart solution that gives management and staff the right information at the right time.
By getting the right tool for the job, Meddyg Care Managing Director Kevin Edwards says payroll admin time has now halved. Let’s hear how they did it.
Hassle-free scheduling
Like many health and social care organisations, Meddyg Care’s shift plans can be quite complex. But building a rota with staff skills, availability and costs in mind means there are fewer hassles and more time to focus on the person-centred care its residents deserve.
“We have around 15 to 20 different roles and Planday gives me the opportunity to identify the different roles and the different pay rates and then all of that information feeds straight into the schedule,” Kevin says.
“Planday makes our shift planning really accurate with managing costs. For example, there is a rate for our care staff, there is a rate for a team leader, there is a rate for a manager and Planday lets us identify all that information and sync it so we stay on budget.”
Instant and accessible rotas reduce confusion
Kevin says there’s more to digital than just unearthing the rota from someone’s diary.
“We used to do up the plan and then put it on the wall. Now it’s all instant, it’s accessible to staff, we know they have it and there’s no confusion. When managers are planning the rotas, they can see when staff are on holiday, or when things are booked. They see the little symbols – that is great communication!
“Giving our staff the ability to request shifts works very well and is very easy. The managers get notifications straight away so they can react straight away. It means you don’t have to check anywhere else or look in a diary somewhere. It’s little things like that which just make the whole process of rota planning a lot smoother.”
An all-in-one delivers none
“We came from a system that was trying to do everything – it had a clinical function, an accounting function and rostering – but to be honest it was doing all three pretty badly,” Kevin says.
“So we decided to try to get a system which was specific to our needs. We now have Planday for our rota and scheduling and to support our HR function. Then we use Xero for our accounting, and an independent clinical system.
“The integration between Planday and Xero was a big factor in making sure we had the right systems and choosing Planday. When the information is all correct, the integration really straightforward. So it has smoothed out all of the front-end work.
“The Planday and Xero integration has halved the time it takes to do the payroll. It used to take a whole week – now it is three days, and four if it is a challenging month.”
The right system will save you money
In fact, Kevin says that’s the one piece of advice he’d give a business looking to start a digital journey: don’t get an all-in-one tool.
“Look for a solution that deals with the problem you’re trying to solve. Don’t look for a one-size-fits-all. Just because you’ve got three separate subscriptions don’t think it’s a lot,” Kevin says.
“The money you will save in the long run is more beneficial than thinking you’re saving money and cutting costs in the short term. It always ends up more expensive in the long run.
“It is also best to have separate system, so if there is an issue they are compartmentalised. If you have an issue with the rota it is one thing, same with payroll then it is a separate issue. The problems aren’t linked in any way.”
Save time fixing errors
Planday was not the first solution Meddyg Care tried, but it’s delivered the biggest productivity benefits in terms of saving time fixing errors.
“Planday is head and shoulders above other solutions we tried, and we knew we were moving forward with other technologies and Planday works well with that,” Kevin says.
“It’s now simple – you punch in right and you get paid right!”
The right tool at the right time
By having an advanced scheduling tool, Kevin says Planday has helped respond to the challenges of work schedules and sudden changes during COVID-19.
“We’ve always had three locations and using Planday to schedule across three sites is quite useful. But more recently we have used Planday to record our COVID test results.
“Our staff are required to test with the rapid test and then PCR test once a week. We record that information as a separate scheduling option and it seems to work quite well.”
