RAM Hand-to-Hand Couriers is the only company in South Africa that operates nationwide without subcontractors. The company has a long, unmatched history of delivering shipments safely, fully, and on time.
Founded in 1988, the company has expanded and evolved, with 27 centers across South Africa, an unmatched fleet of over 1,600 vehicles, and a workforce of around 2,800 people—all dedicated to the promise to “treat every delivery as if it was our own.”
RAM values its core asset: its employees. The company fosters loyalty by offering above-average wages, providing ongoing training and development, and implementing performance-based reward programs to motivate its workforce.
RAM’s previous workforce management solution failed to meet the organization’s needs. The rigid shift patterns could not accommodate the ad hoc changes to work schedules that are often required. Additionally, managers were unable to approve attendance and overtime on a daily basis. As a result, payroll calculations were inaccurate, necessitating retroactive corrections by the payroll department.
Committed to employee satisfaction and transparency, RAM sought a solution that guaranteed accurate pay from the outset.
“The previous system lacked essential functionality, making it difficult and resource-intensive for us,” says Santiago Rabellini, a financial accountant at RAM.
“There were inaccuracies with night shifts, overtime, paid absences, and payroll discrepancies, leading to employees being overpaid or underpaid.”
RAM chose Synerion solutions for employee management, automatic attendance and absence tracking, work scheduling, self-service for employees and managers, and a smartphone app for salespeople and employees stationed at customer sites.
Synerion’s solutions were chosen primarily for their ability to use fixed work arrangement templates, while also allowing for ad hoc adjustments when necessary. The solutions meet all of RAM’s payroll processing needs, regardless of complexity.
Synerion’s systems update information in real time, giving managers access to current employee data, the ability to confirm attendance daily, and the capability to generate attendance reports for payroll preparation. Managers can also view pending leave requests and each employee’s entitlement balance to decide whether to approve or reject the request. Each absence approval by the supervisor automatically updates the work schedule.
RAM’s workloads fluctuate daily, so the ability to make changes that are instantly reflected in the system is essential. With Synerion’s work schedule system, managers can easily view the schedule in relation to workloads and quickly make any necessary adjustments.
“Now, managers are in control, with access to real-time data that supports decision-making, the ability to make ad-hoc adjustments, and the capability to respond immediately to changing situations when needed.
Since implementing Synerion’ssystems, which integrate work schedules and actual attendance, the accuracy of payroll calculations has improved significantly. The time saved from avoiding recalculations of payroll, accruals, and absence balances, along with the reduction of unnecessary administrative tasks, has improved efficiency and boosted employee satisfaction. “Our employees now have transparency into their reports and can be confident that they are being compensated accurately and fairly.”
Synerion’s smartphone app, Synerion Mobile Pro, offers additional features that will benefit RAM employees, particularly field personnel such as sales representatives and employees stationed at customer sites, who are not near biometric clocks at the start and end of shifts and currently must report manually. With Synerion Mobile Pro, these employees can report attendance and task performance via their smartphones, view their timesheets, work schedules, and vacation balances, and submit absence requests.
In distributed organizations like RAM, with multiple sites and field workers, comprehensive and efficient workforce management solutions are essential. They provide an effective and user-friendly solution that gives the organization visibility and control over time and attendance data, offering a more comprehensive view of daily operations.
