Meet Amanda Dupuis, Corporate Projects Supervisor at City of Brandon. In this story, you'll learn how this superhero played a key role in the City of Brandon's successful implementation of Avanti's Time & Attendance and Self-Service.
About Amanda
I have worked with the City of Brandon for almost 10 years. Starting in 2006 in administration at the fire department, I was responsible for the data entry portion of payroll among many other things. I moved into Public Education at the Fire Department, and then into my current position of Corporate Projects Supervisor. One of the projects I was recently assigned was helping to implement the Avanti Software for the city. It’s been a great learning experience, and very enjoyable to work with your staff.
Outside of work I have two children, ages 9 and 12 who keep me busy. We like to keep active, especially doing things outdoors like biking, swimming, camping and walking.
Q: What makes you a People Management Superhero?
My responsibilities throughout the implementation process included learning how the Time and Attendance portion of Avanti works, then testing to ensure everything was set up properly. We canvased all of the departments in the city and set up over 120 schedules, including over 20 variations of Monday-Friday day schedules. These schedules and work groups were then applied to the over 700 employees.
Once I learned the basics of the program (Avanti), I developed a manual for the clerks and managers to use as a reference tool when they were entering data into the system.
The next step was scheduling training for all of the clerks and managers to show them how to access Avanti, and enter time into the system. We did this as close to the go live date as possible so the information would be fresh in their minds.
After we went live, I went to most locations in the city to help clerks and managers enter and approve time. If an issue arose, I helped Payroll in communicating back and forth with Avanti to help troubleshoot.
Q: How does Avanti help you take care of your employees?
Through the whole implementation process, I have had great experiences with the service we have received from Avanti. They (and especially our Implementation Specialist) have been quick to respond, and always with a polite, cheerful, helpful demeanour.
If they didn’t know the answer, they would get it for us in short order. We were always kept well informed as to where any outstanding issues stood. Training was great, and very informative. This helped us immensely in taking care of our employees. As the better trained and informed we were, the better we could do to help inform and train our employees.
Q: Is there something you can now provide to your managers or employees that you couldn't before implementing Avanti?
Our employees now have access to their pay stubs, T4s, benefit information and entitlement information online, where they did not have that access before. We have gotten some really positive feedback about being able to access that information so easily.
Managers are able to easily see what time their employees have taken off or worked using the calendar view in the time cards. This is a great visual tool for them (and the clerks) to be able to audit payroll before they approve it.
Clerks have access to great reports that they can run before they ask for the payroll to be approved as a Quality Assurance tool. They can also access year to date information for each employee for various payroll codes. This will come in very handy, and save Payroll time as there will be a reduction in requests for this information from them.
Q: As you look ahead to the next year, do you have any new initiatives that involve Avanti?
We plan on looking to develop many of the features Avanti has to offer including the emergency contacts, training and appraisal tracking among others.
Q: What is the single most important thing that you do to make a difference to your employees?
A positive attitude is something I always try to maintain. Even when things are going wrong, if you can look at the bright side, and work with patience and a smile, it makes a big difference. I hope this encourages people to ask questions, and makes me more approachable.
Q: How does City of Brandon set itself apart from other employers?
The City of Brandon does a great job of taking care of their employees. They try their best to support their employees. They do this by supporting them not only in their everyday tasks, but by training and developing them for moving up within the organization, and encouraging them to help work towards one of the organizations main goals which is “Serving and Building Community”
Q: What is at the heart of making City of Brandon a great place to work?
Great people and teamwork is the core of what makes the City of Brandon a great place to work. Having people in your corner who are there to encourage and support you when you need it is why we have many employees who spend their entire working life at the organization. And then many even come back after retirement to help out. Knowing that there is support from not only your coworkers and management, but the organization as a whole makes you feel appreciated, and lucky to work here.
Q: How do you make your people feel engaged, appreciated and help them thrive at The City of Brandon?
In order to keep people engaged, I try to make sure there is really good communication about any issues or new information that is available. Ensuring there is consistent, reliable information is important to making sure people feel involved in the process. In order to help people feel appreciated, I make sure to try and always find something positive to say. Whether it is complimenting the actual work, their effort in trying to ensure something was done, or their attitude.
Look at Amanda's super transformation in The Little Book of People Management Superheroes: Volume 2.
The Little Book of People Management Superheroes: Volume 2 from Avanti Software Inc.
