SLCUSD saves time, makes life easier with Helios!
San Luis Coastal Unified School District is located nearly 200 miles north of Los Angeles, CA in San Luis Obispo County and currently has an enrollment of approximately 7,500 students. In 2018, San Luis Coastal was honored with the prestigious California District of Excellence award for its innovative and effective school programs.
Summary
SLCUSD is saving tons of time using Helios for their Employee e-Files, Self-Help Portal, Onboarding, Personnel Requisitions and Systems Interfacing.
Challenges
The Human Resources department had been spending too much time digging through paper files, sending notifications, reminders and looking up information on behalf of employees.
Solution
We interviewed Beth Summers, HR Analyst, and Rachel Robinson-Vang, Administrative Assistant, of SLCUSD to get an update on their use of Helios. The electronic employee files, automated tasks and notifications, centralized onboarding, employee portal and user friendliness have been a much-welcomed change for, both, Rachel and Beth, who are now working more efficiently and happier than ever before…
Q: Please, tell us a bit about your background and daily use of Helios.
Beth: I’ve been with SLCUSD for 5 years and have been doing this type of work for 15 years. We’ve used Helios so much over this last year that it’s become part of my daily routine. It’s my go-to system for accessing employee information since it’s so much easier to use than our county system. I can access it from anywhere and love the fact that it’s web-based. I love also that it’s quick; I can type a name into it and it goes!
Rachel: Coming into this position and not knowing anything about Education (HR, in particular, where there’s so much to learn), Helios was so helpful in allowing me remote access into all the different areas of HR. When we switched over to a remote work schedule, it was easy to take Helios with me. I can even check our HR information while out at the store from my phone! Helios was instrumental to me getting familiar with our employees, understanding how we store information and access files. As I’ve come to learn more of the features and steps of Helios, it’s become a very ‘co-dependent’ relationship; I use it for everything!
Beth: Rachel got to experience Helios Onboarding, first-hand, as a New Hire, so was able to reflect to us just how the experience is.
Q: What was that process of Onboarding like for you?
Rachel: That was my first online Onboarding experience ever and it was very cool! No one wants to fill out and sign a bunch of paperwork, so having it at my leisure to do, without worrying about losing a stack of paper, was very helpful. It felt quick and timely.
Q: How does Helios help SLCUSD save money?
Rachel: For one, I think we save money by not having to pay staff extra time for looking through files and digging through stacks of paper.
Beth (to Rachel): When was the last time you even had to order paper!? Haha!
Rachel: Haha, yeah, on office supplies, alone, we’re saving money from not having to buy so much now.
Beth: I’m definitely saving time by not having to dig through files or make photocopies. Now, I can simply download and attach documents or, even better, direct an employee to find it themselves within the Employee Self-Service Portal.
Rachel: TB or Annual Notifications are, traditionally, huge, time-consuming, tedious processes. Now, these are all consolidated and automated within Helios, saving us tons of time. It’s been game-changing. It’s great for our sites, as well, who only need access to a portion of the huge data base within Helios. We can, easily, set that up for them; saving time for both them and us, giving them quick, self-sufficient access to information they need.
Q: How has Helios helped your district during COVID?
Beth: We didn’t have to figure out how to work with people through an online system since we had already started doing that. We were really well placed and not behind on our filing.
Rachel: Amidst all the crazy, daily changes, it’s been great having this system (Helios) already in place for access, communication, clarity and working remotely. The consistency and reliability of Helios, as a platform, has been so helpful in helping us serve members of our district in the ways they deserve. It’s made everything much more convenient, especially for our employees. They like being able to access their information and get what they’re looking for. Obviously, this makes it easier for us here in HR; less busy work to do.
Q: What would you say to someone considering Helios?
Rachel: Helios is really intuitive and user-friendly. Once you get into it and see how it flows, it all becomes really logical. When you learn how the system works, everything gets easier for EVERYONE: sites, HR, admin, etc.
Beth: We feel like we’ve gotten help and support all along the way, which has been great!
Rachel: (In relation to Customer Support) Thankfully, I can simply make a call and reach someone right away or send an email and receive a reply quickly. Support has been very helpful to us.
Beth and Rachel sum up their experience of Helios by saying:
“Our processes have become easier for EVERYONE in our district. Helios makes a HUGE impact on our daily workload. The system is intuitive and user-friendly. And customer support has helped us all along the way.”