Fosters Bakery is a large-scale bakery based in Barnsley, employing 155 people all on one site. They specialise in different types of bread and confectionery but started as a small baked good shop in 1952. Now they distribute their bread across the UK and around the world.
Our reporter spoke to Ellen Caves, HR Manager at Fosters Bakery. She recalled, "We first looked at getting a new system in 2020. We used to have a time and attendance system to help with our payroll, but we had 4 different systems that didn't talk to each other, so we needed a system that was all-inclusive to make our payroll a lot easier".
When asked the reason why they chose Tensor, she said, "We spoke to a lot of people, but we chose Tensor for the price point and what you offered. The demo was really good, Kevin Sharley was amazing and he's worth his weight in gold for your company!"
Ms Caves went on to praise the training they received "We've had a couple of days of training with Kevin, he was brilliant with making sure we were getting on with the system ok, he set us up, worked with us, spoke to us whenever we needed assistance and he provided brilliant customer service and he gets back to me really quick!" She also mentioned our software trainer. "He's helped us streamline our payroll systems, not perfect now but we're getting there!"
When we asked if they use the system to its full potential she replied, "We don't use the system to its full potential because we don't need to now."
They chose Suprema Facial Recognition for their Time and Attendance system, but why did they choose facial recognition over smart cards? "We're a food manufacturer, so we can't have physical clock in stations as we need to reduce physical touch in the production area hence why we use the facial recognition system." In terms of ease of use and setup she told us, "There were a few problems at first when we were setting it up but gradually it got easier as we used the system."
Reflecting on what she liked most about their new Time and Attendance system, Ms Caves said "It's very user friendly, especially the self-service module. Our staff can easily book their holidays without going through a complicated website and it's really easy", and from an HR perspective "the system as a whole is really easy to use".
We also asked if she had any feedback in regard to the helpdesk and she said, "great, but sometimes it does take a bit of time to get a reply but I understand they're busy so I wouldn't complain", she added "we only had a problem when we moved one of our facial recognition stations but they resolved it remotely".
When asked about potential areas for improvements, Ms Caves said, "We're really happy with the system and service, we could definitely do more ourselves, but we're really happy with what we're getting" she added "We might look into HR systems, but not something we need at the minute."
Would they recommend Tensor to other businesses? "Yes! absolutely, have recommended Tensor to forums. It's really user friendly, from both HR and employee's perspective".
To summarise Ms Caves said Tensor was a "Great move that we made, great price point, support level is spot on."