COST-SAVINGS AND EFFICIENCIES THE VALUE OF A DOLLAR Northern is always looking for cost-savings and efficiencies because running a lean operation means we can invest more in our programs, and do more for our students. NORTHERN TRAINING DIVISION As technology and communications pathways continue to evolve, the college is exploring a foundational shift to optimize essential programming—including the longstanding and successful offerings from Northern Training Division—to better attract and retain student and community interest in a complex digital world. This expansion became particularly relevant in the changing COVID-19 landscape that increased demand and competition for online corporate training. Northern Training Division has actively worked to finalize Phase 2 of a customized collegewide cost management system. Supporting operations with additional efficiency and effectiveness, the system allows any team member to access quotes and training details, helping to ensure student and business satisfaction. EFFICIENT HUMAN RESOURCES In April 2019, Northern implemented automated attendance, overtime, and time-off requests for all full-time staff, and in August, automated timesheets and attendance records were also implemented for part-timers. The goal was to reduce the processing time and margin for error resulting from manual entry and submission. And the changes speak for themselves. Beyond an estimated reduction in paper consumption of 90,000 sheets annually, these changes have: increased employee access to personal information, including annual vacation entitlements and sick bank balances; eliminated the risk of critical forms being lost during the approval/submission process; and, improved the accuracy of attendance records since these are now recorded by employees themselves rather than a third party.
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Overall, this has reduced payroll processing time from seven to four days, freeing up 35 hours every two weeks that can be better invested elsewhere.
