deSingel: The communication is fully automated through email, SMS and chat.

International arts centre DeSingel organizes a varied offer of concerts, theatre performances and dance in their fully equipped halls. Koen Slock is co-ordinator at deSingel, which means he manages the staff responsible for the visitors, including the collaborators for the ticket check, program sales, bar, cloakroom and receptions.

Staff planning in spreadsheets

Organizing concerts, theatre performances and other cultural activities requires a well-organized team. Creating a schedule where everyone knows what needs to be done is therefore more than necessary. Koen mainly works with students to carry out the ticket check and staff the bar and the cloakroom. Since there are no concerts or theatre performances every day, he doesn’t have to appeal to those students each day.

In the past, Koen used Google spreadsheets to create the planning. “I sent out a spreadsheet with the data of the different jobs. Afterwards, every student completed that spreadsheet with the data he was available and all those documents found their way back to me. Finally, I created the schedule by comparing and matching all spreadsheets. That method was not only time-consuming but also prone to errors. In the end, that method worked as well, although it was a bit bumpy.”

Tired of finding your way in a bunch of spreadsheets?

Interactive planning tool

In the starting phase with Beeple, there was a meeting to examine the current way of planning of deSingel. That way, insights were gained on how their planning method could best be implemented in Beeple. Afterwards, Koen received anintroduction to the tool itself: how a schedule can be created and which components it contains. “A workshop was set up to become acquainted with the software. After that, I could try out the tool myself. Whenever I had questions, I was able to ask them and I received the answers I needed. I was able to master Beeple pretty fast. It is after all not too complex.”

The simple planning overview and the structured database tipped the scales for Koen to choose Beeple.

“It’s very easy to retrieve information. The collaborators’ details can be consulted without any effort, from their telephone number to their national registration number. Beeple is an interactive planning tool. With my spreadsheets, I did a nice attempt, but what Beeple does isn’t comparable. It’s like comparing a grocer with a large department store.”

Automatic communication

The interaction between the planner, employee and schedule is Beeple’s main benefit for Koen. The fact that whenever a change is made, it is automatically adjusted in everyone’s Beeple environment, is a big plus. “When I make changes in my schedule, my employees are informed immediately, just like my colleagues who are involved in the schedule. The communication with candidates really runs smoothly. It used to be a time-consuming occupation, especially when I had to contact everyone again with every change. In Beeple, the communication is fully automated through email, SMS and chat.”

DeSingel needs a flexible system in which adjustments can be made easily, since they often have to deal with changing circumstances. “When something suddenly becomes a great success, we also need a lot more employees. We will always have changing circumstances and Beeple enables us to observe closely, to modify things and to react quickly. Everyone always has the latest information at hand.”

How to keep planner, supervisor and flex worker updated?

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