BSC Young Boys

Series Champions Young Boys Bern do not just shine on the pitch. On match days, food stalls, VIP lounges and the club's on-site restaurant are staffed with 400 temp staff members to ensure that football fans are well catered for. To provide visitors and workers with a smooth experience on the big day, expert staff scheduling and time tracking are needed.
 

End of a partnership spelled the beginning of something new
 

Up until the end of 2022 BSC Young Boys ran their catering department as a joint venture between YB Gastro and the SV Group. When the joint venture agreement ended, the company knew that YB Gastro would carry on alone, as they were confident that staff planning for match days would be a profitable undertaking. Since the tool they had previously used was provided by the SV Group, and supplemented by many manual processes, a new software solution had to be found.

Martin Geiger and his team considered which needs the new tool had to cater to and which challenges would arise. He says, "In light of these criteria, we evaluated several tools and concluded that Staffcloud offers exactly what we need."

A new challenge: getting 1,200 people to embrace a new system

 
When the change process started, BSC Young Boys had about 1,200 temp workers on their books. This included people working in catering, security and the fanshop, who all had to learn the ins and outs of a new system. Considering the number of staff members, it is hardly surprising that a change like that brought up some friction.

According to Martin Geiger, many workers saw the advantages relatively quickly, but a few found it difficult to embrace the new system. He and his team at YB Gastro solved these difficulties through one-on-one talks, showing team members exactly which benefits the software could offer them.

An underlying problem was the unwillingness of some workers to give up old processes. They had to learn "to think in a new system" as Martin Geiger says. Now, this challenge has long been overcome.

Consolidated communication channels

With Staffcloud, the team at YB Gastro were able to swap their remaining manual processes for digital, and thus more efficient solutions. This means that communicating with employees, which previously required several different channels, can now be done via a single platform, which "leads to a very concise scheduling process."

The ability to export wage data also reduces complexity: Before Staffcloud, staff members had to submit their work times manually. Someone then typed them into an excel sheet, which was in turn taken by the payroll department and entered into yet another system there. Now, work hours are simply recorded and exported digitally.

The exported files can then be imported into the payroll system. No further steps needed. In addition, Staffcloud has reduced uncertainties for YB Gastro, as digitalisation has meant that staff members can no longer cancel their assignments shortly before a match.

Change process learnings: a new system needs new ways of thinking

 
The software migration has been advantageous for YB, while Martin Geiger has taken a few learnings from the associated change process. He says, "For a change of this magnitude, I would recommend starting with a clean slate." Rather than trying to transfer old processes to a new system, it might be better to design new processes. Otherwise, neither the desired efficiency gains nor the expected savings can be counted on.

For YB Gastro, the migration was so successful that they are already planning the next step. In future, the company wants to offer temp staff the option to work for other businesses through YB, thereby offering them more work opportunities. For flexible workers, this will further strengthen the appeal of BSC Young Boys as an employer.

Interview with Martin Geiger on the switch to Staffcloud

Wie man BSC YB mit 1200 Aushilfen für ein neues System begeisterte NEU from Smartbridge AG on Vimeo.