Arkin has implemented the Ortec workforce scheduling system to manage its 3,500 employees across nine different brands, moving away from outdated methods that lacked standardization and online access. The new system provides a user-friendly interface, enables proactive scheduling, integrates with HR systems, and allows employees to view their schedules, resulting in improved compliance and productivity. Arkin aims to optimize its scheduling processes further, potentially introducing self-scheduling in the future.

1. At Arkin 3,500 employees across nine different brands are scheduled by 150 planners across
the brands. In order to optimally assign all employees, often with very specific competencies
and working for multiple departments, Arkin chose to schedule its staff with ORTEC.
Challenges
■ The old scheduling solution no longer met
Arkin’s requirements. For example, employees
wanted to be able to view their schedule online,
but that was impossible with the previous
system. In addition, they were running out of
available codes to use for shift and
departments.
■ Each planner had his or her own way of
drawing up schedules, often on paper. This
meant that there was no general overview
and that there were issues with compliance.
Employees were also frequently scheduled for
two shifts in different departments at the
same time.
How Arkin aimed to optimize its world
Arkin selected a new scheduling system
in order to strengthen its hold on the planning
process. Moving forward, the organization
was to schedule according to a standardized
scheduling policy.
Results
+ A standardized working method
+ Immediate overview of and insight into the
schedule, resulting in fewer violations
and/or errors
+ From registration after the fact to a conscious
and proactive scheduling process in
accordance with the Dutch Annualized
Hours System
+ No more manual data entry and faster
data transfer
+ A stable link to Raet, which makes double entry
of payroll information a thing of the past
+ Thanks to ORTEC Employee Self-service,
employees can now view their schedules
from home and are more actively involved in
the scheduling process
+ The new system is much more user friendly
than the old system
+ Management information to measure
production and managing hours has become
available
Industry
Health care
Solutions
■ ORTEC Workforce
Scheduling, including
modules such as ORTEC
Flex Pool and ORTEC
Employee Self-service
■ Integration with the HR and
Payroll system
Beaufort from Raet
Quick Stats
■ Arkin offers specialist mental
health care and represents nine
different brands:
- Jellinek
- PuntP
- Novarum
- Npi
- Mentrum
- Roads
- Inforsa
- Spoedeisende Psychiatrie
Amsterdam
- NPI
- Sinaï Centrum
■ Headquarters: Amsterdam
■ 3,500 employees,
150 planners
Arkin
“We are now
scheduling much more
consciously”
CustomerStory

2. Unanimous decision
In order to effectively manage the scheduling of its 3,500
employees, Arkin chose to work together with ORTEC. “The
decision was unanimous”, according to Jos Kortekaas,
Arkin Application Administrator. “We chose ORTEC for its
user-friendliness and its value for money.” The departments
Information Management and HR worked closely together
during the selection process. HR Director Anny Hartstra
explains: “Both parties had a list of requirements that the
system had to fulfill. For example, the package had to make
it easy to schedule in accordance with the EBA. It also
needed to create a better overview of and insight into the
scheduling process.” The HR department helped with change
management. “That involved a bit of evangelizing work”, says
Anny Hartstra. “Everyone had always worked in their own way.
There were a lot of parallel scheduling methods, but those are
fortunately a thing of the past.”
Annualized Hours System
Eight core users were trained in the use of ORTEC Workforce
Scheduling. After that, each of the departments was trained
in turn on how to use the system. According to Application
Administrator Han Niesten, the system’s benefits were
immediately apparent. “In the old system you had to wait until
the end of the year to take stock and to see whether people
had worked too many or too few hours. In ORTEC Workforce
Scheduling you can immediately see if you have scheduled
enough people. The planners used to schedule one or two
employees extra just to be on the safe side, but that’s also
a thing of the past.” Jos Kortekaas adds: “The best thing is
seeing how priorities have changed. The first priority used to
be to make sure that employees were scheduled for enough
hours. Now the planners look at how many staff are needed to
cover the demand.”
Focused scheduling
The new focused scheduling process at Arkin goes all the
way to the top. Even the supervisors are forced to face facts.
“Whereas in the old system you could approve the payment
for hours worked with one click of the mouse, even prior to the
hours actually having been worked, with ORTEC Workforce
Scheduling things are different. This scheduling system
immediately displays whether the hours have already been
approved and when. Supervisors are now more alert: the
staffing figures are compared to productivity.”
Future
Scheduling with ORTEC Workforce Scheduling has definitely
resulted in cost savings. Han Niesten: “Now that the planners
have mastered the system, they are starting to discover more
and more possibilities. It saves a lot of time if you have the
system draft the first schedule automatically.” Anny Hartstra:
“Of course, we’ve made an investment and do expect a return
on investment, but we haven’t measured it in that way because
that wasn’t the most important thing for us. We are convinced
that our scheduling method - in accordance with the Dutch
Annualized Hours System and tentatively a step towards
centralized scheduling - will save time and money.”
ORTEC Employee Self Service
Arkin expects a great deal from the ORTEC Employee Self-
service module that the company has recently implemented.
Jos Kortekaas: “We think that it has a beneficial effect on
the planners. Since employees can now access their own
schedules, they will keep the planners alert and point out
things that aren’t right.” In the future, Arkin may want to take
a step further and implement self-scheduling. Han Niesten:
“Several departments want that right now, but there are other
departments that want nothing of the sort. Based on our self-
managing team concept, we will examine the options, but step-
by-step. The most important thing is that we can now schedule
optimally using ORTEC Workforce Scheduling.”
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