The Challenge: Managing Employees, Clients and Client Orders
A Cincinnati temporary personnel agency needed a better way to manage their 10,000+ employees for all of their clients. When a new request arrived for 1 or more people, they had to search through thousands of word documents for phrases that matched the request. For example, if a client needed a ‘server’ and a ‘bartender’, the word docs were scanned for either ‘server’ or ‘bartender’, which became very tedious. Also, the office staff needed to gain access to the information during ‘off-hours’, which added a level of complexity to the project request.

The Solution: A SQL Server Database, with an MS Access Front-End

There were several unique project requirements to account for during the project design and development phases. For example, most client orders requests needed multiple people with different skills. Also, if an employee didn’t show up for work, the office staff would have to scramble to find an immediate replacement.

We worked with the company management and the office staff to fully understand the client order process. We also listed the employee attributes to track and search on. Then, we were able to storyboard the system and present it to the stakeholders for their buy-in.

Once the fields defined and process flow was mapped out, the database was built in SQL Server, and a managed web server. The programming modules were in Visual Basic for Access (VBA). In our process, there are several project checkpoints, or milestones, to ensure the project timeline and deliverables are managed properly.

Below are two sample screens from the project:

Here is a screenshot of the employee maintenance screen.
There are multiple tabbed screens that logically groups the data fields.

Here is a screenshot of the order search form.
There are several customized search fields that ensure
the results closely match the client order.

The Benefits: Huge Time and Resource Savings, Resulting in a Strong ROI

The office staff can manage the database from anywhere, as long as they have Internet access, which has had a tremendous impact for the ‘off-hours’ requests. Also, the database of almost 12,000 employees can be quickly searched for new client orders. Overall, the project has saved the company thousands of dollars in office staff resources.

Technology Solution: Leveraging Existing Components

By combining the database management capabilities of SQL Server, on a managed web server, and the rapid application development benefits of MS-Access, we were able to design and develop a cost effective solution for our client. The design is tuned for efficiency and scalable for growth.