Gary Jenkins

Payroll & Personnel Officer , Jasper County Board of Education

Supernova Award Category: 

Future of Work: Human Capital Management

The Organization: 

Jasper County Board of Education, located in Monticello, Georgia, covers the K-12 county education system and includes about 450 employees and around 2,300 students. Gary Jenkins, Payroll & Personnel Officer, has served on the county’s board of education for 10 years and is responsible for overseeing payroll for all employees, among various other personnel-related activities.  

The Problem: 

Before 2015, all of Jasper County’s payroll processes were manually completed via paper, taking an average of four days (down from a high of 10 days) for employees to complete while taking the attention away from more business-critical issues such as executive administration and bookkeeping. Employees also had to resolve all timecard discrepancies individually, meaning they had to spend even more time on payroll tasks. With this in mind, Jenkins knew he needed a workforce management solution to help automate this process for his staff so they could use their resources more wisely and focus on creating a better experience for Jasper County students and their families. 

The Solution: 

Since team members had to spend much of their time manually working on payroll errors and processes instead of core job responsibilities, Jenkins began his search for an automated workforce management solution. During the evaluation, Jenkins had two goals he wanted the technology to meet: 

1. It needed to cost around the same as the current manual process for payroll

2. It needed to integrate with the department’s current payroll software so Jenkins and his team could easily input time and attendance, and dates for substitutions 

Jenkins found TCP Software and saw that the company’s TimeClock Plus workforce management solution was extremely popular with K-12 districts. After working with the TCP rep, Jenkins realized that TimeClock Plus would easily integrate with his current payroll software and cost roughly the same.

The Results: 

TCP’s TimeClock Plus software empowered the Jasper County Board of Education to create a more formal, automated process for the payroll and personnel department. Employees and managers run weekly punch reports and build schedules within an integrated system that provides better management of both full- and part-time staff. This is crucial for managers who are responsible for multiple locations and can’t be present at every location all the time. Thanks to a mobile app that is connected to the hardware system, principals and school administrators can pull the information and data from anywhere and gain visibility into absences and leave requests, among other data, while transportation employees can better track off-hours work, like field trips. This workflow process signals issues with hours or pay rates, so managers can address problems before they reach payroll and make exceptions immediately. For example, if an employee forgets to clock in or out, the manager can find the employee and resolve the issue in real time.

With TimeClock Plus from TCP Software, the Jasper County Board of Education can better track time and attendance for all employees and efficiently monitor, manage and control employee adherence to time and attendance and overtime policies, demonstrating compliance with FLSA, ACA and FMLA regulations. 

Metrics: 

Upon implementation, the entire payroll process went from four days to two hours, allowing members of Jenkins’ team to reallocate 60% of its labor cost to more critical tasks, such as clerical work and supporting administration, staff and students. The software also enabled the Jasper Board of Education to move from a monthly payroll preparation to a weekly one, which gives payroll personnel more visibility and empowers them to catch inaccuracies more quickly. As a result, the board can comply with regulatory requirements.  

Since TCP’s solutions help Jenkins manage a wide variety of employees, and help principals view absences through an automated system, Jenkins can ensure his team spends more time on their core roles and not worrying about payroll or managing regulatory compliance. 

The Technology: 

Jasper County Board of Education uses TCP Software’s TimeClock Plus workforce management solution for K-12, which is comprised of time and attendance, absence and leave management, substitute management and more; annualized employee management to classify employees correctly and avoid payroll surprises; payroll automation; and TCP’s MobileClock App.

Disruptive Factor: 

Jenkins focused on a three-phase implementation process to ensure everything ran smoothly: 

Phase one: guaranteeing payroll worked correctly 

Phase two: using the software reports and building in schedules to manage expectations among full- and part-time staff 

Phase three: receiving daily reports that show when employees clock in/out, and reports that go to each school that show absences and substitutes  

With TimeClock Plus and its ability to integrate with payroll, Jenkins was able to transform the entire payroll process. With streamlined operations and more efficient workflows, staff could expect their pay to be on time and correct. The software helps automate processes, making it easier for managers to ensure employees are working the correct number of hours, so the county can maintain federal and state regulations and avoid any unnecessary audits. The integrated system allows Jenkins to catch errors and show them to managers to determine any exceptions and ensure they can be fixed immediately.  

TCP’s solutions ensure Jasper County employees can help create a better learning environment for students of all levels.  

Shining Moment: 

Jenkins repeatedly stated that the software was critical when COVID-19 struck. Jenkins was able to create a special code that only allowed the necessary employees to clock in/out, so Jenkins received an accurate record of who was working and when. If staff members became ill, the software helped Jenkins manage leave and ensure there were enough employees to staff absences, helping the school district operate more efficiently.

About Jasper County Board of Education

Jasper County Board of Education oversees approximately 450 employees and covers the K-12 county education system in Monticello, GA. The Jasper County Charter System is committed to building strong community relationships so all stakeholders are informed of and actively engaged in the education of students.