Document Management for Hospitality Industry

WoodSpring Hotels Property Management is responsible for managing 116 extended stay hotels throughout the country. Their two hotel brands, WoodSpring Suites and Value Place, offer warm and welcoming environments with comfortable accommodations at affordable rates. Whether staying nightly, weekly, or long term, WoodSpring offers a refreshing hotel experience that makes visitors feel right at home.

With more than one hundred hotels across the nation, WoodSpring Hotels continues to experience significant growth as a top extended stay option. Based on this growth, over the past decade WoodSpring has experienced many challenges in managing their document-centric processes, specifically in Human Resources. From process inefficiencies to storage space complications, WoodSpring was influenced to find a solution that would enable them to improve the management of personnel files.

Managing thousands of hotel staff members, from reception to housecleaning, manually processing employee paperwork was time-consuming and error prone. It required an immense amount of follow-up and arduous document retrieval efforts to ensure documentation was accurate. With no signs of incoming paperwork slowing down, WoodSpring began the search for a digital solution.
It was when WoodSpring received a demonstration of Square 9’s award-winning GlobalSearch document management software that they knew they had found the solution they were looking for – and needed.

As a centralized digital location to store all documentation, GlobalSearch has streamlined WoodSpring’s access to critical business and employee information. The easy-to-use software provided advanced document search capabilities to deliver WoodSpring with improved methods for accessing and processing paperwork in a fraction of the time. Prior to GlobalSearch, staff had spent between 5-10 minutes retrieving files. Now with document management software implemented, that has dropped to only 5-10 seconds!

With nearly 25,000 documents digitally stored in GlobalSearch, the ease of document retrieval proved highly beneficial, especially for Human Resources. WoodSpring’s Human Resources department is using GlobalSearch on a daily basis to process new hire paperwork, employee document changes, and to store all personnel files.

In addition, WoodSpring implemented Square 9’s HR onboarding solution, Hire to Retire. Hire to Retire uses the power of web forms to repopulate captured data onto multiple forms and enable automatic notification of post-hire activities. With Hire to Retire, newly hired WoodSpring employees are presented with a link to complete their new hire onboarding forms, which submit directly into GlobalSearch for the HR department to easily process.

After all onboarding data is available, including background checks and drug test results, HR staff will request another document from the manager to initiate the final process into the payroll system. GlobalSearch paired with Hire to Retire enables WoodSpring to accurately complete onboarding at a faster rate, with at least 25% of administrative time saved. At times, WoodSpring would spend up to two days managing new hire documents before GlobalSearch, but now when all forms are received they spend only 2-3 minutes to complete processing.

Square 9’s solutions have provided an easier way to process paperwork, especially when the company is growing at a fast pace. Since implementing GlobalSearch, WoodSpring has hired over 970 new employees, but not one to help the Human Resources workload. GlobalSearch takes care of that!
To learn more about WoodSpring Hotels Property Management, visit www.woodspring.com.

Interview: Nanda DeRoulet, HRIS Manager, WoodSpring Hotels Property Management

What criteria did you have in mind when searching for a document management solution?

Nanda DeRoulet: As the HRIS Manager for WoodSpring Hotels Property Management, we manage 116 of over 220 hotels throughout the country. As you could imagine, this involves processing a ton of paperwork. We needed a centralized repository that allowed us to easily access documents and improve how we process that paperwork. We knew a document management solution could help us improve efficiencies and processes, minimize storage space of personnel files, avoid errors, and time-consuming follow up to get the correct paperwork.

How is your company leveraging Square 9’s solutions and which departments are using them daily?

DeRoulet: Our Human Resources department is using GlobalSearch and Hire to Retire on a daily basis. We use it to process all new hire paperwork, employee document changes, and to store all personnel files. Newly hired employees are presented with a link to complete their new hire onboarding forms, which are received in GlobalSearch and then processed by HR staff. Once all processed forms are completed, we move them to a pending onboarding status. After all processes (i.e. background checks and drug test results) are available, we proceed to request another document from the manager to initiate the final process into our payroll systems.

How have your processes changed since implementing GlobalSearch?

DeRoulet: GlobalSearch has provided us with an easier way to process paperwork, especially when the company is growing at such a fast pace. I say we’re saving about 25% of our time, maybe more. We haven’t hired anymore HR staff to keep up with the workload, and that is a good thing. We are now operating all the workload with only four HR managers, whereas before GlobalSearch, we needed at least six managers.

Would you recommend Square 9’s solutions and why?

DeRoulet: Square 9 is a good solution to streamline and improve business processes. Prior to GlobalSearch, we spent between 5-10 minutes simply to retrieve files. Now it’s more like 5-10 seconds! Also before GlobalSearch, sometimes we spent 15-20 minutes or even a day or two to process new hire paperwork. Now, if all forms arrive, we spend only 2-3 minutes processing.