Jersey Electricity: Going Green with Absence Technology

Jersey Electricity is a supplier of reliable, low carbon electricity. The business was founded in 1924 and envisions a zero carbon future, with sustainable energy as its core objective. We spoke to Christie McCormack, an HR Administrator at Jersey Electricity, in charge of helping the business keep track of holiday and absence for its 350+ employees.

Prior to using the edays system, the main challenge for the organisation was its reliance on paper and spreadsheets for tracking staff absence. With thirteen departments and staff working either in the office or ‘on the road’, and most on set rotas but not all, this process was time consuming and ultimately led to regular inaccuracies.

On top of this, Jersey Electricity has committed to decarbonising Jersey’s electricity supply. In addition to the commitment to the public which sees the business import electricity via low-carbon, hydro, or nuclear sources, there is an internal commitment too which aims to remove the reliance on paper.

Choosing to ‘go green’ and reduce paper consumption within the business has many benefits, including to the conscience of the business, knowing that it is contributing to a sustainable future. We love to promote this, as our absence system is simple to use and accessible online. Not only are businesses reducing their carbon footprints, but they are simultaneously benefitting from a more organised, productive, and efficient workforce, that is able to book absence with the click of a button.

edays started working with Jersey Electricity in 2018 and have helped them transition from a system that was heavily paper-based, to an online system to track, record, and measure staff absence. It has also allowed Christie and the HR team to pull holiday reports mid-way through the year to see which members of staff have holiday remaining, and is also useful for managers and individuals alike to manage their annual leave. This is important around busy periods of the year, to ensure the business is well resourced, and has been especially useful during the pandemic.

The feedback internally has been impressive. In particular, team members have commented on how easy to use and visually appealing the edays platform is. It has allowed staff to see who’s where and when, enabling managers to plan more efficiently when team members are away. During COVID this had huge benefits to the business, as they were able to create their own categories for staff to check depending on the reason for absence. For example, whether or not they had COVID, were self-isolating in line with government guidelines, self-isolating out of choice, or unwell for another reason.

Using edays has helped Jersey Electricity become more accurate with its reporting, and has also helped modernise and digitise their approach to annual leave. Everyone is offered better visibility and a clear view of their own leave. Importantly for the business, the reporting function which is pulled monthly and used to notify managers of sickness, has helped team leaders recognise trends in employees’ absence. After four or more occasions managers are alerted, which acts as an opportunity to meet 1-on-1 with staff to understand how the business can support them.