We did analyze other vendors, but Zoho People worked well for us because of its efficient attendance management system that comes with geo-tagging options, which eliminates the need for biometrics. Also the fact that we're used to Zoho products was important.
Hitesh Singh WaskaleDirector, Simulation Lab™About Simulation Lab™
Research and development is a significant part of any product. Simulation Lab™, an independent and open "Scientific Research and Development" center based out of Pune, India, specializes in product design and optimization using AI.
Simulation Lab™ was founded in the year 2018 by three researchers. "When we started out, we were just a handful of researchers, so communication and management was all simple. But as we scaled, our issues grew and we started needing a better solution to manage our work and other daily HR tasks," said Hitesh Singh Waskale, director of Simulation Lab™. Since founding, they've quickly grown to more than 150 employees with researchers from a dozen different countries.
The challenge: Scaling quickly
"Our major concern was that we were scaling rapidly across the globe, which meant we started having people come in from different time zones. Attendance management and leave tracking became a hassle here. Moreover, with COVID, we had to move to a completely remote environment," said Hitesh. Simulation Lab™ was already using Zoho Mail and Workplace, so they were familiar with Zoho.
"We did analyze other vendors, but Zoho People worked well for us because of its efficient attendance management system that comes with geo-tagging options, which eliminates the need for biometrics. Also the fact that we're used to Zoho products was important," said Hitesh.
The solution
"We all use the Zoho People mobile application. It's simple and quick, enabling our team to log in and out easily. Also, we have flexible work timings and Zoho People enables us to manage that, too," he said.
Along with attendance management, Simulation Lab™ also uses leave tracking. They're able to apply leave and approve or reject the applications with ease.
"In a bigger team, it's difficult to know who's reporting to whom and which team they're on. We have different levels of researchers within the organization. Zoho People seamlessly classifies this in the organization tree and the best part is that the same is reflected for approvals and in other apps like Zoho Cliq, which helps in better communication," said Hitesh.
Setting up the system was also easy for them, thanks to the number of resources Zoho People offers. "We set up the system ourselves with the help of the videos and other resources from Zoho People. It was mostly DIY and if at all we needed help, the support team was helpful," he said. They also use the announcement space to keep their entire workforce on the same page.
Benefits and ROI
Thanks to the strong foundation of Zoho People, Simulation Lab™ is fully equipped to manage their workforce, even while working remotely. It's helped increase their efficiency in tracking attendance and leave, while simultaneously streamlining hiring and onboarding processes.
"Life would be challenging without Zoho People. We've been using it for about two years now and it has helped us improve our efficiency and kept up with our rapidly evolving pace. It has helped us even during times like COVID to stay connected and continue work and other daily activities," said Hitesh.