Blog

October 6, 2020

Eliminate the Hassle of Finding Substitute Teachers

Every school administrator knows the ins and outs of struggling and scrambling to find substitutes. Even with a proper amount of forewarning, dredging through an extensive list of persons associated with the district is a chore. On top of that, there is the hassle of filtering through that list just to find the group that is preferred, well-qualified, and available. And this whole procedure is assuming that time is your friend. If it isn’t, well, the job doesn’t get any easier.

This is where TimeClock Plus can help. The SubSearch Plus feature is designed to increase time and work efficiency by eliminating the manual processes that is typical with finding substitutes. Once configured, our system will automatically send out notifications to available substitutes, allow them to accept the positions, and remove the posting, so nobody is double-booked.

The leg work of simply finding substitutes is replaced with hands-free, automated processes. This allows the administrators to get back to their day-to-day work while the system takes over the task of searching through lists and notifying substitutes.

Key aspects of SubSearch Plus include:
• Automated processing for notifying substitutes
• Preferred lists created by the teachers themselves
• Seamless integration with TimeClock Plus’ Request Manger
• Specialized Support staff for configuration and troubleshooting

Automated Processing
This is the raison d’être for SubSearch Plus and most of the other TimeClock Plus features. Configuring the feature in TimeClock Plus allows the system to run automated processes that do the tedious work for you.

These processes can be set up with a variety of parameters to determine who and when to notify of a substitute opportunity. Once these conditions are met, the processes will run and locate a substitute in no time.

Where once an administrator would be sorting through lists and spreadsheets, the SubSearch Plus feature will have preconfigured lists that it will refer to and generate notifications. Instead of repeated calls and voicemails left on dozens of potential substitutes’ phones, the SubSearch Plus feature will automatically notify potential substitutes until the role is filled.

Preferred Substitute Lists
Each teacher can individualize their own list of preferred substitutes based on criteria they determine. This allows teachers to factor in their own personal preferences in the substitute selection process.

When the automated processing mentioned above runs, the preferred substitutes for the teacher requesting off will be notified first. This gives the top candidate the first pick at the requested day before moving on to the other qualified substitutes.

The notifications can also be staggered based on time increments. Preferred substitutes can be informed first while the system waits to inform other substitutes until a certain amount of time has passed. Then, if a substitute hasn’t accepted the requested day, the other substitutes will be notified automatically.

Integration with Request Manager
The SubSearch Plus feature works hand-in-hand with the Request Manager feature in TimeClock Plus. Integrating the two features r the amount of work for the teachers and the administrators alike.

When a teacher wants to request a day off and require a substitute, the process for the employees is as easy as it has ever been. They input their request and let it be. Once the request has been entered, the system handles all the notifications by running the processing based on that request.
The administrators simply have to approve employee requests as they have always done, and the system will handle the rest.

Specialized Support
When SubSearch Plus was first introduced as a TimeClock Plus feature, the entire Support department received mass training on the module. However, there is currently a whole team of technicians explicitly dedicated to supporting our customers with the SubSearch Plus feature.

This means that when it comes to getting all the configurations for the SubSearch Plus feature set up, you will have a dedicated team of Support technicians with you the whole way. They will determine the extent and capacity in which you want to implement the software and configure the feature to work towards that end.
Even after your SubSearch Plus feature is ready to go, this Support team will answer any questions you have and troubleshoot any future complications.

TimeClock Plus is a browser-based application that records employee hours for payroll while providing real-time labor reporting functions to more than 4,500 school districts nationwide. As a leading provider of time and attendance and workforce management solutions, TimeClock Plus makes tracking employee attendance easy and cost-effective.

Request a Consultation today to learn more about SubSearch Plus and how your K-12 school district can benefit from automated time and attendance management.