For CEO Ken Engström, communication and the users are the most important aspects of Timezynk. Here, he talks about his ten years at the company, the distinguishing features, and his perspective on implementing AI in the scheduling tool.
Ken Engström's first day at Timezynk was ten years ago. At that time, he worked part-time in the support while studying business systems at Malmö University. When he graduated, the position of sales manager at Timezynk became available; a role that Ken took on and held for several years.
– When I started at Timezynk, we only had one customer. It was around that time that we began developing our own scheduling system instead of using third-party solutions because we noticed it was more efficient for customers. Today, we have 250 customers. It's very exciting considering we have a Swedish-developed software from Malmö, says Ken.
Since the beginning of the year, Ken has been Timezynk's new CEO. Despite all employees working remotely, the sense of teamwork in the company is strong, and they were recently certified as a "Great Place To Work."
–I truly appreciate my colleagues and their contributions; they are very important. We take care of each other so that we can take care of the customers, says Ken.
For Ken, it's clear what the main focus is when developing the product: human contact and communication. When contacting Timezynk, users should be able to speak with a human.
– Many see support as a cost, but we see it as an asset. Getting help from a real person is very valuable, says Ken.
Even in the development of the tool itself, communication between users is the highest priority.
– The most important thing for us is the users. The specific buttons in the system are not what really matters; without users achieving a better work-life balance, it's pointless to push out more features. Reporting, accessibility, and scheduling are, according to us, a means of communication, Ken explains.
An important feature that facilitates communication among schedulers is the real-time capability in Timezynk. According to Ken, it's one of the details that sets the service apart from competitors.
– If two or three colleagues are making changes to the schedule simultaneously, it's important that they see the same things all the time. We've been working on having the page updated in real-time for several years, and today we have a real-time structure, says Ken.
As the market for workforce management continues to evolve, it's important to stay on top of the game and continuously develop the tool as technology progresses. However, according to Ken, it's crucial for Timezynk not to jump on the AI bandwagon too quickly.
– We have to be cautious. For us working with people and personal data, it's not as easy to simply throw in artificial intelligence, he says, adding:
– But in the future, we will definitely work with AI to facilitate for employees and supervisors. In that case, it's important that those aspects benefit not only the managers but also the users. In one or two years, the robot should be able to schedule at least a few shifts. That will be very exciting.
– Considering that we've grown about 25 percent per year since the beginning, we should have at least 50 employees and 5,000 customers. Along with that, we can also offer better development and better tools. The more resources we have in place, the more fun we can make it.
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