SINGAPORE - Dim sum chain Tim Ho Wan saves about three to five man-hours a day thanks to a scheme that makes taking orders and sales reporting - among other job functions - more efficient.

"These processes were tedious and taxing for our staff - especially older ones - and so we were looking for ways to alleviate that," the company noted.

When it approached the National Trades Union Congress' Employment and Employability Institute (e2i) in July 2019 to embark on the WorkPro Job Redesign scheme, many of its roles were still largely manual. These included ordering processes, sales transactions, accounting, inventory and sales tracking.

By tapping the scheme, the firm was able to redesign the workflow to boost productivity while alleviating the workload of its staff.

For instance, customers can just scan a QR code to order dishes electronically and their order is immediately sent into the kitchen for preparation. Previously, they had to write down their orders before the staff manually inputted them into the system.

In the longer term, the scheme paves the way for the chain's digitalisation journey and "helps us maintain our staff and keep ahead of the competition", Tim Ho Wan shared.

Besides having their work made easier, the impacted older staff - supervisors, cooks and service crew - have also seen a pay raise under this scheme, "as a result of gain-sharing".

But the company admitted that adjusting to the new processes was not easy at first, "as many were used to the manual way of working".

"After some basic digital training, however, these issues were easily overcome," it added.

"Workers have generally reacted positively, giving feedback that the project has significantly increased staff efficiency and reduced work-related stress."

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