Partner Case Study
SAGE Publishing
Easy to interpret reports lead to genuine time savings
SAGE used the software to not only gain data across their many journals and their workforce, but to use the insights into task duration to make decisions about how best to increase efficiency. In just a short time, they saw a significant improvement in their workflow, as they were able to identify discrepancies and potential disruptions.
Knowledge is power
The team at SAGE identified that they needed to know exactly how much time actually went in to completing a single task – not just how long a task would ‘sit open’ – but exactly how long an individual task was taking. Importantly, they wanted to identify the journal tasks which were most time consuming.
Carina and the timer were brought to their attention when a vendor of theirs shared a report from the software and they realised it could be just what they needed to get the kind of data they were looking for.
Easy to use and customized to your needs
SAGE reported that they found the timer very easy to use, stating, “Once installed on the browser, it pops up automatically when a task is started or stopped and the manual interface is clear.”
The Carina support team were even able to allow SAGE to have the timer function setup on a peer review system that the software didn’t already support. This issue was quickly and efficiently resolved.
The SAGE team found the options within the reporting options particularly useful. It is simple to switch between viewing data for teams or for journals. Furthermore, since the timer configuration can be customized per journal and the reports can be configured into groups, SAGE said, “it’s quick and easy to get our monthly or ad hoc reporting.”
“For anyone looking to gain better insight into team workload, when standard journal reports aren’t enough, the TaskAdept Timer is a great addition.”
Intelligent timing without intrusion
The timer is automatic and SAGE were impressed that it required no changes to their journal sites. Being customizable, the timer also interfaced directly with SAGE’s peer review sites and preferred browser.
Importantly, the team found the way it worked to be respectful to their staff’s working needs. Whilst the management team wanted the opportunity to gain insight into task duration on specific tasks, they didn’t want staff members installing something that would watch them doing other work in their browser, ensuring staff still felt trusted and in control. Carina allowed them to do exactly that.
Increasing efficiency across all journals
SAGE found that the timer and, importantly, the accurate and easy-to-interpret reports have helped them to assess their workload and the efficiency of journal workflows. They love how they can compare user-to-user or journal-to-journal and effortlessly find and address unexpected discrepancies.
As an example, SAGE recently used the Timer data to increase the efficiency of a task across all of their journals and have data to prove that it saved time for all members of the team.
The reports make it easy to compare tasks across journals and have discussions with individuals to see why there may be a workflow process that needs to be adjusted.
In the longer term, SAGE plan to see what else they can use the data for and how it can be integrated with their larger department KPIs and goal setting. It’s great to hear the difference the timer and the accurate data it reveals is making at SAGE.
“We recently used the Timer data to increase the efficiency of a task across all of our journals and saved time for all members of our team. “
