11th September, 2019
Born in true pioneering style – over a few beers at a university bar – Tanda has become a force to be reckoned with in staff rostering. In this candid interview with Head of Strategic Partnerships, Rod Schneider, we ask what the future has in store.
Historically, staff rostering in the hospitality and retail scene has been managed in an ad hoc, low-tech fashion, creating headaches for employers and employees alike.
And it was these challenges that the founders of Tanda came face-to-face with while they were both working at a university bar in Queensland.
In a recent interview with Tanda’s Head of Strategic Partnerships, Rod Schneider, we found out a little more about this journey from campus bar to the high-paced world of tech startups, as well as gleaned a little more insight into where he sees the business heading in years to come.
The following is a transcript of that interview.
Could you take us through Tanda’s startup journey?
Our founders were running the campus bar at QUT and they noticed that they had an issue, paper timesheets were inaccurate and staff were claiming for time that they hadn’t worked. What’s more, it was difficult to monitor all of the various sites on campus.
The initial version of Tanda helped them solve this problem, and once the word got out about what they had done they soon had their first client.
How did you arrive on the Tanda scene?
My background before Tanda was in finance, but I’ve known the founders of Tanda since before Tanda was a thing. It was amazing to watching their drive and commitment in getting the business started from nothing. They’re never afraid to get on the front line themselves.
When a role came up that could incorporate my background but allow me to work in such a fast paced and energetic environment – I had to take it.
What are you passionate about in the sectors you operate?
The most important thing for me is making sure our partners in advisory, bookkeeping and accounting can use Tanda to drive efficiency for their clients and themselves.
There are lots of processes that still occur manually through emails or paper that just don’t need to happen. If we can eliminate that for our partners and our clients that’s a win for me.
Are there any unique challenges you’re trying to solve?
We want to show the right people the right information when they need it. Whether it be the shift manager wanting to know live wage costs throughout the day, an employee wanting to know their rosters, or the payroll manager wanting to see accurate timesheets.
Our work on the platform is all aimed at making sure the information is easily accessible, easily digested and easily actioned. That is of great value to businesses, whether they know it or not.
How has the space changed in the years Tanda has been in operation?
Technology adoption (and the speed at which organisations undertake it) is a big change.
There is far less reluctance to change when it comes to processes and systems in business. Our audiences are increasingly aware of options that don’t require paper and/or a bundy clock.
No matter the size of business, today they have more complex questions and comprehensive due diligence procedures. Therefore need to ensure we are building truly solid products and can consistently communicate features and benefits better.
How has Tanda changed during this time?
Tanda has rapidly evolved from day one and we don’t plan on slowing down.
Our team has expanded to 160 people globally; our product continues to get better thanks to our world-class product team; we continue to understand our clients better because of our stellar support staff and direct feedback channels like Canny; we serve industries better because of our dedication to market research.
‘Continuous improvement’ is everyone’s middle name at Tanda.
What’s your vision of the future for the industry sectors you work in?
Great timing on this question, because every single person at Tanda knows our vision off by heart: To be the world’s #1 workforce platform. Our founders, Alex and Tasmin, during the opening keynote at our Workforce Success conference, spoke about how we’re going to achieve this [click here for a video of the keynote].
Essentially, we want to solve those challenges beyond the horizon, before people even realise they are going to be a challenge. So that’s what we’re looking forward to – a complete dedication by our team and our ecosystem of partners to build the best solutions for workforces.