Longacres

Founded in 1979, Longacres Garden Centres has grown into the UK’s leading family-run chain of garden centres, employing more than 600 staff across six stores in the South of England.

Managing such a large and seasonal workforce brought significant HR challenges. Manual scheduling, fragmented HR systems, and time-consuming payroll processes created inefficiencies across stores. With hundreds of employees working shifts across retail, horticulture, and customer service, the business needed a better way to manage people and compliance.

Longacres needed to:

• Centralise HR operations and replace their disconnected HR tools with one platform to manage employee records, contracts, and rotas.

• Simplify shift scheduling, manage seasonal staffing peaks, holiday cover, and flexible shift patterns without overburdening managers.

• Improve time-tracking and attendance, automating clock-ins to reduce payroll errors and provide accurate attendance data across six sites.

• Ensure HR compliance with working time rules, right-to-work checks, and HR documentation requirements.

• Streamline payroll reporting by cutting down on manual processes by linking attendance and rota data directly into payroll.

• Support employee engagement, providing staff with access to rotas, policies, and leave requests via a mobile app, boosting communication.

• Reduce manual admin, automating routine HR tasks, freeing managers to focus on customers and store operations.

With smart scheduling, attendance tracking, mobile self-service, and compliance tools, Longacres gained full visibility and control over its workforce while reducing risk and admin. With HR Duo, Longacres achieved:

• Smart Rotas and Shift Scheduling
  Easily create digital rotas, adapt schedules to seasonal peaks, and fill shifts faster. Managers can notify staff of changes instantly.

• Automated Time-Tracking and Attendance
  Employees clock in via mobile or on-site, ensuring accurate payroll and reducing disputes over hours worked.

• Payroll Accuracy
  Attendance and rota data automatically integrate with payroll, eliminating manual timesheet collection.

• HR Compliance Management
  Centralised digital contracts, policies, and employee records ensure compliance with UK employment regulations.

• Mobile Self-Service for Staff
  Employees can check their rotas, request holiday, and access policies directly from their phones.

• Data-Driven HR Insights
  Managers can track labour costs, absence trends, and shift coverage in real time for better decision-making.