Öko-Job supports people in difficult life situations as they return to the labour market. With divisions ranging from carpentry and landscaping to a bike workshop, the organisation is broadly positioned. In this interview, Fabian Sperisen, Head of Operations Basel-Land, explains how Öko-Job masters the many demands of day-to-day planning and why Vanillaplan plays an important role in it.
Mr Sperisen, to start, please tell us a little about Öko-Job.
Öko-Job is a work integration organisation – we mainly collaborate with the disability insurance (IV) as well as social services and the regional employment centres (RAV). Our mission is to support people in difficult life situations in rebuilding their capacity and finding their way back into the labour market. In our various work areas, participants can increase their workload, acquire new skills and regain structure in their working day.
Which areas do you cover?
We're very broadly positioned: in Gelterkinden we run a carpentry workshop as well as a green division with landscaping and a nursery. In Liestal we have a bike workshop, where we recondition and sell second-hand bikes and carry out servicing work. In Basel we have a product workshop, where textiles are processed and food is produced, as well as a café with a shop. On top of that, there is a commercial division with several workstations.
In addition to our locations in the Basel area, Öko-Job also includes further sites in the Graubünden region that are likewise active in work integration.
With this range of work areas, you probably need a special concept. How do you organise your operation?
Yes, our teams are structured in line with the diverse work areas: most of our staff have a trade qualification and some also bring training in the social sector. This means we can not only provide professional guidance to participants, but also support them throughout their time with us. As a rule, participants stay here between three and nine months. During this time they work in our operations and are gradually introduced to everyday working life.
The people who come to you are probably just as diverse as the work areas?
Absolutely. The spectrum ranges from people without a completed qualification to individuals with an academic background. The reasons for returning to work are also very varied. Some come to us after an illness or an accident, others after a longer absence from the labour market or because of a stressful life situation.
What is your position and what are your responsibilities at Öko-Job?
I am Head of Operations Basel-Land – which means my area of responsibility includes the bike workshop in Liestal as well as the carpentry workshop and the landscaping division in Gelterkinden. My focus is mainly on the strategic level: this involves, for example, the further development of the individual areas, investment decisions or the question of how we can best support our participants.
Let's turn to planning now: how did you organise your resource planning before Vanillaplan, and what prompted its introduction?
I need to go back a little here: when I started at Öko-Job eight years ago, planning was still much simpler. In the nature and landscape division we worked with printed spreadsheets, entered names and planned the work by hand. That worked well back then because we had to schedule far fewer people per day.
Over time, however, both the number of participants and the complexity of the planning increased. In the past we had many people with a fixed workload – today the assignments range from a few hours to 100 percent and differ greatly from person to person. As a result, planning became increasingly complex and simply could no longer be sensibly mapped in our traditional way.
That's why I looked for a digital solution and eventually came across Vanillaplan.
You also tested other programs – what made Vanillaplan stand out?
At the time I tried out various tools and experimented with how best to create daily and weekly schedules. For me, Vanillaplan was simply the most intuitive solution. To get started, I had a webinar with Ingrid Stalder in which the most important functions were explained to me. After that I was able to use Vanillaplan independently and quickly found my way around.
How did the start with Vanillaplan go for your team?
As with many new solutions, there were initially certain reservations within our team too. Change always means additional effort at first, so not everyone was immediately enthusiastic. That's why I initially managed Vanillaplan myself. Over time, the staff also worked with it more and more and got to know its advantages in everyday use.
After about six months, I jokingly asked the team once whether we should get rid of Vanillaplan again. The answer was unequivocal: “No, absolutely not.” That was the moment, at the latest, when it became clear that the tool had established itself in our everyday work.
How long have you been using Vanillaplan?
We've been using Vanillaplan since 2022.
How many projects are you currently planning with Vanillaplan?
We are currently planning around 190 projects in Vanillaplan.
As you've already mentioned, Öko-Job is not a classic trade business. How is planning structured at your organisation and what particularities are there?
That's right, our planning differs somewhat from that of a classic trade company. We have to take many different factors into account – from varying workloads and different work areas to coaching and educational programmes.
So, alongside the various trade divisions, we also have departments such as coaching and education, because during their time with us participants are entitled to corresponding offers. In concrete terms, this means: if someone attends a German course from 10 a.m. to 12 noon, for example, or takes part in an educational module, this has to be taken into account in the planning and the work assignments have to be scheduled around it. This naturally makes resource planning considerably more complex.
Does Vanillaplan save you time in planning?
Definitely, Vanillaplan is very helpful and saves us time in our daily work. And it's not only about the actual planning effort. Thanks to the better overview of workloads and availabilities, we can deploy our resources more purposefully and generally need less manpower. Clean planning helps us to work more efficiently and to make optimal use of existing capacities. Ultimately, this saves us not only time but also costs.
What are your experiences with Vanillaplan's display board?
We really like using the display board. We find the option of adding notes and messages directly to the assignments particularly helpful. Every morning or midday, our staff check the display board to see what work is scheduled for them. This means they can go to their assignment independently – that's a great added value.
What is the greatest benefit of Vanillaplan for you personally?
For me it's above all the visualisation. You can see at a glance who is available or absent and when, and how the assignments can be planned sensibly. It's also helpful that the information is centralised in one place and we don't first have to gather it from various programs.
Another major advantage is that we can plan ahead over the long term. There are some jobs at our organisation that are only due in a few weeks or even months – with Vanillaplan we can schedule the corresponding resources well in advance.
What are your experiences with service and support?
Especially at the beginning we used support more often, since we don't have the classic operational structure and some adjustments were therefore necessary. We consistently received quick help and always reached someone. That's why I consider Vanillaplan's service to be very good.
Many thanks for these fascinating insights, Mr Sperisen!
