How Barkbus successfully implemented a multi-state leave process after moving off a PEO

Quick Stats

HR team time savings:

• Researching leave eligibility: 30 minutes → 0 minutes

• Compliance paperwork: 40 minutes → under 10 minutes

• Initial conversation with Employee: 60 minutes → under 30 minutes

“Aidora is a really scalable solution - it was perfect for us coming off a PEO and we are excited about its ability to grow with us as we continue to hire across states.” - Courtney Dougherty, People Operations Manager at Barkbus

About

Barkbus is dedicated to building a community of top-tier dog grooming professionals and delivering trusted services through innovative technology. Serving Southern California, Dallas, Houston, Phoenix, and Atlanta, Barkbus aims to eliminate the stress of traditional grooming salon visits by offering a safe, convenient, and hassle-free mobile grooming experience directly at your doorstep.

Challenge

Barkbus wanted to ensure they had a scalable leave process in place after moving off a PEO and in preparation of hiring in new states.

When we met Barkbus, they had fewer than 100 employees across three states, with plans to double their headcount and expand into several new states within a year. At that time, they were managing around 4 to 5 leave cases annually and had recently transitioned away from a PEO that previously handled their leave management.

Barkbus was focused on developing scalable processes as they prepared for headcount growth. Courtney was hired as their People Operations Manager and was tasked with creating a new internal leave process.

Initially, Courtney relied on the processes and documentation provided by the PEO to manage the first few leave cases. However, as the number of leave cases increased, she realized the need for additional support.

Courtney’s goals were three fold:

1. Reduce compliance risk of incorrectly administering a leave

2. Streamline the process to save time on researching state-specific policies.

3. Improve the employee experience to ensure they felt supported

Despite her prior experience in California, Courtney found herself still researching policies to ensure her processes were up to date for each new case.

After reaching out to several leave management providers, Barkbus faced pushback: either the providers considered Barkbus too small a company, or their services were priced beyond Barkbus's budget.

“Other leave providers didn’t want to work with us given our size, but leave was still a massive pain point for us so it was refreshing to find Aidora.”

Solution

With Aidora, Barkbus was able to implement a scalable leave process that set them up for success in expanding into new states and reducing the time spent managing leave.

Aidora provided the ideal solution: a comprehensive, cost-effective leave management tool applicable across all 50 states that was quick to implement.

Courtney appreciated that Aidora’s leave planning tool empowered employees, giving them visibility and control over the leave process. She also valued our automation of compliance paperwork and policy applicability checks, which ensured she was administering leaves correctly and saved her significant time as the company prepared to expand into new states.

As part of a lean team, Aidora’s automated workflows and reminders helped Courtney reduce the mental load associated with leave management. She could rely on email notifications to prompt her to log in and quickly complete any outstanding tasks rather than continuously monitoring the status of a leave.

With the time saved, Courtney has been able to focus on hiring, supporting employees, and other strategic initiatives, allowing the business to scale rapidly.

“Early employee feedback has been great! They feel more knowledgeable about their leave and love the visual planning chart and customized task lists”.

Results

Barkbus was able to reduce the time spent administering a leave by more than 50%.

Since implementing Aidora, Barkbus has significantly reduced both the time it takes to administer a leave case and compliance risk, while increasing employee satisfaction.

The time savings results speak for themselves:

• Researching leave eligibility: 30+ minutes → 0 minutes

• Compliance paperwork: 40+ minutes → under 10 minutes

• Initial conversation with Employee: 60+ minutes → under 30 minutes

“I’ve significantly decreased the amount of time I spend researching leave laws, talking to employees, filling out forms and staying organized. And I’m excited about their product roadmap which will only improve the process"

The Future

Barkbus is excited for Aidora's upcoming expansion to support hourly workers, which will enable them to better serve their pet stylists who work flexible schedules.