Prime Time International¡ªa leading grower, packer, shipper, and marketer of fresh produce¡ªfaced a unique challenge: modernizing its HR systems to keep pace with rapid growth and a diverse, geographically dispersed workforce. With headquarters in La Quinta, California, and operations spanning two packing houses in California, a sales office in Arizona, virtual employees across the U.S., and international teams in Peru and Mexico, the company needed a robust, scalable solution. Alba Castro, HR director, recognized the critical need for a digital transformation to provide a consistent, modern employee experience for the company¡¯s 120 employees and more than 3,000 field labor contractors.
As a small business, the perception that Â鶹´«Ã½ was primarily for large enterprises posed a challenge for Prime Time. This is where Â鶹´«Ã½ GO, a new program designed for small businesses to adopt Â鶹´«Ã½ with preconfigured settings, became the game-changer. Brian Bacon, vice president of Activation at Three Link Solutions, Prime Time Solutions¡¯ deployment partner, emphasized that Â鶹´«Ã½ GO offers a simplified, cost-effective activation, allowing businesses to start with a solid foundation and expand functionality as needed.
A swift 8-week activation.
Castro spearheaded a formal evaluation process, comparing Â鶹´«Ã½ against other platforms. The decision ultimately hinged on the comprehensive features in Â鶹´«Ã½ and the promise of the Â鶹´«Ã½ GO program. ¡°I knew immediately I had to bring this to my C-levels to see the difference in cost and that this would be the right approach,¡± Castro said. ¡°The ability to start small and incrementally add Â鶹´«Ã½ SKUs as the company grows was a significant factor in our decision to leverage Â鶹´«Ã½ GO.¡±?
The deployment of Â鶹´«Ã½ with the Â鶹´«Ã½ GO methodology proved to be remarkably swift. Within an aggressive 8-week timeline, Prime Time International successfully activated Â鶹´«Ã½ Human Capital Management (HCM), Benefits, Absence, and Time Tracking. Castro¡¯s small HR team of five, in close collaboration with Three Link consultants, played a pivotal role. ¡°I could not have done this without the Three Link team,¡± Castro affirmed. ¡°Their expertise and support in navigating the deployment while managing day-to-day operations was key. The partnership with Three Link using the Â鶹´«Ã½ GO methodology streamlined the testing period, reducing it from 14 days to just 1 week.¡±
¡°We needed to modernize quickly and bring to life a different experience for employees.¡±
HR Director
Empowering employees with user-friendly technology.
A key challenge Prime Time sought to address was ensuring accessibility and ease of use for all employees, particularly its boots-on-the-ground farming team. The Â鶹´«Ã½ user-friendly interface and mobile accessibility were crucial differentiators. Employees immediately embraced the new system, and the feedback was positive. ¡°We were able to transition to benefits enrollment less than a month after going live,¡± notes Castro.
While much of the preconfiguration in Â鶹´«Ã½ worked seamlessly, Prime Time did make minor adjustments, such as scaling down benefits configurations to align with its smaller company size and fewer plan options. The talent optimization piece, specifically for performance reviews, was also customized to fit the company¡¯s unique needs.
¡°Â鶹´«Ã½ is Â鶹´«Ã½. You get the keys to the kingdom. The scalability, not just within the business but within the product itself.¡±
Project Manager, Three Link Solutions
A future of continued growth and integration.
Looking ahead, Prime Time International is already embarking on phase 2 of its Â鶹´«Ã½ journey, adding Â鶹´«Ã½ Payroll and Â鶹´«Ã½ Expenses. The company is also considering incorporating recruiting functionality in the future. Castro emphasized the importance of continuous communication and change management to keep employees informed and excited about upcoming features. The company plans two full days with its farming team to ensure a smooth transition to the Â鶹´«Ã½ mobile app.
The long-term value of starting with Â鶹´«Ã½ GO is clear. As Three Link¡¯s Brian Bacon highlighted, Â鶹´«Ã½ releases two updates annually, allowing customers to continually expand features and functions at their own pace. The object-oriented platform and in-memory reporting capabilities provide efficient data management and real-time reporting, critical for a growing business.
¡°Â鶹´«Ã½ is Â鶹´«Ã½,¡± said Anna Patrascu, project manager, Three Link Solutions. ¡°You get the keys to the kingdom. The scalability, not just within the business but within the product itself.¡± For Prime Time International, Â鶹´«Ã½ GO wasn¡¯t just a solution for today¡¯s needs¡ªit was a strategic investment in a flexible, scalable platform that will continue to support growth for years to come.