Sideworx Connect: Solving Labour Shortages with Workforce Optimization

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Seventeen years in the energy sector gave Garett Schoorlemmer plenty of insight into the staffing issues companies face daily. These issues include skilled labour, scheduling and reliability. After completing his EMBA at Huskayne School of Business through the University of Calgary, where he focused his capstone project on the premise of Sideworx, Schoorlemmer knew the time was now to launch this much-needed service. In the fall of 2021, he launched Sideworx Connect Inc.

Sideworx connects experienced workers in multiple classifications within the oil and gas industry with employers looking to fill part-time and full-time positions, based on credentials uploaded to the employees’ ‘Sideworx employee profile’. The employee informs Sideworx what timeframe they are available when not working in current roles to attain “side work”. Full time employment is also attainable with workers who are primarily employed by Sideworx and working for multiple companies.

“Our workers like their schedules being fully optimized and our clients like that they are having reliable, experienced and qualified workers show up on site” says Schoorlemmer.

Sideworx Connect has a goal to connect employees and employers through a more efficient approach to recruitment. They offer another channel of access to all stakeholders to connect with each other and optimize their schedules and utilization, which in turn creates a stronger Albertan economy.

Sideworx connect has honed an actionable, scalable staffing solution built from having boots on the ground. Acting as a liaison for clients and the existing labor force to offer a sustainable economic service. Co-owner and COO Ryan Vekved is based out of the Peace Region and brings his experience as a Petroleum Engineer with 14 years in the industry. With a combined 31 years of experience, Key relationships from the owners in the O&G industry has bolstered the sales process of this company to quickly propel it into a common name in the industry in the short span of 1 year since inception.

Recognizing that technology can aid in the success of all companies, Sideworx Connect has developed all processes for use on mobile phones to make the onboarding, ticket management and scheduling more efficient. Workers can log into an app and track their timesheets and see their hours worked in real-time while also managing their schedules for working availability. Continued integration of 3^rd party software, Sideworx has synchronized the client and worker acknowledgment to confirm days worked for invoicing ease. This 3^rd party software assists in tracking the worker’s GPS location via cell phone and doubles as a safety feature for journey management purposes as they have workers spread out across Alberta and BC. “While we are still new and do have some unexpected gaps in worker scheduling, these gaps have continued to close as we grow and acquire new client relationships.” Says Schoorlemmer.

Detailed care on systemizing their internal processes has increased their ability to focus on the recruitment and retention of new workers to find the best fit placement for the individual and the end user client. Clear communication between the clients and the experienced dispatching staff has made Sideworx an easy decision to rely on for their clients. Sideworx is looking to provide the most economical service to its clients and makes its profit based on a volume offering to allow for a lower-cost solution when compared to other temp agencies. Financial costs to carry have been shortened when operating in the labour market as Sideworx aims to be paid like an employee on the company’s payroll schedules. This has allowed for reduced stress on the business’s cash flow management during the start-up and initial growth phase.

Sideworx has also recently finished their COR safety audit and is dedicated to the safety & well being of all their workers. This sets Sideworx apart from their competition as a trusted provider of temp workers in the industry by ensuring competency and proper vetting of workers is at the forefront of their service offering.

A long unfilled niche is being filled with Sideworx through the optimization of the experienced labour force. “We have multiple success stories” says Schoorlemmer, “one that really stands out is with one of our contractors who normally works 6-8 months of the year on a drilling rig, running a centrifuge. Gaps in his schedule have been filled by Sideworx to have him come with experience, a truck and tools as well as with a positive attitude to go to work and run water transfer pumps. The worker is happy for the opportunity to find “sidework” and the client is thrilled to have an experienced worker to assist in their needs.” Outcomes like this are what drives the team at sideworx each day. We seek to enhance the productivity of our workers and our clients by optimizing their schedules. If you’re looking to learn more, we would love to hear from you. You can find us online at sideworxconnect.com or better yet, give us a call 825-461-9679.”