Leading Certification Company Cuts Costs 5X and Improves Auditor Utilization by 35% With Checkfirst’s AI Scheduling Software

THE COMPANY

Background

The company is an international compliance and certification organization. They manage a team of 50 auditors who are tasked with auditing, compliance, and reporting for their clients from different industries.

They assist in ISO certification and implementation of standards to help organisations comply with international quality benchmarks. Their entire process was built around Salesforce, serving clients across multiple industries with quality certification services.

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THE CHALLENGE

Manual Processes Creating Operational Inefficiencies

The company faced major operational issues with their manual scheduling processes.

Their scheduling process relied entirely on manual coordination within Salesforce, with planners looking up competencies and schedules in different systems to determine who could go where and when. Lack of an automated scheduling software created logistical challenges when trying to match auditor availability, expertise, and location with client needs.

When schedules needed to change, planners had to use bespoke software combined with multiple browser tabs to find solutions, making rescheduling a time-consuming and error-prone process. There was no centralized system for planning work, with huge spreadsheets or ad-hoc emails being used to schedule weeks ahead.

These inefficiencies created serious business problems:

1. Underutilization of their auditor workforce, with utilization rates hovering around 60%
2. Higher than necessary operational costs due to administrative overhead
3. Limited revenue potential as auditors spent excessive time on non-audit tasks
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THE SOLUTION

End-to-End Integration of  AI Scheduling Assistant with Salesforce

After evaluating available options, the company implemented ScheduleAI by Checkfirst that integrated seamlessly with their existing Salesforce environment:

1. Centralized Planning System: AI scheduling provided a single platform where managers could plan, allocate, and schedule in one integrated system.
2. AI-Powered Allocation: The system leveraged AI to generate optimal scheduling solutions based on over 20 allocation parameters, including competency levels, auditor rotation, client preferences, and travel constraints.
3. Adaptive Rescheduling: When plans changed, the AI scheduling assistant could automatically propose solutions to schedule disruptions and solve knock-on effects without manual intervention.
4. Profitable Utilization Focus: The system optimized allocation based on travel requirements, availability, and competencies to maximize billable hours while minimizing costs.

The scheduling process is now much faster and more efficient. What used to take hours now happens with just a few clicks.

Operations Lead | Brazilian Certification & Compliance Company

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MEASURABLE RESULTS

From Manual to AI Scheduling

The implementation of ScheduleAI produced substantial and immediate improvements:

1. Increased Auditor Utilization: Utilization rates went up from 60% to 95% - that’s a 35% increase.
2. Remarkable Time Savings: The time spent on scheduling was reduced by 80%, allowing planners to focus on higher-value activities.
3. Enhanced Capacity: With AI scheduling, the company could now manage 30% more audits without any increase in staffing costs.
4. Faster Client Response: The ability to quickly allocate resources to new client requests improved responsiveness and competitiveness.

With ScheduleAI, we can now confirm appointments with clients much faster than our competitors. This has become a significant competitive advantage for us in the market.

Senior Auditor | Brazilian Certification & Compliance Company

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MORE THAN METRICS

Qualitative Improvements

The impact went far beyond the spreadsheets. Team members highlighted several improvements that couldn't be quantified:

1. Higher Team Satisfaction: Reducing the administrative workload by 50% allowed auditors to focus on their core expertise, leading to a 25% improvement in auditor satisfaction
2. Faster Response to Changes: When schedules needed to change, the AI scheduling tool could quickly propose viable alternatives without the stress of manual replanning.
3. ‍Enhanced Client Relationships: Being able to quickly accommodate client scheduling requests improved client satisfaction and retention.
4. Improved Workforce Utilization: Effectively using internal and external people to perform audits
5. Decreased Burnout in Planning Team: Planning team has AI tools to help them optimize their workload

Our auditors appreciate how smooth everything is in Salesforce now. Since we switched to AI scheduling and reporting, everything is better.

Project Manager | Brazilian Certification & Compliance Company

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LOOKING FORWARD

A Foundation for Scalable Growth

With AI scheduling assistant successfully implemented, the company has established a foundation for continued growth:

1. The ability to take on more clients without proportional increases in administrative overhead
2. Capacity to quickly onboard new auditors and integrate them into the scheduling software
3. Flexible enough to adjust according to market demands and client requirements
4. Data-driven insights to continually refine and improve resource allocation