Bob Knights - People Management Superhero

Wes Quintin

This week's People Management Superhero is Bob Knights, Manager of Application Delivery at Henry's.

Bob Knights, Manager of Application Delivery at Henry's CameraAbout Bob

Bob is an experienced IT Leader with a superior people leadership approach and a proven track record for driving results. Challenged by global initiatives and consolidations, Bob has developed an overall business ethic. Bob has worked with Avanti for many years, including his 4.5 year with Comark Inc. prior to Henry’s.

Bob’s colleagues know him as tidy and an avid coin collector. His office is always clean – something to be proud of being in IT.

Q: What makes you an IT superhero at your company?

Great communication is key. I deal with all levels of the business at Henry’s and I need to be able to communicate to everyone how IT impacts the business. Oh, and it helps that my team and I can provide our people with great software like Avanti that makes their lives easier.

Q: How does Avanti help Henry's take care of its employees?

Avanti helps Henry’s look after its employees through scheduling and the Employee Self-Service Portal. All of the stores love Avanti’s scheduling, and Time & Attendance, it makes their lives so easy when managing their staffing requirements at each location.

The Employee Self-Service Portal is terrific! Employees like how easy it is to get their pay statements and T4s. It empowers them to make their own changes to their personal information, which also reduces administration for the Payroll and HR team.

Q: From an IT perspective, what's involved in maintaining Avanti?

Maintenance of Avanti is easy – it requires very little effort from an IT perspective. We don’t require support very often, but when we do, the Avanti team is always there for us. I’ve worked with Avanti both at Comark and at Henry’s (7 years altogether) and have never had a problem with the software.

Q: What tip would you give to others who struggle with Payroll and Time & Attendance?

If a company is researching a new people management solution, they should add investigating Avanti to their list – Avanti has made life easier for our team, and the support is great.

Q: How does Henry's set itself apart from other employers?

We are Canada’s Greatest Camera Store – that’s not just a slogan – our people have so much product knowledge and they love to share it with our customers. At a time when other camera stores are struggling, we are thriving because our people truly believe we are the greatest. We are still a family owned business and that makes all the difference in our culture.

Look at Bob's super transformation in The Little Book of People Management Superheroes.

Are You a People Management Superhero?

Do you make a difference in your organization through your people management solution? We would love to hear how.

Visit avanti.ca/superherobook

About the Author

Wes Quintin

Wes is the Marketing Manager at Avanti Software. As part of Avanti's amazing marketing team, he works to create marketing programs, experiences, and stories that drive results by educating Canadian Payroll and HR professionals on people management technology and best practices.

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