FAQ
 

Adjuncts are  your first in mind supporters for all your management systems.
We co- work in the most flexible way on your QHES- and supply chain robustness.
Out- tasking with the force of the human cloud enhanced with power to collaborate on site.
Flexible, Modular and Customized.

Our out-tasking services are suitable for every organisation which is lacking time or knowledge to fulfil a real robust way of working. Whether you do not have the right resources nor the ambition to hire dedicated persons to propel your QHES- management system or operational excellence. We can assist you when you need workforce to get your things done as well as provide expertise when you need coaching in more demanding projects.    

We offer ongoing support for all your QHES- management systems and production related issues. From a helping hand who facilitates you during a couple of hours a month, onto a full outsourced service department. If you need skilled expertise at your site, we do that extra mile and come to you.  

To answer this question, we will divide the tasks and projects into two different categories:

Fellow tasks

The most important part of the work done at Heracles Adjuncts BV are remote out-tasking services. It is a very broad term and can cover a wide range of different skills. Roughly it is every administrative duty you can delegate to an assistant operational oriented colleague at your office. Our first in mind tasks are, example given: edition of forms and instructions, updating of databases, MSDS and specification management, complaint handling, editing training documentation, master data list updates, order entry, flow diagram creation, etcetera. Briefly, we assist in everything that can be done over the internet and phone.

Executive tasks

We offer also expertise in these domains where you are lacking in knowledge, practical field experience or the right resources in the supply chain and operational environment.  Bluntly said: “There were you need brains and hands.” Typical examples are: risk assessments, internal auditing, certification audit guidance, compliance & regulatory affairs, training, root cause analysis, validation, verification & commissioning, business process mapping. 

Fellow out-tasking services are always delivered remotely, executive services are done remotely as well as on site.

We connect you with our best adjuncts. You have the things to get done, we have a recruited and trained staff to get done these things. The unique position of Heracles Adjuncts BV, and that distinguish us from the competition, is that you don’t pay for the executing person but for the delegated bunch of work. No matter if the executing person is advanced or senior experienced. We are focused to excel in out-tasking services. Also, we do not want to impose you a management system. By using the newest technologies, you can out-task in the most flexible and lean way possible.

Further, none of our staff members will be your formal employees. You do not have to take care about all legal aspects of the employment contract. Nor you must pay for training or sick lives. We do. Neither you must undergo the hassle of a recruiting process for a dozen of candidates. Also, we take care of all contracts and legal aspects of working with our adjuncts and experts.

Rather not, we want to excel as management adjuncts. Most consulting companies are telling what you should do. We turned it right way back, as it should be. You're telling us what we must do. We are offering a full range of adjunct and expert out-tasking services for your QHES- and supply chain management systems. We have developed 3 customized service bundles (Alto, Mezzo and Sopra) in 2 different categories (Fellow and Executive). You can easily subscribe to our Alto service bundle containing 12 hours fellow services a month, over a Mezzo adjunct service bundle which contains 24 hours unto our Sopra adjunct bundle of 48 hours a month. For executive tasks, our second category of services, we propose also these 3 different bundles with slightly different time plans. Offering respectively 8 hours a month in the Alto package, 16 hours for the Mezzo plan and 36 hours for the Sopra service bundle.

Once we have an agreement for a defined service bundle, we are committed to executed a certain load of dedicated work, which can be cross- departmental.

Because it is the most straight, flexible and lean way for cross- departmental out-tasking. You can get instant support from some competent adjuncts or a highly skilled expert without the commitment of hiring an additional pay roller. Our flexible service bundles offer you customized options to collaborate with us for only a few hours a month until structural co-working. We agree on a certain straight workload, regardless the operational department. The flexibility exists in this way that you have absolute control and freedom to pass over any kind of task which can be done in the budgeted time, as long as these duties are legal and honourable. You can even spread the time credits over the current month to your most convenience. If it is relevant, we are even keen to discuss and customize the service bundles to your specific expectations.

All our Adjuncts are provided with a typical set of software suitable for their day-to-day tasks, such as Microsoft Office and the most Microsoft 365 applications along with Teams. 

Time tracking is currently done through Clockify .

Our adjuncts will happily join your workspaces on any mentioned platforms. Beyond that, if you prefer to use some other software or platform your company works with internally, we will do our best to accommodate your request.

By whatever means you want. You will co-work with your adjuncts on a one-on-one basis, and you can discuss with them directly any expectations you may have regarding their duties or projects. It’s like collaborating with a colleague from another floor.  At the start of a collaboration we provide you direct email and cell phone number of every employee who co-works on your needs. Apart from that, we use video calls, as well as texts, mostly through tools like Teams. If there is any other way you would prefer to communicate with your adjuncts, such as specialized tools or setting a designated email address, we will accommodate your preferred style of communication on all service bundles.

For some customers, we are connected by VPN, to their ERP- and other internal software platforms.

Our long-term relationship will be based on non- disclosure, trust and understanding.

Normally yes. The marvellous thing for our employees is that all their contacts have different company cultures, different business models and different craftmanship. Most of our Adjuncts are indicating that this variety is one of the decisive criteria in their choice to work at our company. You can see it as an advantage. Your adjunct will gain experience in other sectors and domains. So, their learning curve will be steeper than the input you provide.

Of course, the number of clients depends on the service bundle you have chosen. It makes part of the grade of flexibility, modularity and customization we offer you and our other customers. But our adjuncts will always be open to you. Within the respect of the non- disclosure we will provide you the list of customers and topics currently worked on by the adjunct on request.

Notwithstanding the formal non- disclosure agreement, the same adjunct will not work on identical kind of files from direct competitors. 

Time is the most precious thing in life. Our collaboration will be based on deadlines, accuracy and punctuality. You will have a one on one relation with every adjunct you are collaborating with. This will promote the communication of the expectations, priorities and to respect deadlines.

One of the most important items discussed during the 6-monthly evaluation with our collaborators is respond time, customer satisfaction and first time right performance indicators. All our adjuncts are deadline- driven by profession and knows by heart the meaning of the Latin expression: “Pacta sunt servanda”, meaning: agreements must be kept.

We don’t believe in blind love. You will always know exactly who is working on your files. Compare it with an internal colleague from another floor. Our employees are a cross-section of administrative technical professionals and have different professional and theoretical backgrounds. All of them are higher educated with a vast affection for QHES- management systems, operations and operational excellence. You will always co-work with a known validated and qualified adjunct or expert.

Firstly, all our handlings are covered by detailed Non-Disclosure Agreements. Confidentiality is key in our business. Furthermore, during our selection process, we take no shortcuts. Out of a dozen of applicants only the most trustworthy candidates are retained to start the process, which is a rigorous selection process that consists of numerous assessments, background and diploma checks. We put a lot of effort to train our people into our customers’ sensitivities. Our clients’ satisfaction surveys speak in our favour. With that said, we also ensure this security legally in our contracts as beacon of confidentiality.

All our employees went through thorough background checks and signed very detailed Non-Disclosure Agreements. On a legal level, binding contracts between us and our employees, as well as between Heracles Adjuncts BV and you, contain strict confidentiality clauses written by specialized lawyers.

There is no need to sign additional NDA’s with each adjunct or expert you are collaborating with. However, if you would feel more comfortable if your contact persons are signing an additional NDA between them and your company, let us know before co-working together. We will review it and do our best to accommodate your request.

Nope, we do not believe that a few budding hours for free will help you in the decision whether an adjunct is a right choice to propel your management system, supply chain or operational excellence. Our experience demonstrates that a good initial qualification meeting to define clear projects and duties are more beneficial at the start than a free trial.

If you are still doubting, take one of our smaller service bundles with short-time commitment, and watch how it will decimate the number of tasks on your to do- list.

If you have further questions, please contact one of our executive managers; That’s for free.

Off course. When you join one of our service bundles you don't sign a blank check. The proposed service bundles are there to forecast and commit clearly from both sides a budget and corresponding work load that must be done. In an out-of-bundle introduction and qualification meeting, you can validate if our proposed adjunct or expert is matching. The goal is that you can co-work harmonious together. If you consider, for whatever reason there may be, that the adjunct or expert is not qualified to execute your duties, time credits will stay on hold till we propose a valid alternative. In that way, you keep having absolute control over the service bundles and activity costs.

We have the best of both worlds. We embrace the online and remote co-work culture the fullest. Because we believe it is the most cost effective there is. No transportation costs, no hassle to find appropriate work space for the temporal co- worker, no distance limitations to collaborate with the best available talents. However, if the opportunity arises and you want to meet the adjunct you have been working with in-person, we will not oppose.

Like already said, we have the best of both worlds. We are still aware that some more complex questions and tasks are still not possible or comfortable to be done extramural. Therefore, it is taken into count that in our executive service bundles our people can come over to your organization to execute the more specialized projects.

Our office is everywhere we can execute your tasks, but we do not make budget for empty chairs or desks. our Adjuncts are working nomads, free to work from the place they want. This can be form our head offices in Ghent, from a home office, eventually at your place or from our working places spread over the country. We are member of a partnering network, which has business centres in more than 20 cities in Belgium. So, if you want, we can set up a platform to collaborate from an office in the same region as where your operations are executed.

Once you have chosen your best fitting service bundle, we will formal agree the service agreement and terms detailing exactly all the other relevant information.

Monthly we will send you an invoice for our service and we will do so for the duration of our agreement.

We propose various durations of collaboration with slightly different rates which can be renewed at each term. At the end of the considered period the contract will stop automatically without any additional costs. So, you are not opening a Pandora’s box when signing into one of our service bundles.

Our Adjuncts track their hours rigorously using a time-tracking platform where they conscientiously describe the exact task they have been working on and how much time each of these duties took. Some of our clients expect daily communication and permanent updates, others will say that they will notice themselves how long a task took. However, with the most convenience cadence, we suggest weekly, you will receive a detailed list with the hours used and the time credits left.

Smart question, but the answer is as simple as the work regime you have at your own organisation. We are aware you cannot guess exactly how many hours a certain duty or project will take. Proactively we have taken into count a certain time buffer. Let say, flexible hours which can be easily pre- consumed from the next month if the labour took longer. In case you still need more hours, please consult your Adjunct. We will do everything we can to free up potential time for your urgent work. Extra hours are simply added to your next invoice at the rate stated in the service agreement

If budgets are always correct forecasts of the future, we would all name Madame Soleil. We kept this in mind while setting up our service bundles. We are aware that workload will always have a certain duration estimates. In that way, we have foreseen a certain time buffer. Flexible hours which can be postponed to the following month if a duty was finished earlier than foreseen. Secondly you are on a one on one relationship with your Adjunct. We trained them in time management and they will react if they remark any deviation in the foreseen work breakdown structure.

If you are on a fellow service bundle and you have a question which needs more expertise we will not force you to take an additional executive service bundle. Within the service agreement we have proactively tackled this issue and foreseen that the time credits are ticking faster, with a pre-defined ratio, for handling these expert duties.  In that way, we make life easy, incorporated robustness, so you don’t have to flip flop from one service bundle to another.