Time & Attendance

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. • Carol Rademacher, whose husband owned a typewriter business in the 1980s, had an idea: Why not branch off of that with a time and attendance management company?

The seed was planted for what today is called Time Management Systems, or TMS.

It started in 1985, and now 36 years later the company, thanks to technology and an innovative leadership team, looks different than it did more than three decades ago.

Back then it offered time clocks to businesses that employees used to keep track of their time at work. They’d “punch” in and out.

While TMS still offers that tool for companies who want them, it also offers a wide variety of other tools to help companies and their employees manage time and attendance and to keep track of their benefits. It also offers security options and, something new since the coronavirus pandemic, a way to tell if employees are ill before clocking into work.

The female-led company, headquartered in Sioux City, Iowa, is today owned by Rademacher’s daughters, CEO Mindy Kroll and CFO Jen Vanderloo. It has four offices, including one in Sioux Falls, S.D., and over the years it has acquired other companies, growing its footprint and services, including one it had acquired in 2008 called Time Management Systems in Florida. It kept the name and kept growing from there, said Ashley Pugh, the company’s marketing coordinator. Before the acquisition, Rademacher’s company was called Midwest Office Automations.

The company sells its software products to businesses all over the country, but its primary clients are in the Midwest, including the Dakotas and Minnesota. Pugh said there are a number of clients in North Dakota alone, and it seems to be a growing market.

By Andrew Weeks

“We kind of have a niche in school districts and health care, but our software can work for anybody,” she said.

Clients are small businesses with few employees to large companies with many. The software can be coded to fit the needs and requests of any business partner.

“We’ve noticed a trend with school districts and health care facilities, such as nursing homes and assisted living centers. Hospitals tend to like our software because, like I said, we have that ability to code it specifically for them.”

Being a software and tech company, it was natural for TMS to smoothly transition to remote work during the pandemic. Pugh said team members took to the changes with ease, but are now starting to come back into the offices.

“Obviously (in some cases) you might not be as productive work-

THE SOUTH DAKOTA OFFICE IS ONE OF SEVERAL IN THE MIDWEST FOR THE COMPANY.

IMAGE: COURTESY OF TMS ing from home, but overall, and I hate to say it when other businesses have struggled,” she said, “but we actually had a very good year last year as far as sales.”

One of the tools that helped was the company’s new biometric clock it developed over the past year. Many companies that were using the old hand-clock way of punching in and out didn’t want their employees touching a high-use item like a manual time clock that some companies use.

“They don’t want people touching things and spreading germs, but want to try to mitigate that stuff,” she said. “Instead of wanting to use that hand-punch clock anymore they’re calling us saying, ‘Hey, you know we need something that our employees don’t have to touch.’”

The solution: a work clock that reads employees’ faces and takes their temperature at the same time.

“I know there are similar things out there, where businesses set temperature readings up in their lobby, but what we were able to do is take one of those clocks that you can stand in front of and have it read your temperature and also punch you in for work at the same time.”

TMS also has partnered with another company, called Clair, to offer a new benefit that lets employees access their pay even before they receive their paycheck — a sort of advance on what they will be paid during that pay period.

Pugh said the business that started with just a time clock is much different today, but just as focused on employee and business success as it was when it first started in mid-1980s America.

Something else that is different: there is a lot more competition today. That’s where Pugh is most pleased with TMS; she believes it has unique services and a focus on local.

Pugh said she and her colleagues, including the owners, are most proud of that local focus even as the company continues to grow.

“We like to say we’re national in scope, but we are really focused on local support,” she said. “We kind of have that down-home, family-run business feeling.”

ANDREW WEEKS PRAIRIE BUSINESS EDITOR AWEEKS@PRAIRIEBUSINESSMAGAZINE.COM 701-780-1276 | @PB_ANDREWWEEKS

carter haman Gunnar cowing

Houston Engineering welcomes several new team members

FARGO, N.D. • Carter Haman and Kade Kukowski recently joined Houston Engineering Inc.’s Fargo, N.D. and Thief River Falls, Minn., teams, respectively.

As a survey technician, Haman will be part of HEI’s survey team, supporting various civil engineering projects. He is a native of Perham, Minn., and earned an associate degree in civil engineering technology from Minnesota State Community and Technical College.

Haman’s previous experience before joining HEI includes interning with the Becker County Highway Department and being a seasonal foreman with a landscaping company.

Kade Kukowski zygmund Fursa

As a civil technician, Kukowski will provide survey and design services, prepare reports and cost estimates for civil engineering projects, perform on-site construction observation duties, and support project managers with client communications.

Originally from Hermantown, Minn., Kukowski holds a bachelor’s degree in integrated engineering from Minnesota State University Mankato. His previous experience through engineering internships and co-ops include leading land survey crews, collaborating with engineers on design plans, and performing construction staking and inspections.

Gunnar Cowing and Zygmund Fursa also have join Houston Engineering’s Fargo team as engineers.

Gunnar will work on transportation projects supporting project managers with designs, reports, and construction observation duties.

Originally from New Ulm, Minn., Gunnar earned a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering with a minor in mathematics from North Dakota State University. His previous experience includes civil engineering and transportation internships, where he worked on state highway and city street projects in North Dakota and Minnesota.

Zygmund will work on water resource projects supporting project managers with designs, reports, and construction observation duties.

A native of Rochester, Minn., Zygmund earned a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering from NDSU. Prior to joining HEI, Zygmund worked for the city of Fargo as a seasonal construction inspector and was a teaching assistant at NDSU.

Jack Tannahill

Alerus welcomes new financial guide

GRAND FORKS, N.D. • Alerus has recently hired Jack Tannahill as a financial guide. In this role, Tannahill is responsible for assisting clients in identifying their specific financial needs and providing comprehensive advice to help them achieve their financial wellness goals. He works closely with experts across Alerus to ensure every client has access to its full suite of diversified services to meet their needs.

Tannahill graduated with honors from the University of North Dakota in May, earning a bachelor’s degree in managerial finance and accounting. He will be based at Alerus’ new location at 500 Demers Ave. in downtown Grand Forks, which is slated to open this summer.

Alerus adds five specialists to SBA

Alerus has said it is strengthening its U.S. Small Business Administration lending capabilities with the addition of an expert SBA team.

Led by industry veteran John Kimball, who most recently served as SBA lending manager at MidWestOne Bank, the five-person team collectively has more than 100 years of business banking and small business lending experience at community and regional banks.

Members of the Twin Cities-based SBA team include John Kimball, SBA lending director; Angela Kazmierski, SBA lending advisor; Terri Fleming, SBA lending advisor; Tadd Johnson, SBA loan product specialist, and Katie Behrend, SBA loan servicing specialist. The team will collaborate with Alerus advisors to serve clients in Arizona, Minnesota, and North Dakota, in addition to developing and growing client relationships in the Twin Cities.

Essentia Health welcomes nurse practitioner

FARGO, N.D. • Nurse Practitioner Kalee Wysuph, who specializes in pediatrics, is now welcoming patients at the Essentia Health-South University Clinic in Fargo, N.D. Wysuph earned her nursing degree at Maryville University in St. Louis, Mo., and is certified as a pediatric nurse practitioner by the Pediatric Nursing Certification Board.

She said she chose pediatrics because it is a privilege to watch kids grow into their personalities and abilities.

KLJ Engineer Earns Professional License

Bismarck, N.D. • KLJ Engineering is pleased that Charlie Bowen, a structural engineer at the company, has earned his professional engineering license (PE) in North Dakota.

Bowen works from KLJ’s West Fargo location and focuses on design and the rehabilitation of bridges. He earned a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering from North Dakota State University.