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All Sizzle, The Best Price And No Steak

October 31st, 2013 | Posted by Apex Time Solutions in Business Intelligence | ERP | Payroll | Talent Management | Time and Attendance System - (0 Comments)

So your company has decided that it needs to automate its business management process. Everyone is excited that finally, the manual tasks will be gone. So, a steering committee is selected and someone out of that group is given the task of being the project leader.

Next you jot down your list of requirements and go about contacting vendors to provide a demonstration. Your list of requirements includes things like:

  • Automate the vacation request of employees throughout the organization
  • Employee biometric time clocks for all locations
  • Real-time business intelligence data gathering
  • Data integration to your current; talent management, customer relationship management (CRM), human resources software (HR), enterprise resource planning (ERP), and payroll software
  • Track and manage overtime, premium hours and statutory holidays
  • Job costing and labour allocation functionality
  • Ease-of-use for functional users

After several weeks of viewing products by various vendors, the flashy presentations are the ones that remain on everyone’s mind and at this stage, you are all excited.  But wait! Is your company enraptured by the sizzle or the steak? Try to look past the glitz and bargain basement prices offered. A good time and attendance system should be accompanied by a team of diligent system analysts (depending on the size of the project) and a thorough implementation plan.

Selecting a time and attendance vendor to work with becomes more than just the price of the system. It is not uncommon for an ATS account executive to hear “we want the cheapest solution” only to get a call from the same company 6 months later after the “cheap solution” did not meet their needs.

Your potential vendor should also have a thorough understanding of your company’s business requirements during the demonstration and display it through words and actions. You should also make it your business to find out about the training methodology. If your company has 10 or more users for your new system, online training should not be an option.  In addition, the training should be backed by a team of experienced systems analysts who can match the time and attendance system functionalities with your company’s business needs. Even better, some of your company’s core business requirements should be part of the product already—straight out of the box.

A vendor, in many respects, should be willing to commit to the success of its customers. Selecting which time and attendance vendor to work with becomes about more than just the software. When the focus remains on the sizzle, and the price the customer ends up with a system that is simply not meeting their needs.

To download a demonstration of the ATS TimeWork workforce management software, go to our website.

All Sizzle, the best prices and no steak

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Generation Y and Today’s Workforce

October 30th, 2013 | Posted by Apex Time Solutions in Telecommuting Employees | Time and Attendance Blog, Workforce Management Software | TimeWork - (0 Comments)

A great deal has been said about Gen Y and how they are shifting the working landscape. Among other things, some have said they expect the big salaries but, do not want to do the work that goes along with these salaries. You only have to type in work + millennials in any web browser and you will find a plethora of sites with wide ranging perceptions about this group. In actuality, what this group of workers has done in the last several years is challenge the status quo especially in the corporate world. For example, many in the Gen Y group:

  • Do not purport to the daily grind of being stuck in traffic 2-4 hours each day for a 9-5 job. They believe if telecommuting can be substituted for 2 out of the 5 work days, it can increase productivity.
  • Are ambitious and like to be recognized as such, despite views to the contrary. Some of them are so fed up with how difficult it is to find a job after graduation that they are becoming entrepreneurs at a record pace.
  • Are adopters of the digital age and believe manual tasks can be completed easily and quickly through automation.
  • Likes to work in environments that are fun, offer perks over pay and will not bow to the pressures of having to “kiss up” to get a promotion.
  • Thinks that “working 60-70 hours each week and going to sleep with a smart phone beside you in the event, your boss calls is insanity.” These are the words of a Gen Y worker who said she witnessed this at a large firm and felt peer pressure to do the same.

The article “What Millennials Hate And Love Most About Their Jobs” sums up what most Gen Y think about today’s workplace. In every generation, there are good and bad apples. Generation Y is the future and should be celebrated as such. The ones that refuse to work and want to live in their parents basements until they are 40 or older are in the minority.

To learn more about ATS go to our website. You can also follow us on Twitter or join our LinkedIn business group.

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Leverage ATS Cloud Time & Attendance Across Your Enterprise

October 17th, 2013 | Posted by Apex Time Solutions in ERP | Hosted Time and Attendance | Software-as-a-Service (saas) Workforce Management Software | Time and Attendance Blog, Workforce Management Software | Workforce Management Solutions - (Comments Off on Leverage ATS Cloud Time & Attendance Across Your Enterprise)

Tired of struggling with an aging time and attendance systems, fragmented reporting, and never-ending maintenance contracts? Switching to ATS web-based solution enables companies to lower costs, streamline key business processes, boost productivity and be more competitive.

ATS TimeWork lets you manage your business end-to-end with one integrated application—from employee time capture, payroll, labour tracking, attendance management, ERP integration and workforce management. No more wasting time on a software application that does not meet your needs or being forced to pay for frequent software upgrades.

Access Your Data Anytime, Anywhere 24/7- As a cloud application, ATS TimeWork can be accessed anytime and anywhere in the world. Because this is a cloud application, you don’t have to worry about having a large IT staff or on-premise upgrades. Every time a user logs in, they are working on the most updated version of the software. It’s completely configurable, with the ability to implement features on-demand, as you need them.

Grow Your Business- ATS hosted time and attendance provides built-in functionality that to improve business operations.  This state-of-the-art time and attendance system is web-based and is hosted by ATS in a secure environment.

Move from Disparate Packages to One Integrated System- ATS Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) supports your entire company with one system, eliminating redundant data entry including time, cost and errors associated with using a manual time tracking solution. ATS TimeWork is a comprehensive web-based solution that gives businesses a clear, complete snapshot of their company.

ATS cloud based time and attendance gives you access to innovative new technologies that deliver competitive advantage in a complex and changing world.

To learn more, go to our website. You can also join the conversation with through our LinkedIn User Group or through Twitter.

Leverage ATS Cloud Time and Attendance System

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Is Absenteeism Making a Dent in Your Company’s Profits?

October 15th, 2013 | Posted by Apex Time Solutions in Payroll | Time and Attendance Blog | Time Management Solutions | TimeWork | Workforce Management Software - (Comments Off on Is Absenteeism Making a Dent in Your Company’s Profits?)

A recent article by the Conference Board of Canada on the cost of absenteeism to companies, reads in part, “The average Canadian worker was absent the equivalent of almost two full work weeks in 2011.”  The article also goes on to say that “the direct annual cost of absenteeism is based on survey data provided by organizations to the Conference Board. Organizations estimated that the direct cost of absenteeism averaged 2.4 per cent of gross annual payroll – which translated to a loss of $16.6 billion in 2012.”

These numbers are staggering and beg the question, if absenteeism is such a problem in the workforce, why do some companies choose not to embrace advantages of a time and attendance system? The answer may lie not fully understanding its benefits.

Here are 5 ways your company can derive the benefits of an ATS time management solution:

Streamline Manual Time Tracking Processes and Increase Productivity
ATS workforce management software integrates all your payroll calculations and business processes within a single integrated database system. The application simplifies overtime, vacation tracking and other pay codes. All users share a common reference system and application interface, reducing the learning curve and enabling users to easily switch roles or take over functions without additional training. Once data in entered into the ATS time and attendance system, produces real time data analytics wherever it is needed throughout your company.  With ATS time and attendance solution, your company will achieve a consistent flow of information from data capture, payroll and human resources to business intelligence, employee scheduling and benefit accruals.

Activate Modules as you Expand
ATS TimeWork time and attendance evolves with your enterprise. Easily activate new functions when you need them, connect additional users to the system or quickly bring new sites on board without the need for custom interfaces. Keep your system constantly up to date with simple, secure update procedures; ATS time attendance ensures the distribution of modifications across all connected workstations.

Eliminate Costly Server Installations
ATS hosted time and attendance minimizes both costs and installation time eradicating the need to install software on servers or workstations. Avoid the cost of a large in-house IT team; the robust, intuitive design of ATS TimeWork ensures consistent, reliable day-to-day operations.

Combine Best-Of-Breed Functionality and Low Cost of Ownership
Provide your company with the best functionality in your industry while dramatically reducing your time tracking costs. Mid-size companies face the same issues as larger enterprises in managing complex, industry-specific processes and servicing their customers. ATS time and attendance provides comprehensive, integrated workforce management system without the need for costly custom developments and months of professional services. Industry-specific and scalable, ATS TimeWork is the best employee time management application aimed to meet your most elaborate business processes, while minimizing any associated costs of installing, operating, maintaining and growing the system.

Business Analytics for Informed Decision Making
Get the most value from your ATS time management solution with the least amount of effort. ATS TimeWork business analytics provides regular updates to relevant information to give you real-time visibility across your organization. The ATS TimeWork business analytics is a powerful, easy-to-use business tool that drives smarter decisions in every departmental area of your organization.

To learn how your company can track absenteeism and increase productivity download a whitepaper or an online demo.

 Is Absenteeism Making a Dent in your Company's Productivity?

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Do You Really Know Your Company’s True Labour Costs?

October 10th, 2013 | Posted by Apex Time Solutions in Labour Costs | Overtime Equalization | Payroll | Time and Attendance Blog, Workforce Management Software | Time and Attendance Software - (Comments Off on Do You Really Know Your Company’s True Labour Costs?)

This question always gets a defensive response when our account executives are engaged with prospective customers. One of the most common responses is: “Of course, we know our payroll costs. We get reports once a week from our payroll software.” If your company’s measuring its payroll costs on a weekly or monthly basis, chances are you do not have the right tools in place to help you stay competitive.

Today’s businesses need to be agile, flexible and responsive. Using paper time cards to track employees’ time is one of the best ways to accumulate inaccurate data. ATS time and attendance provides a full set of tools to help you forecast, record, track and control your payroll costs. We ensure visibility throughout your entire organization and provide a full integration with other systems that helps departmental managers get on-the-spot business intelligence data. Here are three ways in which an ATS employee time management solution can streamline payroll costs:

Improve operational efficiencies-Traditional methods of collecting employee time through time cards can lead to manual errors and employees either getting over or under paid. In contrast, using a 21st century time and attendance solution can significantly reduce efficiencies throughout the enterprise, affecting manufacturing line workers as well as plant managers and administrators. Time consuming manual business processes silently erode worker effectiveness.

Cost control and tracking – Enables the capture, tracking and analyzing of project tracking activities and highlights profitability in real-time. ATS TimeWork provides expected versus actual costs for job costing, overtime equalization and workforce absence requests data is easily extracted for regulatory reporting requirements.

Workforce planning and employee scheduling – ATS workforce scheduling provides proper execution of re-scheduling activities when business priorities and plans change. ATS workforce management scheduling allows for optimized scheduling utilizing demand forecasts, employee skills data and labor standards; individual and team performance tracking (with identification of training needs); and incentive calculations determined by client rules and governmental regulations.

So the question remains, why don’t more of today’s businesses track their labour costs in real time? One of the most common answers given by companies, is that such a system would be very costly, take too long to implement or that it would not fit with their corporate culture.  When you consider how the 2008 global recession impacted many businesses, in particular the manufacturing sector, controlling labour costs should not be an afterthought.

To get a free copy of our ROI on the implementation of a time and attendance solution, call us at 866.294.2467. To view a demonstration, go to our website and to join the conversation, join us on LinkedIn or on Twitter.

Do You Really Know Your Company's True Labour Costs

 

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Grocers and Food Distributors Leveraging the Benefits of Grocery Innovations Canada

October 8th, 2013 | Posted by Apex Time Solutions in Employee Time and Attendance | Web-Based Time and Attendance Software | Workforce Management Solutions - (Comments Off on Grocers and Food Distributors Leveraging the Benefits of Grocery Innovations Canada)

Grocery Innovations is one of Canada’s largest tradeshows and brings with it hundreds of exhibitors, who showcase their wares to prospects within an industry that include: food distributors, grocery retailers, manufacturers, brokers and wholesalers.

As usual, this year we dispatched some of our team members from marketing and product development to meet with some of our existing customers. ATS is a leading Canadian provider of workforce management software to the food distribution, manufacturing and grocery retail sector. Our team sampled some of the tasty treats during their visit, from ready made soups to delicate chocolates and tasty chutney from Duhaime Deluxe and Happy Water from a British Columbian company. Our employees were told that the blend of spring and pure natural water makes one happy after a few sips of the water.

Of course, we would be remised in our salutations if we did not mention the folks behind the success of this wonderful show, the Canadian Federation of Independent Grocers, are the host, of this annual event.

To learn more about Apex Time Solutions go to our website. You can also follow us on LinkedIn or join the conversation through our social media channels.

Grocers and Food Distributors Leveraging the Benefits of Grocery Innovations Canada

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