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Stressed Out About Holiday Pay Calculations? Relax, We’ve Got You Covered

June 29th, 2016 | Posted by Apex Time Solutions in Benefit Accruals | Employee Time and Attendance | Time and Attendance Blog, Workforce Management Software | Time and Attendance Canada - (Comments Off on Stressed Out About Holiday Pay Calculations? Relax, We’ve Got You Covered)

Canada Day, July 1st is federally recognized holiday-and businesses who are using, manual time sheets will be scrambling to figure out how to best apply these rules. For example, if an employee is schedule to work a shift that overlaps the statutory holiday boundary, how will holiday pay be calculated? Additionally, if the holiday is paid and the employee works, how is the employee compensated for the hours worked? If you are using a spreadsheet to figure this out, you will likely end up with a headache.

If you are ATS customer, your time and attendance is designed and configured to comply with the Province, Region, State and/or local area in which your company resides. Additionally, the system will pay employees overtime and holiday hours based on criteria-and yes, it’s an automatic process. For example, if you are using ATS TimeWork OnDemand go to “Apply Holiday Calculation” tab and follow the instructions.  In fact, you can set this in advance so, that the system is triggered to apply the holiday rule payment to employees who meets the criteria for statutory holiday pay. In other words, you do not have to be stuck in your office figuring how to pay employees for statutory holiday. Instead, you should be relaxing somewhere on Canada Day. After all, that’s what holidays are for.

Stress Out About Paying Employee Holiday Hours? Relax, We’ve Got You Covered

If your time tracking is not automated and you are using a spreadsheet to assign holiday hours be sure to check out the website of your regional or federal government for additional information. And, last but not least, some industries have employee-employer contracts with provisions and exemptions for holiday pay so some of these may or may not apply.

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Disclaimer: The laws of your province, region and state might be different. If you are considering adopting or changing a holiday pay policy in your organization, or have questions about how your employees are being paid for holidays and other days off, it is wise to consult with counsel or check the website of the jurisdiction in which your company operates.

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The Evolution and Benefits of Software As-A- Service

June 28th, 2016 | Posted by Apex Time Solutions in Hosted Time and Attendance Software | Software-as-a-Service (saas) Workforce Management Software | Web-Based Time and Attendance Software - (Comments Off on The Evolution and Benefits of Software As-A- Service)

The adoption of cloud software is increasing and is on pace to surpass all previous forecasts. In other words, it is here to stay — and is showing no signs of abating. According to Gartner prognosticators the software-as-a-service (SaaS), in which companies offer software that was designed to run in the cloud will grow about 20 percent by the end of 2016.

Today’s time and attendance decision makers, even the ones that were somewhat uncertain about the benefits of the cloud are giving it a second thought.  Cloud software provides tremendous benefits to applications as basic as accounting systems to cutting-edge solutions like time and attendance.

As more businesses continue to shift to the cloud, they are also selecting a vendor that will ultimately help them streamline costs and, at the same time increase productivity. And while the cloud, offers businesses numerous benefits, one key opportunity for today’s executives, when using these cloud computing technology is having the power of choice with this emerging technology.

ATS Cloud Time and Attendance offers what every business wants: the ability to obtain information in real-time. And, with ATS Cloud Time and Attendance cloud pay-as-you-go model, that means a low initial investment is all that is required to get going, and that includes all the trimmings, like yearly updates, thus enabling customers to take advantage of innovations delivered with the upgrade.

The Evolution and Benefits of Software As-A- Service

In conclusion, the cloud has become a new engine for innovation, and competitiveness. Its ability to improve collaboration, communication and cost-cutting is providing an ever-expanding silver lining for operations across every business sector.

To learn more about ATS Software-As-A-Service (SaaS) solutions, go to our website. You can also download a demonstration or call: 866.294.2467.

 

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Don’t Think A Healthy Compensation Will Retain Good Talent? Think Again

June 23rd, 2016 | Posted by Apex Time Solutions in Benefit Accruals | Employee Scheduling | Overtime | TimeWork - (Comments Off on Don’t Think A Healthy Compensation Will Retain Good Talent? Think Again)

It has been said that the financial crisis of 2008 has been used, by some companies to keep wages low. Some of have compared the 2008 financial crisis to the depression of the 1930s as being the same or worse. And, while the economy has somewhat gotten better, many workers are still fighting to get a decent wage. The companies who consistently choose to pay employees low wages are, for the most part, out of touch with reality and, the protests in the streets over the years, is an indication of how strongly many of these low-wage earners feel.

The issue of stagnant pay increase is also an issue for middle managers and an article by Christie Hunter Arscott for Harvard Business Review says as much. The title of the article “Why So Many Thirtysomething Women Are Leaving Your Company” focuses on the reasons why men and women alike leave a company. And, when you sift through the reasons, it pretty much boils down to regardless of the title we hold and whether it’s a man or a woman, everybody wants to be paid a decent wage, one that he/she is able to survive on.

Here are 3 tips from Christie Hunter Arscott article that companies can use to assess the wage structure as it pertains to its employees:

“Ask, don’t assume: Women in their thirties should play an integral role in developing talent retention strategies. Instead of talking about them, talk with them. Want to know why women are leaving your organization? Don’t assume. Ask them and then develop data-driven strategies based on these findings.

Address challenges beyond family and flexibility: While options for flexibility and work-life balance are important, the bottom line is that motherhood is not the primary reason why talented women are leaving organizations.

Propose women’s strategies as broader talent strategies: Gender appears to have little impact on an individual’s reasons for leaving an organization. This is good news for organizational leaders. There is less of a need to segment and complicate talent strategies by gender. Instead, there is the opportunity to create broad impact through strategies that address the desires of both mid-career women and men.”

Don’t Think A Healthy Compensation Will Retain Good Talent? Think Again

In conclusion, choosing to pay employees at the bottom-end of the scale will only lead to them leaving your company. And because the job market is tight, it’s very likely that the vacation position can be fill very quickly. However, sooner or later, companies who are known to have a high turnover rate, because of excessively low pay, will be avoided, even by those who are desperate for work. The good news is that the companies who pay their employees the poverty wages are in the minority-so, there is hope.

 

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When Used Properly, Analytics Can Help Businesses Streamline Payroll Costs

June 21st, 2016 | Posted by Apex Time Solutions in Cloud Time and Attendance | Hosted Time and Attendance Solution | Labour Costs | Overtime | Payroll | Time and Attendance On-Demand | Web-Based Time and Attendance - (Comments Off on When Used Properly, Analytics Can Help Businesses Streamline Payroll Costs)

It’s no secret that attitudes toward cloud technology are rapidly changing, and discussions about the potential downsides of cloud deployment are quickly evolving into valid, evaluations of the risks associated with not making the move. Perhaps, it’s a combination of sober thought and some companies witnessing their counterparts in the same or different industries deploy cloud computing technologies, with success hence; the adoption of it. And, with the emergence of cloud-based technology,  the use of analytics have also increased. In an op-ed by Rodger Howell, principal at PricewaterhouseCoopers for CFO magazine, he writes;

 “Today’s technology, cloud, and IoT-driven world is continually generating a wealth of data, creating both opportunity and challenge for those tasked with deciphering and analyzing it. CFOs in particular are now facing increased pressure to connect the dots between multiple data streams to identify patterns that will optimize a company’s growth and align its costs with its strategy.”

Now, that a statement that packs a powerful punch and is noteworthy, if your company remains unconvinced about the rapid acceptance of cloud technology, and its plethora of advantages it can bring to your business.

Rodger Howell’s article provides a blue print for companies to follow when considering, cloud computing software solutions and analytics. In no particular order, it reads in part:

“Setting Goals and Objectives: CFOs should first identify the organization’s short and long-term objectives, developing key performance indicators to track progress. Consider this step the impetus that will motivate business leaders to introduce data analytics to their day-to-day operations and to assess their impact on business goals.

Proposing Pilot Projects: Once CFOs have buy-in from key players within the organization, they should use this support to introduce pilot projects rooted in data analytics. CFOs can start small by proposing new operations and always being sure to encourage participation from other members of the organization.

Seeking Feedback: CFOs must realize that ongoing feedback from other members of the organization, including its leadership, is necessary after introducing new data analytics platforms, and processes.”

Cloud computing and analytics is an increasing priority for companies of all industries especially, for business executives who want to streamline payroll and overtime costs and other related business expenditure.

When Used Properly, Analytics Can Help Businesses Streamline Payroll Costs

ATS Cloud-Based Time and Attendance is the industry’s most flexible and wholly integrated solution. It’s accompanied by best-in-class services across software as a service (SaaS), platform. ATS Cloud-Based Time and Attendance helps organizations drive innovation and business transformation by increasing business agility, lowering payroll costs, and reducing IT complexity.

To learn about ATS Cloud-Based Time and Attendance solutions, go to our website. You can also download a demonstration or register for one of our weekly webinars.

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Recruiting Methods Tells A Lot About A Successful Company

June 16th, 2016 | Posted by Apex Time Solutions in HRIS | Leave Management | Talent Management | Time and Attendance Blog, Workforce Management Software | Time and Attendance On-Demand - (Comments Off on Recruiting Methods Tells A Lot About A Successful Company)

Is the recruiting process part art or science? Difficult question to answer when you consider employees, today, on average, leave companies in quicker numbers than in years past. Is it the type of employees that are hired or it is the workplace itself?

Jen Hubley Luckwaldt, wrote an article for PayScale, that says that the number one reason why employees leave their jobs is because of a bad manager. Ouch!

Recruiting Methods Tells A Lot About A Successful Company

Hiring great employees is one thing, keeping that talent is quite another. Millennials won’t put up with stodgy rules and policies that have no meaning behind them.  Meghan M. Biro, CEO of Talent Culture and regular contributor to a slew of well written articles on the world of Talent Management offers 5 tips that successful leaders use during the recruiting process. In no particular order we, have selected three of those tips which include:

  • Take A Workplace Culture Inventory. Take a good hard look at your current HR and recruiting practices. Put yourself in the shoes of a talented person who has never heard of your company. How are you trying to reach that person? Are you using filtering tools to target the right kind of talent you need?
  • Keep It Real. Your HR and recruiting process must be honest — a genuine reflection of your company’s leadership and workplace culture. Whether your organization is way zany, slightly playful, or downright dour, you want to attract talent that feels comfortable in your culture.
  • Engage Your Marketing Talent. HR and recruiting don’t exist in a vacuum. They may be the initial contact with talent, but the more input that other departments have the stronger and more integrated the process will become. This is especially true, of course, for the departments and functions that will be directly impacted by the applicant. Solicit input on specific job postings from people in the department where the job is.

Today more than ever, there are better recruiting tools for companies. And, attracting the best and the brightest people to join your company is the goal of successful leaders-in fact, these leaders sprinkle their workforce with a diverse group of talent that includes, race, gender and age.  It’s 2016 and times are changing, even for stodgy workplaces.

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Recruiting Methods Tells A Lot About A Successful Company

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Are HR Leaders Readily Embracing The Cloud?

June 14th, 2016 | Posted by Apex Time Solutions in Cloud Time and Attendance | Employee Self Service | Playbooks | Software-as-a-Service (saas) Workforce Management Software | Time and Attendance Blog, Workforce Management Software - (Comments Off on Are HR Leaders Readily Embracing The Cloud?)

That is an excellent question, when you consider that traditional software used by HR, some of which includes; Human Resources Information Systems (HRIS), Payroll and Time and Attendance have all gone the way of the cloud. HR leaders no longer have to be burden (unless, they want to) with swaths of paper or excel spreadsheets to track employee time and/or track time-off requests.

In a recent article by Curtis Franklin Jr. of Information Week, titled “Why Cloud Computing Is Crucial For HR” he interviewed Erica Volini of Deloitte Consulting. An excerpt of this article reads in part;

“The cloud is the ultimate long-range destination for everyone,” the HR transformation practice leader and principal at Deloitte told InformationWeek in a phone interview. In this case, IT is going to help HR get to the cloud, because doing so will help HR fulfill the new mission business has for a department that has been the poster child of “support” as long as it has existed.

Are HR Leaders Readily Embracing The Cloud?

The possibilities of the cloud for modern HR managers are endless. Gone (although they likely existing with some companies) are the days, when an attendance report would take several hours or a day to obtain. Cloud computing has made it a reality for you to get reports in real-time thus propelling business growth, that’s based on informed decision-making.

And on how HR leaders can leverage the cloud through mobile “One of the things that technology does is improve access to data, but you need HR professionals who have the skill set and be able to use the technology,” Volini said. Part of that ability, she said, is having the time to analyze data and turn the analysis into action.

“You need to free up capacity so the HR business partner has the time and isn’t always in fire-fighting mode. The cloud can help with this through the self-service capability,” she said. “The way that the self-service capabilities are being presented to the business is through mobile technology.”

If your HR leader is still using spreadsheets, there is a better way and it’s faster, flexible, and easy-to- use. Welcome to the world of cloud computing.

To learn about cloud computing time and attendance solutions go to our website. You can also download demonstration,  or call; (866) 294-2467.

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Recruitment Software And The Challenges It Presents For Job Seekers

June 9th, 2016 | Posted by Apex Time Solutions in Payroll | Talent Management | Time and Attendance System | Workforce Management Software | Workforce Management Solutions - (Comments Off on Recruitment Software And The Challenges It Presents For Job Seekers)

We, at ATS are users of recruitment software and, over they years, have had feedback from applicants, who have used application tracking systems to apply for various positions. Some have lamented about the inherent difficulties they have faced when sending their resumes through these systems, in the hope that it will somehow get to the top of the pile and/or noticed by the HR manager. A recent post by Lynda Spiegel for The Wall Street Journal titled “How Job Seekers Can Get Around Flaws in Hiring Software” might be the antidote that some job seekers need when navigating through the algorithmic world of recruitment software. She writes in part;

“Job hunting may be the one of the few instances where technology doesn’t improve our lives. That’s because most companies use Applicant Tracking System (ATS) software to parse the resumes they receive. This helps recruiters by simplifying the task of assessing resumes. But research indicates that the ATS rejects a startling 75% of resumes because of formatting, insufficient use of relevant keywords and other criteria that have nothing to do with candidate qualifications.”

In a tight job market, a 75% rejection rate will not be a comfort to many job seekers. However, Lynda Spiegel article provides some helpful tips, that might help combat the rejection rate. These tips include:

  • “Job seekers should avoid fancy resume formats because interpreting lines and boxes can flummox ATS software. A contemporary sans serif font and a pop of color for the headings is all that’s needed for the document to be ATS-friendly and still visually attractive for a human recruiter, if it gets that far.”
  • “Despite what many job seekers have heard, they shouldn’t upload a PDF resume; while ATS is getting better at reading PDFs, they don’t always process them well.”
  • “Job seekers should keep headings simple, such as Summary of Qualifications, Experience, Education, Achievements.”

Recruitment Software And The Challenges It Presents For Job Seekers

When using any software, whether it’s time and attendance, ERP, HR, payroll and or in this case, recruitment software, companies should ensure that their vendors, tailor the solution to suit their business requirements. For example, if the recruitment software is configured in accordance, to the type of candidates that a company is looking for, perhaps the rejection rates will decrease. In the end, however, it will require some initiative on the part of the job seeker to make sure their resume get noticed.

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What’s Fuelling The Growth In Today’s Manufacturing?

June 8th, 2016 | Posted by Apex Time Solutions in Employee Scheduling | Employee Self Service | Employee Time Clock | Employee Time Tracking | Labour Costs | Overtime | Time and Attendance Blog, Workforce Management Software | Time and Attendance On-Demand | Web-Based Time and Attendance Software | Workforce Management Solutions - (Comments Off on What’s Fuelling The Growth In Today’s Manufacturing?)

Ask this question to executives in the manufacturing sector and you are bound to get several different answers, albeit there will be similarities in those answers. It’s no secret that the manufacturing industry has had to adapt and evolve to the rapid changes around them in order, to survive-while dealing with some naysayers who had left them for dead after one of this century’s worst financial crisis.

But who would know the inner workers of the manufacturing industry and its resilience and ability to adapt than anyone else?  How about the President and Chief Executive Officer, Manufacturers Alliance for Productivity and Innovation who penned a poignant article titled “Three Megatrends Transforming Manufacturing”. We tool the liberty of extrapolating some of paragraphs (in no particular order) which reads in part;

“We’re entering a new industrial age driven by digitalization, customization, and miniaturization that is transforming the nature of work in manufacturing. Since the turn of the millennium, the sector has evolved faster and more thoroughly than at any other time in history.”

The rise of the digital era has impacted all industries especially manufacturing. The article states that “The ability to collect and analyze large volumes of data in economic transactions has revolutionized customer care in the retail and finance sectors. In manufacturing, Big Data will accelerate the integration of IT, manufacturing and operational systems on the shop floor and lead to better forecasting and understanding of plant performance. Caterpillar is taking this a step farther, tracking the performance of its products in the field after purchase and offering maintenance and repair services based on real-time assessments.”

What’s Fueling The Growth In Today’s Manufacturing?

If you are still wondering whether the industry can adapt here is a final paragraph from the article; “Of course, manufacturers’ labor needs are changing as well: companies now rely on more automation and require fewer employees, and those they hire must demonstrate higher science, technological and math skills. Fortunately, the millennial generation—as large as the baby boomer generation—is more technologically sophisticated. And, as the manufacturing workforce has diversified over time, manufacturers are working to continually foster more inclusive environments.”

The title of this blog asked?  “What’s Fuelling The Growth In Today’s Manufacturing”? The answer is simple-it’s the ability of the industry to adapt and evolve with the times.  Many of today’s manufacturers face constant pressure to produce a top quality product on time, every time. And, the economic fluctuations, shortage of skilled labor and market governance, and adherence to workforce compliance mandates adds to the complexities that manufacturers face every day. To meet these challenges many of these manufacturing companies have adopted Workforce Management Solutions to help them keep pace with the digital era, streamline costs and improve productivity at all levels of their operations.

To download a free demonstration of ATS Workforce Management for Manufacturing, go to our website. And, to attend one of our monthly webinars, you can register online.

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Can You Detach Yourself From Work While On Vacation?

June 7th, 2016 | Posted by Apex Time Solutions in Benefit Accruals | Time and Attendance Blog, Workforce Management Software | Time and Attendance On-Demand - (Comments Off on Can You Detach Yourself From Work While On Vacation?)

In the North American culture of work, for some at least, it means responding to e-mails from your boss or other colleagues at all hours of the night, and/or working on your day off or while on vacation. In short, work has consumed some of us, to the point, that we are defined by it. And this can result in family and leisure time, ultimately, taking a back seat to work.

In a recent article by Jennifer Deal for The Wall Street Journal titled “The Neuropsychology of Working While on Vacation–and How to Overcome It”

She writes; “Some people blame the technology for infiltrating our lives to the point we are never away from work. And certainly remaining connected with work while camping or sitting on the beach or being on car trips would be impossible without the smart-phone.”

But is technology really to be blamed for this? Are there emergencies everyday at work that requires employees to be connected 24/7, even while on vacation? Jennifer Deal’s answer to some of this question is simple; “Another way is to turn the phone off and put it physically away, such as locking it in a safe. If you can’t look at it – that is, you can’t without going to substantial trouble – the brain itch will eventually die off because you can’t scratch it.”

Can You Detach Yourself From Work While On Vacation?

And for those of us who find it incredibly busy to turn off from work while on vacation or on our days off, we can also try this; “So the next time you want to relax but find yourself unable to because your mind keeps straying back to an unfinished task, figure out a way to make it impossible for you to complete that task right then. Your mind will be more likely to let it go if there’s no possibility of completing it, and you might finally be able to relax.”

Will any of these ideas work? Who knows, however, if you do not want to check e-mails or have your boss contact you while on vacation, leave your phone at home.

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