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The Ongoing Debate About Working Remotely Rears It’s Head Again

May 30th, 2017 | Posted by ATS in Cloud Computing | Productivity | Time and Attendance Blog, Workforce Management Software - (Comments Off on The Ongoing Debate About Working Remotely Rears It’s Head Again)

The debate about employees working remotely won’t stop anytime soon. The most famous debate was back in 2013, when incoming CEO of Yahoo, Marissa Mayer, informed employees that the practice of working from home would no longer be an option.

Fast forward to 2017 when it was revealed that IBM, purveyor of its employees working remotely, plans to follow in the footsteps of Yahoo’s! work from home policy. An excerpt from an article ‘So Much for IBM’s Bright Idea on Working Remotely’ reads, in part;

The Ongoing Debate About Working Remotely Rears It’s Head Again

“Tech companies are supposed to be the leaders. So it’s surprising that two of the largest, IBM and Apple, are moving backward, preparing for office life in the decades ahead to look a lot like 2005. They are likely to be wrong.

IBM is ending its liberal policy that encouraged remote work, now forcing employees back into offices to facilitate collaboration. Meanwhile, Apple is preparing to open its vast new $5 billion corporate campus in Silicon Valley.

For midlife millennials, flexible work arrangements and remote work — the kinds of work IBM is abandoning — are what workers will want. And rather than being a desirable attraction, Apple’s shiny new headquarters located in a region with million-dollar home prices may be an albatross for the company, if even well-paid workers cannot afford to live near the office”.

Only time will tell if this is a PR stunt designed to boost productivity or if it is something else entirely. Either way, romanticizing about a by-gone era will be seen for what it is, just an attempt to embrace the traditional way of going to work, that is no longer relevant in world of Cloud Computing, robotics, Internet of Things (IoT) and advance technology.

To learn more of our blogs go to our website where you can also demonstration of ATS time and attendance solution. And to reach us by phone call; 866.294.2467.

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How Long Should Payroll And HR Practitioners Keep Attendance Records?

May 25th, 2017 | Posted by ATS in ATS TimeWork OnDemand | Cloud Computing | Overtime | Payroll | Time and Attendance Blog, Workforce Management Software | Time and Attendance Software | Workforce Management Solutions - (Comments Off on How Long Should Payroll And HR Practitioners Keep Attendance Records?)

How long should your organization keep employee attendance records? This will depend on the province or state in which a company operates. For example, on the website of the province of Manitoba, reads in part; “Employers and employees need to keep accurate records of the hours worked and the amount paid for those hours. Employers must pay employees for all hours they work and explain how the pay was calculated. Employment Standards requires employers to keep pay records for three years”.

How Long Should Payroll And HR Practitioners Keep Attendance Records?

Here is another example from the province of Ontario website “Employee and Retention Records, must be kept for three years after the day or week of work. If an employee receives a fixed salary for each pay period and the salary does not change (except if the employee works overtime) the employer is only required to record:

  • The employee’s hours in excess of those hours in the employee’s regular work week

And

  • The number of hours in excess of eight per day (or in excess of the hours in the employee’s regular work day, if it is more than eight hours).

Employers are not required to record the hours of work for employees who are exempt from overtime pay and the provisions for maximum hours of work.”

If you are small or mid-size business with 50-200 plus employees and tracking employee time and vacation pay with spreadsheets, it will take you an awfully long time going through paper records to verify hours worked in the unlikely event, you are audited. Your HR and payroll managers are the key to helping you solve these issues and are more than likely up to date on work-rule compliance.

So, what’s the best way to solve this issue? Help your payroll and HR staff by automating employee time keeping with ATS TimeWork OnDemand, that’s fully powered by the cloud. With ATS TimeWork OnDemand, you can:

 

Access Employee Attendance Records Anytime, Anywhere:
With ATS TimeWork OnDemand, all you need is an internet connection, and you can access ATS cloud services using any device.

Flexibility
CIOs and IT Directors marvel at the ease of use in accessing ATS TimeWork OnDemand through the web. ATS TimeWork OnDemand is ideal for businesses with growing or fluctuating bandwidth demands.

Capital-expenditure Free
ATS TimeWork OnDemand cuts out the high cost of hardware. You simply pay as you go and enjoy a subscription-based model that’s kind to your cash flow. And best of all, you no longer have to shift through paper records to find employees record, it’s always readily available when you need it.

So, how do you get started? Simply, download a demonstration to see the solution in action for yourself-afterwards, you contact us by phone at 866.294.2467 to discuss your requirements in more detail.

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We Want ‘Cultural Fit’ So, If You Question The Status Quo Don’t Bother To Apply

May 24th, 2017 | Posted by ATS in Time and Attendance Blog, Workforce Management Software | Time and Attendance Canada | Time and Attendance On-Demand - (Comments Off on We Want ‘Cultural Fit’ So, If You Question The Status Quo Don’t Bother To Apply)

Today, the words ‘cultural fit’ have become ubiquitous in online job boards and Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS), designed, to weed out those are not like us and/or use the same vernacular in every day conversations. In other words, if you do not dress, look or act like the rest of us then, don’t bother applying. Of course, these words are never actually spelt out. Instead, the much malign words of ‘cultural fit’ are used instead to the turn down applicants. Some companies advertise that they are looking for people who “think outside the box” again, another set of words that belies their true intentions, when in actuality; what they are looking for is the ‘frat mentality’.

We Want ‘Cultural Fit’ So, If You Question The Status Quo Don’t Bother To Apply

But what if you are ambitious, hard-working, and non-conformist type of person who has a lot to offer a company? You can either keep trying to find a job with a company that embraces a diverse range of views, that has employees with different experiences or create your own. You can take a page from many of today’s millennials some of whom are so fed up with the status quo that they are creating their own companies. So, why not you?

If your company fears non-conformists or rebels as some of them are called, below, you will find some wonderful tips for dealing with these types of individuals taken from an article titled ‘What Rebels Want From Their Boss’ by rebelsatwork.com. The article was recently revived by Tanmay Vora for Human Resources Today and it comes complete with a set of images to relay its point. In no particular order, we have selected five tips from the list;

  1. We need a work environment where it is safe to disagree and ask questions that challenge the status quo.
  2. The more diverse a team mindsets and experiences, the more creative the team. We may not be like you and that is a good thing. Love our differences and quirks.
  3. We are not trouble makers. We are motivated to make our organization better than it is.
  4. Challenge us. Give us the thorniest problems. Let us prove that our “wild ideas” can work. We want to be stretched, not do work as usual.
  5. We care about work than most people. That is why we are willing to engage in controversy.

Now, in fairness, not all businesses purport to the guise of a “cultural fit”.  In fact, many successful corporations hire a mix of people with different educational backgrounds, cultures and experiences and are thriving because of it. And, as for the non-conformists in your company, you would surprised at how little effort it takes to win them over, by correctly channeling their energy and creativity instead of wasting time and energy trying to rein them in so, they can follow like sheep.

To learn about ATS and our solutions, go to our website and download a demonstration or register for one of our bi-monthly webinars. To reach us by phone, call; 866.294.2467.

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5 Benefits Of A Biometric Time And Attendance Facial Recognition Solution

May 23rd, 2017 | Posted by ATS in ATS TimeWork OnDemand | Biometric FaceScan | Biometric Time Clock | Employee Productivity | ERP | Payroll | TimeWork OnDemand - (Comments Off on 5 Benefits Of A Biometric Time And Attendance Facial Recognition Solution)

Biometrics technology has gained in popularity in the last 10 years. Many of today’s technology companies including; Apple, Samsung and Google, have opted for biometric authentication with their hardware to prevent theft. ATS biometric time clocks are designed to recognize employees’ unique physiological characteristics-and these data collectors include; face shape, iris, fingerprint or hand shape. And, unlike card-based time and attendance systems, employees cannot punch in/out for each other.

When combined with ATS award-winning TimeWork OnDemand or On-premise solution for mid-to large enterprise; biometric facial recognition helps to increase payroll accuracy by eliminating errors associated with outdated manual data collection, reduce administrative time and eradicate employee time theft from tardiness and “buddy punching” (the practice of employees clock in and out for one another), and long  unexplained lunch breaks.

Here are the top 5 benefits of a biometric time and attendance facial recognition solution

Individual tracking: detect an employee based on their individual physiological characteristics

Eradicate time-theft: accurate tracking of employee time, by verifying the identity of those clocking in, thus creating a digital audit trail that cannot be altered. By automating the tracking of employee time an organization, has proof of hours worked.

Reliable and Accurate: Employee biometric templates cannot be duplicated. Managers can remain confident that they are tracking employee’s time and attendance accurately.

 Buddy Punching:  Since employees cannot use the face of their co-worker to punch in for them, you can now say good-bye to buddy punching!

Data Integration: Employee hours easily integrate with your Human Resources Information Systems (HRIS), Payroll and Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP), systems.

Today’s workforce is constantly evolving and keeping pace means using an advanced biometric technology solution to increase employee productivity. An ATS biometric face recognition solution will help to increase payroll accuracy by eliminating errors— associated with manual data collection thus, reducing administrative time and eradication of employee time theft.

To learn more about ATS TimeWork OnDemand, the wide array of biometric time clocks or to register for a bi-weekly webinar, go to our website. To reach an account executive, contact us by phone: 866.294.2467.

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Productivity Is Important And, So Is Happiness At Work

May 22nd, 2017 | Posted by ATS in Productivity | Time and Attendance Blog, Workforce Management Software | Workforce - (Comments Off on Productivity Is Important And, So Is Happiness At Work)

Every company wants a productivity workforce and why not? It can yield wonderful results, that include- happy customers. And, happy customers  will usually tell other companies with their industry, friends and/or family if they are happy with a product or service. However, in order to have a productive workforce, you have to be aware of your employees’ morale. A company with unhappy employees and a high turnover rate is unlikely to be a welcoming place for new and existing employees.

Productivity Is Important And, So Is Happiness At Work

So, how do you create a company culture that has happy employees who look forward to coming to work each day? Anna Verasai wrote a wonderful article for The HR Digest titled Happiness at Workplace is Not a Myth, and it includes, some of the following tips:

“Co-workers Bitten by the Happiness Bug
One thing no one of us can deny is the power of positive vibes. When you are around people who are sociable and have a tendency to chit-chat every once in a while happily it instantly makes working easier. Also, a smile is such a powerful tool that can brighten your day in just an eye-blink. Some colleagues are always there to help you get up when you are down, with a warm hug or maybe, your favorite ice-cream.

The Entertainment Factor
Now we all know one thing for sure that happening activities can easily boost your mood. A hang-out session after office, a funny co-worker, celebrating someone’s special day, dinner or movie plans with co-workers, it is so easy to create happiness at workplace, isn’t it?

Ambience Matters
There is a reason why experts say that the interiors and lighting around your desk can affect your mood at work. Try to keep your desk tidy and do not deck it up with files and folders all around. Hang some pictures with good memories, have a book you can read, take short breaks, or put up some fancy decors. Have a minimalistic approach so that you do not clog yourself mentally or your desk.”

So, it does not have to be all doom and gloom. Let your employees have fun while doing their jobs and you will be amazed at the results, including; increased loyalty and productivity and yes,  an increase to your company’s financial bottom line.

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Scheduling With Spreadsheets, Really? Who Does That Anymore?

May 10th, 2017 | Posted by ATS in Absence Management | Employee Scheduling | Employee Time and Attendance | Employee Time Tracking Software | Forecasting | Hospitality Industry | Time and Attendance Canada - (Comments Off on Scheduling With Spreadsheets, Really? Who Does That Anymore?)

Whether you are in retail, hospitality, healthcare or an industry, generating a weekly or bi-schedule with Excel spreadsheets, it can be time consuming. This becomes even more difficult when it comes to tracking employee hours, including overtime. And, while Excel spreadsheets can be useful in some areas of business, using it for the purpose of scheduling employees especially in companies with complex and rotation shifts can be headache for supervisors.

Scheduling With Spreadsheets, Really? Who Does That Anymore?

One of the better investments an organization can make is to deploy an ATS Workforce Scheduling Solution that will help with better workforce planning, and improve overall employee productivity, and satisfaction.

ATS Workforce Scheduling Solution is purpose-built for the managers and supervisors alike, and utilizes employee working patterns and shift preferences —as a best fit, with statutory holidays and absences automatically applied. The manager is immediately notified through an alert, of schedule gaps caused by absences, holidays or workload demand, so that the appropriate action can be taken.

ATS Workforce Scheduling Solution benefits include:

  • Minimize compliance risk with consistent rules and policies
  • Accurately anticipate demand to help reduce under-staffing
  • Employees are allocated to a shift based on preference and seniority
  • Statutory holidays and absences are automatically applied
  • Actual vs. budget schedule report can be generated thus, reducing the possibility of over-staffing
  • Minimize compliance risks, while adhering to local, regional and cross continental rules and policies
  • Accurately anticipate demand based on forecast, to help reduce under-staffing

Now, can your Excel spreadsheet do all that?  Trying to guess the right number of employees you need to cover a shift or the best worker to fill an open one, commonly causes errors and complications. With Workforce Scheduling the guesswork and manual scheduling is taken out of the equation.

To download a copy of ATS Workforce Scheduling Solution or to register for one of our bi-weekly webinars, go to our website. And, to speak to an account executive, call: 866.294.2467.

 

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Helpful Tips To Reduce Stress In A Tech Environment

May 9th, 2017 | Posted by ATS in ATS TimeWork OnDemand | Telecommuting Employees | Time and Attendance Canada - (Comments Off on Helpful Tips To Reduce Stress In A Tech Environment)

Technology companies including ATS, knows that a small amount stress can help employees move forward and perform at their best. What types of events can cause stress in a tech environment? Think about delivering a demonstration of your product, landing that much sought after customer, or deploying a solution on time and on budget. Participation during each of these stressful events–which are limited in length and can feel intense– can make employees kick into high gear and push themselves to get maximum results.

Helpful Tips To Reduce Stress In A Tech Environment

Staff writer for TechRepublic Alison DeNisco recent article titled 8 practical ways to make your tech job less stressful has some good tips for managing and monitoring stress in your tech company.

We have listed 5 of those tips in this blog. You can read the rest of the article in its entirety on TechRepublic website.

  1. Allow work from home and flex hours

Allowing employees to work from home certain days of the week is a major stress reliever, said technology consultant Anthony R. Howard. “Many folks in tech are mobile—only they really know how busy they are,” Howard said. “Life is simply better in the home office. It’s up to you to get to your objective, and in doing so you will need to create efficiencies.”

  1. Prioritize your work

Good time management is a skill that can be learned, according to Karen Williams, chief product officer at Halogen Software. “Take the time to differentiate between the really high-impact tasks you’re working on and the busy work,” Williams said. “Focus on the tasks that really matter and let the rest ride for the moment. Evaluate things like time constraints and potential profitability.”

  1. Build short sprints

When a team is presented with a large project, building short sprints—in which you chunk out small pieces of work for the team to focus on, one at a time—is a way to prevent burnout, according to Anjoo Rai-Marchant, chief customer and technology officer at HighGround.

  1. Write down your stressors

Whether you are anxious about a presentation or the results of an upcoming project, simply putting your worries on paper can relieve stress and improve your performance, said Andrew Filev, CEO of Wrike.

  1. Disconnect

As tech work often involves staring at a screen all day, it’s important to disconnect to avoid eye strain, neck pain, and increased anxiety, Filev said. “Instead of making a break by exchanging on social networks or sending SMS to your friends, turn off your screen, turn off your computer, and rest your eyes for a moment,” he said. “Read a book or magazine, go for a walk, or make a coffee and talk with a colleague orally.”

Bottom-line: Every workplace has some level of stress and this will depend on the industry and/or tasks being performed by employees. And, while it’s important to be mindful that your employees are not overworked-your workplace should challenge employees to reach their potential.

To learn about ATS Time and Attendance Solutions, or to attend a bi-monthly webinar, go to our website. And, to reach an account executive, call: 866.294.2467.

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When Executed Properly, Business Automation Can Spur Growth

May 4th, 2017 | Posted by ATS in Cloud Computing | Time and Attendance Blog, Workforce Management Software | Time and Attendance Canada | TimeWork OnDemand | Workforce Analytics | Workforce Management Solutions - (Comments Off on When Executed Properly, Business Automation Can Spur Growth)

Many of today’s business leaders have to cut through the noise surrounding business automation, and at times, have to rely on experts to guide them. Trouble is, some of the experts are either ill informed and/or stuck in the dark ages. And, in today’s competitive environment of; artificial intelligence, cloud computing, robotics and workforce analytics businesses would be wise to jump on the band wagon. The benefits to automating your business means, you will streamline payroll costs and improve workforce productivity. Which business executive is going to pass up this opportunity when it’s presented in those terms?

In his article How to Automate Your Business for Fast Growth  on Inc.com Jeff Haden lays out an 8 step guide to automation that even the most cautious, business executive will find useful. In no particular order, you will below, a list of three out of the eight business automation steps listed in the article:

  1. Start small and focus on one business function: Pick a function with a solid ROI. Then pick another function. Once you get a few wins under your belt, your employees will be asking you to automate certain functions. You won’t have to push your employees; they’ll pull you in.
  2. Automate the easiest processes first: Pick rote tasks where there is no human value-add. Automation lets you avoid human error while saving time in execution.
  3. Pick a technology partner: If you reach the point where you want to bring in a vendor, the key is to look out a few years and ensure your partner has the right level of scope, innovation, and technology, and can scale with you.

When Executed Properly, Business Automation Can Spur Growth

Business leaders are responsible for deciding how their company is run, and, by this definition are held accountable by their stakeholders. The difference, between a company that remains stagnant and one that’s enjoying improved productivity and growth, has to do with the automation of business processes.

To learn more about ATS business workforce management solution, go to our website. And, to reach an account executive, call: 866.294.2467.

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Traditional Work As We Know It, Is Slowly Being Disrupted

May 2nd, 2017 | Posted by ATS in Cloud Computing | Time and Attendance Blog, Workforce Management Software | Workforce Management Solutions - (Comments Off on Traditional Work As We Know It, Is Slowly Being Disrupted)

The disruption of what was once considered traditional work is slowly being replaced by the gig economy and many millennials and baby boomers are gravitating towards it. Several reasons have been offered as to why this type of work is replacing the 9-5 shifts, some of which include; flexibility and today’s workers simply wanting more out of life instead of being tethered to a desk job.

In the finale of a five-part series on the gig economy written by Jonny Dunning, for HRZone, he lists four examples that illustrate how the future of work is being shaped.

Traditional Work As We Know It, Is Slowly Being Disrupted

“1) Social
Two social factors will impact how people choose to work in the future. Firstly, an increasing freedom of where to work, and secondly, a growing importance of who to work for.

2) Technology
Virtual offices, infrastructure-as-a-service, and video-conferencing are one factor enabling a change in the workplace. Technology removes the requirement for a company to locate its employees in a single location, and has been the biggest single catalyst for change in the office working environment.

3) Commercial
Technology is disrupting and transforming every industry. Consumers, workers, supply-chains are all undergoing digital transformation. Capgemini’s report on the Digital Advantage shows the impact digital is having businesses in mining, gambling, fashion and every industry in between.

4) Technology
In response to the growing number of self-employed people in the UK, the Work and Pensions Committee, launched an inquiry into the impact of the gig economy in December 2016. The inquiry will assess the relative treatment of employees and self-employed people in the Universal Credit benefits system, how Job Center Plus should adapt to support those people wanting to become self-employed, how self-employed people can be encouraged to save for retirement and how self-employment can lead to full employment.”

The question that always comes up with something new, is will it last? Cloud-Based applications that include; streaming of movies, music and the deployment of time and attendance are perfect examples. And, more importantly, how will today’s workforce attitude towards work as we know it, shape the next generation?

The bottom-line; the reality for many employers–regardless of size or industry–is that they no longer have control over the labour market the way they once did. The gig economy will continue to disrupt and will someday become the norm.

To learn about ATS go to our website where you can download brochures or a demonstration about our cloud-based time and attendance solution.

 

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