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Have You Started Thinking About New Year’s Resolutions For 2019?

December 28th, 2018 | Posted by ATS in Benefit Accruals | Employee Productivity | Time and Attendance Blog, Workforce Management Software - (Comments Off on Have You Started Thinking About New Year’s Resolutions For 2019?)

Now that all the shopping, eating and family festivities are all done, here comes the tradition of New Year resolutions that we will hear a lot about in the first few weeks of 2019. And, in the world of business, increasing sales, will likely top the list of things that most businesses, both small and large will have on their to-do list.

Mike Maddock’s list of Ten Resolutions The Most Successful People Make And Then Keep at Forbes.com is quite handy if your company is compiling its own list.

Those resolutions are:

1.Spend more time on the not-to-do list
Strategy is the art of sacrifice. That’s why you may consider creating a larger clearing for what really matters by first identifying, and then avoiding, what matters the least. Your time is a treasure to be invested. Creating a list of things that you are not going to do, allows you to invest more of your treasured time on the few things that matter the most.

2. Essential first, email second
What’s the first thing you do in the morning? For many of us, it is looking at email. We wake up with a renewed mind and spirit, ready to take on the world, and then we immediately allow ourselves to be distracted by an insignificant email. Instead, wake up,take on the most important task of the day, and then (and only then) hit the email

3.Resolve to think about “Who” instead of “What”
Do you work for a “What” business or for a “Who” business? Successful companies run the risk of focusing too much on their current products and distributors thus—the “What”—losing sight of the constant and dramatically changing needs of their customer base. (The “Who.”) Insurance, pharma, health care, higher education often listen too much to their agents, doctors and professors. The real innovation starts with the end consumer.

4. Resolve to find your purpose
As my friend Simon Sinek will tell you: People don’t buy what you do, they buy why you do it. Starting a career, a company or any kind of journey that is based firmly on your purpose is foundational to success and happiness. If you don’t know your company’s purpose or even your own, finding one is the worthiest of resolutions.

5. Resolve to support a cause
If you’re reading this, chances are you are one of the rare people who know how to start things. Fortunately, there are people like you who have already started causes that make the world better—they feed the hungry; they save the rain forest; they fight cancer; they do good things. There is virtually a cause for everyone, and contributing will make your year happier. Promise.

6. Resolve to invent more choices
Here’s a secret that happy people know that I learned from my friend Dr. Dan Baker: You can’t feel grateful and fearful at the same time. And one certain way to become afraid is to feel trapped by any situation. The remedy is choice. The more choices you feel you have, the less trapped—and happier—you will feel. So this year, resolve to do a bit of brainstorming every time you feel unhappy.

7. Resolve to find a Yin for your Yang 
Walt Disney had Roy Disney, Steve Jobs had Steve Wozniak and Orville Wright had Wilbur Wright. Wherever there is great innovation, there is a Dreamer and an Operator; an Idea Monkey and a (Ring) leader. First, determine where your passions lie, then go find an equally passionate partner, then go change the world.

8. Resolve to get outside your jar 
You can’t read the label when you are sitting inside the jar. The sad irony of being an expert is that it keeps you from seeing possibility. After all, you know what works, what doesn’t, what you can afford, what’s been tried in the past. Instead of relying only on your expertise, learn how to find other experts solving similar challenges to the ones you are facing. Go ask them what you may be missing.

9. Resolve to be the creator
What is the outcome you want? What stands in your way? How do you overcome these obstacles? These three simple questions will keep you from being victimized by any situation. Creators change the world. Victims just bitch about stuff.

10. Plan vacations (now)
You have probably heard the saying, “Life is what happens when you are not paying attention.” Unfortunately for many of us, we let this become true. Do yourself a favor and plan your vacations for the next year today. I promise you that the days around your vacation will fill in nicely. I also promise you that you’ll have something to look forward to and the life that happens during your vacations will be precious.

The stats on how often people keep up with New Year’s resolutions are dismal, at best. Part of the reason why most people don’t live up to their New Year’s goals, are because, those goals are too unrealistic to begin. So, perhaps part of New Year’s resolution list should include a step, by step guide on how to reach each goal or target?

Happy New Year!

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3 Tips On How To Effectively Manage The Company’s Christmas Party

December 19th, 2018 | Posted by ATS in Absence Management | ATS TimeWork OnDemand | Benefit Accruals | Employee Time and Attendance | HR | Payroll | Time and Attendance Blog, Workforce Management Software | Time and Attendance Canada | Time and Attendance Toronto - (Comments Off on 3 Tips On How To Effectively Manage The Company’s Christmas Party)

Your company made it through another year together,and it’s time to let your employees relax, have some fun and enjoy themselves.And, when it’s done right, the annual Christmas party can be great opportunity for managers to get to know their employees on a personal level.

In writing for the Silicon Republic, David Bell’s article, titled How to avoid the Christmas party HR hangover  offers some, advice to HR practitioners and senior executives. Here are three takeaways from the article:

Don’t encourage binge drinking
To avoid behavioural issues, don’t encourage mass consumption of alcohol intake and don’t offer employees a free bar. This will decrease the chances of accidents, fights or issues that usually happen as a result of drinking. If needed, be prepared to tell individuals to stop drinking if they start to appear too drunk or rowdy.

Social media is a powerful tool, used for many different aspects of both personal and business life. However, it is important to remember that when your employees are posting selfies and other various photos at the office party, they are still representing your company, so brand awareness is vital.

Ensure employees use social media in a positive way
It could be a good idea to have one person act as a photographer for the night and only take appropriate photos. The next working day, everyone can choose certain photos they prefer and you could even choose a couple for company social media.

 It is highly recommended that you create a general social media policy in your workplace. Informing staff of this new disciplinary policy will make them aware of the rules and hopefully avoid any possible problems.

Be considerate to all employees
Be sensitive to the fact that some employees may not celebrate the Christmas holiday. There are some religions that don’t consume alcohol, so it’s very important to make sure there are options to cater to them. This will show your awareness and consideration of your employees, making them feel valued.

 Don’t make any promises that you can’t keep and avoid discussions about salary, promotions etc at the party. The reason for this isthat words of encouragement are sometimes misinterpreted and may cause issues in the workplace.

For most, unless the party is on a Friday night, the working week will continue the next day as normal. Despite guidance on what is considered acceptable and what is not, unfortunate events may occur or certain things may be said. In such situations, it’s important that any information given to you by employees stay anonymous, unless said otherwise.

Happy Holidays!

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Still Have Faith Those Spreadsheets Will Give You Accurate Attendance Records?

December 13th, 2018 | Posted by ATS in Absence Management | Benefit Accruals | Employee Self Service | Employee Time Tracking | Leave Management | Payroll | Software-as-a-Service (saas) Workforce Management Software | Time and Attendance Blog, Workforce Management Software | Time and Attendance Canada | Time and Attendance Toronto | TimeWork OnDemand - (Comments Off on Still Have Faith Those Spreadsheets Will Give You Accurate Attendance Records?)

Spreadsheets serve a good purpose. And several companies use them. In fact, some of ATS financial analysts and even some, in the professional service areas like; software engineers use spreadsheets to measure results. However, this data usually comes in from outside big data tools as oppose to being keyed in manually. The potential to run into errors when manually keying data into spreadsheets is real,especially, when you are dealing with things like leave management and employee attendance.

In a recent article by Courtney Blanchard, for TLNT titled, With Paid Leave Laws Expanding, You Need to Update Your Attendance Policies there are some worthwhile advice for HR and Payroll Practitioners on how to best navigate and keep accurate records of attendance policies. They read, in part:

  •  Review company attendance policies to ensure that any mandatory notice periods (i.e., 2 weeks’ notice for a planned doctor’s appointment) do not violate the sick leave law.
  • Update hiring notices and workplace posters.
  • Educate supervisors on how to spot fraud or abuse without inadvertently retaliating against employees for using paid leave. Most laws prevent employers from seeking any verification unless an employee has been absent three consecutive working days.
  • Review payroll practices to ensure employees are receiving the proper rate of pay for the use of sick leave, and that pay stubs include any required information.
  • Develop a consistent tracking method to ensure that employees accurately accrue time, and that any time used is properly credited and deducted from the balance.

And, while this article is specific to regions in the state of Minnesota, their impact will reverberate across other US states. Also, while labour laws and leave management tracking are different in Canada they could eventually make their way north of the border.

 So, if your company is tracking employee time and attendance including, vacation, and other leave management through paper time sheets, you don’t need to anymore.

With ATS TimeWork OnDemand you can:

 Automate Tracking of Management Policies: ATS TimeWorkOnDemand helps automate the administration and tracking of paid and unpaid federal, provincial, and otherregional employer-specific leave policies. ATS TimeWorkOnDemand can be configured to match the needs of your organization to maintain balances, reduce manual process errors, and control absence costs.

Simplify and Streamline Compliance: Federal regulations and provincial and/or state laws and union policies, often have overlapping eligibility rules, benefit accruals, and notice requirements. Which makes it all the more important that companies should a time and attendance system that allows to them to accurately track employee attendance and leave management policies. ATS TimeWorkOnDemand solution allows your organization to automate laws and policies in a single solution—simplifying compliance and reducing costs, while also freeing your HR team to focus on higher priority responsibilities.

Keep Accurate Attendance: ATS TimeWorkOnDemand will make sure your leave policies are enforced consistently and accurately across your entire company. With ATS leave management automation, your employees will have access to self-service capabilities through leave eligibility, and balance tracking — available24/7, 365 days a year from any Smartphone or tablet, anytime, anywhere.

To learn more about ATS TimeWorkOnDemand Leave Management solution, go to our website. You can also register for one of our bi-weekly webinars. And to reach an account executive,call: 866.294.2467.

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Struggling To Manage Employees During The Holiday Season? Here Are Some Tips

December 11th, 2018 | Posted by ATS in Absence Management | Employee Productivity | Employee Scheduling | Labour Forecasting | Leave Management | Telecommuting Employees | Time and Attendance Blog, Workforce Management Software | Work-Life Balance - (Comments Off on Struggling To Manage Employees During The Holiday Season? Here Are Some Tips)

Now that we’re into the month of December and the holiday season has kicked into full gear, here’s a question just about every manager probably has on their mind: Just how much work am I getting out of my employees this month, anyway?

Well, regardless of your religious affiliation the end-of-the-year holiday season impacts every workplace, and every worker, whether it’s retail, manufacturing, or healthcare. And, as someone who manages people, you probably only too well, that your employees will likely be distracted and stressed at this time of the year.

This article from Entrepreneur and Glassdoor titled ‘7 Ways to Manage Employee HolidayTime Off’ is a useful guide for any manager:

1. Plan in advance: Many industrial businesses have their holiday schedule planned well in advance, and there’s no reason any type of business can’t do that either. According to Brian Koniuk, a principal at the HackettGroup, manufacturers typically require employees to plan out their vacation for the coming year so they know in January who is working what holiday and who is off for the entire year. In other industries, like health care, Koniuk says schedules are made three to five months in advance.

 2. First come, first served: If you are running a business that is busy during the holidays or needs to be staffed 24/7 year-round, one way to prevent employees from taking off in large numbers is to limit the amount and give workers off on a first come, first served basis, says Pat Sweeney, human resource manager at Old Colony Hospice and Palliative Care. “If they know they are going to want to be off over the holidays they know they have to ask for the time off way in advance,” says Sweeney. She says that starting as early as September supervisors can notify the staff that requests for time off have to be made as soon as possible. Hand in hand with a first come, first served policy is capping the number of people that can take off during the holidays.

 3. Stagger the schedule: You may not be able to keep a full staff during the holidays, but that doesn’t mean you have to close early or provide a reduced level of service. To combat that, Kathy Harris, managing director of recruiting firm Harris Allied, says to stagger your employee vacation scheduling. For instance, you can have someone work in the morning during the holidays and another worker take the afternoon shift. Another option: have one employee work Monday and Tuesday and another Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. The idea behind a staggered employee vacation schedule is to always have coverage, and at the same time, give employees time off during the holidays.

4. Keep a pool of part-timers: If you are operating a business that picks up during the holiday season, or you know a lot of your staff will be gone during that time, it’s a good idea to keep a pool of part-timers that you can tap when you need extra help, says Gary Should is, a small business consultant, coach and owner of a gymnastics center. “We have a pool of part-timers that we know can work the holidays,” says Should is. “Whenever we hit the holiday period or periods where we lose part of our staff they come on.” According to Should is, it’s a good idea to keep in contact with these part-timers year-round so you’ll know their availability ahead of time. Another option is to post a job in anticipation for holiday hiring.

5. Offer a holiday pay differential: For some people money talks even if it means they won’t be with their family during the holidays, which is why offering a holiday pay differential can keep your business staffed. According to Sweeney, it should be something that is part of the company’s structure and not something you offer just to entice an employee not to take off. “If you’re in a business you know there are a lot of requests for time off you can have some differential built in,” she says.

 6. Institute a vacation blackout period: For some businesses, particularly retail, the holidays are the busiest time for them, which means they need a full staff if not more. If your business falls into this category, a way to prevent employees from taking off is to have a blackout period where no one can take off, says Tanios. If an employee wants off during a blackout period he or she would need to ask well in advance, and it would be at the manager’s discretion, says Tanios. It’s a good idea to inform employees from the beginning of the blackout policy so they aren’t blindsided come holiday time.

 7. Let employees work at home: These days pretty much everybody has a laptop, iPad or smartphone that enables them to work remotely. If your staff doesn’t have to be on site, letting them work at home during the holidays can be a productive way to get things done without having to bring in additional staff. Working at home is a viable option only if the business lends itself to it and there’s away to ensure the employees are actually working. “In this day and age working from a virtual office anywhere is possible,” says Sweeney.

Bottom-line: During the holiday season, employees are likely dreaming of cozying up in Christmas sweaters with their egg-nogs or just dreading that visit from relatives that they see only once a year. Employees will be stressed out enough as it is, anything you can do as their manager to bring joy, could increase productivity and yes, profit to the bottom line.

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So You Think Using Big Words, Make You Sound Smart? Think Again

December 4th, 2018 | Posted by ATS in Time and Attendance Blog, Workforce Management Software | Workforce | Workplace - (Comments Off on So You Think Using Big Words, Make You Sound Smart? Think Again)

It was not too long ago, (in the opinion of some anyway,) that in order to sound smart, one had to use fancy words. And, if the recipient on the other end of that conversation could not or chose not to respond in kind, it meant they were not as smart. In 2018, such an approach would come across as being pompous and out of touch. In other words, times have change and so, should our way of speaking.

Priyansha Mistry, article in The HR Digest Big Words Make You Sound Stupid offers some simple tips that can be used for everyday conversations and reads in part;

So You Think Using Big Words, Make You Sound Smarter? Think Again

To help you on your quest to sound intelligent, here are phrases that won’t strengthen your vocabulary, but might make you carry the sound of your intellect more effectively.

“Good point, but”
People who want to be heard begin by acknowledging what’s already been said before contributing to the conversation. Instead of saying “I don’t agree,” a more influential speaker might say, “You make a good point. I’d like to chip it another perspective on the table.”

 “In your situation…”
When you want your colleagues to follow your suggestions, the last phrase you should use is, “This is how I’d do it.” Giving people direct advice, even when they’ve asked for it, can be off-putting when not told in the right manner. Something along the lines of “In your situation…” can work wonders!

 “Yes, and…”
The magic behind “Yes, and…” is that it eliminates defensive phrases such as “actually,” “but,” or “sorry, but…” from your diction. When you want to make sure your listeners keep an open mind, you rely on this phrase to deliver unwelcome news.

Bottom-line, one does not need fancy words to convey their message, even if you want to impress your co-workers, the use of simple words will do. In short, if colleagues know you are smart, you should not have to work so hard to prove it with big words.

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