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Author Archives: Apex Time Solutions

An Introduction to Employee Self Service

June 1st, 2011 | Posted by Apex Time Solutions in Time and Attendance Blog, Workforce Management Software | Time and Attendance System | Time Management Solutions | Web-Based Time and Attendance | Workforce Management Software - (0 Comments)

Today’s workforce is different from five or even 10 years ago. Among other things, when employees are applying for jobs, they look for companies that offer flexible work environments. The introduction of an Employee Self-Service Web-Based Time and Attendance System in your organization will put you on the list of “cool” companies to work for.

With Employee Self-Service, employees can see their time cards, submit vacation requests and view their schedules from anywhere they have internet access.  With the built-in workflow, you can configure the view and access for each employee.  This allows you to create a solution that works for all employees across different departments and/or locations.

Giving your employees access to view their leave requests through the Web-Based Time and Attendance Software drastically cuts down on the calls your HR and Payroll Personnel receive about how much time they have left to take. And most of all, you can free up even more time by cutting out all the work that still has to be done in completing paper vacation request forms.

Utilizing Apex Time Solutions Employee Self Service security features, employees can access their information via a kiosk at work, or from their own computer at home. The enhanced feature of ATS Employee Self Service frees valuable time for Payroll Personnel to deal with critical payroll related issues.

Apex Time Solutions Employee Self Service allows employees to view items such as:

  • Paid Time Off-current and history
  • Benefits
  • Skills and Training

 The Web-Based Time and Attendance Employee Self Service also allows employees to edit information in the systems such as:

  • Emergency Contact information
  • Email Address and/or telephone numbers
  • Emergency Contact information
  • Change of Address
  • Personal Information

 Key Features and Benefits:

  • Secure access and password protection
  • Allows employees to review their own benefit usage and benefit balances.
  • Deployed over the Internet or a Company’s’ Intranet
  • Employees can view and maintain personal information including, current and historical pay statements, emergency contacts, dependants and more
  • Look and feel is easily tailored to match your corporate collateral
  • Save time and reduce costs by putting employee information and HR processes on the web.
  • Streamline HR processes, including benefits enrollment and vacation/sick time.
  • Access employee information 24 hours-a-day, seven days-a-week.
  • Reduce the number of phone calls received by HR.

 To learn more about Employee Self Service Web-Based Time and Attendance System, go to our website

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Are You Still Relying on The Honour System to Track Employees Time?

May 30th, 2011 | Posted by Apex Time Solutions in Time and Attendance System | Time Management Solutions | Workforce Management Software - (0 Comments)

It’s not surprising to hear of companies today, who still believe in the honour system. At a recent white board session, with a multi-site 700 employee customer, when asked why they had not considered automating before, their response was fluid. “In the past, our corporate culture did not believe in tracking the time and attendance of our employees”.

A conversation with the Director of Operations of a fast food chain revealed that while she suspected “buddy punching” was taking place, they could not prove it. “Buddy Punching” is the practice of co-workers “clocking” in or out for each other at work. Reasons for this practice include: the employee might be late, wants to leave early, takes a long break or does not show up at all. The company is paying time (minutes, hours or even days of work) that is not being performed.

Can you imagine the daunting task of processing 700 paper time cards by hand? Next, figuring out 50 different pay classifications, 5 different collective agreements and department transfers and then keying all this data into your payroll software? That’s enough to give any HR Manager or Payroll Practitioner a headache on payroll days.

The ATS Time and Attendance System can be configured to work in any business environment. No matter the size of the company, our Workforce Management Software, can be configured to meet your specific company’s needs. Our Time and Attendance System includes: labour forecasting, employee scheduling, absence planning, job costing, overtime equalization, employee self service and mobile time and attendance applications.

Introducing an ATS Time and Attendance Software Solution to your organization reduces labour costs and improves business efficiency.

To download a copy of “5 Best Practices to Tracking Time and Attendance of Employees”, go to our website.

Are You Still Relying on The Honour System to Track Employees Time?

 

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5 Steps To A Successful Time And Attendance Implementation

May 16th, 2011 | Posted by Apex Time Solutions in Time and Attendance System | Time Management Solutions | Web-Based Time and Attendance | Workforce Management Software - (0 Comments)

When it comes to deploying a time and attendance system, there are a number of best practices which remain key, to the success of an implementation. These include: keeping an open mind, setting time aside to migrate data, training of personnel, data management know-how and a process for continuous improvement. Depending on the size of the implementation, there may be other steps. However, we thought it best to mention five simple steps that can sometimes be overlooked.

Step 1.  Set Expectations
You should set realistic expectations. The implementation of a time and attendance system can sometimes be a complex process that takes a great amount of time and personnel resources. While you might be excited about having your new workforce management software installed as soon as possible, shortcuts cannot be taken if it is to be carried out successfully to achieve the desired result. The most common error is to underestimate the anticipated time required to deploy a new system.

Step 2. Requirement Specifications

This step can be easily defined as the most important and could head the list. Not having a set of requirements outlined may delay the implementation even with the best of intentions. The Requirement Specifications is important to ensure your company’s needs are fully understood before the solution is deployed.

Step 3. Project Management
Realistic Project Management Guidelines are vital for implementation success of your time and attendance system. The time and attendance software project should be carefully defined and controlled to avoid unnecessary delays. When the time and attendance project is well organized, sufficient time should be allowed for documentation, redefining and integrating processes and systems before testing and then going live.

Step 4. The Project Sponsor
The role of the Sponsor is important for the successful implementation of your time and attendance system. Your Project Sponsor should be someone who will be directly impacted by the use of the system on a daily basis. A small company might choose to use an HR and/or Payroll Practitioner or even the company’s controller. A larger organization with a multi site implementation might have a steering committee with one or two Project Sponsors.

Step 5. Communication

Before the implementation starts, management should take into account the impact the new time and attendance system will have on employees. No one likes surprises, least of all your employees. Give them advanced notice and make them aware of the benefits of the time and attendance system.  If they understand the advantages to the time and attendance solution and the business needs your company is trying to address, they will embrace the new system.

In closing…

Your time and attendance software implementation will be successful when realistic expectations are set, project timelines are defined and many of the solutions mentioned above are followed.

To download a copy of our white paper, on the implementation of time and attendance, go to our website.

5 Steps to a Successful Time and Attendance Implementation

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Web-Based, Cloud Computing, SaaS or is it Hosted Time and Attendance?

May 1st, 2011 | Posted by Apex Time Solutions in Time and Attendance System | Time Management Solutions | Web-Based Time and Attendance | Workforce Management Software - (0 Comments)

Customers today are so inundated by these buzz words it is not surprising there is so much confusion in the market place. We attended a recent user-conference where one vendor suggested that customers should become familiar with our industry acronyms. Now this is what we call arrogance. It is not the customer’s responsibility to understand different industry terms. Customers are always interested in, finding out how a product can help their business improve productivity and increase sales. Vendors, on the other hand, have to simplify their industry jargon in a way that is easily understood by the general consumer.

So, what are the differences between Cloud Computing Time & Attendance, Web-Based Time and Attendance, Software-as-as-a-Service (SaaS) and Hosted Time and Attendance? It all depends on who you ask. While some vendors will lead you to believe there are vast differences, in our view, they are very similar. It really all depends on how it is deployed or more importantly, who is hosting the software. If you are in search of a time and attendance system and run across these terms, ask your vendor to explain them in a way that you can understand. If it’s too difficult to understand, chances are the system itself might be prove too difficult to work in your organization. Look for a vendor that will take the time to explain industry jargon as it relates to a web-based or hosted time and attendance system.

To download a copy of our white paper on cloud computing time and attendance click here   or  go to our website.

Web-Based, Cloud Computing, SaaS or is it Hosted Time and Attendance?

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Do You Need A Simple Or Complicated Time And Attendance Solution?

April 18th, 2011 | Posted by Apex Time Solutions in Time and Attendance System | Web-Based Time and Attendance | Workforce Management Software - (0 Comments)

In the first period of a recent game between the Miami Heat and the Boston Celtics, two of the NBA’s marquee teams, the Celtics were being pummeled. During a time out, coach Doc Rivers, kept saying to his players, “keep the game simple”. This is a phrase that’s often used in sports by coaches to remind players to stick to the fundamentals of the game. The phrase, “keep it simple” is also used in the world of business and other areas of life.

So, what does “keep it simple” have to do with a time management system? In the context of this discussion quite a lot. If your company has been using a paper based time sheet or an antiquated punch clock system and you are thinking about implementing a time management solution, try migrating at a slow pace.

Do You Need A Simple Or Complicated Time And Attendance Solution?

Here are some reasons why:

  • Employees who have not used a 21st century swipe card or biometric time clock might resent it if it’s not properly explained to them
  • You may get push-back from operational supervisors if the software is too difficult to navigate
  • The learning curve is easier for all stakeholders of your company

Now, we are not suggesting that you go out and purchase the cheapest solution you can get your hands on. As we all know, you cannot put a price on quality. At the same time, we are not suggesting you get the most expensive. Instead, what we are saying is that for companies who are thinking about deploying a time & attendance system for the first time, the “keep it simple” approach should apply. You can always add modules to a scalable workforce time and attendance system as your need increases. Apex Time Solutions provides an open and integrated employee time management solution representing a variety of sizes and industries.

The ATS Workforce Management Software tracks employee time and attendance, employee time clock software, employee scheduling software and payroll software all in a single package.

To learn more about best-practices in deploying a time and attendance system or to download one of our white papers, go to our website.

Do You Need A Simple Or Complicated Time And Attendance Solution?

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Can a Time and Attendance System Make a Difference?

April 11th, 2011 | Posted by Apex Time Solutions in Time and Attendance Software | Time and Attendance System | Workforce Management Software - (0 Comments)

Surveys by leading organizations have consistently revealed that a large majority of organizations do not use any form of time and attendance to track employee hours. When you consider that labour is the largest expense for most organizations, this statistic leaves one to wonder why?

A company using a manual time sheet has to contend with the following:

  • Employees punching in/out for each other-Buddy Punching
  • Employees taking an extra 5 minutes for lunch
  • Arriving 5-10 minutes late once or twice a week
  • Manual calculation and keying of employees hours into a payroll software

Now it’s important to note that these studies revealed those using antiquated punch clocks, manual time sheets or “the honour system” included companies of various sizes. Theses companies ranged in size between 40-2000 employees. This is a staggering number when you consider the following benefits:

A time and attendance software will reduce the cost associated with creating and distributing paper timesheets. Cost savings result from:

  • Direct savings from reduced paper, printing, and distribution costs
  • Indirect savings from time spent handling paper timesheets
  • Elimination of duplicate data entry
  • History of dates when time off was taken
  • Fewer paycheque corrections
  • Fewer inquires to HR or payroll departments
  • Reduce the different levels of paper base tracking

How many employees complain if they get overpaid? If even a small number of employees keep their overpayments, it is costing plenty. And when employees get underpaid and complain, issuing a new pay cheque or adjustment is costly.

Without accurate information, you lose the ability to perform useful decision support. Pay is the biggest controllable expense in most organizations. You should have accurate information about hours worked, departments worked in, etc. for your decision support.

ATS customized time and attendance solutions help companies improve efficiency and reduce costs. To learn more about deploying a time and attendance system at your organization go to our website.

Can a Time and Attendance System Make a Difference?

Can a Time and Attendance System Make a Difference?

 

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