Time and Attendance Blog, Workforce Management Software

Should Your Company Upgrade To Windows 11? Here Are Some Tips From An Expert

If you are using Windows 10 for personal or business, chances are you’ve received a pop up message from Microsoft that you should upgrade to Windows 11. Depending on what your IT department suggests or your personal preference, you may decide, it’s time to upgrade or wait a while. Our CIO has told us, that this initiative, will come from our IT department, which essentially means- they are going to wait until all the bugs are worked out before making the switch, company-wide.

If you are on the fence about whether you should upgrade to Windows 11, here is an article about the 3 things we hate and love in Windows 11, by expert, Mark Hachman and his team at PC World:

“1. We love: The Settings menu

Nearly a decade after the new Settings menu appeared in Windows 8, Microsoft has finally made a real effort in not only filling out the Settings menu with more options, but also organizing it well. Microsoft has done away with the “home” screen of the Settings menu, relying instead on a left-hand nav bar. A “breadcrumb” navigation system has been added to the top, so you can skip back and forth inside of a particular directory. Search exists, too, of course. Finally, each page of the Settings provides dense information without being overwhelming, with drop-down menus and graphics to assist you. It’s quite useful.

For years, Microsoft’s Windows Settings menu has wrestled with the legacy Control Panel. If you need to do something, where should you look? In Windows 11, you’ll find most of what you’re looking for inside the Windows 11 Settings.

2. We love: The Out of the Box experience

You may only see the “Out of the Box Experience” (OOBE) once while you’re setting up a new Windows 11 PC, but it’s a triumph. Setting up a Windows 11 PC takes just a few minutes, and Microsoft uses those to its full advantage, taking you on a virtual tour of Windows 11’s key features, including ones that you may not encounter without some poking around. It’s clean and professional—perhaps a bit too professional—but it’s a night-and-day improvement over the Windows 10 experience, which wasn’t bad to begin with.

3. We love: Widgets

I’m warming to Windows 11’s Widgets. Widgets, the ginormous panel that slides out from the left-hand side of your display, contains all sorts of useful information: local weather, your calendar, photos that you took on this day a few years ago, and so on. Yes, there’s a lot of fluff, as the overriding Microsoft Start service will feed you a lot of gossip and other extraneous news if you don’t configure your settings appropriately.

On the other hand, I’ve criticized Windows 11 for its lack of life, and Widgets (and the updated Xbox app, complete with cloud gaming for Xbox Game Pass Ultimate subscribers) is where the fun lives.

4. We hate: The new Start menu

Yes, Microsoft removed the lively Live Tiles. But the real crime is simply the poor organization of it all. In Windows 10, you can click on the Start menu and see your grouped app icons and documents next to an alphabetical list of your apps. In Windows 11, apps are first dropped into the secondary “All apps” overflow menu. From there, you can then add them to the main Start menu, a.k.a. “pinned apps.”

5. We hate: The lack of local accounts

If you already use a Microsoft account to log into your Windows PC, this won’t apply to you. (Logging in with a Microsoft account requires you to put in a personal Microsoft email address and password such as jo******@ou*****.com, uniquely identifying your PC.) But if you’re the type of person who prefers (or perhaps demands) to use a “local” or “offline” account with an anonymous login, you won’t be able to do that with Windows 10 Home. And no, the old “router trick” doesn’t work, either.

6.We hate: The lack of browser choice

Many people use the built-in Edge browser. Many more users, however, use Google Chrome, Firefox, Vivaldi, Opera, Brave, or the other niche browsers that we’ve covered in our best browser roundup. Yes, you can download Chrome and use it as you wish. But if you want to make Chrome the default browser on your PC, that one-click “set as default” option that was available in Windows 10 has vanished.

Instead, you’re presented with one of the most obtuse options screen Windows has ever presented, which asks you to set your browser choice by individual file type. No, there’s no option to “select all.” If you’d still like to switch file types, Microsoft will then ask you, yet again, if you’d like to try Edge instead. It’s clingy and extraordinarily passive-aggressive, and it absolutely tarnishes the entirety of the operating system”.

So, should you upgrade? Some experts have suggested you should upgrade, if you are a heavy multitasker, or if you simply want a better aesthetic-looking Windows. If you have an IT department or consultant, ask them. Chances are they have been testing Windows 11 and may the answer that’s best suited for your organization.

About ATS

ATS offers a broad portfolio of time and attendance solutions that streamlines the collection, calculation, and reporting of employee hours for workforce management and eliminates the manual tasks of payroll preparation, increasing efficiency and reducing errors in corporate payroll departments.

Thousands of organizations across North, Central and South America and Europe- including more than half of the Fortune 500 – use ATS TimeWork OnDemand, Workforce Planning, Employee Scheduling HR and payroll solutions to manage their workforce. ATS cloud services offer rapid deployment, support services, software updates, and enhancements; and consulting and training services.

Brave, Firefox, Google Chrome, IT, Microsoft, Opera, Vivaldi, Windows PC, Windows11

What’s Causing Employees to Resign from Their Jobs in Droves?

The phrase “The Great Resignation was coined by Texas A&M University Professor Anthony C. Klotz coined back in 2020. Now this term is widely used to describe the challenges many businesses, both small and large face with the max exodus of employees. Some experts have anecdotally, opined employees chose to stay home and collect stimulus covid-19 panademic cheques. However, recent surveys, suggest the real reasons, is because many people have decided to make a major shift in their life and focus on what matters most to them during the pandemic. Some of these reasons for quitting their jobs include: family, children education, and work-life balance. In other words, most people decided to leave their old jobs and look for new jobs that align with their new identity and life goals.

In a recent blog Sophia Lee at Blue Board lays out some of the reasons why so many employees have decided to quit their jobs.

1. Employee burnout rates are through the roof.

Employee burnout is a long-term reaction to stress that usually comes with mental, emotional, and physical side effects. While 42% of employees were already experiencing burnout before the pandemic, that number skyrocketed to 72% a few months into lockdown—largely due to increased anxiety, heavier workloads, and people taking less time off.

But many employers still aren’t addressing employee burnout in their retention strategies. One in five workers believes their employer doesn’t care about their work-life balance. And they’ve had enough. They’re quitting in droves, looking for companies that care about their wellbeing. Others are staying put—but at a cost to organizations. The lost productivity of an actively disengaged employee is equal to 18% of their annual salary. This means a company of 10,000 employees with an average salary of $50,000 each will lose $60.3 million a year due to employee burnout.

2. Companies aren’t providing the flexibility employees need.

When COVID-19 sent so many people home, employees realized how powerful (and possible) it is to be able to decide where, how, and when they work. Which is why nine in ten employees continue to demand flexibility from their jobs.

Too many organizations have dismissed this shift, and expect people to quietly return to the office. But this will likely result in significant turnover, as 54% of employees are considering leaving their job in this new normal if they’re not afforded some form of flexibility in where and when they work.

3. Manager training continues to fall short.

Managers have the most influence on an employee’s job satisfaction, wellbeing, and likelihood to stay at a company. In fact, 57% of employees have left at least one company because of their boss. But being a manager isn’t intuitive. It requires an entirely different set of skills than being an individual contributor, which is why training programs are essential.

In these uncertain times, managers are playing an especially critical role in supporting their employees. Or, at least, they should be. But due to a lack of effective training, many managers aren’t giving employees what they need, causing them to burn out and look for new jobs.

Managers themselves are frustrated by the lack of support from their employers. They’ve been asked to take on significantly more responsibility without being given additional tools, resources, or guidance. The employee retention numbers reflect the frustration: as of December 2020, the resignation rate for managers was nearly 12% higher than the previous year.

About ATS

ATS offers a broad portfolio of time and attendance solutions that streamlines the collection, calculation, and reporting of employee hours for workforce management and eliminates the manual tasks of payroll preparation, increasing efficiency and reducing errors in corporate payroll departments.

Thousands of organizations across North, Central and South America and Europe- including more than half of the Fortune 500 – use ATS TimeWork OnDemand, Workforce Planning, Employee Scheduling HR and payroll solutions to manage their workforce. ATS cloud services offer rapid deployment, support services, software updates, and enhancements; and consulting and training services.

The Great Resignation, Well Being, Work-Life-Balance

Can Companies Really Overcome Their Hiring Biases in The Tech World?

The topic of this blog suggests this is a herculean challenge that some companies are either unwilling to tackle, or simply don’t know how to hire a workforce that represents an ever-changing society. Some experts have suggested that such deep-seated unconscious biases, in a setting, where some like to hire and work with people who look and talk like them and who, have similar backgrounds and experiences is pervasive throughout the tech world. However, even with the best of intentions, hiring biases—raises red flags for qualified potential candidates who would rather work for companies who are diverse (in both words and actions) rather, than ones who may hire them as the token employee for diversity within their ranks.

Shama Hyder’s article titled 5 Steps to Help Tech Companies Reduce Bias in AI is a good guide for any company who is unsure of how to tackle hiring biases.

“1. Make tech education accessible: Artificial intelligence systems are biased, and the technology usually follows the viewpoints of its creators. While society has changed considerably in the last half-century, corporations still have underlying biases (whether they realize them or not). It’s essential that we take active steps to reverse our biases so that we can prevent further biases from developing in artificial intelligence, and the best way to do this is to make the tech industry more accessible to a wider range of people.

Initiatives like Girls Who Code, AI4ALL and other educational programs make it possible for children to develop an interest in technology. To reduce bias and make the tech industry more diverse, leaders must invest in the education of young people so that they can develop an interest in the field and build the skills necessary to pursue a career. Tech companies should invest in a range of students early on, knowing that investments in education yield long-term results.

2. Hire and promote with diversity in mind: Despite numerous call-outs of major industry leaders, the tech world still lacks diversity. The Harvard Business Review reported that leading companies like Google have only crawled ahead toward more diversity among staff members. Even nearly seven years after tech companies started reporting diversity efforts, most leading tech organizations are failing — with minorities only making up single-digit percentages of the overall workforce.

3. Evaluate Data Sets: Bias is already in your data sets, and you shouldn’t ignore it. To counter biases, every AI technology developer should devote time to evaluating the data sets with which the system was created. This evaluation should take place at every stage of development, from the initial design to the final proofs.

The best way to evaluate AI for biases is to ask specific questions. The FTC provides guidelines to determine if artificial intelligence is on the right trajectory, and to clarify what is allowed (or prohibited) by law. Developers must question themselves and the technology they are creating. It is imperative that developers understand their own biases — especially the unconscious ones — and can evaluate their work for the same. Working to eliminate biases is not a linear process, as it will take multiple back-and-forth steps.

4. Regularly re-evaluate systems to detect bias: Rigorous evaluations can’t stop at data sets. Technology is growing and changing at such a rapid pace, and strategies, systems and even outcomes should be re-evaluated each step of the way. In order to reverse the biases already in artificial intelligence and prevent further biases from developing, companies must check their work over and over again.

5. Adjust and repeat the process: Technology has never developed linearly. The same applies to artificial intelligence: Data, processes, systems and even the bots themselves must be adjusted over time. The best avenue forward is to take a preventative approach. That means that these five steps to reduce bias in AI should be adjusted and repeated multiple times on any given system”.

Bottomline: Confirmation bias is the human tendency to process information by looking for — or interpreting information consistent with our own beliefs. Today, we know that confirmation bias affects technology development and when we allow our biases to distort what we think we know, it alienates qualified candidates, who could help make our companies grow.

About ATS

ATS offers a broad portfolio of time and attendance solutions that streamlines the collection, calculation, and reporting of employee hours for workforce management and eliminates the manual tasks of payroll preparation, increasing efficiency and reducing errors in corporate payroll departments.

Thousands of organizations across North, Central and South America and Europe- including more than half of the Fortune 500 – use ATS TimeWork OnDemand, Workforce Planning, Employee Scheduling HR and payroll solutions to manage their workforce. ATS cloud services offer rapid deployment, support services, software updates, and enhancements; and consulting and training services.

Artificial Intelligence (AI), Girls Who Code, Harvard Business Review, Payroll, Time and Attendance

Human Capital Management (HCM) Explained In 7 Steps

Human Capital Management (HCM) Explained In 7 Steps

According to webopedia.com “Human Capital Management (HCM) software is a digital repository of human resources applications pertaining to employees and applicants. HCM software brings all company paperwork and forms into a centralized platform, usually cloud-based, so that HR personnel can access employee data and manage job candidates. HCM software, like other HR platforms, typically includes employee management, talent acquisition, and limited employee self-service features”.

Essentially, Human Capital Management (HCM) is an all-encompassing application that helps organizations eradicate paper-based systems. Today’s modern HCM solutions, like ATSTimeWorkOnDemand encompasses; Time and Attendance, Machine Learning and Workforce Planning and, many of the above- mentioned modules of a human capital management solution.

Here are 7 benefits of a human capital management (HCM) solution by Mary Girsch-Bock in a recent article for CPA Practice Advisor:

“Time and attendance: To pay employees properly, you’ll need a system that employees will quickly adapt to that will track time worked properly.
Payroll: Of course payroll plays an important role in HCM. Paying employees correctly and on time is part of a good management strategy.
Talent management: If you have hundreds or thousands of employees to manage, it’s easy to overlook some of them. Using talent management resources can help to retain your good employees while also pinpointing those that may need some additional assistance.
Training: Training and talent management go together. To be successful, employees need to be properly trained. Human capital management makes it easy to manage all levels of employee training from initial orientation to management training.
Benefits: If you offer benefits to your employees, you need a way to manage them properly. HCM makes it simple to offer the benefits that your employees desire, and once offered, makes it simple to manage them properly.
Reporting: Is your business doing a good job managing its employees? The best way to find out is to have access to various reports and analytics that can point out successes as well as areas that may need more attention.
Compliance: Much of HR and payroll requires some level of compliance. Using an automated system where all employee-related tasks are centralized can help keep your firm or business compliant”.

To learn about ATS Human Capital Management (HCM) or to attend one of our bi-weekly webinars, go to our website. And, to reach an account executive by phone, call: 866.294.2467.

About ATS

ATS offers a broad portfolio of time and attendance solutions that streamlines the collection, calculation, and reporting of employee hours for workforce management and eliminates the manual tasks of payroll preparation, increasing efficiency and reducing errors in corporate payroll departments.

Thousands of organizations across North, Central and South America and Europe- including more than half of the Fortune 500 – use ATS TimeWork OnDemand, Workforce Planning, Employee Scheduling HR and payroll solutions to manage their workforce. ATS cloud services offer rapid deployment, support services, software updates, and enhancements; and consulting and training services.

HR, Human Capital Management (HCM), Machine Learning, Payroll, Workforce Planning

Working From Home? Here Are 5 Benefits Of Video Conferencing

While the pandemic restrictions have somewhat eased, business executives need to make decisions about how to achieve an optimal remote work strategy. And, unlike the reactive shift, that began in 2020, this new “back to normal” is one that should include some form of remote/hybrid return to work experience going forward.

Video conferencing, while nothing new, permeated every business, both small and large during the height of COVID-19 and continues to be the way the format many businesses, use today to connect with their employees and customers.

In a recent article, for HR Daily Advisor, titled “5 Benefits of Video Conferencing for HR” Luke Smith espouses the use of video conferencing:

“1. Personal Connection The HR department is composed of many different positions, and they can all benefit from video, even when your team is only discussing topics among themselves. From assistants who respond directly to employee questions to managers who handle all the tiny details, everyone on the team can use video to communicate clearly and efficiently at the touch of a button.

The greatest benefit of video conferencing software is the ability to communicate and meet in person even if we’re far apart. By connecting over video, you can share all necessary details with your coworkers without having to go back and forth in e-mails or direct messages. Plus, the human connection is essential when we’re all isolated and working from home.

2. Easier Interviews: Video conferencing allows you to interview candidates with considerably less effort than it used to take. In the past, in-person interviews severely limited the number of candidates a company could consider. Now, with widely accepted remote options, employees can interview and work from almost anywhere. This helps you find the perfect fit for any position! Furthermore, HR can send recorded videos of interviews to other decision-makers within the company for review.

3. Reduce Costs: While interviewing is easier with video conferencing, it’s also less expensive. Not only do employees not need to pay for travel, but there are also fewer expenses when there is no physical office (lighting, utilities, rent, etc.).

In the past, when interviewing for high-ranking positions, many companies would fly in candidates, put them up in hotels, provide rental cars, and then pay to send them home. That, too, is a thing of the past, and the savings can be exponential.

4. Mental Health Considerations: While the interviewing aspect is great, video conferencing can also help with the needs of your current employees, especially when your department is working to improve employees’ mental health. The ability to speak to HR or anyone at the office without having to be physically present creates more opportunities to allow employees to work from home and work flexible schedules.

With COVID-19 still a factor, many working parents are dealing with extra responsibilities, including caring for their kids and homeschooling. If HR can provide the chance for employees to start later in the day so they can take care of their kids and still be face-to-face for an important meeting via video conferencing, it will make a big difference in your employees’ lives, and they will truly appreciate the gesture.

5. Easier Presentations: On the topic of presentations, HR can also use video conferencing software to schedule high-quality webinars for management or staff. In addition to showing your face during the meeting, you can also utilize the benefits of screen-sharing.

Just about every video conferencing tool has a screen-sharing option, and it allows you to show the content on your screen to your audience in real time. Slideshow presentations are particularly powerful in this medium, and you can also record your screen during the show so your webinar can be watched again at a later time by any employees who missed it”.

Bottomline: The pandemic has forced employers to re-think their approach to work. Video-based apps and connected device services have proven how important ease of use is for technology adoption. And, while many of us slowly make our way to offices the popularity of video conferencing has not become a business staple for now and the foreseeable future.

To learn more about ATS, register for a bi-monthly webinar or download a demo from our website. And, to reach us by phone, call 866.294.2467.

HR, Mental Health, Pandemic, Software, Video Conference

ATS Food Manufacturing Solution Is Built For Today’s Digital Workforce

Whether you are a food and beverage manufacturer, a wholesale, distributor, or a retailer, you face a unique set of challenges that are specific to your industry.

Not only do you have tough labour law requirements, but you also operate in an industry with tight margins and, where time is of the essence. You have to deal with payroll and other import costs, employee productivity, and wastage.

ATS Food Manufacturing application is designed to grow your food and beverage business, and help you enhance your back-of-house operations, so you can deliver better business performance and exceptional customer experiences.

With ATS Food Manufacturing application, your company gets access to; Workforce Planning, Employee Self-Service, Overtime Equalization, HR, Analytics, Time and Attendance, Workforce Absence and a proven technology platform that delivers- visibility and control and demand-driven solutions.

With ATS Food Manufacturing for Food and Beverage, you can simplify, scale and achieve:

Business Insight-24/7, 365 Days: ATS Food Manufacturing enables your people to access and act on workforce data anywhere, anytime with any mobile device.The application,allows you unprecedented insight into your business providing you with real-time visibility of what is important to you. It also allows you to track key performance indicators (KPIs), identify which parts of your business is generating the best returns and-address issues before they become business-affecting.

Machine Learning: ATS Food Manufacturing advances the aggregation of more and better data with broad capabilities, and deeper flexibility with forecasting algorithms.

Regulatory Compliance: The application enables you to take legislative compliance; whether its international, federal, provincial, state, and local labour laws in your stride- making it an integrated and automated part of your processes.

Improve Process and Efficiencies: With ATS Food Manufacturing solutions, you can drive efficiencies by integrating processes across the entire supply chain. We connect payroll, HR, finance, production, packaging and distribution to improve process. By aligning supply and demand, we streamline payroll costs, thus increasing workforce productivity.

Elasticity: That reduces the complexity, while providing comprehensive business insights and addressing those operational issues that restrict growth.

Proven Technology with Industry Specialization: The applicationsupports multifaceted data exchanges with best-of-breed technology and architecture and addresses industry-specific requirements with vertically specialized modules.

Budgeting, Forecasting, Labour Planning and Demand: Take advantage of intuitive, industry specialized software for budgeting, planning, and forecasting. And with machine learning capabilities—you have access to a self learning algorithm that allows for analyzing of historical data, and the calculation of required labour hours to meet critical business objectives

To learn more or to fast track your evaluation of ATS Food Manufacturing, you can go to our website. You can also have call you back by submitting your request here.

Analytics, Distribution, Employee Self-Service, Finance, Food Manufacturing, HR, Key Performance Indicators (KPIs), Machine Learning, Overtime Equalization, Packaging, Payroll, Production, Time and Attendance, Workforce Absence, Workforce Planning

ATS HCM Cloud For The Changing World Of HR

Today’s workforce is evolving, how and where people work, even the skills you need continue to shift. So how do you adapt to what the future brings? Meet ATS Human Capital Management (HCM) mobile solutions. It enables ready-to-use data and places secure and convenient tools right in your hands, for simple, anytime access across devices.

ATS HCM cloud for mobile includes:

Automation to decrease workload

Update, submit and approve timesheets
ATS HCM cloud for mobile robust algorithm that populates; schedules, holiday calendars, and rotating, split, or dynamic shifts.
Get up-to-the-minute information on employee clock in/out data
Submit and approve time off requests
Review time-off requests and access employees’ worker profiles from anytime, anywhere

Game-changing HR technology

Easily find employee data such as phone number, title, work location and more
Review employee time off balances
Easily create and maintain manager and employee self-reviews to help guide and grow employees
Attract and manage applicants for careers within your company, and improve the employee experience by onboarding new hires with ease
Avoid data latency and ensure data integrity with unification across HR processes

Employee Benefit Accruals

Complete employee benefits enrollment
Access existing and future benefits elections
Make managing performance goals flexible and approachable for your people
View information by category of benefit, plan type and coverage level
Select detailed views such as effective date, deduction per pay period and employer contribution

Workforce Planning

Reduce costs by tracking absence trends and areas of low productivity with data analytics for optimization
Prevent costly violations with alerts that bring issues to the scheduling manager’s attention, such as overstaffing scenarios or being out of alignment with labor demand
Create labour forecasts using a combination of historical data, customer recent trends, and seasonal predictions
Enable real-time visibility with ATS HCM cloud mobile solutions
Meet operational goals while staying on budget by setting safeguards for Key performance indicators (KPIs) thresholds to limit fluctuations

Analytics and HR Dashboard

With ATS HCM cloud mobile dashboards, HR practitioners can dig deeper into your data with drill-down capabilities and analysis on every view
HR leaders can access
This easy-to-use application, consists of; core HR, talent optimization, learning management, payroll and workforce management capabilities- with a unique set of behavioral science tools, that apply predictive analytics
ATS HCM cloud mobile solution replaces complex processes, workflows, and systems with a sophisticated, yet intuitive technology
Allows HR connectivity across departments, regions, provinces, states and/or different countries and works on any mobile device in seconds

ATS HCM cloud for mobile is a powerful set of cloud-based human capital management (HCM) software solutions that empower your people to deliver streamlined processes with remarkable experiences. And, with an implement team that has deep industry experience, you can be assured of a seamless implementation process that delivers a standardized, consistent experience built around your organization’s data.

To learn more about ATS HCM cloud mobile, go to our website, while there, you can also register for one of our webinars. To reach an account executive by phone, call; 866.294.2467.

Analytics, ATS HCM Cloud Mobile, Employee Benefit Accruals, HR, Human Capital Management (HCM), Key Performance Indicators (KPIs), Time and Attendance

3 Wellness Tips To Help You Become A Better Leader

The particular stressors brought on by COVID-19 can exacerbate the chronic stress many employees are already experiencing. And, most company executives recognize that addressing workplace stress, the direct and indirect cause of many health problems- must be part of any strategy to improve employee health and reduce health care cost.

Study after study has revealed that employees sometimes take on the character traits of their leaders, be they positive or negative. In an article by Suzanne Lucas titled, How Wellness Enhances Your Emotional Intelligence: When you’re in a good place, you’re a better manager.

Here are some excerpts from this article which offers 3 tips for managers:

“You’re a better leader when you’re not tired

More than a third of American employees aren’t getting enough sleep. Tiredness can cause a whole host of problems, including long-term physical health problems. But it also makes us less capable of thinking about what others need.

Some of the symptoms of tiredness are

Slowed reflexes and responses
Impaired decision-making and judgment
Moodiness, such as irritability
Reduced ability to pay attention to the situation at hand
Low motivation

You can see how tiredness makes it difficult to control your emotions, navigate relationships with others, and be a good example to your employees. Cabanero says make sleep a priority if you want to be a good leader.

2. If you’re unhappy with yourself, you’re unhappy with others

Wellness includes focusing on what you need–often called self-care. This is not selfishness, but rather recognizing that you have needs. That may be through exercise, meditation, or eating a healthy diet. Giving yourself what you need to feel centered helps you be happy with yourself.

People who are happy and content with themselves will be more open to the needs of their employees, according to Cabanero. This makes perfect sense. If you’re frustrated with your own life, can you take the time to think about others’ needs?

People make mistakes all the time. Responding to them with patience and understanding is a sign of emotional intelligence. Taking mistakes personally is a huge problem and undermines your leadership.

3.Wellness programs only work when leaders set the example

As a health coach, Cabanero wants to see everyone healthy and on the right path, but companies have only limited influence on their employees. Having a leader demonstrate the need to take care of oneself can make a huge difference. HR expert Brenda Neckvatal, author of Best Practices in Human Resources: How to Claw Your Way From Want-to-Be to VP, agrees. “You can’t have a proper wellness program if the leadership doesn’t participate,” she says.

Having leadership actually demonstrate wellness in their own lives also demonstrates emotional intelligence. You can’t lead people if you’re unwilling to walk on the same path. That means focusing on your own health as well as theirs. If your goal in investing in a business wellness program is only to lower health insurance costs, your employees will see through it. If, on the other hand, you engage yourself, your employees will see the results as you become a better manager. That’s a winning wellness plan”.

Bottomline: Taking care of ourselves and each other—including our loved ones, friends, and coworkers—should be the first order of business right now. As leaders look to both near-term and long-term solutions to support their workforce during the COVID-19 outbreak, well-being should remain a focal point. leaders who are proactive, considerate, and flexible will be better positioned to weather this storm and to emerge post-pandemic with a resilient workforce.

About ATS
ATS offers a broad portfolio of time and attendance solutions that streamlines the collection, calculation, and reporting of employee hours for workforce management and eliminates the manual tasks of payroll preparation, increasing efficiency and reducing errors in corporate payroll departments.

Thousands of organizations across North, Central and South America and Europe- including more than half of the Fortune 500 – use ATS TimeWork OnDemand, Workforce Planning, Employee Scheduling HR and payroll solutions to manage their workforce.

Apex Time Solutions (ATS) is the global leader in delivering workforce management solutions in the cloud. Thousands of organizations that spans Canada, South America, US and Europe— including Fortune 500® — companies use ATS TimeWork OnDemand to control payroll costs, minimize compliance risk, and improve productivity.

To learn more, call 866.294.2467 or go to our website to download a demonstration or register for one of our webinars.

COVID-19. Wellness, Emotional Intelligence, Healthcare, Human Resources (HR)

The Cloud: Debunking the Myths

In the last several years, businesses and the IT world in general, has seen the increasing popularity of cloud computing, easily becoming the 21^st century most talked about business application solution.

Cloud services that include; software and hardware have different options and pricing models, which in past, may have caused a few IT managers to be sceptical, about the technology and how it would affect their businesses. And, as a result, this may have also given rise to misconceptions about the realities of cloud computing and the many benefits it offers, including; business agility and cost reductions.

In this blog, we will debunk 5 myths about cloud computing:

Myth#1: All Cloud Software Solutions are the same
Different organizations have different needs and the best HCM cloud applications support those unique characteristics. For example, a food manufacturing company that creates products in small batches have different needs from a similar type of that manufactures the same product over and over.

Yet some businesses still believe that all cloud HCM solutions are the same and none of them are unique enough to suit their specific needs. Manufacturers with little knowledge of modern cloud computing solutions can sometimes get dazzled by buzzwords and perceived complexity. However, the cloud is not a platform that delivers a one-size-fits-all solution. The best cloud HCM providers offer flexibility, a wide variety of cloud-computing based functionality— and are designed by experts, with deep industry knowledge— who would not sell an application that’s loaded with bells and whistles that companies don’t need or would not use.

Myth# 2 – A Cloud Solution is too Expensive
We have heard this before, when in actuality, it will save you money in the long run. With ATS HCM cloud application, companies spend less on IT. Over a three- to five-year period, consider the hardware, software, implementation, customization, training, support and maintenance costs required for on-premise HCM application. It is easier to implement ATS HCM cloud, which doesn’t need large computers or onsite staff to maintain them.

Moving to the cloud means freeing up the extensive IT resources dedicated to the never-ending challenge of keeping the lights on in the server room. The burden of deploying, running, and upgrading systems shifts to ATS. This allows IT managers to become strategic shareholders, while driving innovation.

Myth#3 –It will be harder to Integrate to Third-Party Applications
Some companies still believe the myth that cloud HCM software is difficult to integrate with their existing systems. In fact, integration is much easier than you think. Third-party apps like, ERP, Payroll, Talent Management that is native to the same platform are easy to manage and integrate. They provide end-users with a consistent interface and experience. ATS makes use of the most updated API integration, and so your organization will have relevant, accurate operational data all in one place—in real time.

Myth#4 – An on-premise solution is better and is more secure
ATS Cloud offers the most powerful tools to help ensure top performance for your business. ATS HCM Cloud regularly updates its software to the latest and greatest without interruption to your business. Customers get the most up-to-date software delivered automatically. And all of this comes without having to put your IT staff through time-consuming updates and upgrades. ATS HCM monitors cloud performance 24×7 and scales to address demand.

One of the greatest benefits of using ATS HCM cloud is that your business always runs the latest version of the software. With ATS HCM cloud, you get the earliest access to new features, industry best practices, and competitive innovations. Not only does this keep you on the forefront of your industry, but it also sends security patches that effortlessly keep your system locked down.

Myth# 5 – Cloud Computing Applications are not as Secure
This is a persistent myth about the cloud that it is not secure. The early iteration of the cloud came with some concerns and rightly so. However, these concerns have dissipated with the way cloud applications system are hosted today, some of which includes firewalls, two-factor authentication, advanced encryption, frequent security updates, and detection. Data loss with an on-premise system can be permanent when a system fails. Cloud backup procedures ensures that downtime is not only rare but also temporary. Your data is protected and constantly backed up on the cloud.

Bottom Line:
As more companies deploy cloud applications, and continue to reap the benefits of increased efficiencies, improved productivity and increased profits, perhaps we may finally see some of these myths disappear.

About ATS
ATS offers a broad portfolio of time and attendance solutions that streamlines the collection, calculation, and reporting of employee hours for workforce management and eliminates the manual tasks of payroll preparation, increasing efficiency and reducing errors in corporate payroll departments.

Thousands of organizations across North, Central and South America and Europe- including more than half of the Fortune 500 – use ATS TimeWork OnDemand, Workforce Planning, Employee Scheduling HR and payroll solutions to manage their workforce.

ATS HCM Cloud, Cloud Computing, ERP, HCM, IT, Payroll, Talent Management

Why are Some Employees Feeling Anxious About Returning to the Office?

Before COVID-19 the way we work have been defined by predictable patterns involving who is doing the work, where it occurs and when it happens. And, while technological advancements, have impacted some of these norms, the pandemic upended it altogether and, accelerated the arrival of new ways of working. Many employees who initially felt anxiety about working from home, have come to embrace it after 15 months of lockdown.

Today, as many employers start to unveil their post-pandemic plans for a return-to the office, they are getting pushback from some employees, who are keen to retain their work from home privileges. But is this indicative of a more widespread resistance among workers who do not want to revert to pre-pandemic patterns or is it something else? It is possible, that employees, after working remotely for so many months, feel they can be productive at home – and that the reasons their employers want them back in-office does not add up.

While there are several factors at play, as to why, some employees, are pushing back about returning to the office — below are 3 reasons for the possible hesitancy by some workers.

Lockdown fatigue is real- COVID-19 has been debilitating for all of us and we’re tired of lockdowns. The constant anxiety of living and working through a pandemic has left many of us feeling low in energy, and the thought of driving and working in an office alongside others-in and of itself, is exhausting.
Office work doesn’t allow for a healthy work-life-balance-Lockdown has been isolating and although we have craved the company of coworkers, we have also been able to separate work and leisure time. We have been able to exercise, read and spend time with our loved ones without feeling guilty because we were late getting home for dinner, after the commute from the office.
Going back to pre-pandemic work is the cause of our anxiety- In addition to wearing face masks, we would be following social distancing guidelines and staring at stickers telling us how to behave correctly and politely, while on the subway or standing in a crowded elevator. This is an added layer of anxiety to an already stressful time, that not everyone is looking forward to.

Bottomline: It’s still early to say what the post-pandemic work environment will look like, and not all employers are scheduling employees back to the office. In fact, some are doing it in stages, while others are delaying a return to the office for some staff. Many employers are still being lenient with policies as the virus lingers, vaccinations continue to roll out and childcare situations remain erratic.

You might like:

Are Companies Going to Embrace A Hybrid Workforce Post COVID-19?

5 Tips To Stay Fit And Retain Your Sanity While Working From Home

Are HR Leaders Ready For The Future Of Work?

About ATS
ATS offers a broad portfolio of time and attendance solutions that streamlines the collection, calculation, and reporting of employee hours for workforce management and eliminates the manual tasks of payroll preparation, increasing efficiency and reducing errors in corporate payroll departments.

Thousands of organizations across North, Central and South America and Europe- including more than half of the Fortune 500 – use ATS TimeWork OnDemand, Workforce Planning, Employee Scheduling HR and payroll solutions to manage their workforce.

Covid-19, Fatigue, Mental Health, Pandemic, Telecommuting, Well-Being, Working-from-home

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