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A recent survey by Gartner of over 500 HR leaders across several countries, and all major industries revealed that “building critical skills and competencies tops the list, but many HR leaders will also prioritize change management, leadership, and diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives”.

As the end of 2021 draws to a close, now is the time for organizations and HR professionals to start preparing for the year ahead and align their internal goals with larger HR trends that are emerging. Here are 5 things that will become priorities for People & Culture leaders in 2022:

1.Embrace and Deliver Experience Remotely: While a majority of the workforce have been inoculated and some have returned to the office, many companies are viewing hybrid and virtual work as a long-term strategy.  And, this means, when it comes to investing in technology, the employee experience should be included in the broader picture.

HR leaders will have to adjust to working with a remote workforce and so, screening, interviewing, and onboarding new employees will be done remotely but, if it’s done properly, it should not be a challenge.

2.Cloud-Based OnDemand Applications are on the Rise: All encompassing, Human Capital Management (HCM) applications are shifting the dynamics in the workplace. In particular, employee management apps that allows a company to; automate time tracking, enhance employee on-boarding, and enhance payroll processing in real-time, to make informed business decisions and improve productivity.

3.Make an Effort to Understand the Current and New Generation of Workers
Millennials and Generation Z view work differently from the generation before them. HR professionals, will need to start adjusting to the new world of work. Millennials have been entering the workforce for several years and, at the same time Generation Z are also graduating from high school or university and entering the workforce.

This cohort of workers expect HR departments to adjust their policies to match flexibility and the collaboration they crave. And, when a company has a workforce that comprises of both young and older workers, HR has to walk a tight-rope and carefully manage employee needs without alienating either side.

4.Incorporate Wellness into the Fabric of your Organization
The coronavirus pandemic has created a fundamental shift in how work places are conceived. Health and wellness have moved from a ‘nice to have’ to a ‘must have’. Don’t be surprised if candidates inquire about your company’s approach to health and wellness during the interview stage. The pandemic has shone a light on the importance of health and wellness.

5.Create and Maintain a Positive Work Culture
A company that’s enamoured with profits over people will likely have a lot of staff turnover. A positive and healthy working environment will generate happy and hardworking employees.

A positive work environment allows employees to feel comfortable sharing and exchanging ideas-all of which, can lead to a boost in productivity and increased profits. When employees feel empowered and included in company’s goals, this can foster team building.  

Bottomline: keep the lines of communication open with employees at all times, whether they are working remotely or onsite. Simply asking them how they’re coping with work and other challenges will mean a lot. As an HR leader, you can do daily virtual meetings, send weekly email updates to connect with the team. And, you notice one of your employees are not as engaged, or a quick phone call to do a one and one chat the individual could go a long way to helping them feel part of the team.

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 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.


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.

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.

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:

  1. “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.

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.

  1. 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.
  2. 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.
  3. 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.

Working from home full-time for some during these trying times of COVID-19 has throw a wrench into the concept of work-life balance. And, while some of us are slowly returning to the office, others have continued to work from home.

Wheter you have an arrangement with your manager to telecommute a couple days a week or if you are working from home full-time, here are 3 tips for taking care of your eyes from an article written by Sarah D. Young

  1. Adjust your environment: Sit about two feet away from your computer screen to reduce eyestrain. Position the screen so that your eyes are looking slightly downward, not straight ahead or up. Adjust the screen brightness and contrast until it feels comfortable, and consider using a larger font if you’re working hard to see letters. 
  2. Take regular eye breaks: Seldomridge advises following the “20-20-20” rule, by looking 20 feet away from the screen every 20 minutes for 20 seconds. Alternatively, you can close your eyes for 20 seconds every 20 minutes. 
  3. Use artificial tears: Because staring at screens reduces blinking and increases dryness, the use of eye drops (“artificial tears”) can help keep your eyes moist and alleviate dry eye discomfort. Seldomridge said a humidifier can also help add moisture to the air and help prevent eye dryness. 

Bottomline: These tips can help reduce eye strain when we are forced to look at screens all day. Some experts suggest that we create technology-free zones in certain areas of ours homes, like the bedroom or bathroom. Just imagine spending the entire day working on the computer, getting in bed and scrolling through social media?  We should instead, truly unplug by reading a book or spend some quality time with family members without our phones.

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.

In addition, ATS provides modular analytic solutions that includes; workforce planning, benefits management, employee self-service, business intelligence, human resources, payroll, and advanced analytics based on a robust cloud computing platform for information and data needs. It also offers design, rapid deployment, support services, software updates, and enhancements; and consulting and training services.

To learn more, call: 866.294.2467 and to download a demo go to our website.

Ageism is the practice of discriminating against someone because of their age. While some companies have made strides toward more transparency, accountability, and inclusivity there is still a lot more that can be done.

It is also not uncommon to hear that many companies post jobs with subtle and not so subtle phrases, reminding older workers that they need not apply. One explanation is that some companies, believe naively, that older workers; lack energy, are uneducated or unintelligent because of their age.

According to an article by Society for Human Resources Management (SHRM) Hiring in the Age of Ageism while HR professionals and talent recruiters might not intend to exclude older workers, the words used on their jobs postings say otherwise. The tech industry (while not the only one) have been accused of posting job ads designed to exclude older workers.

Below is a list of 7 common phrases (from the SHRM article) used, in some job postings that screams out; older workers, please don’t apply:

  1. Digital Native: May discourage qualified applicants who didn’t come of age with digital and mobile tech—even some as young as their 30s.
  2. High-Energy: Often a euphemism for young.
  3. Ninja/Guru: These trendy buzzwords are likely unfamiliar—or unappealing—to older candidates.
  4. GPA of 3.5 or higher: Sends the message that you’re looking for employees at a life stage where these assessments remain relevant.
  5. Overqualified: Since experience often correlates with age, this term can be used to mask age bias.
  6. Meals included: Implies an expectation that workers don’t have a family waiting for them to come home for dinner.
  7. Bad cultural fit: Can be problematic if your culture is overtly youth-oriented.

Ageism often begins with the hiring process. Every company has certain criteria when it comes to hiring, and HR and talent recruiters tend to hire people with certain traits. And, while that may not necessarily be a bad thing hiring managers should be aware of the value and benefits of a diverse 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.

Essential workers including; warehousing and distribution, grocery and healthcare to name a few, have been going to their respective workplaces throughout the pandemic. And, while COVID-19 vaccination efforts have picked up, some office workers remain apprehensive about returning to the office. Business leaders on the other hand, are also struggling to chart the new normal.

closeup of a young man in an office holding a briefcase and a surgical mask in his hand

If your company is contemplating a return to the office here are 5 tips from Kate Bullinger and Emily Caruso’s article The Return-to-Work Paradox.

1. Consider the perspectives of your people through deep listening: While many leaders have strong preferences for getting people back into workplaces, the majority of employees do not feel the same way. After a year of alternative work arrangements, our research shows that 85% of employees currently working from home are satisfied with their job. Of those, 82% say that they would like to continue working from home rather than going to their place of work every day. 

More than half of the people we surveyed would go further to request to continue working from home if vaccines aren’t mandated by their employer, with 4% considering leaving their job if they are forced to go back without a company policy that requires vaccination. 

Therefore, actively listen to your people and ensure you are hearing from different populations via surveys, “ask me anything” sessions, and direct outreach.

2.Understand the key drivers of vaccine hesitancy to address them in an inclusive way: On the other end of the spectrum, there are many reasons why people are hesitant to get the vaccine. Understanding these reasons and how they vary among audiences is important for addressing them. 

For example, many people question the safety and efficacy of the vaccines and are concerned about potential side effects. Some are responding to mixed messages from government leaders. And the history of exploitation and neglect that people of color and other minorities have experienced at the hands of the medical establishment cannot be ignored. By understanding the intersection of health and racial equity, you can ensure DE&I is embedded into employee vaccine communications.

3.Seek to meet people where they are, with the information they need:

Except for hardcore “nevers” (approximately 15% of the adult population), most skeptical or hesitant people are open to changing their mind. Accurate information from trusted sources is key to reaching this group. People seek leadership, science, and medical-based opinions. 

More people are turning to friends and family when it comes to making their own health decisions, which highlights the importance of accurate, understandable and shareable information as part of grassroots communication efforts. 

To reach employees with a clear and accurate message, create an employee engagement campaign to educate about the vaccine and promote vaccination. Equip managers — the No. 1 channel for reaching employees — with the information that they need to best support the campaign.

4.Explore alternative ways to promote vaccine adoption: Because of the tensions between those people who would feel more comfortable with a vaccine and those who are more reticent, leaders should focus on incentivizing versus mandating vaccination. While there is a precedent for requiring health screenings across sectors, particularly in those with large populations of front-line workers, requiring employees to get vaccinated, even with the overwhelming evidence about the efficacy of the vaccine, may be seen by some as an overstep of privacy or worse, backfire completely. 

Some incentives include covering administration or transportation costs, providing time off or additional pay, and including vaccines in health resources already offered through employee assistance and/or or workplace wellness programs. 

5.Evaluate what’s driving the need to return to workplaces: Pushing people back to work before they are ready, and before other social systems — like the reopening of schools — are in place could have a significant impact on morale, productivity, and even retention. Instead and when possible, companies are better off remaining flexible with their workplace policies. When not possible, employers should be clear about the criteria that went into the decision, which should at a minimum include observance of local and national public health guidance. 

Bottomline:  While some employees may be itching to get back to the buzz of a busy office environment and mingling with their co-workers, others may be worried about seeing and coming into contact with their colleagues. In the end, these concerns- and others, will likely shape the way business leaders plan to reopen.

To learn more about ATS cloud computing HCM application, go to our website, where you can download a demo. To reach us by phone, call: 866.294.2467.

The COVID-19 global pandemic turned our workplaces and the world, at large on its head a year ago. Business meetings and tradeshows were held virtually while travel was limited or cancelled completely. Employees who traditionally drove to work found themselves working from home, for the first time–while also juggling, caregiving responsibilities.

Whether you are a CEO, CFO, HR or other business executive, here are the ten crucial business lessons we can all learn from Thom Dennis article for The HR Director:

  1. Measure output not hours. Many businesses have been measuring productivity through the number of hours put in. The pandemic has taught many of us that it matters less how long it takes for someone to do a task and more that they get the job done effectively. Self-employed and small business owners have been working successfully in this way for decades.
  2. Know and show your people are your most important asset. Treat all colleagues with compassion, respect and gratitude, and in return they will show loyalty and work hard. Showing your workforce that you appreciate them will increase job satisfaction which will in turn maintain staff retention rates, boost productivity and morale.
  3. Global without travel. Whilst the pandemic has put a stop on most international and domestic travel, businesses have never worked more globally thanks to working remotely, video and audio conferencing, chat, webinars, and social media. These solutions are a far more cost and time effective and ultimately productive way to work as long as they aren’t depended upon entirely – human contact still has an important part to play, particularly for promoting creativity and innovation. Whilst borders are almost closed, global reach has never been more possible.
  4. Inclusion is an absolute, not a tick box. Countless times in the last year we have seen huge national and global movements standing up for what they believe in despite the pandemic. A business that sees the importance of diversity and inclusion of different races, gender, ethnicity, sexual orientation, age, physical abilities, religion and socio-economic status, and celebrates those differences, creates an environment where people feel comfortable to be themselves, bullying and harassment are absent, and people thrive.
  5. Promote health sustainability. The pandemic has made us understand how important but fragile our health and wellbeing is. Reconceptualising health policy is vital. Don’t just follow the guidelines, go over and above. Find out what your employees need, and bear in mind that individuals may well have contrasting needs. Be clear about the importance of physical and mental health.
  6. Promote a speak up culture. Open communication is key to combating systemic problems at work, such as bullying. Where possible, remind colleagues to share their feelings and troubles at work, and be a role model in this way. Be empathetic, actively listen and show care for their wellbeing to help your employees to speak up and feel that they are truly being heard.
  7. Trust, don’t micromanage. With employees having to work remotely, companies have been forced to place their trust in their staff more than ever before. Micromanaging your workforce damages employee trust, leads to burnout and increases employee turnover rates. Trust is key to all aspects of business success including employee retention, loyalty and increased engagement, productivity and empowerment.
  8. We are not in the office but relationships matter. Even if we are physically not in the same building, an absence in communication or the social side of working as colleagues is damaging.  Making the effort to reach out to support colleagues, work collaboratively and maintain relationships will help keep the company thriving, encourage creativity and keep morale at a high.
  9. Flexibility and agility are vital. Flexibility increases staff wellbeing and job satisfaction. Giving your employees the option to choose their ideal schedule and setting within reason, allows leaders to show they understand and care that we all have additional important personal commitments and responsibilities. People also work better at different hours of the day – don’t we want them to work when they are most productive? Having internal procedure in place to acknowledge we don’t have to all be “at work” at the same time will benefit the business in terms of employee experience, innovation and ultimately growth.
  10. Place importance on work / home life balance. Burnout is a real problem. During the pandemic it has become worse for many, particularly for mothers who work, but the forced circumstances also highlighted to many what they aspire to and what is important to them. Act decisively on changes that need to be put in place, consider the different spaces, circumstances and equipment people have at home. Working from home was put in place as an emergency solution but is here to stay in one format or another.

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.