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Many of ATS monthly blogs deals with the tangible benefits of automation, while at the same time, espousing the economic advantages of deploying, a Human Capital Management (HCM) solution. Those sentiments are reiterated in a published article, titled 10 Automation Mistake to Avoid by Laurence Goasduff for Gartner. Additionally, the article provides potential pitfalls to avoid, when automating business processes.

Here are the 10 mistakes to avoid based on a recent Gartner survey:

  1. Falling in love with a single technology: Once an organization has purchased and implemented a specific process automation tool, such as robotic process automation (RPA), successfully, it’s natural that colleagues want to adopt it more widely. “However, the wrong approach is to drive automation from a single technology perspective. Instead, lead with the business outcome and then align the correct set of tools,” says Sturgill.

2. Believing that business can automate without IT: More and more business users believe that the adoption of RPA and low-code/no-code applications don’t require the assistance of IT. But business users may lack knowledge of how customer and data records work, for example, and there’s a risk of mishandling the information. Additionally, those applications are integrated with other systems, which require regular upgrades. When the IT team isn’t involved, changes during upgrades don’t pass through, causing failed processes.

3. Thinking automation is always the solution: Automation may be the best long-term option for business and IT processes, but leaders cannot simply use it to cover gaps in a poorly designed process. Automation is not meant to make up for failures in systems or defer system replacement; using automation in that way simply extends the life of suboptimal legacy applications by creating savings that mask underlying inefficiencies.

4. Not engaging all stakeholders: Automation, by nature, has a broad impact on the enterprise, which means you should engage stakeholders from across the organization for decision making and sign off. For example, if adoption of new automation processes changes the nature of people’s roles, involve HR; changes to access rights and IDs, or server requirements must involve security or IT. 

5. Failing to devote enough time to testing: Automation technologies only work when the algorithms and rules are exactly correct. The technologies may seem easy to use, but they are unforgiving when programmed incorrectly. They can very quickly wreck business data and fail to deliver the desired business outcome. 

6. Wasting effort on overly complicated processes: At times, organizations find themselves in a quagmire when automating a process. That most often happens when processes are not well-documented or understood, if the workflow is not consistent or if there are too many variants in the decision-making process. Don’t waste time and effort by failing to halt such processes promptly. 

7. Treating automation as simple task replication: Using automation tools to copy exactly what is being done manually misses a critical benefit of automation — improving the end-to-end process to create a better customer and employee experience. If process redesign is not part of the automation process, you may use the wrong automation tool and lose the business outcome you hope to achieve.

8. Failing to monitor in postproduction: Just like any system implementation, automation projects will require extensive “hands-on” IT involvement after implementation. For example, for RPA rollouts, establish continuous assessment, monitoring and regular quality checks to ensure that robots have been scripted correctly and are continuing to work as expected. This avoids huge data cleanup tasks. 

9. Using the wrong metrics to measure success: It’s typical to measure technology applications and tools to ensure that they are working as designed. However, this doesn’t reflect whether or not the project is successful. Measuring the impact on processes and the enterprise as a whole is key to the success of automation. 

10. Ignoring the culture and employee impact: While it’s critical to focus on how to adopt and scale automation, it is equally important to consider the impact on employees, especially if roles are eliminated or reimagined. 

Bottomline: Involve all parties who will be impacted by the deployment of the HCM solution, in particular non-management staff. And never settle for a solution that may not work for your organization. When exploring HCM solutions beware of the one-size-fit-all approach. If the vendor does not know the challenges you face regularly, you could add time and money to your deployment, while at the same time, negatively impacting the overall results of the solution. Choosing an HCM vendor with deep industry expertise will lead to greater efficiency and better user experiences.

To request additional information, learn more about ATS, or to download a demo, go to our website. To reach an account executive by phone, call; 866-294-2467.

Government-issued pandemic cheques and unemployment benefits for workers are pretty much non-existent, yet some companies are still struggling to find talent. But why is it so hard to find workers even, after some companies are offering hiring incentives and, have increased the starting wages?

One of the reasons cited in some surveys is, that some companies are still clinging to the way they hired and treated employees prior to the pandemic. And, if that’s the case, some workers are likely to shop around until they find a company that aligns with the way they want to work post pandemic.

If your company is struggling to find workers, here are 5 tips that might help you navigate the competing talent landscape

Pre-Pandemic and Post-Pandemic Divide
Despite a record number of job openings and shortage of workers, employers are still operating the same way they did prior to the pandemic. Some companies continue to seek out candidates with several years of experience and those who are available to work odd hours and willing to work on-site.

Workers, on the other hand, are seeking higher salaries, more flexibility, hybrid and/or remote work options. This mismatch in priorities has created a post-pandemic hiring challenge, highlighting that some employers have not adapted.

Low salary/wage
One of the reasons businesses struggle to fill open jobs is that wages and are too low. And, while some companies have made a concerted effort to increase starting wages, many are unwilling to adjust their ways and expectations, refusing to raise wages to competitive levels and placing additional demands on employees.

A work culture that embraces equity, diversity and inclusion
Equity, diversion and inclusion (ED&I) are not buzz words. They are real and many of today’s workers, grew up, in an environment that embodies ED&I and expects their workplace to reflect those values. Today’s workers want to work for organizations that value diversity and make it a priority in the workplace.

The Great Resignation and Quiet Quitting
The Great Resignation, took off in 2020 and has not abated. And now, quiet quitting a form of rebellion against oppressive workplace norms —fueled in part, by GenZ and thanks to their avid use of technology-will likely change the work-landscape.

There is no universal reason why someone may quiet-quit. Maybe they’re experiencing burnout — which hit a lot of people during the pandemic. Employers should remain engaged (and get buy-in) with their workforce on how best to achieve their team’s and their personal goals while, at the same time, allowing everyone space for their lives outside of work.

Retaining Top Performers
At a time when hiring has become so difficult, companies should focus a bit more on retaining their good employees. This requires a thorough examination of your company’s corporate culture, compensation packages, perks and company policies to determine if you are doing everything you can to retain talent.

Bottomline:
Adapting to the post-pandemic world of work and understanding what job candidates are seeking can help you win over the talent you need. What employees need and want in terms of incentives, and what you need to offer to drive employee retention, have changed. Updating your approach and investing in supporting systems can give you a key advantage in retaining and attracting key talent.

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.

During the height of the pandemic, many employers espoused the virtues of their companies and how it valued workers are partners. Sign on bonuses for new recruits became the norm, because it was difficult to find talent.

Fast forward to 2022 and it appears, some companies may have reverted to their old ways of doing business. Attracting talent is one thing, but retaining it has become a challenge onto its own. And employees who are looking for work these days are not interested in accepting the old ways of doing things. Still scratching your head about what employees really want? Here are 5 tips:

  1. Compensation: It’s important so, it include on your online job ad, discuss in the first and second interview. No one wants to work for low wages. Recent studies revealed income being is the number 1 factor for candidates who are seeking employment. If a candidate accepts a lower wage with your company, chances are, they will eventually leave as soon as they higher pay job comes along.

2. Value: Employees want to feel valued. Companies should openly recognize and appreciate their team. Making your employees feel valued can be achieved through a variety of ways. The most tangible way is to provide compensation in the form of bonuses, raises, or expanded benefits, as mentioned above.

Creating an environment where your employees feel they are seen and heard ispowerful. Small steps that recognize and appreciate your employees, such as celebrating birthdays, sending thank you emails, and recognizing workplace milestones can go a long way towards creating a workplace where gratitude is present.

3Diversity: If you really want to diversify your workforce, stop asking potential candidates to optionally self-identify their ethnicity, among other things, on digital applications. These questions have nothing to do with a candidates’ ability — in fact, it will likely shine a light on your company’s inherent biases and, drive potential candidates to another company whose online applications do not have self-identifying questions of this nature.  According to the OHRC, “application forms should not have questions that ask directly or indirectly about race, ancestry, place of origin, colour, ethnic origin, citizenship, creed, sex, sexual orientation, record of offences, age, marital status, family status or disability”. And finally, if these questions are optional, why add them to the application in the first place?

In the end, do you know what employees want to see reflected in a company? They want real change, not platitudes, when it comes to a company’s ongoing commitment to diversify that includes hourly employees as well as leadership, that reflects a culture of inclusion for everyone.

4. Work-life balance: That’s right! And its not going away anytime soon. If you do not have a remote or hybrid work policy, good luck finding employees willing to work for your company. While not all jobs can be done remotely, many of them can. Work-life balance and well-being has becoming increasingly important to workers.

Pandemic-induced life changes have prompted a work-life balance reset for many employees who are more likely to prioritize lifestyle (family and personal interests) over proximity to work, and will pursue jobs in locations where they can focus on both. To win the war on talent in the future, companies will need to meet employees where they are.

5. Paid Time Off: Increased paid vacation time and parental leave are high on employees’ lists. Aside from health care and retirement benefits, employees are interested in working for a company that gives more paid time off and paid family leave. The dark days of pandemic became a time of self-reflection for many employees —and the days of working past the end of their shift or on weekends if they don’t have to, are gone.

Bottomline: So, what’s in it for employers? As an organization, if the prospect of a productive and happy workforce plus increased profits makes sense to you, then these tips should not be hard to implement. Conversely, you can always place your bet on employees putting the pandemic behind them in the hope, that they will just “get over it.” But the pandemic has stretched this piece of elastic so far that it cannot snap back. Moreover, employees don’t want to go back to the way it was before. Many are developing a new sense of self-awareness and worth, and they won’t easily forget if they are working for a company, that favours profits over its workers and one that does not reflect the diversity of the communities in which it operates.

You might also like:

Remote work is becoming the norm, but it requires trust

3 ways, companies can ease employees transition back to the office

5 tips companies can use to win over the current talent shortage

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.

HCM cloud software is dynamic, and in ever-changing industry, with expectations and demands from customers changing at a fast pace. HR and payroll departments are no different, they have had to deal with legacy software solutions for many years. And, while some have been slow to migrate to the cloud, most have because of covid-19 — and remote work— due in part, to a new generation of workers, who value work differently than their parents.

The adoption of Human Capital Management (HCM) solutions has had a significant impact on HR and business processes. Modern technologies and software platforms, like ATSTimeWorkOnDemand HCM have allowed HR and payroll professionals to simplify employee lifecycle management and focus on organizational goals rather than administrative tasks.

ATSTimeWorkOnDemand is a 100% TrueCloud based HCM platform, that offers a suite of modules and functionalities, under one roof. And since it’s Cloud-based, ATS offers unlimited scalability of operations, without any major infrastructure costs involved.

Here are some other reasons why companies are embracing ATSTimeWorkOnDemand HCM:

Time Collection for Accurate Data
COVID-19 has increased work from home options and, as more companies, become dispersed and mobile than ever, a traditional time clock many not be a viable solution. ATS offers a variety of options for employees to clock in including: kiosk, web, tablets and mobile phones. And, with embedded geofencing you can ensure employees only punch in from certain locations, when reporting to or signing out from work.

Improve HR Service Delivery
ATSTimeWorkOnDemand HCM provides a suite of capabilities that make HR service delivery easier and more efficient for everyone, across the organization. With a single tool to manage employee time, accrual benefits, payroll and financials, organizations can eliminate third-party integrations, improve data accuracy, create a more engaging workforce experience and make better-informed decisions to tightly align workforce performance with business performance.

Intuitive Analytical Tools
ATSTimeWorkOnDemand HCM is equipped with Machine learning (ML) a subset of AI that is narrowly focused on the learning and inherent interpretation of data. ATS artificial intelligence tool, recognizes patterns and make predictions through data collection— thus, removing manual entry and guess-work out of the equation.

Reduce the Cost of Running Payroll
With ATSTimeWorkOnDemand HCM, you run payroll in minutes and post to your general ledger in real-time, while at the same time gaining access to workforce analytics. Within the application, the process for, employees to request time off and managers to approve requests, is automated. Time-off balances are automatically updated once requests are approved, and companies can set controls to enforce policies so employees aren’t taking too much time off. ATSTimeWorkOnDemand HCM performance metrics, empower managers— and employees to update their profiles, manage their teams — and securely view their own HR-related information.

ATS HCM Suite
ATSTimeWorkOnDemand suite has been adopted by global leaders in manufacturing, retail & hospitality, government entities, healthcare and engineering and construction to optimize their workforce, maintain compliance risks, and improve employee engagement. ATSTimeWorkOnDemand HCM connects HR and payroll data, project planning, talent management, budgeting and forecasting and procurement processes, that empower your executive and operational teams to make smarter and faster business decisions.

ATS has packaged the experience gained from thousands of deployments across the continent into a set of leading practices. These practices pave a clear path to success and are proven to deliver rapid return on investment (ROI) and get you live on ATS cloud applications in a predictable timeframe. Intelligent, stepped implementations begin with sales and span the entire customer lifecycle, so there’s continuity from sales to services to support.

To learn more, go to our website and download a demonstration. If you are interested in attending one of our bi-monthly webinars, register here.  And, to speak to an account executive, call 866.294.2467.

What is ATSTimeWorkOnDemand human capital management solution (HCM) solution? An all in-one that provides a suite of capabilities to your company’s make HR service delivery easier and more efficient for everyone, across the organization.  With a single tool to manage HR, payroll and financials, companies can eliminate third-party integrations, improve data accuracy, create a more engaging workforce experience and make better-informed decisions to tightly align workforce performance with business performance.

If your company is contemplating an HCM solution, here are three powerful processes that’s included with ATSTimeWorkOnDemand, that will make your decision easier.

Make use of Best-In-Class HCM While Bringing Together HR and Financial Data
Drive people-focused results and transform your business with a truly connected global workforce experience — delivered through resilient and mindful HR technology. Empower employees and managers to securely accomplish common HR tasks, like changing addresses or viewing time-off requests and balances, at any time with any connected device.

Reduce the Cost of Running Payroll and Drive Employee Engagement
Run payroll in minutes with seamless API integration third-party files, and post to your general ledger in real-time. With ATSTimeWorkOnDemand, you can manage the entire employee journey from a single solution — giving you the power of HR, talent, payroll, and workforce management to deliver a personalized, people-centered experience.

Increase Workforce Performance and Achieve Faster Time to Value.
With workforce management information shared across ATSTimeWorkOnDemand HCM Suite, HR leaders can automate processes to reduce administrative time spent on common tasks and easily route information across the entire organization.  Intuitive dashboards and workflows enable human resources stakeholders to monitor key KPIs and become more strategic business partners — while, at the same time, delivering an exceptional workforce experience.

Want to learn how our ATSTimeWorkOnDemand HCM suite can help you achieve a better work experience for your people? Go to our website and download a demonstration. You can reach a sales representative at (866) 294-2467.

Managing HR-related compliance risks is one of many critical roles performed by HR departments. Often, several mundane tasks associated with compliance management turn skilled HR personnel into manual labourers. The total cost of payroll is the sum of labour, outsourcing, system, overhead, and other costs involved with the maintenance of payroll records; the calculation of salaries, wages, and deductions; and the distribution of paycheques.

Now let’s take closer look at areas for improvement, that will allow your company to streamline the process, and at the same time, save money.

Make use of HR compliance
HR operations, including payroll, time and attendance and recruitment that typically requires attention to compliance management-include a range of manual tasks and procedures that are accepted as part of the process. However, those inefficiencies of these operations are often accepted as a cost of doing business. But many processes can potentially introduce avoidable errors and compliance risk that go beyond the cost of inefficiency.

Think of the Big Picture
Routine, high-volume tasks like time and attendance and payroll processing would be well served, when these tasks are automated. For example, ATS Human Capital Management (HCM) flexible inherent rules-based solution can reduce errors and exceptions while significantly lowering costs.

Focus on a Return on Investment (ROI)
If HR is spending an inordinate amount of time on tracking shift differentials, labour allocation and host of other manual tasks-that’s not the best use of the HR department’s time.  If the goal is to obtain HR compliance, then the decision to automate can become a relatively straight-forward decision based on the return on investment from labour savings alone.

Bottomline: ATS HCM gives you a proven solution to process payroll, schedule and track employee hours worked, including paid time off. You can satisfy wage and hour reporting requirements quickly and easily by being able to better operate in an increasingly demanding regulatory environment and accommodate a global workforce.

To learn more, download a demonstration on our website. And, to reach an account executive, call; 866.294.2467.

There is nothing more critical to an organization’s operations than making sure employees are paid on time with 100% accuracy, however it is just as important to deliver new capabilities to support your entire workforce. With ATSTimeWorkOnDemand you have a robust solution at your fingertips, with broad-based functionality—and the ability to adapt to the requirements of your business as it evolves.

Here are 3 ways ATSTimeWorkOnDemand helps businesses:

Optimize Productivity and Reduce Payroll Errors

  • ATSTimeWorkOnDemand provides a rapid return on investment by reducing payroll processing errors and overtime costs and planning more-accurate workforce utilization.
  • Reduce your unplanned overtime costs with digital enforcement of policies and real-time notifications that alert when your employees are working outside of their scheduled hours.
  • With ATSTimeWorkOnDemand your organization will gain a competitive advantage— with complete process automation that increases output, reduces compliance risk, and maximizes business growth.

Enhance Regulatory Compliance

  • Use key compliance criteria to determine applicable rules for absences, manage cases, and improve communication to mitigate costly fines and penalties.
  • The application has built-in best-practices to adapt to collective bargaining and other pay rules and regulations.
  • Keep current with changing laws with automatic updates from the compliance portal.

Simplify Time and Attendance and Optimize Data Collection

  • Give employees access to their time sheet on any device, while reducing payroll errors in a single, cloud-based platform.
  • Your organization can track time and attendance data in real-time with; ATS line of data collectors, biometric technology or other data sources.
  • Provide self-service capabilities (with any device with Internet connection) where employees can submit time-off requests, view messages, add and edit timesheet details, and benefit accruals. With direct access to personal information, employees can easily view and confirm their pay calculations before payroll is processed

ATSTimeWorkOnDemand helps companies create employee experiences that unlock new potential for innovation, resilience, and better performance. Interested in learning how ATSTimeWorkOnDemand, can support your workforce and business in a rapidly changing world? Go to our website to download a demonstration and to reach an account executive, call: 866.294.2467.

Societal changes were taking place before the global health crisis became a reality. And, today’s current talent shortage is no fluke, it had been bubbling beneath the surface and got exacerbated by the pandemic.

Hiring employees is part science, part art and companies and their recruiters, should follow the Golden Rule, treat candidates the way they would like to be treated. Sometimes, the recruiting process is less than stellar. It only takes some planning and effort to make it warm and personal — while, being sensitive to prospective candidate’s needs and anxieties, whether there’s a labour shortage or not. Prospective candidates talk to others and the stories they tell can either help build up, or destroy, your brand. Don’t lose the opportunity to make sure the story they tell about your company is a positive one, even if you do not hire them.

Here are 5 tips you can use to help you overcome the current talent shortage:

1.There are no Perfect Candidates
Some companies hold out for that ‘perfect’ candidate who has the right skills, experiences and degrees. While some companies persist in looking for that one perfect candidate, (that does not exist) don’t be surprised, if the one you just rejected, got hired by your biggest competitor— and now, their new hire, is targeting your customers. A lot of companies are labouring under the misconception that we’re in the midst of the 2007/2008 recession and that people are clamoring to get a job. It’s 2022 and there are a lot of companies vying for the same candidates you are considering.

2. Diversity of Talent
Some of the most successful companies have diverse workforces. In a broader sense, diversity encompasses; employees with different life experiences, backgrounds, education level, age, social status, race and gender. Organizations should take into account the highly competitive labour market, relax some of their assessment criteria and be ever-more vigilant about their hiring practices. Today’s candidates, place a greater emphasis on the type of employees that are within a company before agreeing to a second or third interview. Why? Because a majority of candidates will evaluate the make-up of your workforce (including the C-Suite) before they apply.

3. Re-evaluate Recruiting Practices
Not every prospective candidate will have their resume uploaded to LinkedIn and that’s ok. You should not hold it against a candidate if their resume can’t be found on the latest online job platform or they don’t have a website that houses their CV. Hiring is not just about ticking boxes or following a step-by-step guide. At its core, it is about publishing a job ad, screening resumes and providing a shortlist of good candidates – but overall, hiring is closer to a business function that is critical for the entire organization’s success and health. In other words, think a little outside the AI-driven HR recruitment software.

4.Pay and Rewards
Within the first 5 minutes of an interview, ATS recruiters will take time to go over a candidate’s salary expectations versus what the company offers. Compensation is important to prospective candidates so don’t gloss over it. Candidates will no longer appreciate a recruiter who says “The salary will be discussed at the second round of interviews or with the CEO”. Be upfront about what your company is willing to pay for the role. No company wants to hire a candidate who accepts the salary that’s being offered, only to quit a couple of months later because they found a company who’s willing to pay their desired salary.

5.Hybrid and Work-from-Home Options are Here to Stay
Hybrid work and work-from-home (WFH) are “well-accepted business practices”, with many companies accepting ‘work from anywhere’ as the wave of the future. And, while not every job is conducive to work-from-home (WFH), increasingly —employees are expressing their interest in such arrangements. And, although some leaders still prefer their teams back in the office— Companies will have to weigh ‘The old idea that working at home is synonymous with goofing off’ versus embracing the future of work. In the end, it will come down to trust.

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.

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.

As proponents of artificial intelligence (AI), at ATS, we see how the technology can transform (when used the way its intended) HR departments and not to make them redundant. Essentially, many HR and other c-Suite executives already use the technology in some form or another, in their personal lives; whether it’s Siri, Alexa, or Cortana or a range of others on AI-based devices. In the workplace, AI is evolving into an intelligent assistant to help us work smarter. The technology also offers the potential to revolutionize key HR responsibilities, such as human capital management (HCM), talent management, benefits accruals, absence management, employee self-service, performance evaluation and onboarding for HR professionals.

A recent Gartner worldwide artificial intelligence forecast suggest that a whopping $62.5 billon in revenue is expected in 2022. And, a recently published article, by The HR Director, outlined 3 important ways that AI is being used in the world of talent management. They include:

  1. “Sourcing-AI is used to find and connect with talent more quickly, with the overall results of the sourcing being of better quality than before.
  2. Screening-with the help of AI screening tools, deriving important information is more efficient than ever – instead of going through and opening each and every resume, the tools will give you needed results in minutes.
  3. Interviewing –AI can be used for analyzing facial expressions of candidates during video interviews, giving the employer a better look into their personality traits, as well as using chatbots or pre-recorded videos to be more precise with checking the skillsets of candidates.”

Bottomline: Artificial Intelligence (AI) integration into human capital (HCM) management and human resources (HR) applications will make organizations better because these applications can analyze, forecast, capture data and diagnose to help HR teams make better decisions. Today, more than eve, more organizations are turning to power of AI and machine learning to streamline costs and improve productivity.

To learn about ATS Machine learning and AI software solutions, go to our website. To reach an account executive by phone call: 866.294.2467

Hybrid, remote work and employee well-being, are amoung the three things, that took centre stage during the height of the pandemic. However, they are not new phenoniums and had been bubbling beneath the surface while we were all rushing around before COVID-19. And, while we inch our way back to business as we know it, redefining norms requires us to answer questions that often cannot be resolved on our own. In short, we will not be going back to the way things were. We are living in the new normal.

Here are 5 things that gained traction since the pandemic:

Mental Health and Social Well-Being:
A recent survey  revealed that younger workers placed a heavy emphasis on mental health and well-being and will not work for a company who does not take it seriously.  That’s a stark difference from the previous generation. The pandemic and ensuing lockdowns added pressure on employees, and tested their wellbeing and private lives. The trend towards more purpose-driven jobs and companies was well underway before Covid, with millennials in particular known for prioritising purpose over pay cheques.

The Rise in Remote Work
COVID-19 forced employees and businesses to shift to working remotely using multiple platforms, such as Zoom, Skype, Microsoft Teams, WebEx, Google Hangouts and Skype.  The transition to working from home can reduce infrastructure costs by leasing smaller workspaces, and coordinating a workforce across multiple time zones to maximize daily workflow. Moreover, the benefits of work-from-home can be attractive for some employees and may, include increased schedule flexibility and reduced strains with family. And, while this is a preferred option for some employees-others in healthcare, warehousing and logistics, retail and some other industries don’t have the luxury of working from home.

Labour Shortage:
Companies have been grappling with labour shortages for most of 2021. And while, some have argued, that the pandemic relief doled-out by governments were the real reason for labour shortages, the persistent labour shortage, tells a different story. After being laid-off or furloughed, many employees have decided they do not want to go back to the way things were. In fact, employees are seeking more flexibility, more happiness and rethinking what work means to them and how they are valued. Employers on the other-hand are trying to adapt by offering hiring (cash being one of them) incentives. But will this be enough and a little too late? Only time will tell.

Our Workplaces will Look Different:
With less people coming into the office regularly, companies will likely re-evaluate their real estate needs.  Hiring perks like; beer Fridays, office gyms, dry cleaning pickups, ping pong tables and free snacks have likely lost some of their luster, since many people have been spending more time in their home offices and have fully embraced the concept. Also, when workers are not in the office to actually enjoy them, companies will be forced to re-evaluate these incentives and work culture.

Pandemic-Inspired Union Efforts
Labour turmoil has followed the course of the pandemic. Some grocery, warehousing, meat packers, gig and other low-paid workers deemed “essential” during the pandemic lacked access to employer benefits, like paid sick leave or compensation for working under hazardous conditions. And, this some say, has amplified the public support for unions even more. The pandemic has put a spotlight on workers’ rights issues and accelerated an organizing movement that’s been slowly building in recent years — and with the pandemic, it just reached a breaking point.

Bottomline:
So, what does this all mean going forward? No one really knows. In reality, it will likely mean more of the same: We to continue to mask up, get vaccinated, and stay isolated if sick and be adaptable.  And, it will likely not be the normal we want, but it may be a normal we can contend with. We may go to the office a few days a week and/or we will work from home. Finally, we will stay home when we are sick.