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Is The Traditional 9-5 Workday Sliding Towards Irrelevance?

August 29th, 2018 | Posted by ATS in Careers | Google | HR | Millennials | Time and Attendance Blog, Workforce Management Software - (Comments Off on Is The Traditional 9-5 Workday Sliding Towards Irrelevance?)

Defenders of the good ole’ days will have a counter argument that the traditional 9-5 workday is thriving and will never go away. Maybe so but, that remains to be seen. Employees increasingly want to untethered themselves from the 24/7 work culture and instead are searching for jobs that let them better balance their careers and personal lives. And, while the shift in attitude about the new way of working can be attributed to Millenialls and GenerationZ, even some older workers are beginning to seek for flexible work arrangements from their employers —in other words, the work-life-balance is becoming infectious.

Is The Traditional 9-5 Workday Sliding Towards Irrelevance?

Meghan M.Biro article Did Millennials Kill the 9-to-5 Workday, or Just Point Out That It’s Dead? is wonderful read on topic and reads in part;

“Millennials are mostly comfortable with change. If they take a job at one company, and start to feel overworked or undervalued, they’ll just move on to another company. They certainly don’t want to be chained to a desk for 40-plus hours a week.

Millennials are not lazy. In fact, it’s quite the opposite. If they have an employer that enables them to do so, they’ll skillfully blend their work and personal lives to get the balance they’re looking for. 

If your organization can offer amenities like advanced training, remote or flexible work schedules, the latest and greatest when it come stop technology, and some regular encouragement and appreciation, this generation is much more likely to stay with your company for the long haul.

I think it’s good that we’re redesigning the concept of the 9-to-5 workday. Technology allows us to work where we want when we want. For progressive organizations, it makes sense to harness that potential.

So how can businesses tap into what this generation wants and keep them interested in their careers? Encouraging a culture that embraces flexible schedules and mobile work environments is the best place to start. As a business owner, think about how you can offer more flexibility in your workplace.

  • What duties or roles can be performed online or remotely, either on a full or part-time basis? Some typical examples include writing and research, marketing, sales and development.
  • How will different teams communicate effectively? Explore collaborative platforms designed for creative roles, or perhaps a solution that combines file sharing and workplace communication (like Dropbox or Google Messenger). 
  • If you can’t provide a fully remote-based work schedule, maybe you can offer a few hours of flex time or one day each week where people have the option to work from home.”

Bottom-line- It’s a movement that should not be ignored and business and HR leaders should be ready to adapt their hiring practices to reflect modern-day employee preference that includes, working for organizations that offer flexible work arrangements. In the end, every company wants a happy and productive workforce, which usually translates to increase profits.

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7 Tips To Help Your Company Understand Millennials

March 21st, 2018 | Posted by ATS in Millennials | Talent Management | Time and Attendance Blog, Workforce Management Software | Time and Attendance Canada | Time and Attendance Toronto - (Comments Off on 7 Tips To Help Your Company Understand Millennials)

Millennials sometimes get a raw deal by some people. However, what that small minority of people who keep bashing them, fail to realize is that millennials are the future – and will someday control the levels of; government, private businesses and academia to name a few.

7 Tips To Help Your Company Understand Millennials

Here a poignant list of things your company should know about this next generation of bright and ambitious individuals. This list is extrapolated from an article titled Seven Things CEOs Need to Know About Millennials by Meghan M. Biro of Talent Culture.

  1. Benefits: It’s not all about the “Benjamins.” When Millennial employees were asked what they value most from an employer, you may be surprised to learn that money wasn’t most important. In fact, cash bonuses came in third with training and development and flexible work hours taking first and second place respectively. What’s more revealing is that almost three quarters (73 percent) of millennials favor the notion of being able to customize their benefits packages to better suit their individual needs.
  2. They want to be challenged: This generation wants to know that their job offers personal learning and development opportunities above everything else. They also want to feel confident that when accepting a new position, there will be opportunities for advancement within the organization. In fact, 52 percent said it would make a prospective employer more attractive.
  3. A pat on the back goes a long way: One of the strongest traits of many millennials is the desire of frequent feedback from their superiors, especially praise for a job well done. As the survey indicated, 51 percent said feedback should be given very frequently or continually.
  4. They aren’t impressed with your diversity: Generally speaking, millennials think you can do better when it comes to promoting equal opportunity in the workplace. More than half (55 percent) of respondents agreed that even though organizations discuss diversity, not everyone has an equal opportunity to succeed.
  5. They think you’re stuck in your ways: Millennials are continually calling out company leaders for their “old-school,” and outdated management styles. More than 40 percent of millennials surveyed felt their use of technology was not always understood or appreciated.
  6. They’re sensitive about what older workers think of them: Millennials sometimes get a bum rap and at work, 38 percent think it might have something to do with the inability of older senior management to relate to them. Whether it’s rigid hierarchies and outdated management styles (cited by 65 percent of survey respondents,) or not understanding the way millennials use technology (46 percent,) they feel misunderstood by older colleagues.
  7. They’re loyal, but only to a point: Many millennials (38 percent) admit that they are keeping an eye out for new opportunities even when they are not actively seeking a new position. In other words, if they feel their talents are being wasted or that their needs are not being met, they won’t hesitate to move on to other opportunities.

Millenials are not as bad as they are made out to be. Let’s remember that it was not too long ago that today’s, 50 year plus cohorts, who blame today’s millennials for everything that’s wrong with the workforce environment — was also criticized by the generation that came before them. Some might call this merely the cycle of life.

To learn about ATS and it’s Workforce Management Suite, go to our website. You can also register for a bi-monthly webinar or demonstration and gain access to a variety of time and attendance and attendance brochures.To reach us by phone call; 866.294.2467.

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Here Are Three Ways To Keep Your Remote Workers Engaged

March 19th, 2018 | Posted by ATS in Cloud Computing | Employee Productivity | HR | Millennials | Telecommuting Employees | Time and Attendance | Time and Attendance Blog, Workforce Management Software | Workforce Management Solutions - (Comments Off on Here Are Three Ways To Keep Your Remote Workers Engaged)

The traditional way of work is on its way out and is not coming back, much to angst of some. Many North Americans, in particular, millennials are ditching the traditional approach to work which usually involves driving one or two hours to an office. Today’s workers and are instead looking for companies that offer flexible work options and if yours does not, good luck in attracting a range of talent.

Here Are Three Ways To Keep Your Remote Workers Engaged

If your company has embraced the new way of work and has a remote workforce, you probably know it can sometimes be hard to make sure they feel part of the team.  Here are three ways to keep your remote workforce engaged:

  1. Consistently Communicate

A consistent line of communication between you and your remote team members is vital to ensuring workers are engaged, getting the work done are motivated. Occasionally e-mail your remote workers during the day or schedule one or two phone call during the course of the day. Not only does this help them to feel part of the team, it also means you are always accessible and this can help to avoid problems.

  1. Made Good Use of Technology

The latest workforce management solutions and HR applications can help with remote employee engagement.  In addition, cloud-based tools like Skype can provide your company and its remote workers to access a variety of presentations, or obtain important HR and data related information-thus, ensuring team members can remain up to date with the latest and most critical information wherever they are.

  1. Share Feedback

Include your remote workers in important decisions that are part of your company’s overall strategy and/or growth plans. When remote workers are not included in the decisions then can quickly become disengage, and begin to can feel unsupported and unsure of how much their efforts are appreciated by the company. As an organization, you should have faith that your remote staff can work independently and meet operational objectives.

If you work in the white-collar world, you will undoubtedly end up working with or supervising a telecommuting workforce at some point. How you handle remote workers will vary according to whether they work from home in the suburbs a dozen miles away, a few provinces or states away, or in another country.

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