Time and Attendance Blog, Workforce Management Software

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

Does Burnout Say More About The Manager and The Workplace Or Its Employees?

According to the World Health Organization (WHO) Burn-out is a syndrome conceptualized as resulting from chronic workplace stress that has not been successfully managed. In essence, managers should look for the signs of workplace stress and adjust their expectations of employees accordingly. And while, it may feel like a herculean task for some managers, considering we’re all living in a COVID world, there are steps managers can take to prevent— or at the very least curtail, this occupational phenomenon.

Adam Weber insightful article titled, ‘The Real Reasons Why We’re Not Curing Burnout’ offers some compelling reasons why employees may experience burnout. These reasons include:

1. Working beyond capacity- Employees must feel capable of putting needed time and physical, intellectual, and emotional energy into their work. Burnout can happen when work expectations exceed an employees’ capacity. It’s worth noting that individuals experiencing capacity-related burnout may not necessarily be putting in longer hours. Burnout can also happen when the job demands more emotional energy than an employee has to give. For example, someone dealing with a demeaning or overly demanding client, co-worker, or manager for an extended period of time is at risk of burning out, even if they’re clocking out at 5 p.m. on the dot every day.

2. Lack of company support-Employees must feel their company is providing them with the necessary emotional and psychological resources for them to invest in their individual roles. Without that, people will feel like they don’t have what they need to succeed. And when you’re playing a losing game, it doesn’t take long for demoralization to descend into burnout.

3. Not enough rest-Workers must feel comfortable taking time off — but not just paid time off. People also need opportunities on a daily and weekly basis to rest and recharge, whether that means actually taking a lunch break or not checking email on the weekend. We don’t have an endless supply of energy and focus. The more we use, the more depleted those tanks become. Burnout happens when you fail to replenish those tanks for weeks, months, or even years.

4. Lack of role clarity-Employees must have a clear understanding of what their roles entail — and what they don’t. When someone doesn’t have that clarity, they also don’t have clear expectations, which means they probably don’t understand how their daily tasks actually impact the business. It’s easy to see why that would be demotivating and lead to burnout.

5. Low psychological safety-Workers must feel comfortable approaching their manager for help without fear of negative consequences. In organizations with low psychological safety, burnout is often left to fester because people are afraid to tell someone how they’re feeling. That’s why, too often, the first time a manager hears that an employee is burned out is in the exit interview. So many companies lose high performers to burnout because they’d rather quit than risk looking weak.

Bottomline: Some employees may not even understand the effect that burnout can have on their work performance and effectiveness. A proactive manager who recognizes the early signs, can help employees fend off burnout by encouraging wellness and will, in all likelihood— reap the benefits of a happy and productive workforce.

To learn more about ATS go to our website to download a demo of ATSTimeWorkOnDemand. And, to reach an account executive by phone call, 866.294.2467.

Covid-19, Productivity, Time-Off Request, World Health Organization (WHO)

You Should Be Mindful Of Your Company’s Tech Workplace Etiquette

Work etiquette is part common sense and part culture and can depend on the company you work for. For example, the corporate culture at the company you work for, might have a list of unwritten rules about work etiquette. It is up to you to know them, and if you don’t make, an attempt by asking someone who has been at the company longer than you have been. All workplaces are different, but basic work etiquette is pretty universal within a country.

Here is an excerpt list of technology workplace etiquettes from a recent article by Deborah Lynn Blumberg titled 8 tech etiquette rules for the modern workplace.

“Shut off your cell phone
It can be tempting to zone out by checking personal email on your smartphone or scrolling through Facebook during a team meeting. Resist, says Diane Gottsman, a national etiquette expert and founder of The Protocol School of Texas. When you’re on your personal device, you send a message that the meeting and work aren’t your priority.

Be mindful during conference callsYou wouldn’t crunch a bag of potato chips during a department meeting or send out a flurry of personal tweets. So, don’t do it during a conference call, says Gottsman. A general rule for video calls is to imagine you’re in an in-person meeting. Be especially careful if you’re calling in from home.

Know your email etiquette
Email subjects should clearly communicate the point of your message, Gottsman says. She also advises to be cautious when using the Bcc or blind copy features. You run the risk of the person who’s blind copied responding to everyone, she says. “There’s secrecy in blind copying. A cc feels more upfront.”

Think before adding an emojiEmojis can soften the tone of requests you make of your employees or colleagues. But, they also create the potential for misunderstandings. One recent study found that using smiley faces in work emails makes readers perceive the sender as less competent. It’s safest to use emojis with colleagues you know well, says Senning.

Keep notifications in checkIf you’re using your personal laptop for a work presentation, build in time to disable notifications that might pop up. For Belanger, who received that mid-presentation question about her date, it was an instant message, but it could also be Facebook alerts or even calendar reminders.

Don’t friend-request your boss
We spend most of our days at work, and that’s where we build our relationships. So, friending a co-worker on Facebook might feel natural. But it’s also a risk. You might see a picture from their personal life that makes you uncomfortable. If that’s the case, “there’s nothing wrong with unfollowing someone,” Gottsman says.

When F2F is better than screen-to-screen
Senning says part of good tech etiquette is knowing when not to use it. Relying heavily on email presents a genuine challenge to our ability to empathize, he says. For issues that are sensitive or could impact the relationship between colleagues or between a supervisor and her direct report, it’s better to meet face-to-face. It doesn’t have to be formal, a quick coffee or a “walking meeting” often works wonders to facilitate clear communication.

Say you’re sorry
Inevitably, despite our best intentions, embarrassing tech mistakes will happen. “Technological tools are extremely helpful,” says Gottsman. “They make our job and life easier. But at the same time, they can complicate matters because we don’t use them right, or we get too comfortable. We need to use technology responsibly and politely.”

Bottomline-Many of these work etiquettes mentioned here are not hard to adopt, and as previously mentioned, most of them comes down to common sense.

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Cell Phone, Conference Calls, Email, Facebook, Technology

Cloud Deployment:Perception Vs Reality

The shift to the cloud is here and there’s not stopping it. In fact, the perception of cloud computing applications has changed dramatically over the last several years. In short order, most of our software applications in the foreseeable future, will accessed only through the cloud.

However, solely relying on the technology to facilitate better day to day operations for your business might not yield the results you are expecting. There are, however, several factors involved in the deployment of software-as-a-service (SaaS) applications—that are sometimes overlooked, yet they play a vital role in the overall success within an organization.

There are numerous ways to improve the effectiveness of your cloud deployment. Here are three tips that will help you match your company’s reality vs perception.

Plan Accordingly-The amount of time it takes your workforce to adapt to the new solution might be longer than you think, so provide them with ample notice and do not expect a quick user adoption. Human beings, by nature, do not like change. Changing the habits of people, is no small undertaking. A well thought-out and executed project plan will minimize the change management hiccups, and help you maximize end-user adoption.

Let the Experts Guide You-Successful time and attendance cloud deployment and training covers not only system-related topics, but also best-practices and business processes. It takes into consideration each function’s unique organization structure processes and training needs. ATS deep industry expertise guides employees and users alike — at all levels of the organization — through new functions and processes.

Software Deployment is a Journey -ATS TimeWorkOnDemand is a journey, not a destination. Your organization will evolve as you begin to understand the product, and your processes should evolve along with it. On-going and post-live support is critical to your company’s enduring success, and accordingly, you should plan on spending several months fine-tuning your application with incremental changes. Having the resources to make small changes quickly helps drive faster end user adoption and will help to accelerate your return-on-investment (ROI).

ATS TimeWorkOnDemand is the leading cloud-based time and attendance application that’s used by mid and large enterprises across Canada, the US and other parts of central and south America. ATS TimeWorkOnDemand helps businesses streamline payroll and increase workforce productivity.

ATS provides organizations a complete Workforce Management, HCM Cloud Computing Solution —that drives digital transformation and, improves business agility while meeting both current and future business requirements.

To learn more about ATS TimeWorkOnDemand, go to our website. You can also register for one of our bi-weekly webinars or download a demonstration. And to reach an account executive, call: 866.294.2467.

Canada, Cloud Computing, HCM, Payroll, Software-as-a-Service (SaaS), Time and Attendance, U.S., Workforce Management Software

ATS HCM Time And Attendance And HR Can Scale With Your Business

For many Canadian business leaders and decision-makers who want to improve their business performance and employee experience, ATS HCM Workforce Management Suite was designed to handle that task and power full-service HR offered by our Workforce Optimization workflow solution. ATS HCM Workforce Management cloud computing application helps companies to reap the full benefits of these tools and —supports people-driven business objectives. So, whether your business has 50 or 3000 employees, here is what you can expect of ATS HCM Workforce Management Suite:

Employee Onboarding and Administration-An integrated and robust cloud application built from the ground-up that enables workflow into a single source, solution that will increase efficiency and productivity.

Online HR Tools- With HR tools like benefits administration and employee self-service, employee no longer have to hand in manual time-off requests, instead they can go online and submit their vacation, requests, view their working hours and overtime.

Management Dashboard-The management dashboard provides unparallel visibility into critical workforce management intelligence, allowing you to stay on top of workforce trends and make informed decisions. You are too busy to waste time with manual processes — now you can instantly view your data without the need to build reports or export data.

Time and Attendance- Just about had enough of these spreadsheets? We get it. With ATS TimeWorkOnDemand, you get employee data in real-time, using anyone of our data collectors that include: Face Recognition, Biometric Time Clock, Web Punch or through any mobile device 24/7 365 days a year.

ATS HCM Workforce Management Suite has bevy of new and enhanced features, functionality, and user experience that’s based on today’s most innovative technology.

Want to know more? You can download a demo and see it in action for yourself, or you can attend one of our bi-weekly webinars. And, to reach an account executive, call 866.294.2467.

ATS HCM Workforce Management Suite, Biometric Time Clock, Cloud Computing, Employee Self Service, Face Recognition, HR, Time and Attendance

8 Reasons Why You Are Still Struggling To Recover From Daylight Savings Time

This past Sunday, November 4, 2018, at 2:00 a.m., daylight savings time occurred with many provinces and states across the US setting their clocks one hour back. And, every year, a growing chorus of health professionals, bemoans the need for this and, like many of us, ask why is it we simply don’t get rid of daylight savings time altogether.

Here is an excerpt from a recent article with some compelling reasons to ditch this yearly ritual, by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) titled Eight scientific reasons to ditch daylight time:

You are eight per cent more likely to have a stroke for two days after changing your clocks.
You are also 24 per cent more likely to have a heart attack the Monday after (and 21 per cent on the Tuesday)
Suicide rates in men increase for two weeks after the clocks change.
Judges give harsher legal sentences the day after switching to daylight time
Losing that hour of sleep increases workplace injuries, and the injuries themselves are much more severe.
You’re also more likely to get into a car crash. In fact, this researcher estimates that over the years, 30 fatalities have been caused by the time change.
Daylight time can lead to a dramatic increase in ‘cyberloafing.’
In adolescents, it can take over a week to adjust to the change, losing an average of 32 minutes of sleep per night, which messes with their memory and reaction time.

Bottom line: Daylight savings time has served its purpose, whatever purpose it was. Lost productivity and sleepy eyed employees is not exactly what employers expect in their organization. Maybe that’s why the European Union is considering doing away daylight savings time in 2019.

Bottom line: Daylight savings time has served its purpose, whatever purpose that was. Lost productivity and sleepy eyed employees is not exactly what employers expect in their organization. Maybe that’s one of the reasons why the European Union is considering doing away daylight savings time in 2019.

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Canada, Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC), Daylight Savings Time, European Union, Productivity, US, Workplace

How to Build a Feedback Culture When Working Remotely

By Jock Purtle

A lot of things are changing about the way we work. The traditional 9-5 workday is slowly disappearing, or at the very least changing. And every year it seems more and more people are working remotely—currently around 43 percent of the workforce performs their jobs remotely in one way or another.

In general, there are a lot of advantages to remote work. Not only does it make it easier for people to achieve the coveted work-life balance, but remote workers actually tend to be more engaged and productive, when managed correctly.

How to Build a Feedback Culture When Working Remotely

But there are some things from a traditional office setting that remote work struggles to recreate, such as the ability to gather feedback from employees. Hearing people’s opinions about the way things work and the ideas they have for improving them is key to improving your business. But with less-frequent and less-personal digital communication replacing face-to-face interaction, some are wondering if feedback culture is in jeopardy.

In short: it’s not. Yet to make sure you can maintain this all-important feature of a successful, business, you do need to change some of your management techniques and adapt to the nature of a digital work environment. Consider the following to help you build a feedback culture when working remotely.

Hold Regular Meetings
In a remote work environment, efficiency is king. Having flexible work hours means people want to organize their days in the manner that makes them the most productive. And we all know people’s opinions of less-than-productive, something that makes people want to cut them out completely.

But you’ve got to avoid this. Just because people are working remotely, it doesn’t mean they are less important. You still need to maintain constant contact with them, especially if you’re hoping to build a culture of feedback into your remote work environment. You can certainly reduce their frequency, choosing to hold them once a month instead of bi-weekly, for example. Less contact discourages people from speaking out and making suggesting, stunting the development of a feedback culture.

During these meetings, make sure to actively solicit feedback. Ask people questions about your processes and about their jobs so as to encourage a dialogue. Saying just “Anything on your mind?” doesn’t promote dialogue, so you need to work extra hard to fight make it happen.

Give People an Outlet
No matter how often you tell people they can feel free to speak their mind, they are going to be more hesitant around management. You could have an incredibly open organizational hierarchy, but people will rarely say exactly what’s on their mind.

As such, to really develop a culture of feedback in your remote work, it’s important to establish another way for employees to express themselves. For example, you could set up an ombudsman program where people can discuss what’s bothering them under the protection of anonymity. Or, you could outsource your entire HR organization to a professional employer organization, streamlining this aspect of your business while also giving people an outside entity to speak to.

When you go this route, you can have this third party report on the general thoughts and feelings of your employees, which will make people, feel more comfortable that they won’t be singles out or reprimanded for speaking out against the way things are done.

Follow Through on Suggestions
If you want people to feel as though their opinions are valued—something critical to creating a feedback culture—then you need to make sure you follow through when people bring things to your attention. Of course you don’t need to implement every suggestion, but you do need to try.

In the cases where change just simply is not possible, make sure to discuss why this is the case. During your monthly meeting, let people know you’re aware of their concerns, and then explain to them why their suggestions cannot be accommodated, perhaps indicating at the same time that you’re going to continue to look for alternatives.

If you do this, then your employees will be able to see your words as more than just words. It will become clear to them that you care about what they have to say, and that your request for feedback is not just lip service but rather a genuine attempt at including them in the running of the business.

Work Hard to Build Trust with Remote Workers
Remote workers tend to fall out of the loop. Since they’re not in the office, it’s common to “forget” about them. And when this happens, you can be sure that they are not going to want to offer any feedback.

But just because it’s hard doesn’t mean it’s impossible. Make sure to spend time getting to know your remote workers by asking them about things other than work. Learn about their families and their hometowns, and do your best to cultivate a relationship as if saw this person in everyday in the office. Sure, it won’t be the same, but if you show people you care and that you trust them, then you can expect them to open up more when it comes time to solicit feedback.

Another way to build trust is by managing remote workers in a hands-off manner. Telecommuters value their flexibility, so if you harp over them at all times, then they will interpret this as an encroachment on their autonomy, which can create feelings of resentment and distance. Try to let people do their thing and enjoy the benefits of remote work, and you’ll soon see how this can open up the flow of communication and make it easier for you to learn about people’s thoughts and opinions.

Remote Workers Can Do It All
The most important thing to remember is that remote workers are the same as traditional workers in every sense. They may operate with different schedules and you may need to manage them a bit differently, but they are fully capable of doing everything your in-office employees can do, including offering feedback that can help make the company better.

About the Author: Jock Purtle is the founder and CEO of Digital Exits, an online brokerage service specializing in the buying/selling and appraisal of online businesses. He’s been an internet entrepreneur since he launched his first business when was 19-years-old, meaning his entire career has taken place online. He’s an expert on managing remote teams and enjoys sharing his experiences to help others.

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HR, Remote Workers, Telecommuting

There Are Several Benefits To Upgrading Your Business Office Tools

As creatures of habits, many of us do not like change and are emotionally attached to just about everything we own or things we like to do on a daily basis; from our handheld devices, to work stations or our favorite morning latte at the local coffee shop. Of course, when it comes to things like office software or hardware, we need to make sure we are using technology that is not from the 80s, otherwise it could impact productivity.

Windows10 has been around for a few years and despite its gradual adoption use in the world of business, it still has its detractors. Hopefully, you are still not using WindowsXP? And, if you are, hopefully you and/or your company’s IT manager are technology wizards with the smarts to support it.

There Are Several Benefits To Upgrading Your Business Office Tools

Sometimes, upgrading is a pain and most of us hate it. Here are some useful tips from an article titled 7 Reasons Why Your Business Should Upgrade to Windows 10 Now by Howard Wen for Business News Daily.

“1. Ransomware prevention
Computers running older versions of Windows are more vulnerable to ransomware. Windows 10 has a feature to thwart ransomware from locking up a user’s work and personal documents on their computer. The Windows Defender Security Center tool in Windows 10 lets you whitelist, or approve, which apps can access and change files saved in the Desktop, Documents, Music, Pictures and Videos folders.

Stronger malware security tools

Windows 10 comes with Windows Defender Exploit Guard, which scans for, quarantines and removes malware. In addition to ransomware protection, it includes other tools that can be used to stop zero-day attacks, to block and quarantine malicious programs on your computer or office network, and to isolate infected computers on your network. Upgrading to Windows 10 gives you the option of subscribing to Windows Defender Advanced Threat Protection. It’s a more sophisticated, cloud-based service for managing security threats across your business’s Windows 10 computers.

Safer web browsing

Windows Defender Application Guard is available in Windows 10 Enterprise and Professional. It lets you use the Edge browser inside a virtual machine. If you or an employee unknowingly contracts malware by visiting a malicious website, it won’t be able to damage the computer or the network, because it will be confined inside this virtual machine.

Keep your frequent business contacts on the taskbar

The My People feature lets you pin your business contacts as shortcut icons on the Windows 10 taskbar. Click the icon of a person to email them or start a video call through Skype. You can pin up to 10 contacts on the taskbar.

More efficient updates for Windows 10

A technology feature in the Windows Update tool, the Unified Update Platform (UUP), significantly streamlines the update process. UUP identifies new changes to Windows 10 that your computer needs and downloads only those specific updates. Your computer won’t have to download a larger package. Microsoft says UUP can reduce the download size of Windows updates by up to 35 percent, sparing storage space on your computer and the time it takes to install updates.

Sync your work between your personal and work computers

The Timeline feature saves “snapshots” of the Windows applications you were using at a given point of time. By clicking the Task View icon on the taskbar, you can select a snapshot to continue working on something where you left off. These snapshots are synced across your different Windows 10 computers (if you are signed on to them with the same Microsoft user account). For example, you can create a new spreadsheet on Excel on your home computer and work on it later on another computer at the office.

Configure your business’s computers quickly

Windows Autopilot lets you set up system configurations that can be downloaded from the cloud onto your business’s Windows 10 computers. For example, an employee can take a new computer, connect it to your office network, and it will automatically be configured to your business’s required settings. A system configuration can be tailored for a particular employee. This Windows 10 feature makes configuring, managing, and resetting your business’ computers easier, faster, and more secure.”

Bottom-line: There is only so much you can do with older technology, whether its business software or hardware, once it starts to impact workforce productivity the inevitability of loss profits are sure to follow.

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Cloud, Computers, Microsoft, Productivity, Windows10

Want Happy And Productive Employees? Avoid These Mistakes

Some companies extolled the virtues of their corporate philosophy in print and through the recruitment stages as an organization that cherish talent. It’s one thing to brag about how wonderful you are as a company, but it’s something entirely different if those things you talked about during the interview process, to lure good talent, do not materialize, once these candidates, become employees of your organization.

In writing for The HR Digest, Diana Coker dispenses some advice that you should heed in an article titled Dumb HR Policies That Demotivate Employees. Here are some of the things to avoid:

Merging Sick Leave and Vacation
This is one of the stupid rules most offices are still upholding till date, despite deep sensitization on this policy. Forcing your employees to take their vacations because they are sick is the dumbest thing any manager would do. As a manager, would you personally like to have your precious vacation because you are sick? The answer is NO if you want to be sincere. We all plan our vacations and deserve the best moment from it. Offices that merge sick leave and vacation will not only demotivate but encourage their employees to come to work sick, which means low productivity as well as exposing the healthy workers to the sickness if it’s contagious. At the tail end, the sickness goes round to everyone susceptible to it – going round to individuals that would still bring them to the office for more decrease in productivity. If an employee is sick and cannot go home because it would take away his or her vacation, they’ll force themselves to work demotivated.

Banning Social Media
Recognizing social media as a channel for pleasures and distraction is already offensive and deprives your employees of a social life. Freedom to social media like Facebook or LinkedIn can help your employees to gain access to information that would help improve their performances. You can put it that banning social media limits your employee. Even if the employees are not being very professional as you want, getting their job done should be a criterion. Some employees go worst by banning internet use, that’s completely outrageous and a fight to force down productivity. Instead, keep your employee’s attention focused but don’t take away the trust.

Crushing self-expression
I still can’t believe that some offices still keep up with this policy. Can employees not display personal belongings on their desk? That’s one of the dumb HR policies that shouldn’t have made it to the 20th century. It’s true that work environments deserve some level of sanity, but at the same time, people deserve to be who they are. This policy creates anxiety at work; it increases stress and renders break times invalid. Allow your employees to create a homey atmosphere. That helps them to be happier at work which improves productivity.

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Facebook, HR, Leave Management, LinkedIn, Productivity

6 Tips To Ace Your Phone Interview

September 26th, 2017 | Posted by ATS in Careers | HR | Productivity | Recruitment - (Comments Off)

Many of today’s companies are now using telephone interviews for the hiring process. It’s often used as a way to gauge a prospective candidate’s interest and also figure out if there is a fit before conducting a face-to-face interview. In some cases, the telephone interview will be one of several interviews a candidate will need to go through before they are hired by a company.

Telephone interviews are also used by companies as a way to screen applicants, and if you don’t make it past the telephone interview, chances are, you won’t be invited for another one. In her most recent article, The HR Digest Presenting tips for phone interview with a step-by-step guide Diane Booker offers some wonderful advice for would-be job seekers on the best approach to you use when doing a phone interview.

Here are those 6 tips to help you ace that interview

Step 1: a heads-up about the company
Irrespective of the nature of the job interview, it is necessary for the candidate to do his research. You must have enough knowledge about the company and what kind of services it offers. Read about the company in such a manner that you get an idea of the kind of duties you will be assigned according to your job profile.

Step 2: make notes
When we have a face-to-face interaction with a person, we pay more attention to the conversation and have our doubts clarified accordingly. While on a telephonic conversation, we might miss out on some factors. This is why it is important to jot down a list of questions you would like to ask the employer beforehand. Such a practice is to avoid any misconceptions and to make sure that all your doubts are clarified.

Step 3: stay hydrated
For a usual job interview, your attire, body language, and facial expressions help create an impact on the interviewer. But on a phone interview, you only have your voice and intonations to strike an impression. To make sure that you succeed at doing so, the most basic thing to do is stay hydrated. Have a glass of water before the expected time of the phone call. By doing so, your voice will sound clear and you will be able to articulate your thoughts well. Having water will also calm down your nerves.

Step 4: keep your documents in front of you
The HR of the company you have applied to might have already asked for your documents and CV through email. These documents will also be presented to your interviewer. Based on this, he will ask you questions. To help you answer these questions smoothly, keep a copy of all these documents in front of your throughout the interview.

Step 5: pick a spot for your phone interview
To make sure that the interviewer’s questions are audible during the interview, pick a quiet spot. This spot must be such that it’s devoid of external disturbances and has excellent cell phone reception. Preferably, this place can be a part of your home which you are well accustomed to. Make sure that none of the musical devices in the house are on and close the doors and windows to avoid further disturbances.

Step 6: smile, even if it’s not visible
A number of psychological studies have proven that a smile can have a positive effect on the person you are interacting with. But is it applicable to a telephonic conversation as well? Absolutely. If you smile while talking, the person at the other end of the phone call can recognize the smile in your voice. This will work in your favor. And also make sure you are calm. Be confident and you will nail the phone interview with some simple tips!

Telephone interviews can be tricky since all you have to rely on is the voice of the person on the other end. And, because of that, you cannot afford to make mistakes, if you do make one, it might be forgiven but too many of them can will lead to failure of a second interview and ultimately the job.

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Job Profile, Telephone Interview, The HR Digest

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

Does Burnout Say More About The Manager and The Workplace Or Its Employees?

You Should Be Mindful Of Your Company’s Tech Workplace Etiquette

8 Reasons Why You Are Still Struggling To Recover From Daylight Savings Time

How to Build a Feedback Culture When Working Remotely

Want Happy And Productive Employees? Avoid These Mistakes

6 Tips To Ace Your Phone Interview

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