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.
5 Tips Companies Can Use To Win Over The Current Talent Shortage
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:
“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.
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.
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
When one of the requirements in online job ads states, that candidates will be hired based on ‘cultural fit’, this tends to favour the status quo in the company, whether that relates to socioeconomic, gender, age or one’s ability to join work colleagues at the local bar every Friday night. And, when this happens, it makes it harder for anyone who doesn’t ‘fit the mould’ to get into sectors where they are currently under-represented. One of the problems with the words ‘culture fit’ is that its process, is both opaque and rife with biases – while keeping qualified candidates from roles they deserve.
In her article on the pros and cons of ‘Culture Fit’ Carla Bell of HR Dive solicited feedback from 3 experts in the field of HR and talent management. Here is a excerpt:
Jason Geer: What is culture fit? “I literally laughed out loud when I thought about the number of conversations, I’ve had with HR professionals and managers who described someone as not being a good “culture fit” for their respective organizations. They were saying, without actually saying, that “employee X” didn’t fit their narrow definition of how they should look and act.
Culture fit is all about creating a culture centered around the “in group” philosophy of people who look, act and sound alike. It could be an organization’s interest and pursuit of candidates who will look, speak, act and work just like existing managers and employees. This is why so many companies are overwhelmingly white, and have similar academic backgrounds. It’s also the reason why diversity efforts in companies and organizations generally miss the mark. In an ideal working world, culture fit would be determined by that person’s ability to do the job.”
Lily Zheng: What is culture fit? “Culture fit” is often used by HR professionals to describe the extent to which a candidate or employee has traits or characteristics in line with those promoted by the existing company culture. When those using this term lack awareness regarding their company culture, they may intentionally or unintentionally prioritize “fit” with extraneous criteria — e.g. the racial or gender composition of their company, the connection to prestigious schools or prior workplaces, friendship with existing leadership, etc. — and thus be engaging in discrimination.”
Andrew MacAskill: What is culture fit? “When HR and other leaders talk about culture fit, they are talking about inviting people to work on their planet that won’t upset their ecosystem. They want people who can demonstrate that they align with the values and collective behaviors within the business as well as meeting the hard skills requirements of the role. This is a solid approach, but I feel as a business community we are now moving away from culture fit and evolving towards “culture add.” This is exciting because this is how we actively seek to recruit diverse individuals who will add something to the team through fresh thinking and perspectives, and that is where innovation and progress comes from.”
Bottomline: Of course, its important to make sure new hires abide by the policies and other day to day rules that govern a company. However, maintaining ‘cultural fit’, at all costs, means a company is not open to differing views — which in the end, means you are not maximising the potential of your talent and business.
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.
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.
Moving to the cloud can be scary prospect if your company has been against it for some time. However, one of the lessons from the current coronavirus pandemic, is that it has forced many businesses to become agile— by adopting hybrid and work from home (WFH) policies which, by extension, encompasses some of today’s cloud computing technologies like; WebEx, Zoom and Microsoft Teams to name a few. And, with many of today’s IT experts on board with cloud computing—it will be much easier to make sure your applications environment is running efficiently and your company is optimizing its benefits.
The primary forms of cloud computing are:
Infrastructure-as-a-service (IaaS): In this scenario, businesses rent servers, storage and networking infrastructure in a cloud environment.
Software-as-a-service (SaaS): With SaaS, businesses access the applications they need over the internet and pay for what is required.
Platform-as-a-service (PaaS): Organizations access a development platform for building or rolling out proprietary software and services.
Here are 3 ways small and businesses can benefit from cloud computing in 2022:
Application Administration-Small and mid-size companies can take advantage of cloud computing technologies without the need to purchase and maintain their own IT infrastructure, helping to conserve their IT budgets. That’s particularly attractive to businesses that can now access advanced technology previously out of reach. And, if you are an executive at an organization that produces and uses any type of data set, you will be enamoured with the benefits cloud analytics. Cloud analytics is data collection, tracking and analysis that happens on systems hosted in the cloud, rather than in rather than in on-premises (for example on your company’s server) systems.
Turnkey Provisioning and on-Demand Scalability-Embracing cloud computing will change a lot of things for the better, including costs, security, accessibility, and maintenance. But it doesn’t change your core service level requirements. Businesses should not compromise on their technology needs—delivering on performance, scalability, availability, reliability, and security, all of which when deploying a cloud computing solution.
Growth, Scalability and a Unified Approach From Anywhere-Cloud applications like ATSTimeWorkOnDemand offer powerful capabilities on-demand with near-limitless flexibility. These resources are available as needed for scaling up or scaling down, without any need to purchase, set up or maintain any of your own servers or other resources as your needs shift with growth.
To aid productivity, your organization can use the application to summarize and analyze data quickly for real-time insights. Additionally, cloud computing ATSTimeWorkOnDemand offers ready-to-use programming components that allow developers to build new capabilities into their applications, including innovative technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI), blockchain, Internet of Things (IoT).
Cloud computing trends demonstrate how this technology is changing the way businesses operate and how they allocate their IT budgets. Significantly, public cloud users (who share computing resources) no longer have to purchase and maintain hardware and other infrastructure or manage IT upgrades and software patches — that responsibility now falls on their cloud vendors. This leaves businesses and their IT teams able to focus on core business objectives like innovation, new product or service offerings and hiring new talent. It also helps to level the playing field for growing businesses that had been unable to afford the steep price tag of advanced technologies they can now access through a subscription.
As we approach 2022, the adoption of cloud will continue to accelerate as more small and mid-size businesses embrace the advances in cloud computing power, scalability and flexibility that cloud-based systems deliver. In the end, this will provide IT departments with more time to focus on core business objectives like innovation, and other initiatives.
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.
Well, for starters, it is the most innovative facial recognition time clock on the market, that identifies or verifies the human face through a digital image or a video frame. And, when combined with ATS HCM feature-rich cloud computing software, you know you are going to get a huge bang for your buck.
Across Canada, and that includes the federal government, municipalities, provinces and many US states, have all mandated that their employees must vaccinated to enter their place of employment or partake in daily temperature checks. Many organizations, across different industries have instituted similar policies. Centres for Disease and Control Prevention (CDC) recommends that temperature screenings should be conducted daily at all workplaces. And, while some companies use manual-based screening, automating this process will help with social distancing, increase health and safety and boost efficiency.
Here are some of the most advanced technology features, that will make you want to deploy ATS facial recognition time clock:
HR Functionality: Employees can key-in job numbers or perform department transfers, view previous punches, review current week and following week’s schedule, view accrual hours (time-off requests etc.) and enter $ or hours and quantity of hours at the time clock. With up-to-the-minute analytic reporting HR, payroll and finance leaders can ensure a safe environment and consistent experience for all employees at the point of entry to the work-space.
Thermal Temperature: Social distancing and contact tracing are both crucial elements of the new normal. Being aware of how your employees move through the workplace can be a tremendous help in mitigating risk and maintaining health and safety protocols. ATS facial recognition has the ability to check employees’ temperature before they clock in for their shift. The embedded thermal accurately measures employee temperatures and, if an employee is found to have a high temperature the reader will not allow them to punch in for the shift- and will grant a manager the option to handle this at their discretion. This cutting-edge biometric technology helps you maintain spacing and pinpoint problem areas if health issues do arise.
For your IT Personnel: ATS Thermal Check Facial Recognition defaults to port80 but, is also designed for LAN and Cloud Computing environments. Other port installs include; dynamic DNS or static IP address. Network options: PoE support, Gigabit Ethernet, Blue Tooth, Wi-Fi enablement and more.
Human Voice Technology: ATS Thermal Check Facial Recognition includes a touch-free temperature readings without the need for additional human interaction and can be used as a single-function equipment that creates an accurate, multi-point temperature readings that helps keep your workplace safe. ATS Thermal Check Facial Recognition allows employees to fully interact with all essential clock functions with voice recognition, thus avoiding any physical contact and prevent the spread of disease.
Mask Detection: With ATS facial recognition time clocks provides masks confirmation when employee punch in/out at the reader. The unit can instantly detect if a mask is being worn at the time of the punch with reliability, precision and exceptional matching speed. The advanced algorithm will still know who the employee is even with the mask on.
To learn how your company can rent or purchase an ATS Thermal Check Facial Recognition Time Clock, go to our website.
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.
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 coronavirus pandemic has brought remote work into focus, while forcing many companies to accelerate their digital transformation plans. And, once the worse is behind us, HR will remain firmly in the driver’s seat of their organizations as the one who ignited digital the transformation efforts.
Here are 5 ways HR managers can help their companies maintain digital adoption during the COVID-19 pandemic.
1. Maintain communication with remote employees: Employees are going to have different viewpoints on the coronavirus. Some may think the virus is not worth paying attention to, and others will take it very seriously. Regardless of beliefs, organizations must maintain clear communication with its workers.
Utilize modern technologies to your advantage. This may require a pivot of strategy, and investments in new technology to ensure that employees can work efficiently without disruption to customer satisfaction.
2. Invest in a cloud computing solution to improve efficiency:
Companies are seizing on cloud computing technology as the key enabler to complete their digital transformation, and COVID-19 pandemic has further accelerated this mandate. Cloud computing solutions is becoming a top C-suite agenda item as businesses are transitioning from a piece-meal approach to a more holistic end-to-end digital transformation with cloud at its core.
Manually compiling spreadsheets and waiting days for different teams to get reports together is a flintstones era approach to business. Embrace access to real-time data and interactive user dashboards- thus, helping you make the right choices and engage with the appropriate partners to augment their own capabilities.
3. Change the way you hire and make easier for employees who commute: The pandemic has brought to the front what many experts have been saying for years. Companies need to be open-minded about hybrid work. For salaried and hourly employees’ location is one of the biggest — and often underestimated — drivers of effective recruiting. Many employees moved for family and Covid-related reasons in the last year and more are actively considering relocating, which implies that recruiting challenges can increase for employers whose approach to hiring have remained the same.
4. Continue to embrace innovation: Information technology, and particular, cloud computing solutions will remain central to the post-pandemic scenario, where innovations will drive the surge in use. The disruption caused by the pandemic is unprecedent. And, while, reducing costs during these challenging times should be a priority, businesses would be wise to search for areas, where they can find enhancements within their current product suite. That is far better than trying to identify an eliminator from your offering.
5. Be prepared to adapt to change: The ‘new normal’will include a hybridworkforce.A hybrid workforce is an operational model that combines remote and on-site employees. And, depending on the organization, it could look different, however, it typically includes the onsite presence of a skeletal staff (often deemed “essential”), while others can be fully remote employees or adhere to a fixed schedule of remote and in-person workdays.
HR leaders will be expected to drive several key initiatives to foster an environment of flexibility, equity, and trust where employees are valued and their wellbeing is prioritized. To succeed in this new and ever-changing role, HR leaders will need to remain focused on managing employee experience to attract, develop, and retain top talent.
To learn more call 866.294.2467. And, to register for one of our bi-monthly webinars, go to our website.
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.
If you are using Windows 10 for personal or business, chances are you’ve received a pop up message from Microsoft that you should upgrade to Windows 11. Depending on what your IT department suggests or your personal preference, you may decide, it’s time to upgrade or wait a while. Our CIO has told us, that this initiative, will come from our IT department, which essentially means- they are going to wait until all the bugs are worked out before making the switch, company-wide.
If you are on the fence about whether you should upgrade to Windows 11, here is an article about the 3 things we hate and love in Windows 11, by expert, Mark Hachman and his team at PC World:
“1. We love: The Settings menu
Nearly a decade after the new Settings menu appeared in Windows 8, Microsoft has finally made a real effort in not only filling out the Settings menu with more options, but also organizing it well. Microsoft has done away with the “home” screen of the Settings menu, relying instead on a left-hand nav bar. A “breadcrumb” navigation system has been added to the top, so you can skip back and forth inside of a particular directory. Search exists, too, of course. Finally, each page of the Settings provides dense information without being overwhelming, with drop-down menus and graphics to assist you. It’s quite useful.
For years, Microsoft’s Windows Settings menu has wrestled with the legacy Control Panel. If you need to do something, where should you look? In Windows 11, you’ll find most of what you’re looking for inside the Windows 11 Settings.
2. We love: The Out of the Box experience
You may only see the “Out of the Box Experience” (OOBE) once while you’re setting up a new Windows 11 PC, but it’s a triumph. Setting up a Windows 11 PC takes just a few minutes, and Microsoft uses those to its full advantage, taking you on a virtual tour of Windows 11’s key features, including ones that you may not encounter without some poking around. It’s clean and professional—perhaps a bit too professional—but it’s a night-and-day improvement over the Windows 10 experience, which wasn’t bad to begin with.
3. We love: Widgets
I’m warming to Windows 11’s Widgets. Widgets, the ginormous panel that slides out from the left-hand side of your display, contains all sorts of useful information: local weather, your calendar, photos that you took on this day a few years ago, and so on. Yes, there’s a lot of fluff, as the overriding Microsoft Start service will feed you a lot of gossip and other extraneous news if you don’t configure your settings appropriately.
On the other hand, I’ve criticized Windows 11 for its lack of life, and Widgets (and the updated Xbox app, complete with cloud gaming for Xbox Game Pass Ultimate subscribers) is where the fun lives.
4. We hate: The new Start menu
Yes, Microsoft removed the lively Live Tiles. But the real crime is simply the poor organization of it all. In Windows 10, you can click on the Start menu and see your grouped app icons and documents next to an alphabetical list of your apps. In Windows 11, apps are first dropped into the secondary “All apps” overflow menu. From there, you can then add them to the main Start menu, a.k.a. “pinned apps.”
5. We hate: The lack of local accounts
If you already use a Microsoft account to log into your Windows PC, this won’t apply to you. (Logging in with a Microsoft account requires you to put in a personal Microsoft email address and password such as jo******@ou*****.com, uniquely identifying your PC.) But if you’re the type of person who prefers (or perhaps demands) to use a “local” or “offline” account with an anonymous login, you won’t be able to do that with Windows 10 Home. And no, the old “router trick” doesn’t work, either.
6.We hate: The lack of browser choice
Many people use the built-in Edge browser. Many more users, however, use Google Chrome, Firefox, Vivaldi, Opera, Brave, or the other niche browsers that we’ve covered in our best browser roundup. Yes, you can download Chrome and use it as you wish. But if you want to make Chrome the default browser on your PC, that one-click “set as default” option that was available in Windows 10 has vanished.
Instead, you’re presented with one of the most obtuse options screen Windows has ever presented, which asks you to set your browser choice by individual file type. No, there’s no option to “select all.” If you’d still like to switch file types, Microsoft will then ask you, yet again, if you’d like to try Edge instead. It’s clingy and extraordinarily passive-aggressive, and it absolutely tarnishes the entirety of the operating system”.
So, should you upgrade? Some experts have suggested you should upgrade, if you are a heavy multitasker, or if you simply want a better aesthetic-looking Windows. If you have an IT department or consultant, ask them. Chances are they have been testing Windows 11 and may the answer that’s best suited for your organization.
About ATS
ATS offers a broad portfolio of time and attendance solutions that streamlines the collection, calculation, and reporting of employee hours for workforce management and eliminates the manual tasks of payroll preparation, increasing efficiency and reducing errors in corporate payroll departments.
Thousands of organizations across North, Central and South America and Europe- including more than half of the Fortune 500 – use ATS TimeWork OnDemand, Workforce Planning, Employee Scheduling HR and payroll solutions to manage their workforce. ATS cloud services offer rapid deployment, support services, software updates, and enhancements; and consulting and training services.
