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To Return or Not Return to the office: A Conundrum for Business Leaders

May 27th, 2021 | Posted by ATS in ATS TimeWork OnDemand | Biometric FaceScan | Cloud Computing | Employee Productivity | HR | Time and Attendance Blog, Workforce Management Software | Time and Attendance Canada | Time and Attendance Toronto - (Comments Off on To Return or Not Return to the office: A Conundrum for Business Leaders)

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

March 29th, 2021 | Posted by ATS in Career | Employee Self Service | Fingerprint Time And Attendance Canada | Fingerprint Time And Attendance Toronto | HR | Leave Management | Payroll | Productivity | Talent Management | Time and Attendance Blog, Workforce Management Software | Time and Attendance Canada | Time and Attendance Toronto - (Comments Off on 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.

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.

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How to Develop and Retain Talent During the Pandemic

February 1st, 2021 | Posted by ATS in ATS TimeWork OnDemand | Career | Digital | Employee Productivity | Fingerprint Time And Attendance Canada | Fingerprint Time And Attendance Toronto | IRIS Scan | Talent Management | Time and Attendance Blog, Workforce Management Software | Time and Attendance Canada | Time and Attendance Toronto - (Comments Off on How to Develop and Retain Talent During the Pandemic)

The coronavirus pandemic has forced business executives to anticipate and adapt to change—while navigating talent shortages and a shaky economy. And,while promises of cushy perks and pay are often used to compete for top talent— some employers struggle to develop and retain new hires.

How Talent Development Makes a Positive Impact on Your Business is an article written by, Jori Hamilton for online publication, Talent Culture. She offers the following tips on employee development:

Performance
Talent development is not only the key to retaining employees; it can also be instrumental in improving performance. This doesn’t just mean that your attention to their growth results in greater productivity — although that certainly occurs by acquiring new skills and understanding of productivity techniques. However, when your employees see you’re making efforts to support their growth, they tend to be more engaged with the efficient operation of the business. 

Innovation
One of the main errors a business can make is becoming stagnant. In the digital age, the world frequently changes. That often means that to retain the competitive edge, we must innovate. Talent development can introduce employees to new skills and new ways of thinking about the challenges they face – and overcoming them. As such, it is an essential element in building a sustainable culture of innovation within your company.

Company Insight
Provide them with opportunities to better understand the company; what it’s good at, and the not so good. This can include shadowing leadership, attending meetings, and being encouraged to ask questions (and being given honest answers). This helps the growth of new corporate operations skills and incentivizes deeper engagement within the company. 

Diversity
Innovation requires access to multiple perspectives and experiences. Studies show that companies that prioritize diversity tend to perform better than their more monocultural competitors. So, your talent development program must commit to nurturing diversity. Undoubtedly, part of this approach is ensuring a range of voices has opportunities to work with you. However, it’s also about encouraging those in the program to value diverse perspectives and adjust their own viewpoints accordingly. 

Curiosity 
Helping employees follow their curiosity, both within and outside of the business, is a cornerstone of talent development. Give employees opportunities to train with other departments and company time to work on personal projects. Add coaching to ensure employees feel guided and supported. By giving them space to explore and experiment, and encourage them even when they fail, you provide the tools necessary to contribute to innovation — and the confidence to experiment.

Loyalty
One of the greatest assets for any business is loyalty. Employees who feel connected to and supported by their company are more likely to stick with them in the long run. Loyalty isn’t about simple retention, though; it also means a dedication to the company’s ideals and becoming leaders who embody them. Employee development helps to both guide this process and reinforces the reasons why they should maintain their commitment. So, your talent development program must begin at onboarding. 

Bottomline: So, what’s the key to developing and retaining talent? When leaders open the lines of communication and address each employee personally— it can help employees shape their learning and long-term contributions to the company, for the better.

To learn about ATS go to our website, where you can gain access to a product tour of our cloud HCM application. And, to reach us by phone, call 866.294.2467.

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Yes, You Should You Take Time-Off During COVID-19

September 2nd, 2020 | Posted by ATS in ATS TimeWork OnDemand | Benefit Accruals | Employee Self Service | Fingerprint Time And Attendance Canada | Fingerprint Time And Attendance Toronto | HR | Time and Attendance Blog, Workforce Management Software | Time and Attendance Canada | Time and Attendance Toronto - (Comments Off on Yes, You Should You Take Time-Off During COVID-19)

COVID-19 has forced many employees to work from home. And, if you happen to be one of the many employees, who are working from home for the first time, it is likely a daunting task. And if you happen to be a parent with kids-chances are, you are helping them with online learning, preparing meals for the family, and to top it off, you are also trying to complete work projects and remain productive.

Recent research has shown that the pandemic has made the average workday 48 minutes longer. A recent article by titled Time Off From Work Is Critical During The Pandemic by Ashira Prossack, contributor for ForbesWomen, offers some useful tips and, reads, in part:

Truly disconnect.
The only way to take full advantage of a vacation is if you fully disconnect from work. Close out all of your browser tabs and open windows, put an out of office message on your email, and tidy up your workspace. Turn off notifications, alarms, and anything else that will tempt you to look at your work during vacation. This helps you mentally transition out of work mode and into vacation mode.

Prepare for your time off.
There’s nothing worse than coming back to a mountain of emails and playing catch up to with work that wasn’t done while you were away. Before your vacation, take a look at your workload. Figure out what can be done ahead of time and what can wait until you get back. If you’re in a leadership position be sure to delegate, but be mindful when assigning tasks to ensure that you aren’t overwhelming your team with too much work.

Set boundaries.
While a truly phone and email free vacation is the ultimate goal, the reality is sometimes you can only disconnect 90% of the time. Clearly communicate with your team about how and when you’ll be available, and try to keep communication to a minimum. If you know that you’ll need to check in on a project or respond to issues, be very conscious of limiting your time. Set a specific timeframe for when you’ll work and try your hardest not to exceed that time.

Bottomline: Working from home does not mean you should not take time off, because, for many employees, there is no separating between home and office, and as a result, they can risk burning out. In fact, researchthat taking time-off is an important predictor of our well-being and satisfaction with life- including our health. So, if you have some accrued paid sick or vacation days, this might be a good time to approach your boss and request that time-off.

About ATS
ATS offers a broad portfolio of time and attendance solutions that streamlines the collection, calculation, and reporting of employee hours for workforce management and eliminates the manual tasks of payroll preparation, increasing efficiency and reducing errors in corporate payroll departments.

Thousands of organizations across North, Central and South America and Europe- including more than half of the Fortune 500 – use ATS TimeWork OnDemand, Workforce Planning, Employee Scheduling HR and payroll solutions to manage their workforce.

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

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

November 6th, 2018 | Posted by ATS in Employee Productivity | Office | Productivity | Time and Attendance Blog, Workforce Management Software | Time and Attendance Canada | Time and Attendance Toronto - (Comments Off on 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:

  1. You are eight per cent more likely to have a stroke for two days after changing your clocks.
  2. You are also 24 per cent more likely to have a heart attack the Monday after (and 21 per cent on the Tuesday)
  3. Suicide rates in men increase for two weeks after the clocks change.
  4. Judges give harsher legal sentences the day after switching to daylight time
  5. Losing that hour of sleep increases workplace injuries, and the injuries themselves are much more severe.
  6. 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.
  7. 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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There Are Several Benefits To Upgrading Your Business Office Tools

June 12th, 2018 | Posted by ATS in ATS TimeWork OnDemand | Cloud Computing | Office | Productivity | Time and Attendance Toronto - (Comments Off on 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.

  1. 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.

  1. 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.

  1. 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.

  1. 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.

  1. 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.

  1. 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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Three Ways To Help Your Employees Deal With Stress At Work

April 10th, 2018 | Posted by ATS in Absence Management | Benefit Accruals | Time and Attendance Blog, Workforce Management Software - (Comments Off on Three Ways To Help Your Employees Deal With Stress At Work)

Employee stress comes in variety of forms and it can create an impact on themselves, their colleagues and your company. As a leader, managing employee stress is also part of your responsibility and to ignoring it shows a lack of regard for the well-being of your workforce. Stress in the workplace can have a negative impact on productivity and will eventually lead to company turnover, absenteeism, employee burnout as well as an increase in medical benefits and insurance claims.

Three Ways To Help Your Employees Deal With Stress At Work

In no particular order, here are three tips on how you can help your employees deal with stress from an article titled ‘Help Your Team Manage, Stress Anxiety, And Burnout’ by  Rich Fernandez for Harvard Business Review

  1. Exercise empathy and compassion:It doesn’t cost anything to be kind, and the benefits for managers are great. Empathy and compassion significantly improve employee performance, engagement, and profitability. A seminal research project at the University of New South Wales, which looked at 5,600 people across 77 organizations, found that “the single greatest influence on profitability and productivity within an organization…is the ability of leaders to spend more time and effort developing and recognizing their people, welcoming feedback, including criticism, and fostering co-operation among staff.” Additionally, the research found that the ability of a leader to be compassionate – “to understand people’s motivators, hopes, and difficulties and to create the right support mechanism to allow people to be as good as they can be” – has the greatest correlation with profitability and productivity. Empathy and compassion are good for people and good for business.
  2. Allow time to disconnect outside of work: According to the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development, workers around the world spend 34 to 48 hours at work each week on average, and many engage in work or related activities after business hours. McKinsey Quarterly suggests that “always-on, multitasking work environments are killing productivity, dampening creativity, and making us unhappy.” And one of the most significant findings in employee pulse surveys that I’ve seen in companies large and small is that employees have an exceptionally hard time disconnecting from work.

3.Model and encourage well-being practices:  Worker stress levels are rising, with over half of the global workforce (53%) reporting that they are closer to burnout than they were just five years ago, according to a Regus Group survey of over 22,000 business people across 100 countries. And while stress can be contagious, the converse is also true: when any member of a team experiences well-being, the effect seems to spread across the entire team. According to a recent Gallup research report that surveyed 105 teams over six three-month periods, individual team members who reported experiencing well-being were 20% more likely to have other team members who also reported thriving six months later. Takeaway: understand and prioritize activities that promote well-being for yourself and your team. They could include such things as offering personal development tools, like mindfulness and resilience training; explicitly encouraging people to take time for exercise or other renewal activities, such as walking meetings; or building buffer time into deliverables calendars so that people can work flexibly and at a manageable pace.

Bottom Line:

Every job, regardless of the industry has a certain level of stress that every employee will encounter and while it’s up employees how they deal with the stress, it’s also up to you and will say a lot about your leadership.  The days of saying ‘leave your personal problems at home’ are gone. Always make time for your employees, especially when they approach you with problems, regardless if the issue is work related or a personal one.

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Here Are 5 Reasons Why You Need Employee Self-Service

March 8th, 2018 | Posted by ATS in ATS TimeWork OnDemand | Benefit Accruals | Employee Productivity | Employee Self Service | Time and Attendance Blog, Workforce Management Software | Time and Attendance Canada | Time and Attendance Toronto - (Comments Off on Here Are 5 Reasons Why You Need Employee Self-Service)

As a corporate executive, you can book your business travel and request your preferred seat-from the comfort of your kitchen table or from anywhere in the world by using through your smartphone or tablet. So, why it is that your employees have to call their supervisor or someone in HR to request time-off?

With ATS Employee Self-Service (ESS) employees can request time off by using their smart phone, workstations or tablets from anywhere.

Here Are 5 Reasons Why You Need Employee Self-Service

Here are 5 reasons to use ATS Employee Self-Service:

Good-Bye Spreadsheets- Your employees really hate filling out paper work each time they need time off. ATS Employee Self-Service simplifies and automates employee requests for time off. When a request for time off is made, an email alert is sent directly to the employee’s supervisor to begin the request review process. HR, payroll and managers have decision-making information at their fingertips.

No More Using Emails To Request Leave-With ATS Employee Self-Service your managers no longer have to waste time trying to find that email that was sent some time ago by the employee requesting leave.

Time and Attendance Update Review-Employees can update their availability for shifts, request time off, view schedules, overtime, and trade shifts – letting them better manage their work-life balance.

Your Company’s Communication Tool Of The Future- Engage your entire workforce with a user experience that’s easy to navigate, wherever they are. Let all employees communicate and collaborate, even without a corporate email address.

Approval And Message Centre-You can tailor approval processes to your organization and, authorized users can view and audit the progress and approval status of a workflow to make sure it stays on track. Send personal messages or create and save distribution lists to message multiple employees at once. Notifications, reports and actions requiring an employee’s attention will also be delivered to the ATS Employee Self-Service Message Center.

ATS Self-Service is a powerful tool that will empower your employees and make them feel more engaged, increase their workforce productivity and free up valuable resource within your Payroll and HR departments.

To learn about ATS Employee Self-Service go to our website and download the demo. To reach an account executive by phone, call 866.294.2467.

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Here’s More Evidence That We Need Sleep To Be Productive

March 6th, 2018 | Posted by ATS in Careers | Employee Productivity | Employee Self Service | Time and Attendance Blog, Workforce Management Software - (Comments Off on Here’s More Evidence That We Need Sleep To Be Productive)

The benefit of a good nights’ sleep is far-reaching and yet, many of us tend to think four or five hours of sleep is all we need. We also know that going without sleep for too long makes us feel horrible, and that getting a good night’s sleep can make us feel ready to take on the world and tackle projects.  However, the always-on mentality in this current digital era of smart-phones and tablets, has given way to a false sense that less sleep is better.

Here’s More Evidence That We Need Sleep To Be Productive

Here are some tips from a couple of entrepreneurs, Doug and Polly White on the importance of sleep:

“Obviously, sleep is important. Humans need to recharge on a nightly basis to perform well. But work demands, family and personal issues and physical difficulties can get in the way of  a restful night’s sleep.

Quantity
As the numbers above indicate, adults need to sleep between seven and nine hours each night. We find that Doug needs seven while Polly prefers a bit more. To ensure that we get our shut-eye, we go to bed no later than 10 each night. If work demands a 4 a.m. start, we go to bed earlier to make up those zzzzz’s.

This takes discipline, but it’s worth it. Despite what many think, there really is no way to catch up on sleep. Sleeping in on the weekend won’t make up for a lack of sleep during the week.

 Consistency
While we may juggle our bedtime to accommodate an early start, this isn’t our preference. We find that going to bed and getting up at the same time each day helps us to fall asleep quickly and wake up naturally – without an alarm.

 Quality
The number of hours you sleep is important, but so is the quality of your sleep. Health issues, aging, hormonal changes and stress can deprive any of us of healthy sleep. One difficulty that occurs as part of the natural aging process is the inability to stay asleep. Older people may find that they wake up several times a night; however, this can affect younger individuals as well.”

Bottom Line:
Sleeping less than 7-8 hours per night, according to some expert, is linked to an increased risk of heart disease and stroke whereas; longer sleep has been shown to improve many aspects of athletic and physical performance. And, the evidence is clear, a well-rested workforce equates to improved productivity, higher engagement and increased profits.

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Want Happy And Productive Employees? Avoid These Mistakes

February 13th, 2018 | Posted by ATS in Employee Productivity | HR | Leave Management | Productivity | Talent Management | Time and Attendance Blog, Workforce Management Software - (Comments Off on 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.

Want Happy And Productive Employees? Avoid These Mistakes

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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