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Many of us worry about artificial intelligence (AI) taking our jobs and basically, turning the world upside down. And, while there are some legitimate worries about its use, there are a lot of positives with the use of AI.

HRD recently published an article, titled Five ways artificial intelligence changed the workplace in 2019. And, they include:

1. Facial recognition and AI in video interviews: A number of video interview platforms available on the market today focus on scheduling a Q&A with a candidate, recording a clip of the exchange, and forwarding it to the HR team for assessment.

The software behind the platform purportedly relies on 25,000 data points taken from the facial expressions, movements and tone of voice of past successful candidates then uses them as a benchmark for screening new applicants. These subtle clues from their interaction with the AI reportedly help determine their suitability to the role.

2. Reducing unconscious bias in candidate interviews: Unlike human recruiters, the robot skips the small talk and goes through the questions in the same manner, tone and order. The developers hope this approach leads to a fairer recruitment process.

3. AI and ‘smartphone psychiatry’: Can AI and analytics detect burnout among employees? This is the question behavioral and I/O psychologists are trying to answer with a new wave of AI-powered apps.

Installed in wristbands, badges and mobile phones, these tools are designed to pick up signals or biomarkers such as a person’s heart rate, breathing pattern and – in the case of mobile phone users – typing speed to assess their likelihood of experiencing burnout and other mental health conditions such as depression and anxiety.

4. AI and decision making: HR leaders who want to take a pulse of employee sentiment typically rely on surveys with a quick Yes or No question. But what happens when the questions revolve around complex issues such as workplace policy?

5. AI-powered robots that ‘learn’ from mistakes: Workplace robots are built to perform the same tasks over and over. But throw them into a new – and more challenging – situation and they might not always know which direction to take. Unless they’re built to learn from every mistake, of course.

This is the premise behind a new robot being developed at the University of Leeds. It uses AI to map out its surroundings then remembers a specific path or course of action it has taken each time it maneuvers its way and completes a task successfully.

Bottomline: There are benefits to AI if and when it is used as it was intended, which was for good. For example, ATS time and attendance is a cloud computing solution that lays the foundation for fast, modular use, and will grow with your business. As a best-of-breed cloud application solution, ATS Time and Attendance, streamlines end-to-end workflows with a single software solution for business intelligence and workforce planning.

To learn more about ATS Time and Attendance cloud computing AI solution, go to our website and register for one of our bi-monthly webinars. You can also download a demo to see this revolutionary application in action. And, to reach us by phone, call: 866.294.2467.

Machine learning is a form of artificial intelligence (AI) that enables a system to learn from data rather than through explicit programming. Artificial intelligence is a broad term that refers to systems or machines that mimic human intelligence. Machine learning and artificial intelligence (AI) are often discussed and used interchangeably, but they don’t mean the same thing. An important distinction is that although all machine learning is AI, not all AI is machine learning.

Today, machine learning is at work all around us. When we bank and shop online, or use social media platforms, the algorithms of machine learning comes into play to make the user experience efficient, seamless and secure. Machine learning and the technology around it are developing rapidly, and thus, we are only beginning to scratch the surface of its broad-based capabilities.

ATS TimeWorkOnDemand HCM suite is robust, intuitive and built with future-forward simplicity of machine learning, allowing your organization to work smarter and work seamlessly in the modern cloud. ATS TimeWorkOnDemand HCM suite experience empowers your employees to perform at their full potential and work inspired, helping them accomplish daily tasks — anything from requesting time-off and benefits enrollment to scheduling and managing time and attendance. ATS TimeWorkOnDemand machine learning capabilities, employs rich analytics to predict what will happen — to help organizations make forward-looking, proactive decisions instead of relying on past data.

Here are 3 ways ATS TimeWorkOnDemand HCM technology suite can help your business thrive:

Work in today’s modern cloud
With ATS TimeWorkOnDemand you can automate the employee life cycle and streamline workforce compliance including collective bargaining agreements (CBA) so your people can focus on strategic initiatives that support business goals.

Streamline payroll and other operational costs
ATS TimeWorkOnDemand HCM suite allows your company to streamline tasks and empower your people to get things done in the fewest steps possible — from any place and on any device 24/7, 365 days a year. ATS TimeWorkOnDemand HCM suite automates, employee self-service, time and attendance, benefit accruals, employee scheduling and integration with enterprise resource planning (ERP), human resources information system (HRIS), payroll and talent management.

Instant data-driven insights
Gather key metrics, visualize insights, and predict workforce trends with HR-based people analytics embedded right into your ATS TimeWorkOnDemand HCM suite experience.

To learn more, about ATS TimeWorkOnDemand HCM suite go to our website and download a demonstration. To reach an account executive, you can request more information by going online or contact us by phone at 866.294.2467.

No two software is created equal. And so, traditional human capital management (HCM) solutions, were not built with the needs of a company, or that of its employees’ in mind. You can transform your organization’s human capital management (HCM) with ATS TimeWorkOnDemand Suite – and deliver experiences that will help your company achieve its business goals.

This new approach to human capital management (HCM) transforms the way companies engage with their workforce – but more importantly, gives you the scalability that you want from an HCM software. Afterall, isn’t this the way it should be?

ATS TimeWorkOnDemand HCM Suite drives real-time, data-rich analytics across every department and includes:

Analytics: ATS Workforce Analytics propels your organization with self-service capabilities to gain insights from data. Different locations and/or departments can access real-time information, including bringing human capital management (HCM) analytics to the forefront to create a high-performance culture.

Budgeting, Forecasting and Workforce Planning: Use data-driven insights in every intuitive dashboard and business process – and improve performance and results – with our ATS Workforce Analytics Budgeting & Forecasting and Workforce Planning tools. 

Talent and Experience Management: With ATS TimeWorkOnDemand Suite, you can deliver solutions for employee engagement, benefits onboarding, performance, compensation and learning.

Finance and HR: Unite the engine of your organization by bringing Finance and HR together. Do a deep dive and learn how up-to-minute financial reporting, payroll costs, workforce analytics, and real-time automated tasks can empower an agile workforce.

Payroll, HR, Talent Management, ERP and CRM: Support an integrated and modern platform, that simplifies complex collective bargaining agreements (CBAs) – that includes Canada, US and other global agreements. The functionality of ATS TimeWorkOnDemand HCM encompasses core Time and Attendance, Benefits Accruals, Workforce Planning, HR, Budgeting & Forecasting, Payroll and Workforce Analytics

Are your ready to transform your HCM experience to one that benefits your organization? Go to our website and register for one of our bi-monthly webinars. You can also download a demo to see this revolutionary application in action and to reach us by phone, call: 866.294.2467.

A toxic work environment cannot be created, unless, it’s tolerated by the company’s leaders and is allowed to continue.

In addition to recruiting, retaining talent, managing business management software, and mirage of other duties, HR also has to be vigilant and look for instances of hostile leadership styles, retaliation and bullying in the workplace. When a toxic environment is left unchecked, it can lead to employee stress (physical and mental), and high turnover. And, the era of social media, word will spread fast, about the working conditions of a particular company who allow toxic people to remain, while wreaking havoc on the rest of the team.

Not sure if you are working in a toxic environment? In his article, 7 Sure Signs Your Workplace Is Toxic, Marcel Schwantes lays out the signals one should look for. They are as follows:

“1. All sticks and no carrots-Management focuses solely on what employees are doing wrong or correcting problems, and rarely give positive feedback for what is going right. Or mostly carrots for the best performers, sticks for the rest.

2. The creeping bureaucracy-There are too many levels of approval and management to get things done and a singular focus on micromanaging employees.

3. The gigantic bottom line-Profits, beating the competition, and cost cutting are solely focused on without consideration of other bottom lines.

4. Bullies rule the roost-Management bullies employees, or tolerates bullying when it occurs among employees.

5. Loss of the human touch-People are considered to be objects or expenses rather than assets, and there is little concern for their happiness or well-being. There’s also little evidence of leaders’ compassion and empathy for employees. As a result, you’ll encounter high levels of stress, turnover, absenteeism, and burnout.

6. Internal Competition-Employees must compete internally, which is enforced by a performance assessment system that focuses on individual performance rather than team performance.

7. Little or no concern for work-life balance-People’s personal or family lives must be sacrificed for the job; overwork or workaholism is commonly evidenced by 50-hour-plus workweeks, little or no vacation time, and 24/7 availability for work communication. There is little or no commitment to making contributions to the community, worthy causes, or making the world a better place”.

Bottomline: If those 7 signs are not a wake-up call to the leaders of an organization, that’s likely the problem.  In addition, to these signs are many other telltale signs of a toxic work environment, including ones that see new recruits leave after a very short time with an 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.

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.

To download a demonstration of ATS TimeWorkOnDemand, or to register for a bi-monthly webinar, go to our website. And, to reach a sales rep, call; 866.294.2467.

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.

The use of biometrics at theme parks, airports and in the workplace, has become ubiquitous. However, facial recognition for the purpose of recording an employee time in/out at work, is different than what it is being used at an airport. For example, a biometric time clock, in a workplace will record (for the purpose of payroll) the time an employee clocked in for a day or week-whereas, the purpose of biometrics at an airport will be for security and a range of other purposes.

Installing biometrics in the workplace can help with HR related issues like time theft, buddy punching and payroll errors. However, it is important to let your employees know if you decide to install biometrics for the purpose of tracking time and attendance, especially if your company, have been using paper time sheets to track hours before that.

In a recent article titled, Workers push back as companies gather fingerprints, retina scans by Te-Ping Chen for The Wall Street Journal amoung other publications, an excerpt of the article reads in part;

“As more companies track their workers with fingerprint and facial scans, employees are increasingly challenging firms in court over how that biometric data gets used and stored.

Scores of lawsuits have been filed following a recent state Supreme Court ruling in Illinois, which has the most stringent privacy law protecting such information in the U.S. The suits assert that employees weren’t told what would happen to their biometric data and that it is being put at risk.

Some workers said they don’t see the need for biometrics in the workplace.

“It’s not a secretive place that we work in,” said one worker at a country club outside Detroit, whose employer uses fingerprints to take attendance. She said she was uncomfortable with the practice, adding that she hadn’t been told how her information would be used or stored.

From warehouses to restaurants, the use of biometric data is moving from a niche practice to become a more mainstream way to verify employee hours and check workers in and out of facilities for security reasons. Among companies in the U.S., Europe and Canada surveyed in 2018 by Gartner, 6 percent said they track employees by using biometric data. Europe and Canada surveyed in 2018 by Gartner, 6 percent said they track employees by using biometric data.”

Bottom line: If you decide to explore the many options that a biometric time clock system offers, let your employees know of your intention. Chances are they will be more accepting if they know in advance and you will avoid issues of them not being receptive to it. Afterall, employees are familiar with biometric technology and have likely used them at airports or with their current smartphone.

To learn about ATS Biometric Time Clocks, go to our website. You can also download a demo, or you can attend one of our bi-weekly webinars. And, to reach an account executive, call 866.294.2467.

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.

Here Are Some Of The Reasons Why We Hate Change And What We Can Do About It

February 26th, 2019 | Posted by ATS in Change | Time and Attendance | Time and Attendance Blog, Workforce Management Software - (Comments Off on Here Are Some Of The Reasons Why We Hate Change And What We Can Do About It)

Change has and will always will be hard for some of us, for a variety of reasons. And, for some of us, we simply have to accept change when it happens despite our best efforts to avoid it. Gustavo Razzetti article in TLNT, titled, It’s Our ‘Schemas’ That Make Us Resist Change  raises, some important facts about our resistance to change and reads, in part;

“Assimilation is easy . The new information fits within existing experiences and preconceived ideas. But, when there’s no place for it, it challenges our beliefs, emotions, and confidence.

Accommodation is harder. It requires us to alter our existing schemas or create new ones. We have to put aside our schemas — the way we look at things — and be willing to analyze the new information, accepting it as potentially good before we adopt it. Once we recognize the benefit of a new initiative, it requires challenging our existing ideas  —  accommodation requires training our minds.

That’s why it’s essential for any team to understand how they deal with change. Assessing what drives resistance (FEAR) is the first step toward training everyone’s mind, not only to be more open but to thrive in change (DARE).”

But why is it, humans resist change so much when that change can lead to something better? Here are three of the most poignant take-aways from this article:

“I don’t want to change. I want all of you to change.”

FEAR: Fighting — Most of us are at war with reality. We fight what we can’t control or don’t understand. Our anxiety, emotions, and thoughts prevent us from fully understanding ourselves, others, and the context. Low self-awareness causes blindspots, clouding our judgment when making decisions.

DARE: Discovery We must pause and reflect to increase our self-awareness. We put the time and effort to discover who we really are and become compassionate enough to accept our entire self (flaws included). We don’t let our thoughts and emotions cloud our judgment — we discover reality as is. Self-aware teams make better decisions, interact better with each other, and manage conflicts more effectively. Discovery is an ongoing process. Self-awareness turns our blind-spots into bright spots.

Dare to change: To move from FEAR to DARE a framework is not enough  —  it requires training, coaching, tools, and regular practice. But, above all, you must provide a safe space for dialogue and feedback.

All too often when we encounter resistance to change, it’s simply the fear of the unknown. And, sometimes it’s the little things like—changes in work methods, in routine project assignments, in the location of a computer or a new time and attendance system, or just in personnel assignments.

Keep current with ATS:

 

Spreadsheets serve a good purpose. And several companies use them. In fact, some of ATS financial analysts and even some, in the professional service areas like; software engineers use spreadsheets to measure results. However, this data usually comes in from outside big data tools as oppose to being keyed in manually. The potential to run into errors when manually keying data into spreadsheets is real,especially, when you are dealing with things like leave management and employee attendance.

In a recent article by Courtney Blanchard, for TLNT titled, With Paid Leave Laws Expanding, You Need to Update Your Attendance Policies there are some worthwhile advice for HR and Payroll Practitioners on how to best navigate and keep accurate records of attendance policies. They read, in part:

  •  Review company attendance policies to ensure that any mandatory notice periods (i.e., 2 weeks’ notice for a planned doctor’s appointment) do not violate the sick leave law.
  • Update hiring notices and workplace posters.
  • Educate supervisors on how to spot fraud or abuse without inadvertently retaliating against employees for using paid leave. Most laws prevent employers from seeking any verification unless an employee has been absent three consecutive working days.
  • Review payroll practices to ensure employees are receiving the proper rate of pay for the use of sick leave, and that pay stubs include any required information.
  • Develop a consistent tracking method to ensure that employees accurately accrue time, and that any time used is properly credited and deducted from the balance.

And, while this article is specific to regions in the state of Minnesota, their impact will reverberate across other US states. Also, while labour laws and leave management tracking are different in Canada they could eventually make their way north of the border.

 So, if your company is tracking employee time and attendance including, vacation, and other leave management through paper time sheets, you don’t need to anymore.

With ATS TimeWork OnDemand you can:

 Automate Tracking of Management Policies: ATS TimeWorkOnDemand helps automate the administration and tracking of paid and unpaid federal, provincial, and otherregional employer-specific leave policies. ATS TimeWorkOnDemand can be configured to match the needs of your organization to maintain balances, reduce manual process errors, and control absence costs.

Simplify and Streamline Compliance: Federal regulations and provincial and/or state laws and union policies, often have overlapping eligibility rules, benefit accruals, and notice requirements. Which makes it all the more important that companies should a time and attendance system that allows to them to accurately track employee attendance and leave management policies. ATS TimeWorkOnDemand solution allows your organization to automate laws and policies in a single solution—simplifying compliance and reducing costs, while also freeing your HR team to focus on higher priority responsibilities.

Keep Accurate Attendance: ATS TimeWorkOnDemand will make sure your leave policies are enforced consistently and accurately across your entire company. With ATS leave management automation, your employees will have access to self-service capabilities through leave eligibility, and balance tracking — available24/7, 365 days a year from any Smartphone or tablet, anytime, anywhere.

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

Streamlining costs and increasing workforce productivity are golden words to CEOs, shareholders and other senior executives. And, in an era of market fluctuations and shrinking profits, chief decision makers need effective tools, to help them meet the demands of today’s face-paced business landscape.

In an article titled “Want To Reduce Business Costs? Here Are 10 Areas To Start With”
by Michael Evans on forbes.com it reads in part;

“One way to avoid this situation is to reduce and control non-strategic costs. Through technology and the emergence of the outsourcing industry, companies can reduce costs, increase efficiencies, and increase profits to be in a better position to deal with the inevitable cyclical economic downturn.”

How Businesses Can Streamline Costs And Increase Workforce Productivity

We chose 5 of out of the 10 that’s listed in the article:

Manufacturing
“The economics have changed substantially between producing goods in China and in the United States. A recent study indicated that offshore manufacturing companies are looking at a 15 to 20 percent average wage increases and will reach wage parity with the United States by 2017. Energy costs outside the country are growing quickly as conversions from coal to natural gas are implemented in China.

Finance and Accounting
The cloud simplifies outsourcing of accounting and makes cost reductions easier and to achieve. This makes a lot of sense if you are having to scale up, or if you do not have accountants on staff to improve reporting or make sure you are GAAP compliant.

Human Resources
A Professional Employee Organization (PEO) can help process your payroll and offer your employees a better offering of benefits. In addition, by pooling with other companies through a PEO, you can get significant pooling discounts on the cost of benefits.

Social Marketing
Your website, social networking, and LinkedIn usage can save you enormous sums for marketing your company. Look at the outbound marketing costs and see what you can substitute.

Selling to the right customer
Smart firms will not only rid themselves of loss-making customers but, by mapping the on-boarding sales prospect process, incorporate activities and incentives for salespeople to bring only profit-producing customers on board. Whether you are reducing the selling cost or diverting resources to attain more profitable sales, you are moving to increase the cash and the profitability of the firm.”

To read the article in its entirety, go to forbes.com. Reducing business costs is not rocket science if the right approach is taken; for example, ATS workforce management solution provides proven, comprehensive time and attendance capabilities which take your company beyond manual time sheets or antiquated punch clocks. And, with ATS TimeWork OnDemand you can streamline key business processes and gain the real-time visibility and efficiency you need to run, grow your business and, at the same time, streamline costs.

To learn more, you can register for our webinar “How To Use Time And Attendance Effectively With Big Data”  on Friday, August 14th at 1:00pm eastern. To download a demonstration, go to our website, and, to reach us by phone call; 1.866.294.2467.

How Businesses Can Streamline Costs And Increase Workforce Productivity