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Does Your Company Corporate Culture Support Working Families?

August 5th, 2019 | Posted by ATS in Benefit Accruals | Career | Employee Productivity | Fingerprint Time And Attendance Canada | Fingerprint Time And Attendance Toronto | Leave Management | Time and Attendance Blog, Workforce Management Software | Time and Attendance Canada | Time and Attendance Toronto - (Comments Off on Does Your Company Corporate Culture Support Working Families?)

Do you work for a company that expects you to respond to emails at all hours of the night? or worse, while you are on vacation with your family? Several studies, including one from Modern Family Index have uncovered that these long and unnecessary hours, that you are being asked to work is damaging to family life, with several employees feeling obliged to work longer hours to meet expectations. In other words, constantly sacrificing family time, all in the name of work.

6 ways to support working parents is an insightful article written by Sharon Florentine for CIO.com and reads, in part:

“Be flexible

One of the simplest strategies Levin recommends is flexibility. Whether through remote or flexible work arrangements, job-sharing, staggered hours or otherwise, working parents need flexibility. “Parents need to be able to go to doctor’s appointments, their kids’ baseball games, school conferences or to work from home if their child is sick. We say around here, ‘if it’s working at home, it’s working at work,’ so you have to make sure you’re doing what you can to make it work for parents at home,” Levin says.

Dependent care assistance

You don’t have to offer an on-site daycare, though many progressive businesses do, but you should consider offering some type of subsidy for child care assistance, Levin says. If you have child-free workers, consider offering elder care or another comparable benefit. Not only do these kinds of benefits, inspire loyalty, but they’re a great perk to mention when you’re trying to attract and hire talent.

Paid parental leave

Modern dads are more engaged than ever in all aspects of caregiving. As of 2010, fathers are the primary caregivers for about 25 percent of preschool-aged kids, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. While the federal government mandates parental leave under the Family Medical Leave Act, that time is unpaid, leaving many two-parent working families trying to make ends meet without one income. It’s even more difficult for single parents.

Create affinity groups

Another simple way to support working parents that is gaining traction is through the creation of support and/or affinity groups. “We are seeing informal, casual affinity groups working really well in the business world. For instance, a group for new moms to help them integrate back into the workplace, or a group for working dads to connect with each other,” Levin says. It can be a great way for employees to share information about perks and benefits, and to connect more closely with others at their company who are facing the same challenges.

Offer on-site perks

One of the major challenges faced by working parents is time, says Levin. Between work, household responsibilities and the demands of everyday life, it can seem impossible to get it all done.

Set an example for all parents

Companies are motivated by financial incentives, and you can’t afford for people to jump ship. Family benefits enhance productivity, keep people much more focused and they’re appreciative. Your turnover is reduced. It helps with recruiting talent, too, because while candidates might not ask out loud about these benefits, they go to Glassdoor and read about them, and that helps them want to work for you,” Levin says.

Some of today’s progressive-thinking companies offers several incentives to entice talent that include; games night, free snacks, coffee and tea. But, if your company wants to attract really good talent, and your list of perks does not include support for working parents, it’s time to redo that list. In the end, it is not only the right thing to do, it will also increase workforce productivity.

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Here Is Another Reason Why You Should Dump Your Antiquated Solution

April 25th, 2017 | Posted by ATS in Business Software Automation | Cloud Computing | Employee Productivity | Labour Costs | Payroll | Time and Attendance Blog, Workforce Management Software - (Comments Off on Here Is Another Reason Why You Should Dump Your Antiquated Solution)

In the world of business, increasing employee productivity tops the lists along with sales and return on investment. But how can an organization increase its workforce productivity, when its technology is outdated?

An article by Chris Stokel-Walker for Bloomberg based on a study of companies using older computers and outdated software solutions revealed that; Slow, outdated computers and intermittent internet connections demoralize workers, a survey of 6,000 European workers said. Half of U.K. employees said creaking computers were “restrictive and limiting,” and 38 percent said modern technology would make them more motivated, according to the survey, commissioned by electronics company Sharp.

Clinging on to old technology that’s aging towards obsolescence cannot be good for any business, regardless of its size or stature. If the argument is that you are still running important applications on older servers with old operating systems because “it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” mentality, that will work for a short period. The continued use of outdated technology, especially, can have a negative long term effect on workforce productivity.  For example, if your employees are spending too much time with a faulty network connection, or your HR manager is spending an inordinate amount of time manually counting hours from a time sheet, then your technology is inflicting pain on labour costs and productivity.

Here is one of the most poignant piece of the article, and it reads in part;  Saurav Dutt, 35, was a member of a London-based IT firm that provides services to law firms. He was making a presentation to potential customers at an exhibition in Manchester. His speaking slot came right after a Google marketing executive—a prime opportunity, he thought. But the system ground to a half—due, Dutt said, to the outdated computers his company was using for its live demonstration.

Here Is Another Reason Why You Should Dump Your Antiquated Solution

In closing, the continued use of an outdated technology will, eventually, get the best of you since it’s difficult to reverse the long-term damage caused by using it.

To learn about ATS cloud computing workforce management solutions, or to download a demonstration, or attend a bi-weekly webinar go to our website. And to reach an account executive call; 866.294.2467.

 

 

 

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