Month: August 2017

As #ThursdayThoughts have become something of a tradition like eating turkey at Christmas or taking time out on a Wednesday to share a pearl of wisdom on social media; here’s an interesting one…

Do people perform or act differently when under observation?

Throughout this post we’ll be taking a look at the age-old ‘Hawthorne Effect’ phenomenon and its relevance to contemporary Human Resource Management (HR).

Derived from research undertaken in the 1920’s and early 1930’s at the Hawthorne Works, Illinois; the ‘Hawthorne Effect’ refers to the way in which the behaviour of individuals alters in response to an awareness of being under observation. The original study was introduced to determine the extent to which improvements in employees’ working conditions would enhance workplace productivity. Although the changes did initially lead to an increase in performance; there was a significant slump once the investigation concluded. In the 1950’s, Henry Landsberger deduced that workers were motivated by the interest being shown in them and this led to the upturn in productivity rather than the actual physical changes. Landsberger labelled this theory, the ‘Hawthorne Effect’.

The Hawthorne studies kicked off a series of research activities undertaken by a collection of theorists later dubbed ‘The Human Relations Movement’ whose work fundamentally led to the creation of what we now call Human Resource Management. As contemporary HR Departments are responsible for the overseeing of employee recruitment, training and development, remuneration, performance management and disciplinary procedures; the ‘Hawthorne Effect’ is still considered to be a particularly relevant concept and has been a topic of substantial debate among HR and psychology theorists for many years.

Regardless of where you stand on the Hawthorne studies, countless organisations throughout the UK have undoubtedly become more productive and profitable thanks to the CEEQUEL® EFFECT! Here’s how:

Optimal Clocking to Payroll Processes – Ceequel® Time and Attendance delivers an unparalleled employee attendance management solution. Choose from a vast array of clocking options including: biometric fingerprint and facial recognition, key fobs and proximity cards. All employee attendance data is collected and processed in real-time to the highest degree of accuracy; significantly enhancing payroll administrative efficiency whilst eradicating costly human error. Comprehensive shift rostering features are also available along with robust absence management solutions.

Enhanced Employee Engagement – The three E’s, that could catch on! Employee Engagement is all about creating ideal conditions for employees to excel within the workplace and is undoubtedly at the heart of an organisation’s HR strategy. Ceequel® Human Resource Management Software is the ultimate tool for HR. All employee information can be stored in one, user-friendly central database while intelligent automated solutions are available to facilitate key HR processes such as new employee inductions. In addition, a dynamic Training, Skills and Resource Matrix ensures that all staff possess the required skills and qualifications to carry out their duties effectively. Ceequel® also incorporates dynamic employee activity tracking software enabling organisations to swiftly identify any potential barriers to workplace productivity.

Streamlined Workforce Management – With Ceequel® E-Manager and Ceequel® Employee Self Service, workforce management has never been simpler. Through E-Manager, supervisors are able to: monitor staff attendance, configure shift rosters, accept or decline absence requests and generate reports with considerable ease. Employee Self Service reduces the strain on HR departments and is an effective aide in eliminating unnecessary paper trails. Using the Employee Self Service portal, employees can: submit absence requests, access relevant company documentation, update their personal records, view their clocking history and receive email notifications.

To learn more about Ceequel® Employee Management Software, please contact award-winning time and attendance systems providers ELF Productivity. A range of brochures are also available to download from our website, please click here for more information.

When an organisation declares ‘our employees are our greatest asset’, what thoughts come to mind? Many see such a statement and think to themselves, ‘this is a company that recognises the vital role played by its staff and clearly appreciates their efforts’. Others shudder at the labelling of people as ‘assets’, dismayed by the comparison of human beings to items on a balance sheet that are OWNED by a business. And of course, there are those who will simply say…’that doesn’t mean anything’.

Throughout this post we’ll be investigating why employees are considered to be an organisation’s greatest asset before outlining numerous ways in which organisations could potentially enhance workplace productivity.

What better way to start than with a good old-fashioned definition? An asset is generally defined as something or SOMEONE of USE or VALUE. A pretty apt description for an employee, I’m sure you’ll agree!

Over 1,000 UK-based companies were recently surveyed to discover the key attributes displayed by employees that make a workforce an organisation’s most prized asset. Here are some of the key points:

Unfortunately, Not ALL Employees Are Assets – Over 70% respondents were quick to point out that only ‘hard working’ or ‘engaged’ employees can be described as assets. Engaged employees go the extra mile for their employers and can be crucial in an organisation’s quest for competitive advantage. On the flip side, disengaged employees are generally unproductive and often only prepared to do the bare minimum required to keep their job. They’re also prone to a sick day or five throughout the year!

What Makes an Employee an Asset – For too long now, we’ve heard companies refer to their employees as ‘our greatest asset’ without an explanation as to how or why. It’s time to get down to the nitty-gritty, what makes employees so valuable? One respondent, currently occupying a senior management role within a leading UK manufacturer stated, ‘the reliance which organisations place on their staff has never been greater, after all, they really know what goes on day in day out’. The view that employees are the ones in the ‘thick of it’ was predominant throughout the survey. The ability to ‘identify what is working well and what isn’t’ was a popular response along with the dedication to ‘go above and beyond to complete the task at hand’. In addition, the knowledge and experience to provide ‘key insights’ with regard to ‘optimising working processes’ were also much sought-after traits.

Now that we know what employees are bringing to the table, what can employers do to make the most of their number one asset? Here’s some food for thought:

Solving the Disengaged Problem – The majority of respondents believed that employers are largely to blame for the creation of a disengaged workforce. As we touched upon earlier, absenteeism can be a particularly costly side effect of disengaged staff. Furthermore, others could well follow suit if they see their colleagues successfully getting away with the odd ‘sickie’. Ceequel® Time and Attendance Software contains a range of intelligent absence management solutions such as Bradford Factor Reporting which provide managers with all the necessary information to nip employee absenteeism in the bud. Career development opportunities and the provision of training and development activities can also be extremely effective tools in keeping employees sufficiently engaged. Unsure where to begin with training and development or succession planning? With the comprehensive Training, Skills and Resource Matrix available through Ceequel® Human Resource Management Software, HR departments can ensure that their staff possess the required skills and qualifications to ascend the corporate hierarchy.

Reviewing & Optimising Working Processes – According to the aforementioned survey, employers place considerable value on a person’s ability to recognise processes that are working well and identify any potential problems. Ceequel® Shop Floor Data Capture offers an invaluable, real-time, granular insight into an organisation’s man and machine efficiencies, enabling companies to swiftly identify any troublesome bottlenecks in working processes and significantly improve strategic decision making.

The Gift of Time – Occasionally staff may be required to stay late to finish a task. Fortunately, engaged employees truly are assets to their organisation and will not hesitate to go above and beyond for the call of duty. However, they may become disillusioned if these late finishes turn out to be a regular occurrence and their work/life balance starts to deteriorate. In order to maintain employee morale, countless organisations have introduced Time Off in Lieu (TOIL) policies which reward staff with time off as opposed to overtime pay. Although an effective motivational tool, some organisations have found TOIL particularly difficult to manage. Thanks to the unparalleled functionality of Ceequel® Time and Attendance Software, all employee TOIL calculations can be performed rapidly, to the highest degree of accuracy. What used to be a long, productivity draining process now takes a matter of minutes!

If you would like to learn more about Ceequel® Time and Attendance or any of our other dynamic workforce management solutions, please contact ELF Productivity. Alternatively, a range of brochures can be found here.

Keeping your staff motivated and satisfied can no doubt be a challenging task. This doesn’t however, mean that it’s an impossible one. All an employer actually needs to do is switch on their imagination and be as creative and innovative as they can with their employee benefits.

Below are some unique in-house employee work perks you can introduce to your business if you haven’t done so already.

1. On-site employee health and well-being perks

From an office worker’s point of view, what could be more motivating than an on-site health and fitness centre? This would involve having a number of wellness programs such as chiropractic and massage sessions available at your workplace. Similarly, an on-site gym and swimming pool area would also be perceived extremely well by your staff members. In particular, this is an extremely convenient option for parents who haven’t got much time to exercise after work but still really want to keep fit. Don’t worry mums and dads, there’s a solution for everything!

2. Holiday perks

Getting additional holiday perks on top of your standard holiday entitlement would surely win over the hearts of many staff members. For example, several well-established organisations like KPMG and GoCompare allow their staff days off for their birthdays! How awesome is that?!

 

Some other popular companies also give you an extra week off around the Christmas period, which means workers get ample time to spend with their families around the festive season. These are just a couple of cool examples of how employers can provide you with some extra holiday privileges.

At the same time, employees should also keep in mind that they also have a duty to work hard and show their company loyalty and commitment at all times. For example, good time keeping and attendance is something which all employers expect their staff to get right without question.

3. Gaming and staff bonding perks

In the modern working era, many may now be familiar of gamification in the workplace. This is an exciting and fun way for your employees to interact with each other through the means of entertaining gaming systems like the PlayStation, Xbox 360 and even a foosball table. Let’s face it, no-one wants to remain glued to their desks and office chairs all day like a robot. Having an office space exclusively dedicated to staff members playing games or simply lounging on some bright and colourful modern office furniture is just what a person needs from time to time.

Recap:

We have now reached the end of our in-house unique work perks journey. The key takeaway here is that there should always be a ‘give and take’ work relationship with employer and employee for the benefit of the company. A mutual understanding and exceeding each other’s expectations is what will help a business become greatly successful.

On a separate note, if you’re a business owner looking to enhance your workforce management processes, a HR management software system, which practically does everything for you, might be a superb idea!

We hope you enjoyed reading this article and found it useful!

Calibre Office Furniture would like to thank ELF Productivity for the opportunity to post on their excellent blog.

Guest Post: Aarti Ohri – Digital Marketing Manager at Calibre Office Furniture & Interiors Limited