Month: October 2017

How well do you really know your shop floor? Is it a lean, mean, well-oiled machine or are you unknowingly running a little shop of horrors? Our spooky, Halloween-inspired infographic poses a series of questions to help you find out!

Who you gonna call?

Part of ELF Productivity’s award-winning Time and Attendance software suite, Ceequel® Shop Floor Data Capture delivers unparalleled, real-time production analysis and intelligent activity-based costing calculations, enabling manufacturers to enhance operational efficiencies and improve strategic decision-making.

If you would like to learn more about Ceequel® Shop Floor Data Capture software, please contact ELF Productivity.

The preparation has been done, you’re looking sharp and feeling confident, even the infamously awkward initial handshakes have been executed with consummate ease, you’re ready for anything and then…

“If you were a box of cereal, what would you be and why?”

I bet you didn’t see that one coming! While no one knows exactly what will crop up during an interview, most of us tend to arrive with a pre-prepared three-minute synopsis of our employment history and educational background, along with a list of our key strengths and maybe one or two well-rehearsed narratives of a time when we successfully negotiated a difficult situation. Some of us even have a clear idea of where we see ourselves in five years’ time!

Unfortunately, employers are moving away from the old tried and trusted interview techniques; they’re looking for the perfect fit for their organisation and if you want to stand out from the crowd, you’re going to have to think outside the box! A new breed of interview questions has also emerged, specifically designed to separate the candidates who can think on their feet from the one trick ponies. Be warned, these questions often range from the unusual to the downright bizarre!

Anyone up for a challenge? We’ve selected our top eleven weirdest questions actually asked by UK employers during an interview, how would you handle them?

1 – If you could only sing one song on The X Factor, what would it be and why?

2 – How lucky are you and why?

3 – Would you consider yourself a hunter or a gatherer?

4 – If you were a pizza delivery man, how would you benefit from scissors?

5 – If you were about to be marooned on a deserted island and could only take three items, what would you take and why?

6 – If you were a crayon, what colour would you be and why?

7 – Do you believe in ghosts?

8 – If a film was made about your life, which actor would you choose to play you?

9 – What is the colour of money?

10 – If I was to look in your fridge, what would I find?

11 – How would your worst enemy describe you?

Are your recruitment processes in need of an upgrade?

Part of the industry-leading Ceequel® Time and Attendance Software Suite, Ceequel® Human Resources is a dynamic workforce management solution, providing HR departments with a range of innovative features to identify the ideal candidate for a new vacancy.

Our comprehensive Training, Skills and Resource Matrix delivers intelligent ‘skills to job matching’ functionality, ensuring structured succession planning along with a full training and development management solution.

To learn more about Ceequel® Human Resource Management Software, please contact award-winning Time and Attendance systems provider ELF Productivity.

Productivity or the lack of it to be more precise, is once again a hot topic throughout the UK following rather damning reveals from both the Office for National Statistics (ONS) and the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR). According to the ONS, UK labour productivity is down for the second successive quarter while the OBR sees little scope for improvement in the next five years.

In this post we’ll be perusing the UK’s prolonged productivity problem, taking into account some interesting findings before touching upon the impact of inefficient processes and outdated technology on organisational productivity.

Two thousand UK-based office workers were recently surveyed to find out how productive they are during a standard eight-hour working day. Understandably, when respondents were asked if they are productive throughout an entire working day, eighty percent answered ‘no’. However, when prompted to estimate how many hours per day they do consider themselves to be productive (employers you may wish to look away now), the average response was approximately three hours! The survey also revealed the top three workplace productivity killers. In first place, ‘internet browsing’ which included: constantly checking social media, keeping up to date with all the latest sports news or celebrity gossip and rather worryingly, searching for a new job. In second place, time thieving, non-work-related activities such as chatting with colleagues and taking too many smoking or coffee breaks. The third highest ranking factor was a lack of ‘meaningful’ work with many respondents becoming disillusioned with menial tasks, particularly those perceived to be unnecessary or repetitive.

Interestingly, this lack of ‘meaningful work’ was echoed in another survey which set out to explore the various barriers to workplace productivity and what businesses can do to overcome them. This time, respondents were largely disgruntled with outdated office technology which had led to the creation of demoralising, redundant processes. When quizzed as to how their employers could improve the situation, respondents were keen to point towards the implementation of cloud-based systems capable of automating tasks that are historically time consuming, repetitive or error-plagued.

Is your organisation experiencing a prolonged productivity problem?

Deployable via the cloud or utilising your existing network infrastructure, Ceequel® is an award-winning, feature-rich modular workforce management solution comprising of: Time and Attendance, Access Control, Human Resources, Shop Floor Data Capture, E-Manager, Employee Self Service and Mobile Apps.

If you would like to learn more about Ceequel® Employee Management Software, please contact ELF Productivity. A range of brochures can be found here.

Here at ELF Productivity, we understand the various challenges contemporary businesses face as they strive to manage their workforce effectively whilst maintaining organisational productivity and profitability. An outdated Time and Attendance system along with redundant, error plagued administrative processes can be extremely costly for organisations of all sizes.

When was the last time you reviewed your workforce management processes?

Has your Time and Attendance system kept up with the pace?

Developed by award-winning Time and Attendance specialists ELF Productivity, Ceequel® Time and Attendance Software is an industry-leading, infinitely configurable solution that has revolutionised countless organisations’ workforce management processes throughout the UK, enabling them to focus on what they do best, delivering great products and services to their customers!

We hope that you find our latest infographic of interest and please feel free to share with your friends on social media.

For more information regarding Ceequel® Time and Attendance Software, please contact ELF Productivity.

Here in the UK, we love a good climb up the world rankings and after Andy Murray lost his World Number 1 status in August, I think we’re all in need of some good news, so without further ado…

According to statistics recently published by manufacturers’ organisation EEF, the UK manufacturing sector is now the eighth largest in the world with an annual output totalling around £185 billion! Throughout this post we’ll be celebrating the UK manufacturing sector’s continued post-Brexit success, taking a closer look at the global manufacturing league table before discussing some key British manufacturing statistics. We’ll also introduce Ceequel® Shop Floor Data Capture software for good measure!

We know that Britain currently sits eighth after leapfrogging France who occupy our previous position of ninth, one place above Mexico, but what about the rest of the global manufacturing league table? China retains its status as the world number one manufacturer with the USA and Japan in second and third respectively. Germany is the European powerhouse in fourth place, South Korea is fifth just above India in sixth, while seventh placed Italy is the only other European country producing more than the UK.

Right, that’s quite enough about everyone else, let’s delve a little deeper into British manufacturing, the sector which currently generates approximately 44% of all UK exports. Whilst we’re on the topic of exports, the UK’s top 5 single export markets are: the USA, Germany, France, Ireland and the Netherlands respectively; furthermore, the EU accounted for 48% of manufactured exports in quarter 2 of 2017! In terms of employment, over 2.6 million people are currently working within the manufacturing sector while average earnings have risen to £32,047, some £3,748 above the national economy average. The North West is the UK’s largest manufacturing region producing output totals worth in excess of £24 billion.

World Class Shop Floor Data Capture Solutions for World Class Manufacturers!

Developed by industry-leading Time and Attendance systems provider ELF Productivity, Ceequel® Shop Floor Data Capture is an intelligent, feature-rich solution that has set countless manufacturing organisations throughout the UK on the road to continuous improvement. For more information, please contact ELF Productivity.

Alternatively, if you would like to learn more about the unrivalled functionality of Ceequel® Software Suite, including our flagship Time and Attendance offering; a range of downloadable brochures can be found here.