Author: Agent ELF

I know what you’re thinking and let’s face it, you’re probably right…

THIS IS THE MOST OBVIOUS BLOG TITLE IN THE HISTORY OF BLOG TITLES!

Now that we’ve got that out of the way, according to statistics derived from a recent survey which collected over 9,000 responses from 80 organisations throughout the UK; in the first six months of 2017, NINE of the top ten days with the highest rate of absence were MONDAYS. However, despite Monday’s domination of the UK employee absence charts, a TUESDAY was revealed to be top of the pops! This statistic is a little misleading though as the Tuesday in question was the 3^rd January, which for many of us was very much a Monday wrapped in Tuesday’s clothing!

The survey also divulged the time when employers are most likely to receive the dreaded phone call, during which many employees feel the need to channel their inner Ferris Bueller. By some distance, 7AM was the most popular time for staff to call in sick which on positive note, shows that employees tend to give their employers a courteous, early heads up; either that or they’re hoping no one has arrived at the office yet!

With regard to monthly findings, the highest absence figures were recorded in March while April retained its 2016 position at the foot of the table.

Despite the light-hearted nature of this post, absenteeism is costly to all organisations and poses a considerable threat to workplace productivity…

Crack down on employee absenteeism with Ceequel® Time and Attendance Software.

Our industry-leading absence management solutions enable organisations to identify any unusual employee absence activity, providing a comprehensive overview of the disruption caused. If you would like to learn more about Ceequel® Software Suite, please contact ELF Productivity. Alternatively, a range of brochures are available to download from our website, please click here for more information.

It’s morning, you arrive at the office and make that all important first cup of coffee before getting on with your daily administrative tasks. You glance at the clock; three hours have passed by and you haven’t made a dent…. THE NOTORIOUS WORKPLACE TIME THIEF HAS STRUCK AGAIN!

According to a recent survey, employees spend approximately one third of the working year in the UK carrying out administrative activities. While this may not seem too untoward at first glance, as most jobs usually involve some form of admin at one time or another; respondents also revealed that 30% of their time at work is lost to ‘unnecessary’ or ‘repetitive’ admin. This was echoed in another survey, specifically designed to identify the most common areas where UK-based office workers are wasting their time. ‘Unnecessary admin’ was deemed to be the second most prolific time bandit with fellow repeat offenders: ‘meetings’ and an ‘overflowing email inbox’ making up the rest of the top three respectively.

As both surveys were commissioned with the much-publicised UK productivity deficit in mind, respondents also had the opportunity to voice their opinions with regard to improving workplace productivity. ‘Better technology’ was the overwhelming winner, particularly among HR employees who stressed the need for ‘automated solutions’. Additional comments included the eradication of ‘time sheets’ and other non-value adding ‘paper trail’ tasks.

Don’t be the next victim of the notorious workplace time thief…

Revolutionise your administrative processes with ELF Productivity’s award-winning Ceequel® Employee Management Software.

A dynamic, fully-integrated, infinitely configurable workforce management solution, Ceequel® has delivered streamlined clocking to payroll processes and enhanced clerical efficiency to countless businesses throughout the UK. If you would like to learn more about Ceequel® please contact ELF Productivity.

A full range of brochures are also available to download from our website, please click here for more information.

While it would be nice to have your very own friendly neighbourhood superhero watching over your organisation, they have been known to leave the odd trail of destruction in the wake of their crime fighting exploits.

Our latest infographic shows how Ceequel® Access Control Software can keep your site secure without the risk of collateral damage!

We hope that you enjoy our infographic and please share with your friends on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Google+ etc. If you would like to learn more about Ceequel® Access Control, please contact ELF Productivity.

A considerable number of UK organisations appear to be placing significant emphasis on enhancing employee engagement, with good reason too. Engaged workers feel a sense of passion for their job, they are committed and prepared to go above and beyond for their employers. This is, of course something of a two-way street as organisations must first deliver suitable working conditions specifically designed to get the best out of their staff.

According to a recent survey which collected over 8,000 responses across 14 countries; UK employees are among the most engaged in the world with a whopping 90% of respondents describing themselves as ‘very’ or ‘moderately’ engaged whilst at work. The survey also revealed some interesting insights with regard to the key ingredients of a happy and motivated workforce. In order to reap the various rewards of engaged personnel, employers should: RECOGNISE the efforts and achievements of their staff, provide TRAINING and CAREER DEVELOPMENT opportunities and encourage CREATIVITY.

As promised, here are those four fantastic benefits of employee engagement:

Enhanced Productivity – When employees feel that their hard work is both valued and appreciated, they tend to form a strong bond with the organisation which in turn sparks an increase in output. According to HR experts, successful employee engagement strategies boost workforce productivity by around 20%.

Lower Stress Levels – There’s a huge difference between hard work and overwork! Generally, engaged employees are happy, the workspace environment enables them to flourish and their employer’s expectations are reasonable. If workers start to get that ‘trying to spin too many plates’ feeling, stress levels will rise and productivity takes a substantial hit.

Reduced Absenteeism – Once employees develop that warm, fuzzy engaged feeling, the likelihood of them taking ‘sick days’ greatly decreases. The need for a ‘duvet day’ is outweighed by a reluctance to let their employers down.

Increased Staff Retention – According to research carried out by a leading UK recruitment company, engaged employees are 88% less likely to leave a company than disengaged staff. Employee turnover is costly to all organisations, look after your staff and they’ll look after you!

Empower your employees with Ceequel® Employee Self Service.

Part of ELF Productivity’s innovative Time and Attendance software suite, Ceequel® Employee Self Service is a web-based solution accessible from a PC, smart phone, tablet device or centralised kiosk. This dynamic, user-friendly module enables employees to: take control of their personal records, view clocking information and absence reports, check shift rosters and flexi-balances, submit absence requests and receive any relevant company documentation.

If you would like to learn more about Ceequel® Employee Self Service, please contact ELF Productivity. Alternatively, a range of modular brochures are available to download from our website, to view our downloads section, please click here.

The old saying ‘you never get a second chance to make a first impression’ undoubtedly still holds true today, particularly with regard to recruitment. For employers, snap judgements must be made in choosing the right fit for their organisation from a pool of prospective candidates, each with their own unique skills, experience, qualifications and personality traits. From the candidate’s perspective, one or two brief discussions generally form the basis of the decision to accept or decline a job offer.

With so much riding on this initial impression, how can organisations make the most of it?

A recent trend has seen numerous employers throughout the UK ditch traditional interview processes in favour of new initiatives which provide more opportunities for interviewees to interact with existing employees. While it’s nice to meet the Managing Director, HR Manager, Department Manager etc; would candidates rather be introduced to the people who they’ll actually be working with on a daily basis and vice versa? Many companies certainly think so with these new initiatives expected to simplify onboarding processes and in the long-term, improve staff retention rates!

Employee engagement masterstroke or recipe for disaster? Let’s take a closer look at the pros and cons of involving more staff in the hiring process.

We’ll start with the positives!

Ice Breaker – In addition to easing those infamous ‘first day at a new job’ nerves, spending some time with potential future colleagues allows candidates to get a feel for the culture of the workplace. Furthermore, existing staff members could provide useful feedback regarding who appears to be the right fit for the team.

Effective Motivator – From an employee engagement perspective, including staff members in key strategic decision-making processes such as recruitment can be a strong motivation driver. Not only does it demonstrate the value which the company places on their opinions; they may also feel a sense of pride or accomplishment should the candidate which they recommended succeed.

Better Informed Hiring Decision – Interviews can be something of a pressure cooker and even the most qualified of candidates can endure ‘off days’. Moreover, some people are just better at interviews than others and may come out on top despite not being the best man (or woman) for the job. In addition to the old tried and trusted qualifications, experience and competency tasks, seeing how interviewees interact with existing employees enables managers to make more informed hiring decisions.

Behold the negatives…

Bias / Conflict – Disagreements over candidates and bias towards friends or family members could potentially create conflict between colleagues. In addition, managers may be accused of favouritism depending on who’s recommendation is employed.

Perfectionism – Employers may overcomplicate the whole recruitment process in search of the ‘perfect’ candidate. Unfortunately, it is highly unlikely that an interviewee will meet all the desired qualifications and experience criteria AND strike up an instant rapport with your existing staff. The odds that all staff members will agree is also pretty low.

Is it a little OTT? – Can you really decide if someone’s personality is an ideal fit in half an hour or so? Many traditionalists believe that adding ‘meet and greet’ activities with existing staff at the interview stage is unnecessary; while others are of the opinion that candidates may feel a little overawed by this mob-handed approach to interviews.

Are you looking to streamline your workforce management processes?

Developed by industry-leading Time and Attendance systems provider ELF Productivity, Ceequel® Employee Management Software has enabled countless organisations throughout the UK to become more productive and profitable.

For more information, please contact ELF Productivity. A range of brochures are also available to download from our website, to view our downloads section please click here.

According to the ‘UK Manufacturing Monitor’ survey conducted by audit, tax and consulting company RSM; a considerable number of British manufacturers are set to make significant investments in technology over the next three to five years.

Echoing the findings released last week by EEF and BDO in their ‘2017 Manufacturing Outlook Survey’; the UK manufacturing sector remains on solid ground with firms continuing to enjoy the competitive advantage of UK goods in foreign markets thanks to the weak pound. However, with challenging trading conditions expected in the not too distant future, particularly once Brexit negotiations have concluded; many UK manufacturers believe that the time to modernise processes through investments in technology is imminent. Strong competition is also anticipated from East Asia further down the line, something which the UK was previously protected from as a member of the European Union.

With manufacturing organisations and industry experts largely in agreement over the integral role that innovation will play in the future success of the UK manufacturing sector; what are manufacturers looking for in return for their investment?

When prompted to name their most desired outcomes, ‘better, more informed strategic decision making’ and ‘enhanced operational efficiencies’ were the most popular responses. Respondents were also fully aware of the challenges associated with successfully upgrading core business processes. Finding the right software to satisfy ‘unique or complex company-specific requirements’ were high ranking concerns alongside ‘full integration’ with other software modules.

Are you a UK-based manufacturing organisation looking to enhance your operational efficiencies?

Ceequel® Shop Floor Data Capture delivers a comprehensive, real-time granular insight into a manufacturer’s shop floor operations including: productive/non-productive hours, employee activity tracking, incentive scheme calculations, WIP tracking, man and machine efficiencies, labour performance reporting and actuals vs standard times.

All Ceequel® modules share the same database and have been specifically designed to complement each other seamlessly. Effortlessly configure complex shift patterns utilising our innovative Time and Attendance systems, secure your site at the touch of a button with our robust Access Control solutions and simplify your people management processes through our dynamic Human Resource Management software.

If you would like to learn more about Ceequel®, please contact ELF Productivity. Alternatively, a range of modular brochures can be found here.

Happy general election day everyone!

Decision time is here again (three years ahead of schedule), who will prevail in the battle for Number 10? Who is tough enough? (Sorry Ed, I couldn’t resist)

In the blue corner, we have Prime Minister Theresa May who called this snap general election in a bid to strengthen her hand in realising the government’s Brexit vision. Her opponent in the red corner, Labour supremo Jeremy Corbyn.

While I’m sure that you have a good idea which way your vote is going to go, let’s take a closer look at leading candidates Theresa May and Jeremy Corbyn:

Theresa Mary May was born on the 1^st October 1956 to parents Zaidee and Hubert Brasier in Eastbourne, Sussex. May became a Member of Parliament in 1997 and has served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party since July 2016. Following the 2010 general election, May was appointed Home Secretary and Minister for Women and Equalities, positions she held until 2016 and 2012 respectively. She has been married to Philip May since 1980.

Jeremy Bernard Corbyn was born on 26^th May 1949 to parents Naomi and David Corbyn in Chippenham, Wiltshire. A Member of Parliament since 1983, he became Leader of the Labour Party and Leader of the Opposition in September 2015. Before entering politics in 1974, Corbyn worked as a representative for a number of trade unions. He has been married three times, divorced twice and has three sons by his second wife.

According to those ever-reliable opinion polls, the outcome could be anything from a hung parliament to a Conservative rout! Could Jeremy Corbyn pull off a major upset and be the next Labour Prime Minister or will it be May in June?

Are you looking to optimise your organisation’s internal succession planning processes?

Ceequel® Human Resource Management Software provides managers with a range of innovative features to identify the ideal candidate for a new vacancy. Comprehensive skills to job match listings can be generated along with detailed employee reports outlining: qualifications, occupational history and previous appraisal summaries. For more information, please contact ELF Productivity.

A range of brochures are also available to download from our website; please click here to learn more about our award-winning, fully integrated time and attendance software suite.

The recent ‘2017 Q2 Manufacturing Outlook Survey’ carried out by EEF and accountancy firm BDO, has revealed that the UK manufacturing sector remains strong despite uncertainties over Brexit negotiations and the upcoming general election. The results from the quarterly survey prompted EEF to raise their manufacturing growth forecasts to 1.3% and 0.5% for 2017 and 2018 respectively.

Let’s take a closer look at some of the positive trends across the UK manufacturing sector, placing particular emphasis on output, markets, investment and employment:

Manufacturing – Despite remaining well above the long-term average and representing a considerable improvement on last year’s figures, output balances fell marginally short of expectations at 26%. The 31% recorded in the previous quarter was a four year high.

Markets – While the domestic market continued to provide a solid stream of new orders for UK manufacturers, the surge in export opportunities throughout quarter 2 was particularly pleasing. Interestingly, 61% of firms reported a significant increase in demand from European markets!

Investment & Employment – Investment balances were also positive for the third quarter in succession as manufacturers strive to satisfy the growing demand for UK goods. Furthermore, manufacturing employment balances rose to a three year high during the second quarter of 2017.

It’s not all good news however, as representatives from both EEF and BDO were quick to point out the various challenges which UK manufacturing organisations are likely to face in the not too distant future. Industry experts are particularly concerned about the potential ramifications of unsuccessful trade negotiations with the EU and other core overseas markets. Additional causes for concern included: increasing raw material costs, reductions in consumer spending along with attracting and retaining top talent to combat skills shortages.

Regardless of challenges that lay ahead, Ceequel® Shop Floor Data Capture is the ideal solution to set UK manufacturing organisations on the road to continuous improvement.

Developed by award-winning time and attendance systems provider ELF Productivity, Ceequel® Shop Floor Data Capture delivers unparalleled, real-time production analysis along with intelligent activity based costing features. For more information, please contact ELF Productivity.

A range of brochures are also available to download from our website; please click here to learn more about our fully integrated workforce management software suite.

Meetings are crucial to the smooth-running of any organisation, they provide us with the opportunity to brainstorm ideas, make informed decisions and devise plans of action. However, they can also be notorious productivity killers!

A recent survey investigating the impact of meetings on workplace productivity, revealed some highly damning statistics. Not only were meetings listed as the second highest ranking productivity killer behind internet browsing, over half of respondents believed that time spent in meetings is simply wasted. Furthermore, 64% of managers researched, spend on average 14 hours per week in meetings!

As we appear to be faced with a ‘can’t live with them, can’t live without them’ scenario; here are five marvellous methods to make the most of meetings:

Preparation – Lay the groundwork for a successful meeting with a little prior preparation. Create and distribute agendas outlining: the date and time of the meeting, objectives, who will be in attendance, the topics up for discussion, presentation responsibilities and any required background reading.

Clear Objectives and END GOAL – Why have you called the meeting? What do you wish to accomplish and how are you going to do it? These are the questions which must be answered in the opening minutes of any meeting. Similarly, before concluding discussions, the meeting leader should refer back to the agenda to ensure that all objectives have been satisfied.

The Guest List – As the number of attendees increases, productivity DECREASES! Ask yourself beforehand, who is really required to attend? Fundamentally, meetings are called to facilitate decision making; therefore, only those with the relevant knowledge and privileges should be present. A summary email detailing all topics covered during the meeting will often suffice!

Timing is Everything – As touched upon earlier in the post, meetings are infamous, productivity killing, time thieves! In order to quell the disruption caused, make sure that meetings are scheduled appropriately and are not overlong. Studies suggest that the optimum duration falls anywhere between 30 and 50 minutes, any longer and attention spans start to diminish. It is also advised that all meetings should be concluded by 3PM.

Maintain Focus – How many times have you been in a meeting, making good progress before it was hijacked by someone going off on a tangent? Off-topic storytelling is a common cause of lost focus in meetings. While it’s nice to converse with your colleagues, you should avoid deviating from the aforementioned pre-defined agenda and objectives. Many organisations also enforce mobile device bans to maintain concentration levels. Get in there, get it done and get out!

Eradicate productivity killers with Ceequel® Employee Management Software!

Developed in-house by award-winning time and attendance systems provider ELF Productivity, Ceequel® has enabled countless organisations to become more productive and profitable.

If you would like to learn more about our dynamic time and attendance, access control, human resource management and employee activity tracking software modules, please contact ELF Productivity.

To view our brochures section, please click here.

While continuous improvement is something that all organisations strive towards, successfully implementing process optimisation initiatives can be tricky.

A recent survey, investigating the opinions of over five hundred UK-based process improvement and change management specialists, revealed that prosperous process improvement procedures often hinge on the following fundamental features:

Recognition – The root causes of organisational productivity issues must be identified before any optimisation strategies are devised, examples may include bottlenecks in manufacturing processes and time consuming, error-ridden administrative activities. If the exact problem is not identified, organisations could be trapped in a seemingly never ending trial and error phase. The moral of the tale; if isn’t broken, don’t try to fix it!

Training & Support – Ensuring that employees receive sufficient training is essential. Using the implementation of a new time and attendance system as an example; training can be carried out during the installation stage enabling staff to hit the ground running. Furthermore, as any new systems or processes will undoubtedly incur some initial teething problems, ongoing support should be provided by the workforce management solutions supplier.

The Two C’s: Communication & Collaboration – This may sound a little corny but in order to succeed, the whole organisation must adopt a ‘we’re all in this together’ approach. Regular company-wide communication channels must be utilised to keep all personnel up to date with the process improvement strategy plan of action. It is also highly likely that the transition period will get a little rocky from time to time, when this occurs, staff may be required to go above and beyond to restore tranquility.

Leadership – Any process improvement strategy requires strong leadership, either from senior management or an elected ‘change management’ team. The personnel responsible for the coordination of the project and final decision making must be made clear to everyone. While it’s important to provide the opportunity for all staff to voice their opinions, I’m sure you’ve heard the old saying about too many cooks spoiling the broth!

Here at ELF Productivity, we also know a thing or two about optimising business processes!

Ceequel® Employee Management Software is a dynamic, cost-effective time and attendance software suite capable of setting any organisation on the road to continuous improvement.

For more information, please contact ELF Productivity. A range of brochures are also available to download, please click here to view our downloads section.