Category: Uncategorized

Nothing like a little Q and A session to kick off a blog post…

Does your industry sector experience seasonal demand fluctuations?

Do you often call on temporary or agency staff in order to satisfy demand in peak periods?

Are your employees regularly working overtime?

On the flip side, do quieter periods lead to stock surpluses, costly machine downtimes or employee workload deficits?

If you answered yes to one or more of these questions, Annualised Hours could be the ideal solution for your organisation!

Traditionally utilised within industries incorporating a profusion of shift work such as the manufacturing or healthcare sectors; Annualised Hours provides organisations with an invaluable flexibility to ensure that the right staff are on hand at the right time. Throughout this post we’ll be taking a closer at Annualised Hours, exploring how the process works before touching upon the key benefits for businesses.

Annualised Hours

When organisations adopt an Annualised Hours system, employees commit to working a designated number of hours over the course of one year. Typically, workers are allocated core shift patterns (AKA ‘Regular’ Hours) with the remaining ‘Reserve’ hours assigned on a ‘when required’ basis.

The Annualised Hours approach has fluctuated in and out of fashion over the years due largely to popular misconceptions over the perceived complexities and substantial administrative workloads involved along with a reluctance to change.

In order to reap the many rewards of Annualised Hours, organisations must take into account three core components. Firstly, a sufficient IT infrastructure should be in place to manage the process effectively. This combined with an abundance of planning and regular communication with employees should lead to following benefits:

Greater Control – First and foremost, Annualised Hours enables organisations to align working patterns with the demands of the industry sector within which they operate. A balanced flow of production is maintained throughout the year which ensures that the considerable workload of peak periods is catered for and stock surpluses are avoided when demand wanes. Furthermore, in the event of any unforeseen demand spikes, employers are able to dip into the pool of ‘Reserve’ hours and call in staff at relatively short notice.

Cost Effectiveness – For many companies, the increasing of manpower in order to cope with seasonal upsurges in demand can be particularly costly. Through the implementation of an Annualised Hours system, costs such as overtime premiums or the recruitment and training of temporary staff are eradicated.

Enhanced Organisational Productivity & Employee Morale – When the required level of output decreases, organisations can often find themselves in a situation where there is not enough work to go around. To simply fill their time at work, many workers perform menial, non-value adding tasks which are not only unproductive, they can also be demoralising for skilled employees. An Annualised Hours approach tends to boost staff morale considerably through increased basic salaries (compensating for the removal of overtime) and an improved work-life balance.

Is your organisation ready to harness the considerable powers of Annualised Hours?

Developed by ELF Productivity, Ceequel® Time and Attendance Software is an award-winning workforce management solution, possessing an unparalleled functionality to handle any company-specific working patterns, no matter how complex or unique.

For more information, please contact industry-leading Time and Attendance providers ELF Productivity.

Alternatively, click here for a range of downloadable brochures, detailing the outstanding features of Ceequel® Software Suite; including our feature-rich Shop Floor Data Capture module.

Our latest infographic focuses on employee absenteeism; a considerable threat to the productivity and profitability of any organisation which costs the UK economy billions of pounds every year! We also introduce some of the outstanding features of Ceequel® Time and Attendance Software, the ultimate weapon in the fight against absenteeism.

We hope that you enjoy our infographic and please feel free to share with your friends on social media.

If you would like to learn more about Ceequel® Time and Attendance, please contact ELF Productivity.

When it comes to the most in demand workplace perks, 2017 is undoubtedly the year of flexible working. More and more employees are determined to strike a healthy work-life balance and as a result, policies such as Flexitime and Time off in Lieu (TOIL) are high on the agenda for many companies throughout the UK; despite reservations over a seemingly inevitable ‘can of worms’ anticipated in the aftermath!

Is flexible working the key to the retention of a highly motivated and productive workforce or is it ultimately, too much toil and trouble?

Throughout this post, we’ll be taking a closer look at Flexitime and Time Off in Lieu (TOIL), exploring the benefits for employees and employers alike. We will also touch upon some common fears with regard to managing flexible working policies before introducing the dynamic functionality of Ceequel® Time and Attendance Software.

Flexitime

An alternative to the traditional ‘9 to 5’ working day, Flexitime is a flexible working scheme designed to provide employees with more leeway to satisfy any ‘outside of work’ needs or responsibilities. Typically, start and finish times are adapted around a set of ‘core hours’ which employees spend at work, the outstanding contract hours must then be satisfied by the employee during pre-defined ‘Flexitime’ periods.

The Benefits of Flexitime – Whilst we’re all aware of the benefits for employees, avoiding the dreaded daily commute, greater freedom to carry out caring responsibilities or increased opportunity to enjoy hobbies etc; what’s in it for employers? Companies providing flexible working schemes often enjoy considerable improvements in workplace morale and productivity, along with reduced employee absenteeism and staff turnover rates. In addition, allowing employees to work from home, outside of normal ‘office hours’ could also lead to greater organisational cost-effectiveness and higher customer satisfaction.

Recruitment activities also receive a major boost with Flexitime proving to be an invaluable ‘USP’ when competing for top talent. According to a recent survey conducted by a leading UK recruitment site, not only is Flexitime the most desired workplace incentive; over 70% of respondents stated that a benefits package plays ‘a crucial role’ in their decision-making process to either accept or decline a job offer. However, despite the much publicised demand for Flexitime, an investigation carried out by the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) revealed that only one in 10 job adverts actually mention flexible working opportunities!

Time Off in Lieu (TOIL)

Time off in Lieu (often aptly abbreviated to TOIL) is a work arrangement that sees employees receive paid holiday time rather than overtime pay in return for extra hours worked.

The Benefits of TOIL – Similar to Flexitime, the benefits of TOIL for employees is all about work-life balance. Those who are financially secure and therefore less concerned with receiving overtime pay, may like to enjoy a few long weekends throughout the year. For employers, TOIL presents a more economical alternative to paying overtime premiums, providing that adequate cover is available for staff.

Managing Flexitime and Time Off in Lieu

Unfortunately, the very mention of Flexitime and Time Off in Lieu can strike terror into the hearts of many an organisation, due largely to fears over: the sheer volume of administrative work involved, the complexities of collating data, susceptibility to human error and the threat posed by abusers of the system…

Are you having trouble with Flexitime or Time Off in Lieu?

Developed by award-winning Time and Attendance specialists ELF Productivity, Ceequel® is the ideal solution to manage flexible working schemes effectively. Not only is all employee attendance data collated in real-time and processed to the highest degree of accuracy; a multitude of clocking options are available for employees working off-site including: internet and email clocking, smart phone apps, dedicated landlines, USB clocking and GPS clocking. Ceequel® Time and Attendance also possesses the dynamic functionality to handle all employee holiday allocations, flexi-balances and any other company-specific rules or calculations.

If you would like to learn more about Ceequel® Time and Attendance Software, please contact ELF Productivity. Alternatively, a range of Ceequel® Software Suite brochures are available to download from our website. Please click here to view our downloads section.

Imagine a world where you arrive at work and everything runs smoothly until it’s time to mosey on back home. Picture this, an entire workforce in perfect harmony…

Right, that’s enough of that, everybody back to reality! Despite your best efforts to ever so Britishly, keep calm and carry on; workplaces are often filled with numerous nuisances lurking around the corner, seemingly hell-bent on throwing you off your groove.

Fortunately, here at ELF Productivity, we don’t have any of these problems, every day is like a walk in the park; a very PRODUCTIVE, SUCCESSFUL and ultimately FULFILLING walk in the park I might add! However, for many organisations, this sadly isn’t the case. In fact, hundreds of UK companies were recently surveyed to uncover the most irritating things about work from an employee’s perspective.

I bet the suspense is killing you; well here they are, the top seven insufferable irritants of the workplace for UK employees:

The Commute – What better way to start than with our old friend the daily commute? You have to admit, it takes a special kind of irritant to put you in a bad mood both before you actually arrive at work and also during the much-anticipated journey home. Whether you’re at the mercy of traffic, train times or the weather, the daily commute has been the nemesis of many an employee throughout the ages.

Mickey Takers – In second place, those rascals constantly getting away with late starts and regularly pulling ‘sickies’. The quelling of employee absenteeism is a must for all organisations as profitability, productivity and workforce morale all bear the brunt of high absenteeism rates. After all, who’ll be expected to pick up the slack?

The ‘I’m So Busy’ Brigade – You know the ones; people who are so rushed off their feet that they literally only have time to tell you how busy they are! The real problem here is that they like to inform you around fifty times per day, EVERY DAY! There’s an old saying, don’t be busy, BE PRODUCTIVE!

Office Climate Change – It would appear that numerous workplaces throughout the UK are subjected to aggressive climate change, with temperatures fluctuating anywhere between the surface of the Sun and the Antarctic!

Too Few Holidays – A healthy work-life balance is key to developing and retaining a happy and motivated workforce. If employees are disillusioned with their holiday quota, they could soon seek pastures new!

Last Minute Phone Calls or Tasks – Just a few minutes to go until home time, you’re almost there. All of a sudden, the phone rings or someone walks in and says ‘before you go, could you just…’. NIGHTMARE!

The Theft of One’s Favourite Mug – Truly a cardinal sin, nothing more needs to be said here!

ELF Productivity is an award-winning provider of dynamic Time and Attendance Solutions specifically designed to enhance the profitability and productivity of any organisation, regardless of size or industry sector. Our industry-leading Ceequel® Time and Attendance Software delivers: streamlined clocking to payroll processes, robust absence management solutions, comprehensive labour planning and shift rostering features and an unparalleled functionality to manage Flexitime, Time Off in Lieu (TOIL) or any bespoke, company specific rules.

To learn more about Ceequel® Time and Attendance Software, please contact ELF Productivity. Alternatively, a range of Ceequel® Software Suite brochures can be found here.

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

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.