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.