Absence Management – Time and Attendance

To Duvet Or Not To Duvet, That Is The Question.

A gentle reminder, just in case you had forgotten……the clocks turn back this weekend.

What is that you whisper, “It can’t be, not already, it’s still warm”!

After experiencing its hottest and driest summer since the infamous 1976 heatwave, the UK is now tootling headlong into mid-winter.

As we prepare to say goodbye to good old British summertime for another year and embrace GMT (Greenwich Mean Time) again, preparations for the advancing winter months are now well underway.

First up on the horizon are the obligatory cold and frosty mornings – nothing wakes you up faster than chipping away at an icy windscreen!

Quicker than the time it takes to de-ice your car, Christmas is knocking at the door. Before you have time to polish off that mammoth, impulse-buy turkey you just had to have, you will find yourself ringing in a snowy and icy New Year…. you get the picture.

On the plus side to this winter wonderland, we get to experience long, warm and cosy nights curled up in front of the fire. We get to partake in the cultural activity that is the clocking-off snowball “fight-off” but for some, there just isn’t enough recompense; the shorter daytime hours really are dreaded.

As we head into the “most wonderful time of the year” Human Resource Departments up and down the land are bracing themselves for the infamous and predictable Monday morning telephone calls, which usually go a little something like this….

Cough cough, “Hello, I’m really sorry but I can’t come in to work today, I’m really not feeling well, cough, cough, I think I might have flu”

“Oh dear, I’m so sorry to hear that, do you think you will be in tomorrow”?

Cough, cough accompanied by the required croaky and tired sounding voice, “I will try my best”.

Possibly not flu….

It’s textbook, you could write the script, you know it and we know it too.

Everyone recognises the scenario, as soon as the dark and cold mornings appear, what is normally passed off as the usual ‘Monday Morning Blues’ now becomes the……’Duvet Day’

In case you weren’t aware, the UK is apparently the “sickie” capital of Europe.

Research Group ADP recently surveyed 2,000 people across France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands and the UK.

In the UK, an astonishing 27% of the people surveyed thought it was “acceptable” to take a ‘Duvet Day’ when they weren’t ill, whilst the European average percentage who thought it WAS acceptable to pull a ‘sickie’ was 21% – 6 percentage points lower than the UK!

So where are we going wrong?

Why do people feel that it is somewhat acceptable to have a cavalier attitude towards work? More importantly, whose responsibility is it to not only address this issue but to put it right?

Within any business the most obvious answer is to build better working relationships and create suitable working options for ALL your employees.

By supporting, motivating and encouraging your staff, you will be helping to alleviate once and for all, the temptation that they have, which makes them want to turn over in bed, hit the snooze button, pull the duvet even tighter and make “that” telephone call.

At the same time, you need to recognise and give the appropriate support and choices to those employees who you know are genuinely ill or who have a valid reason for their absence.

Flexi-time, along with remote working options for your employees, these are all possibilities for your business, these are all possibilities that CEEQUEL® software can help you with.

ELF Productivity recognises that a happy and committed workforce = better output and improved productivity for your business.

Established in 1982, ELF Productivity Ltd has emerged as a leading force in Biometric Time Management solutions, there is no Time and Attendance scenario that CEEQUEL® has not experienced.

With a Time Management system that allows you to monitor ALL of your workforce, CEEQUEL® software is at the cutting edge when it comes to a Time and Attendance solution for ALL your Human Resource requirements.

Interested in learning more?

Do you need to take the anxiety out of your Monday mornings?

Contact ELF Productivity Ltd today and be confident and reassured with the knowledge that you and your staff are better prepared and equipped, for what this winter holds.

For a closer look at CEEQUEL® software, the portfolio of brochures can be downloaded here

The Pitter-Patter Of Tiny “Royal” Feet

Baby Love………check out our latest blog, on how best to manage your Maternity and Paternity absences.

The arrival of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge’s third child is now imminent. All babies are special but somehow the birth of a “Royal Baby” brings with it an extra something, an extra special sparkle

The Great British public have always rejoiced when a Princess or “Duchess”, is due to give birth. The time spent waiting outside the hospital for any news, fades into insignificance once the baby has been born, as they happily celebrate with the Royal couple.

The obligatory photo-call on the steps, that all-important first glimpse of the new infant Prince or Princess are unique moments, happily shared, documented in time forever.

Yes, it’s reasonable to say a Royal Birth is somewhat unique.

So, what happens once everyone is back at Kensington Palace and the real hard work begins? What of William and Kate as parents to three small children – as maternity and paternity leave goes, this “time off” is pretty extraordinary.

With regards to Prince William’s role, he is a future King and as a full time Royal, he still has obligations. On the flip side however, he is just like any other husband and father; he will still need and want time off, not only to help Kate but to have that cherished bonding time with his new baby.

By having baby number three, are William and Kate, global modernisers that they both are, setting a trend by moving away from the traditional 2.5? Is now the time that we are going to see a return and an inclination towards a desire for larger families?

By putting careers first, people are also choosing to start their families later in life. Fathers are currently more likely to take their paternity leave than ever before. With that information in mind, workplaces and “palaces” need to be confident that they have the necessary processes in place, in order to manage their mandatory leave of absence. Maternity and paternity leave is perhaps going to become a bigger topic in the coming years.

Shared Parental Leave (SPL) is another choice that parents have, something which, depending upon your circumstances can prove to be an attractive option. No doubt this is something, as an impending mother of three, the Duchess of Cambridge would be happy to consider.

Maternity and paternity leave; shared or not, needn’t be a daunting experience for any Human Resource Department. With the right processes in place, this scheduled leave/time off CAN be managed appropriately.

ELF Productivity Limited’s, Time and Attendance Ceequel® software suite is the current forerunner in automated processes; our leading array of software contains a centralised Human Resource module which will enhance your Time and Attendance processes. This module comprises, amongst others, an absence view that encompasses all elements of Maternity, Paternity and Parental Leave. Another division of the Human Resource module is Training and Development. This field will prove to be an extremely useful tool, especially if you require or need extra training for that scheduled maternity cover.

The Graphical Absence View and Planner will also provide you with an overview of an employee’s absence for any selected year – thus allowing time for future planning.

Flexible-working, part-time working, complex shift patterns, TOIL (Time off in Lieu) – no – these are not scenarios from the day in the life of a typical Royal, they are just a few of the other complexities that ELF Productivity Limited can also help you with.

So, with that in mind are you in need of an extra “majestic” safe pair of hands for your company? Do you need a “regal” and sophisticated software system to help you stay up to date with all the Human Resource developments in your company? If so, choose the best Human Resource module on the market, choose ELF.

If you would like to know more about the supreme functionality of Ceequel® Software Suite, including our leading Time and Attendance modules; the downloadable catalogue of brochures can be found here.

Contact ELF Productivity today for a free no obligation quotation and demonstration of Ceequel® software.

Even Superman can have an off day!

Even superheros have off days but with a time and attendance system not only can superman’s absence be tracked but a replacement with the correct skills can be easily found to take his place whilst he recovers. Implementing a time and attendance system into your organisation would work in the exact same way.

Absence Management – “Anyone know where Bob is?”

Knowing exactly how many absences and holiday days each of your employees have had is key to the successful running of your organisation. Not knowing which of your staff is in the office at any one time could have substantial problems for your organisation especially if it leads to departments being under staffed.

Keeping track of your employees absences – whether it be holidays, medical reason or sick days can be a difficult task for any organisation, especially if there are no set processes in place to do so. Not knowing who’s in at any one time can cause major disruptions to departments or even productivity. Employees who have a busy workload themselves are sometimes asked to take on even more work to assist with that of an absent employee.

Absence Management Software

Introducing absence management software into your organisation can drastically help manage your entire workforce. Mangers can access individual employee data in real-time, at the touch of a button. Employee clock in data, absences and holiday information is all stored within the one easy to use system. Managers have full access to every employee’s holiday calendar allowing them to view who’s off on which shift at what time. This information allows them to monitor and identify when agency staff need to be called in to cover. This also provides managers the ability to ensure your facility is staffed adequately in order to avoid any disruptions or fall in production. All employee clock-in data is also stored within the system allowing managers to identify at the earliest opportunity when an employee is absent.

A number of customised reports can also configured to run automatically, within the absence management system. Employers can customise reports to flag up any employees with a significantly high absence rate or initiate triggers specific to your company KPI’s. Line managers are then able to monitor and interact with employees immediately. Absence reports can also be customised based on days, weeks or months. The system will even report on an employee who has called in sick and identify if a holiday request for that day was previously submitted and rejected.

Absence management however doesn’t have to just be something an employer does. By giving your employees access to their own data they can take control of their own clocking in and attendance records. CEEQUEL Employee self-service provides your employees with access to their own personal data. Employee can view their current and weekly time cards, view absences by day or week basis and update personal information such as next of kin and emergency contact. Employees are also able to view any planned of taken holidays and send out holiday request to be approved by their line manager. Employee self-service also lets employees who work shifts view their weekly working pattern. The system is username and password protected, and can be customised to only show the information you want the employee to see.

For more information on how an absence management system can help your organisation better manage your workforce contact us today!

Time and attendance for business and the available access control solutions

Organisations have been using time and attendance systems as a means to track employee clocking data for over 20 years. Old card based systems were slow and unreliable and as technology advanced new cutting edge real time systems took there place. Employees are no longer limited to how they can clock as most systems now come with a range of different options. The introduction of biometric and proximity technology now means that clocking can be completed in a number of seconds.

Access Control

Time and attendance within a business is not a new concept. Organisations have been using paper cards as a means of clocking employee working hours since the 20^thcentury. The problem with using a paper card system is that it’s extremely unreliable. Paper is easily lost and even if the card remained safe there was never any way of knowing if the times written on the sheet were accurate. This caused major problems for companies when it came to payroll, meaning employees were often over or under paid. An employee who has been under paid is less likely to work to their full potential meaning productivity levels in the work place often drop. Low productivity levels and overpaid staff can lead to organisations losing out on thousands a year.

As times changed and technology advanced so did the type of systems organisations use to track their employees time and attendance data. Electronic automated clocking systems now record accurate employee data in real time. As data no longer needs to be manually imputed human resources departments are able to focus on more pressing tasks.

The benefits of having a fully functioning time and attendance system

The main benefit for a company which uses a time and attendance system is that the data being collected always remains accurate. As all employee clock-ins are collected through an electronic system, the chances of fraudulent clocking is significantly reduced. Employee time-thefts are also reduced as clockings can be completed via an IP based clock device, over a browser and even through a mobile device. This allows employees to clock from any location whilst on the go. Notifications can be set up within the system to alert managers when staff clock late or leave early. These alerts inform an employer of attendance issues at the earliest stage.

Companies who implemented punch card systems often became victims of ‘buddy clocking’. Employees would often clock in for their “colleagues” when they were perhaps running late or had opted to take a longer break than allowed. Almost all time and attendance systems available today, come with technology which can make it impossible for an employee to clock as anyone but themselves.

Human resource departments are at the forefront of any business. It manages all employee data and ensures that all information they have remains correct and up to date. The underlying issues surrounding this is that manually checking and manipulating data can be time consuming and extremely costly. Data collation and maintenance rapidly drains the resource available in most HR departments, meaning that information is often neglected or mislaid. Any dynamic software solution should combine both Time & Attendance and HR System within one scalable database.

One database means the eradication of double keying information as data entered is immediately filtered throughout the system.

Most now come equipped with employee self-service (ESS) capabilities which provides employees with an easy-to-use web based interface allowing them to update their own personal data, without needing to contact their HR department. Employees with access to ESS can also view information relating to their shift patterns, holidays – requested, planned or taken, together with full information on their weekly clockings and pay premiums.

Employees are able to request holidays or absences using employee self-serve and any absence requests are forwarded to their line manager for approval. Once a request has been accepted it is automatically imputed into the employee’s calendar, removing any need for the employee to contact HR.

Implementing an automated time and attendance system can also help a business’s stay on the right side of any legislation. Manual systems make it difficult for companies to track things such as overtime and overall hours worked. Both have high legal requirements that if not obeyed can lead to an employee perusing corrective action via an employment tribunal.

The available Access control solutions

Over the years, the number of Time & Attendance systems available to businesses has significantly increased. Advancing technology is often utilised by the companies who manufacturing T&A systems creating a wider choice of cutting edge systems. Each system is designed with its own capabilities and can permit access to employees in a number of different ways.

Biometric systems

Biometric access control systems are becoming ever more popular. These technologies offer cutting edge opportunities – look impressive to visitors and because they rely on unique employee features time-theft is completely eradicated.

Fingerprint biometric Time & Attendance units are the most common systems implemented into companies as they now have a 99.9% accuracy rate. As Time & Attendance systems act as one big database, information collected on one terminal, is automatically passed through to all the other terminals within the business. This provides employees the ability to clock at any terminal within the building. Facial recognition software works in exactly the same way. Once enrolled, template information is distributed automatically throughout the company’s device estate.

Most Time & Attendance systems can be integrated with an access control unit. Businesses with an integrated access control and Time & Attendance system, are able to restrict access on a door-by-door basis, making sure that only authorised employees gain access to sensitive areas. Access can also be restricted by date and time allowing companies to lock down their business premises over festive periods, during bank holidays and after working hours.

Proximity technology

Proximity access control systems have always required an employee to swipe their access card in order to clock. The processes of swiping a card however can be time consuming. Employees in a busy environment often swipe their cards too quickly for a system to recognise who they are, forcing them to slow down and problems begin as ques start to form into the building especially at busy periods of the day.

As Proximity technology advanced – so did the systems and options available. The invention of contactless technology now means that access control cards and fobs are designed to permit access without the need to swipe. An employee simply needs to hold their card up to the device in order to gain access or register a clocking.

Intercom and integration with VOIP

Intercom systems have been the chosen solution for granting visitor access into buildings for a number of years. More often than not, they come with audio capabilities but as costs decrease, more are being installed with both audio and video capabilities.

As companies move towards a combined VIOP infrastructure, external intercom can now be fully integrated with your VIOP telephone system, providing full control of your external access points to any extension on your telephone system.

Barrier automation and turnstiles

Automated barriers or turnstiles now provide control to companies of who has access to your perimeter, company carpark, warehouses or any other company land.

Securing the first point of access to your organisation adds an extra level of security when protecting your business. Both barriers and turnstiles can be configured to only allow access to registered employees within your company’s Time & Attendance database. Access can be granted using biometric or proximity technology and time profiles can be set up in order to stop people from accessing the premises outside of working hours or on certain days.

There are a number of different types of barriers available including sliding gates, ground mounted bollards and rising arm barriers. Turnstiles are also available for both internal and external applications and are usually configured with anti-pass-back technology.

For more information on what a time and attendance system is, the benefits it could have on your business and the available access control systems, contact us today!

Automation of manual time sheet processing with Time and Attendance

Manual time and attendance processes can be costly to an organisation they are also difficult to handle. Many employees are unreliable with the data they submit which can in turn lead to problems with payroll leaving organisations at risk of paying their employees wrong. Implementing the Ceequel time and attendance system easily records accurate data on how many hours each member of your workforce has completed.

Timesheet

Managing employee time and attendance data is a difficult task for many businesses especially if the process is still manual. Employees often fall behind in the completion of their time sheets and most can never remember the exact time they started and finished work, meaning false data is often entered. This means many organisations risk under or over paying their staff and Issues involving payroll can often lead to a reduction in productivity levels.

An automated time and attendance system easily collects and tracks your employees clocking information. Data is collected and stored in real time allowing mangers to access employee time on the go. Employee absences and holidays can also easily be tracked making sure the appropriate amount of pay is given for each occasion.

Integrating your time and attendance system with payroll can significantly Increase the accuracy of your payroll processes.

chart 1

According to a survey carried out by the Aberdeen group organisations that had an integrated time and attendance system with payroll, benefited from a 30% lower rate of payroll processing errors. Theses organisation also saw a 32% lower error rate in the tracking of actual employee time worked, and also avoided the 6% year over year increase in manual workforce transactions experienced by organisations that didn’t have an integrated system in place.

Having an integrated payroll system can also save your company time as it eliminates time-consuming processes such as the manual calculating of time-sheets, meaning your human resource department are free to work on more strategic duties such as increasing workforce productivity.

Elf productivity’s Ceequel software suite acts as one fully integrated system allowing you to easily manage your time and attendance data as well as your payroll operations from one platform. Data is transferred between the two modules in real time meaning information is always kept up to date.

For more information on how you can integrate your payroll system with Ceequel time and attendance, contact us today!

Short term absence and the impact it can have on a business

Short term and long term absences are often a real problem for organisations as they leave them short staffed and over worked. In the case of a long term absence employers often find themselves having to contract in agency staff in order to cope with the growing workload. Short term absence however is harder to deal with as contracting staff in for the odd day or two can be costly.

long or short term

Short term absences are very disruptive to an organisation, with many managers often having to scramble around looking for cover, which on occasion is not readily available. This can leave organisations short staffed and lacking expertise. Long term absences however have the opposite effect on businesses as they can be easier to manage. The tasks that would normally be completed by an absent employee will often be split up and passed onto other members of the team, or agency staff could be recruited to cover the absence period.

Most long term absences are covered under the Equality act 2010, so employers need to make sure they are complying with all legislations. Keeping a note of all employee absence records throughout their illness is crucial and this information needs to be kept secure at all times.

Elf Productivity’s Ceequel® software suite provides your Human Resource department with a secure way of easily recording every employee absence. Just by virtue of the fact that an employee has not clocked using Ceequel® Time and Attendance, the system will know the start day, end day, number of working days absent and the category of absence. In Ceequel® Human Resource Management software, notes can be made within the system and access can be given to managers of the sick employees. In addition, attachments such as fit notes or return to work documents can be scanned in and attached to an individual’s records, thus providing your Human Resource department with a complete overview of every employee’s medical history. Short term absences can also be monitored within the system allowing you to keep track of everyone within your workforce.

Individual absence reports can be set up to run on a weekly, monthly or yearly basis, allowing managers to spot any absence patterns creeping in at the earliest stage.

Many organisations are now also monitoring reports such as the Bradford factor, which is designed to penalise employees who have lots of absence occasions, as opposed to those with a genuine long term ailment. Using Ceequel ® Time and Attendance, this report can be calculated automatically over a rolling 12 month period and emailed to the appropriate line manager.

Having an easy to use system in place that allows you to not only track employee sickness but also record key information and can save your business time and money, for more information contact us today!

Recording Reasons for Absence is an imperative part of any T&A System

According to the CIPD Annual survey report done in 2015 these are the top reasons manual and none manual employees gave for being off work for a short period of time. Minor illnesses such as sickness, flu were the most common reasons given, followed by muscular injuries and back pain.

absence reasons

Employee Absence reasons and just how believable are they?

Not all employee absence reasons are seen to be acceptable by employers.A recent study has revealed that employees are most likely to let you have the day off if you are sick but are less likely to appreciate you taking time off because you are stressed. The study also revealed that employers n employees view flu as being an acceptable reason not to go to work.

Sick woman

There are a number of reasons why an employee may need to take a day off work sick. However not all excuses used are considered acceptable to an employer. A survey carried out on 2,500 employees and employers in the UK has revealed the most accepted reasons for people taking the day off. It won’t come as a surprise to anyone that vomiting and diarrhoea are the top two acceptable reasons, with 73 percent of employees choosing not to spread the sickness bug around the office and a further 71% not risking the journey into work with a bad stomach.

The survey also showed that flu was the next valid reason to take a day off with 58% of employers and employees admitting they wouldn’t expect attendance with flu like symptoms. Surprisingly despite the all growing rise of the mighty ‘man flu’ the study also showed that woman were more likely to call in sick than men.

Sickness Graph

Being able to effectively manage your workforce is a crucial part of any business. Implementing Ceequel® Time and Attendance suite lets you easily monitor your employees and note which are out of the office and log the reason for absence.

This information is easily accessible to all mangers within your organisation and reports can be generated on a weekly, monthly or yearly basis. Reports can also be ran using a number of terms to show a more detailed outlook on individual absence’s and reasons for absence allowing you to monitor and spot when certain employees are taking advantage.

For more information on how you can manage your employees, contact us today!

Absent employees might just be ‘sick’ of working

The reasons employees give employers for being off sick can range from believable to down right bizarre but not all employees are actually ill. A recent survey carried out on human resource personal showed that a high percentage of people have taken a day off work when they weren’t actually sick.

Ill Person

When it comes to taking time off work, employees have been known to come up with many creative and sometimes justifiable excuses as to why they are unable to make it into the workplace. These excuses can range from the bizarre to downright unbelievable. This is often because an employee at some point in their career will reach a point where they feel they need to take a day off.

Surprisingly, a survey carried out by CareerBuilder of 5,647 full-time employees, hiring managers and human resources personnel, found that 38 percent of employees had taken a sick day in the past year when they weren’t actually ill ! We’ve all been there, after all there’s nothing worse than waking up on a weekday morning, barely able to open your eyes, then realising you have to get up and go to work.

Although ringing in sick at the time may seem like a good idea, most employers actually know when you’re faking it. CareerBuilder’s survey showed that 33 percent of businesses will check if an employee is actually ill.

67 percent of employers admitted to asking for a Fit note (sick note) with a further 49 percent making a personal phone call. The survey found that 32 percent of companies had checked an employee’s social media channels to see if that person had been out the night before.

As a business, making sure you stay on top of the days and reasons your employees have off is key. Implementing Elf Productivity’s Ceequel Time and Attendance system can help you monitor your employees absences. Reports can be configured within the system to run based on a number of factors, thus monitoring the days your employees take off on a monthly or yearly basis. This functionality allows you to spot any absence patterns.

For more information on how you can manage your employee absences using Ceequel Time and Attendance, contact us today !