Tag: Processes

How to make Human Resources Jobs Easier

Your Human Resource department is the centre of your organisation. It relays messages to every department and is key in making sure all company and employee data is tracked and up to date. Without a fully functioning HR department your business would run into turmoil.

Your HR department is the nervous system of your business. It routes messages from every other department, and ensures that everyone gets necessary information in order to keep things working smoothly. Whether it’s making sure that new employees have all their data in the system, or ensuring that transfers, promotions, etc. are all tracked, human resources is the department in charge.

So why make HR’s job any more difficult than it already is?

A Single, Unified Network to Make Human Resources Happy

Computer networks are the major tools businesses use to keep track of all their information. These networks store customer information, employee information, create time tables, keep track of order numbers, and handle all of the heavy lifting your company needs. If you’re using multiple networks, though, you’re driving your HR people crazy.

Imagine this scenario: you have two departments. Your employees report to the first department, and tell the Department-One people how many hours they’ve worked, the Department-One people write it down, walk across the hall, and hand their notes to the Department-Two people, the Department-Two people then take those notes, and input the hours worked into their own machines.

Why would you use such a convoluted system? Why not cut out the first department entirely, reducing the number of steps you’re taking and ensuring that fewer mistakes being made? The same questions would apply to using an outdated software suite, or attempting to use multiple suites that can’t talk to each other.

One Software, One Company

Elf Productivity Ltd. set out to create a unique software suite that would allow your business to do everything, without having to switch back and forth: it’s a time clock, a database, a communication network, and all the different sections can be password protected as you see fit.

If you want to see increased productivity, fewer headaches, and faster results in your business, then contact us today to see how our unique software solutions can help you.

Why Access Control is more Important (and difficult) than ever before

Access control within a business used to be a relatively simple process with all important documents being locked away in filling cabinets. The implementation of modern day technology however has now complicated the process with businesses storing important information from an employee’s personal details to credit card information on a computer network. Without the use of an electronic access control system all of this information is at risk of falling into the wrong hands.

In the past, access control in a business was relatively simple: if you had files that contained sensitive information, you put them in a filing cabinet in your office, and locked the drawer; when you went home for the day you locked your office, and you could rest assured that the information was safe behind barriers that only you had the key for.

As we all know though, the days of paper files (or at least exclusively paper files) are long behind us. Modern businesses run on computer networks that hold everything from credit card data and employee profiles, to bank account and social security numbers. While all of this information is necessary for conducting business, it is a little scary to think about what would happen if it fell into the wrong hands.

Electronic Access Control

That’s where Elf Productivity Ltd. comes into the picture. We know the worries businesses have to deal with, and it’s why we developed a unique software suite that ensures private information remains private.

Our software acts as an all-in-one solution to your business’s needs. It has a time clock for keeping track of which employees are working when, it offers employee self-service so that your HR department isn’t the only one capable of changing employee information, and most importantly it offers access control. You are in charge when it comes to who can see what information, and our software allows you to keep private files or documents out of the general network. So if some files are necessary for management but not your lower-level workers, we let you protect those. We also make sure that no outside forces get into your system, and make off with the data you’re trying so hard to keep safe.

For more information on how Elf Productivity Ltd. can help you keep your business locked up tight simply contact us today!

Time and Attendance: Elf Productivity Ltd offers the Time Clock of the Future!

Both businesses and employees recognise the benefits of having an accurate clocking system in place. Without one, employees are at risk of being incorrectly paid and employers can fall victim to time theft. Our time and attendance solution keeps track of every minute your workers spend on the clock each day.

For the hourly employee there is nothing more important than the time clock, because without it he or she doesn’t get paid. From the company’s perspective there’s nothing more important than an accurate time clock, so that there’s no time theft going on and employees can be paid for the work they performed. Technology has come a long way since the days of punch cards though, and today employers have access to a much more powerful solution for keeping track of every minute workers spend on the clock.

Time and Attendance Solutions With Elf Productivity Ltd.

Elf Productivity Ltd. knows full well how difficult it can be to keep track of all the details when you’re running a business. That’s why it sat down to design a software suite that operates like a Swiss army knife. On the one hand it provides access control so that a business can make sure important information is kept locked away where only those with the right clearance can find it. It also provides human resources access, allowing average workers the ability to modify their information so that HR doesn’t have to waste time processing simple name and address changes. This software suite is also a portable time clock. No matter what work station someone is at, whether it’s in the building or on the other side of the world, all they need to do is log in and get to work. It’s simple, easy, and there’s no leisurely walk from the time clock out onto the shop floor. Just sign in, put in your time, and sign out.

For more information about how Elf Productivity Ltd. can help your business be more efficient, simply contact us today!

Tips for Improving Human Resource Departments

The Human Resource department is the most vital part of any organisation. Making improvements to your HR department has the potential to improve every other part of your business. There are a number of ways in which you can improve your HR processes below is a list of a few.

The HR department has a challenging job; it is also a vital part of an organisation. Improving the HR department enhances the entire business, there are a number of things that will help improve your Human Resource department, here are a few tips to consider:

Engage

It is crucial to communicate and engage with all employees: being proactive and making an effort to speak with people is beneficial. HR workers should go out of their way to interact with employees in every department, consider creating a daily ritual of walking the building or floor looking for people to converse with.

Listen

Employees need to feel as if they are being heard, increase listening skills to achieve this. HR operatives must know when to talk and when to be quiet, educate the HR department on proper listening skills.

Avoid Micro-Managing

Employees need to feel that they are trusted, if you micro-manage them, they feel incompetent. You can observe them and give feedback without micro-managing everything, give employees some freedom and independence to perform their work on their own, this builds confidence and produces happier employees.

Team Work

Team work encourages employees to work together, building camaraderie and relationships among employees is powerful. Employees should feel as if they are a part of something larger than themselves, when they develop connections to each other, a healthier work environment is produced.

Budget

Ensure that your budget includes plenty of funds for development and training. Your employees’ education does not end when they begin working for your organisation, in order to keep up with technology and innovation, the staff should consistently go through development and training, this keeps your workforce up-to-date and ready for the future.

These are just a few tips you can implement to improve your human resources department. It is a complex job, and it is essential for any organisation. When the HR department performs at its best, the entire company performs at its best. Contact us for more information.

Shop Floor Data Capture is the Canary in the Coal Mine for modern Businesses

As a production company, making sure you stay on top of your produce and waste numbers is an essential process if you wish to remain in business. Any drop within your production numbers could become critical as less stock means less money. That is why it is crucial for any company who produces a product to implement a shop floor data capture system.

In the days before OSHA safety standards, coal miners would bring canaries down into the mines with them, the little yellow birds would tweet happily in their cages, raising the spirits of the miners as they toiled away beneath the mountains. The birds, being so tiny, would also die if exposed to dangerous, invisible gases, which gave miners a warning to get out before they met a similar fate.

Shop floor data capture is kind of like that, if it was for manufacturers.

Shop Floor Data Capture: A Better Canary?

Let’s say that you run a printing company, and you have your machines set to produce 500 magazines an hour in order to meet your client’s needs (it’s just an example, you could easily use this with any product on the market). What you don’t know is that your presses are only putting out 450 an hour because of an easy-to-fix problem that’s hard to detect. You don’t realise your production is falling behind until you’re almost at the deadline and your numbers aren’t adding up. Shop floor data capture is a way to prevent this sudden, last-minute realisation

How Does It Work?

Shop floor data capture is fairly simple: you attach sensors to your production machinery, and those sensors capture the raw numbers in real-time. Those numbers are then provided directly to you, and if there’s a deviation from what you need to have, you find out in minutes or hours instead of days or weeks. The system is smooth, and it uses wireless communication to make certain you know what’s going on at the shop floor level so you can side-step any nasty surprises.

Put another way, no metaphorical methane is going to sneak up on you and your workers while you’re toiling in the mine. For more information on shop floor data capture, and how it can help your business, simply contact us today!

The Importance of Access Control in the Digital Age

The idea behind access control is simple. If you don’t need access to certain information in order to complete a task then you won’t be given access. Access control within a business works in a similar way with company owners, managers and employees often having different levels of access. As technology changes access control becomes a necessity for all businesses.

Access Control is one of the oldest necessities in business. For example, while a store might have 50 employees, only the owner and a select few managers have the keys to the door and the code to the alarm system. That way, if the store gets robbed, and the perpetrator had both a key and the security code, it narrows the pool of possible suspects.

The idea behind access control is simple: if you don’t need access to something to do your job, then why should you have that access?

The Challenges of The Internet Age

As technology grows more advanced, access control becomes both more necessary, and more difficult. Most businesses today have a computerised network, and that network controls all of the activity in that business. Hourly employees use the network to clock in and out, and human resources uses it to keep track of employee information and to make changes when necessary. Management uses the network to evaluate job performance, to store notes on employee activity, and to keep track of customer information. That’s a lot of data, and a business has to make sure that employees only have access to the parts of it they need to for security purposes. That’s a big challenge to face, but it’s why Elf Productivity Ltd. designed software to make that job easy.

A Software Suite That Does It All

Our software was designed specifically with access control in mind, and we combined that with ease of use. If you want to make sure that only managers have access to certain files, our software can help you do that. If you want a digital time clock, and a software suite that allows employees to alter their own personal information for name or address changes, we can do that as well.

In short we’ve created a single tool that will help your business achieve more with less energy. For more information about how this software can keep you secure while letting you do more, simply contact us today!

Is Human Resources Necessary in The Age of Employee Self Service?

Over time labour specifications have evolved dramatically due to the advancement in society. Community’s were once made up of people who took care of themselves now each individual has a specialised ability n band together within bushiness to form departments of people who all work together.

One of the ways you can tell that a society is becoming more advanced is the specialisation of labour. That means that it goes from a community where everyone more or less takes care of themselves individually, to a place where everyone has a more specialised trade. So, instead of everyone doing a little bit of everything, you have a blacksmith, a farmer, a carpenter, etc. Businesses are like this too: at first, all of your employees have to be able to do a bit of everything, but over time you grow and develop into separate departments who all work together as part of a greater whole.

But what happens when technology renders a job no longer necessary? We don’t have milkmen or lantern lighters anymore, but what happens when this kind of obsolescence happens to a department in a company?

Will it happen to Human Resources? Employee Self Service: The Future of HR?

In the past, it was necessary to have an entire department dedicated to keeping track of employee information, Human Resources is what we usually call it. If you need to get your banking information changed, if you got married or divorced and need your name altered, or if you moved and needed your address updated you, would go to HR, fill out some paperwork, and wait for someone in the department to input your updates.

The technology that business runs on has shifted dramatically though, and most businesses operate on a single computer network. With integrated software, it’s possible to promote employee self-service. What that means is that if you have to do any of the things mentioned above, you simply log on with your company password, go to your profile, and change the information yourself. There’s no paperwork to fill out, no waiting on the change to be made, you simply log in, fix the issue yourself, and get back to work.

Changing The Way You Do Business

While there’s something to be said for doing things the old-fashioned way, employee self-service allows businesses to streamline their operations, and it cuts down on the amount of work and time that the HR department does have to do. The question that has yet to be answered is whether this self-service option is going to free up HR to tackle big problems, or if it’s going to render HR as a department obsolete.

If you’d like more information on employee self-service and on our integrated business software that lets you achieve more with less effort, simply contact us today!

Integrated Software which tracks Time and Attendance

Computerised systems are now the underlying part of any business, with most departments using one on a day to day basis in order to complete crucial tasks. From the tracking of hours, payroll and employee productivity, computers are often the eyes, ears and memory for many organisations. However businesses often use a number of different suites to complete the above tasks.

While we might say we’re still punching that time clock, most workers are actually logging in their hours on a computer terminal, or swiping their ID badge to clock in. While computerised time clocks are nothing new, businesses looking to streamline their software and who want to condense the technology they’re using have been looking for ways to integrate the time clock into a standardised software suite, which is precisely what Elf Productivity Ltd. provides.

Keeping Track of Time and Attendance (Along With Everything Else)

While computers have been integrated into common businesses little by little, they’re now an undeniable part of how even small companies run. From payroll and hours tracking to human resources and tracking productivity, computers are the eyes, ears, and often memory of a business.

So why use a dozen different suites to track important information when you could simply install one kind of software to keep track of everything? That’s the question Elf Productivity Ltd. asked, and it’s what led them to design a unique software suite that’s a one-stop-shop for a business who wants all of its information in a single, easily accessible place.

This software suite keeps track of all the necessary information a company needs. It has employee information, hours worked, and similar data all in a profile that employees can log their hours in as well as updating their information without bothering HR. The suite also provides access control, making sure that only those who need to see certain sensitive information will have access to it.

Integration is the name of the game, and it saves your business time, money, and effort. For more information on how Elf Productivity Ltd. can help you, simply contact us today!

Why You Need Shop Floor Data Capture Capabilities In Your Business

When a problem occurs all businesses should be able to respond and if necessary change. This is even more crucial for businesses within the production industry as one small change could potentially spell the end for their company. Having a shop floor data capture system in place would provide your business with the information needed in order to stop this process from ever happening.

Every business needs to be able to respond and change when it becomes clear that there’s a problem. For businesses who want to get the edge on their competition, while keeping their clients happy and production up, it’s important to invest in shop floor data capture.

What Is Shop Floor Data Capture?

Shop floor data capture is when you set up machines that can instantly record your production numbers and beam them wirelessly to you. As an example: say you were a candle manufacturer, you have seven machines going at once and they’re set to produce 200 candles each day; one machine is malfunctioning, and it’s only producing 180 candles. Sure, that 20 candles might not seem like much on the first day, but after a week that’s 140 pieces of lost product. If you only evaluate production numbers once a month then the problem will already have grown pretty big.

Now say you had shop floor data capture set up, these devices would keep an accurate count of the number of candles being produced, and they’d send an update to you to let you know there was a problem with the production numbers, that way, you would know the source immediately, and you could investigate it as soon as you saw the numbers slipping.

Elf Productivity Ltd. Is Here To Help

While there are a lot of different options on the market for shop floor data capture, Elf Productivity Ltd. has streamlined the process and made it as easy as possible to get results. Our software suite gives business owners all the numbers they need, and they’re updated regularly to ensure that no problem goes undetected for long. Not only that but this software is designed for ease of use, ensuring that all you have to do is plug-and-play.

For more information on how Elf Productivity Ltd. can help your business, or about shop floor data capture in general, simply contact us today!

Benefits to Time and Attendance Software

Managing employee time and attendance data is a hard job for any human resource department. Calculating payroll and holiday time as well as generating reports can take hours, costing your business money. Implementing an easy to use time and attendance system will reduce the number of hours spent on these kind of tasks as well as benefiting your business in numerous other ways.

Managing employees’ time and attendance sounds like hard work for any Human Resources department, even the smallest of companies spend an inordinate amount of time with reports, payroll, and holiday time calculations, the list can seem endless at times.

Many are unaware of the tremendous benefits afforded through the use of Time and Attendance software. Here are just a few:

The Time is Up for Clocks and Cards

If your company is still using a time clock, you are hemorrhaging a great deal of money out of your payroll department. On average, dispensing, collecting, calculating, and purchasing time cards costs roughly eighteen minutes per employee, per week. That’s around fifteen hours for each employee annually. Everyone knows, in business, time is money!

Help Those Who Help Themselves

Although it is simply “part of their job”, Payroll and HR collectively, or separately, spend hours over the course of a year looking up data for employees: vacation time due, verifying days or hours worked, scheduling questions, and many more inquires. Time and Attendance software allows employees to find this information out for themselves.

Absenteeism Adds Up

While some employers may feel that an absent employee is reducing payroll, it is actually costing companies more. According to CIPD (Chartered Institute of Personnel Development) research, 90% of businesses say that absenteeism is “a significant cost” for their company. Sickness generally accounts for eight lost working days per year for every staff member or around 3.5% of working time annually.

To save your company valuable time, money, and resources, please contact us to learn more about our Time and Attendance software today.