Optimizing HR Costs – 5 Effective Strategies

With the rise and spread of the novel Corona Virus, the globe faced an economic decline. The aftershock of the pandemic is still in action as many organizations and businesses are cutting down costs to stay afloat. Therefore downsizing and scrapping projects is an executive decision business leaders often tend to make, this does come at the price of discarding potentially valuable ideas to cut costs. 

Though straight up removing an idea or ongoing project may reduce costs initially, it often scraps investment of both time and money with it. Instead of eradicating a running program, a wiser option would be to optimize your budget according to your expenditure and cost. The goal is to ultimately find balance in the books and maintain the business growth, by taking the cost optimization route this is easily achieved without altering any long-term business plans.

Working around your finances and optimizing your costs can be achieved in a variety of ways, here you can follow 5 effective strategies to get you on your way. 

 

Aligning Short Term Business with Long Term Value:

Alongside the global shift, business models have also kept up with the times, and working remotely is the new norm. Therefore organizations that successfully adapted to this transition have handled the market pressure with ease, this short-term shift is the result of a few things. Functioning as a digital yet functional team, which means hiring mixed personals in each department to accommodate wage bill leniency. Full-time and Part-time employees will not only maximize the output required but sufficiently reduce salary costs, the same can be said about one-off contracts with freelancers which can be tied into planned or running projects. This creates an adaptive workforce and maximizes the division of work upheld by an employee.

Re-work remuneration and benefits:

Hard-workers and deserving employees should always be presented with bonuses and benefits which is a reflection of their commitment, that said, creating a complex compensation or incentive plan may help the cost-cutting cause. A model built around employee tracking and work metrics would be the ideal yet flexible cost optimization technique. The correct performance and data analysis of employees, in line with a refined compensation plan, will help evaluate the deserving candidates efficiently, which works entirely off of the return on investment concept.

Redefine Processes for efficient and effective service delivery:

For an efficient and effective system to be laid out, most if not all kinks need to be ironed out to ensure consistent performance. In terms of direct business, whatever metric gets measured is the one that gets managed. Therefore successful businesses will opt to test their HR departments’ procedures to eradicate performance loss and overall financial waste. Responsibilities to ensure SOP’s and system rules are divided along the hierarchy from the

Stakeholders and Managers to the bottom level employees. Similarly, input from the users and customers brings a new field of view to be worked on.

Re-examine Cost Optimization within HR Service Delivery Systems: 

Organizations existing on an expired or old model may be experiencing success, however new room for growth amongst shared HR service models is minimal which reduces areas to optimize cost savings. Having a standard and consistent system not only simplifies the tangle of commands but rather opens up an opportunity for cost-effective techniques as well. A key example would be the recruiting process, where each organization tweaks the set standard to accommodate hiring employees by their needs, however, this constant updating and tweaking lengthens the process revealing a completely different sub-process as a result. A solution would be to unite similar processes which can be utilized to create an efficient and set model for Service Delivery.

Review HR Technology:

As teams and organizations expand so do their HR systems. The sheer burden and size of ever-growing HR needs are met by HR technology which simplifies the processes to improve efficiency and performance. However such systems come at high or unconventional pricing schemes which may not cater to all business models. Monitoring the effectiveness of the system in place is vital for HR leaders to understand and pick out. Underutilized systems or add-ons should be removed to boost the cost optimization and invest the sum in other departments which are ensured to thrive.

Boosting employee engagement and running advanced HR systems with the help of advanced digital tools and a cost-optimized payment plan such as the complete HR management of PeopleSonic is the modern way to go! Such software allows you to work with your employees and focus more on their engagement and productivity whereas the automated functionality does the rest for you. Keeping employees engaged with an online learning curve will not only help the development of related skills but ease their workload, which are all signs of a healthy workspace and engaged employee!

4 Ways to Engage Your Employees Towards Technology

It is no secret that the advancement of technology in this era has boosted productivity, efficiency, and engagement to new heights. By gradually integrating technology and future advancements into our workflow, our growth in almost every sector has grown exponentially and cut down time consumption drastically. 

With the help of technology at our disposal, communication and management as a whole has been highly productive. Employees are able to attend online meetings, access various tools, digitize their data, and have a seamless connection to their work irrespective of their location. The automation of most tasks has therefore decreased the burden on employees’ shoulders while enabling them to work sufficiently by putting out maximum efficiency which directly allows a business to compete at a greater scale.

With the current pandemic situation around the globe, more emphasis has been put on remote and digital work. Thankfully with the current advancement of technology we are able to compute our workstreams rather efficiently from home. Therefore a business that lacks the available technology or hasn’t transitioned in time may struggle during this period.

Similarly, employees which lack the understanding or are intimidated by this transition may prove to a liability than a worthy asset to an organization, therefore enabling them to open up to the digital world will not only be useful for a company’s growth rather the growth of an individual as well! Here are 4 ways you can gear your employees towards technology.

 

Create an Adaptive environment:

As with the current change in the workplace environment, creating an immersive experience online may be tricky especially if the employee base isn’t tech-savvy or prefers to work without much influence of technology. Therefore building around the emphasis of transitioning to the modern work methodology is key to revitalizing your business during this period.

It is important that leaders and the management not only convey this effectively but create a culture that plants the seed for a progressive and adaptive environment. Being able to switch and adapt to new ways is an essential part of the modern world, as employees are required to be versatile to match the demands set by society.

Therefore creating a base or platform where employees can build their flow towards technology and be less intimidated by its usage should be implemented, technology should be perceived as a tool rather than an option. With decent exposure, the heads will surely turn in favor of technology 

 

Present functional and user-friendly technology:

As mentioned in the previous pointer, opening up and presenting the usefulness of the available technological tools will help employees engage. Showcasing the benefits and total outcomes will provide them with a cushion to work with more freedom as well as ease. Opting to adopt user-friendly software etc will help the employees visually feel focused rather than having software that is clustered with information and analytics, keeping it simple is the definite way to go. Presenting technology that is a hassle to use or provides a broad learning curve will intimidate the users and may even be met with resistance on their part. Employers must therefore be careful to not introduce such technology into the workstream as this will create a feeling of discomfort amongst the employees and later be pinned back at the business.

Introducing new technologies should never be barred, but carefully picking which ones actually serve a purpose and provide the necessary tools for the team should be chosen. This selection process will remove any kinks and streamline the functionality and purpose of using such technology in the office.

 

Smooth Transition:

From an employer’s point of view, pushing their workforce to adopt a new piece of technology is not only a bad moral decision but a terrible business one as well. Putting anyone in an uncomfortable environment will create unease and may stunt their performance, therefore offering a complete course on the new technology being introduced as well as constant support to adapt to something new is the go-to method.

This also carries forward onto how the employees are approached during their training period, as a team consists of different mindsets and abilities providing a single solution to encapsulate each individual is not possible. Providing levels to their training will help distinguish which employees may need more help during the transition whereas others may be capable enough to adapt sooner. Tech-savvy employees may grasp the new technology based on a few online sessions/tutorials, but the same cannot be said for others. Providing a hands-on approach may be the solution in that case.

As a chain is as strong as its weakest link, ironing out the kinks by implementing a smooth transition period during a shift of technology will make the employees feel confident and in return reap a higher performance output for the company.

 

Implement technology in a beneficial manner or with an incentive:

The current economic standards of an average company may not be suited for direct incentives for adopting new technologies, however, incentivizing or providing a monetary reward for their hard work shouldn’t be eradicated completely.

Providing monetary rewards isn’t the only tactic you may use to engage your employees, creating a positive and supportive work culture may just be what you need. Providing a sense of accomplishment with positive feedback and a firm pat on the back shows the employee his work did not go unnoticed and motivates the others to work towards the same achievement. Recognition for similar abilities may seem like a small step but provided with collective appreciation, can bring a vast change. The newly implemented technology will also provide employees the opportunity to enhance their skillset and polish their abilities, which could further develop them into a higher role provided they keep it consistent. Indirectly proving to be a positive and effective method.

Boosting employee engagement with the help of advanced digital tools such as the complete HR management of PeopleSonic is the modern way to go! Such software allows you to work with your employees and focus more on their engagement and productivity whereas the automated functionality does the rest for you. Keeping employees engaged with an online learning curve will not only help the development of related skills but ease their workload, which are all signs of a healthy workspace and engaged employee!

5 Emerging HR Trends in 2021

2020 is undoubtedly a year we won’t be forgetting soon. The world itself was left dismantled due to the spread of Covid-19. Crumbling many businesses to their downfall and shaking up our entire perspective on the way we live our lives, study, and work. As we carry on into 2021 with new hopes, we can’t render the work status from 2020 useless. The post-Covid gameplan will surely reflect our future trends.

Although many trends arise each year and many are still in rapid growth, here’s an insight into the 5 emerging HR trends in 2021.

Digital Tracking and Automation:
As we move into a digital-oriented workplace, managing and sustaining such workplaces may prove to be a hassle without proper software implementation. As with much of 2020, workplaces have modeled their employees to work from home. Though this provides workers with a more relaxed environment in some cases, keeping track of said employees may prove to be difficult. With spaced out teams working together virtually, tracking their progress is just as important. Automating minute tasks such as attendance, auto-syncing, and seamless data transfer will prove to be fruitful for efficient working.

A variety of software and online tools provide adequate service, but only a few encapsulate the entire theme of HR Management such as PeopleSonic.

Hybrid Workplaces and Their Culture
With work from home becoming the new norm in the passing year, some are truly struggling with managing all from one space in their home. Whereas others are striving in the more relaxed and casual workspace created at home. There’s no doubt the pandemic has caused many issues with working at home, especially during long terms of isolation with kids or family bustling about. However, this seems to be the way of life for at least a few more months, until there is more clarity to this pandemic.

Designated workspaces at home are therefore being defined but to a more professional approach. Many establishments offer, shared co-working spaces and multi-use offices for those who need them, following covid-19 precautions of course.  

Performance Management
As established before, handling employee data and performances virtually is a task in itself. Achieving and handling KPI’s is key throughout the organization’s run. In the coming years, we are bound to see a great improvement in virtual management as a whole. Currently setting specific targets via software and implementing that into the system has resulted in brands going fully digital. The ability to have customized reports, detailed analytics, and data displayed in an automated fashion show how far we’ve already come.

There’s room for improvement, with faster speeds and completely reliable figures over the horizon, Performance management is something business should proactively look into.

HR In the driver’s seat
The HR department in any given organization is vastly important in linking the employees to the management and higher hierarchy. The department is known to be at the frontline of customer and employee concerns, the ability to keep a straight head and guide others to what’s best for both parties takes immense skill and effort. The current Covid-19 pandemic has taken everything to an even more intense level. Employees are constantly worried about their wellbeing and juggling their work from home amongst family and young children can become daunting. Similarly, the managers are equally worried as there is uncertainty regarding communications and maintaining company values. 

Being at the core of such an intense situation requires extreme dedication and hefty responsibility. Therefore staying firmly in the driving seat is necessary for the department to drive them through 2021.

Virtual Team
Conferencing and collaborating with co-workers virtually is the new norm for the upcoming years. With the steady and progressive growth of globalization due to the vast majority of social media, it creates an exciting new opportunity for global partners and employees. This adds more depth and new input into the system which may allow for your team to strive! Such interactions are very easily maintained via a variety of online tools. Since we are already working from home, this virtual team management isn’t tedious, especially if you’re familiar with the tools available. Managing time with global teams for meet-ups might be a little tricky, but nothing that can’t be overcome.

Though the virus has separated us physically, we are still able to connect with those who matter and maybe 2021 is the year we excel in it!

What are the Benefits of Automating a Payroll System?

 

No matter how small or big a business is, the team behind it keeps working effortlessly to get the work done. As the business expands, the recruitment in the departments increases hence making a bigger team of talented people working together. In the mid of handling the departments, individually or in a group, the HR works hard every second for the smooth communication among the hierarchy. More employees mean more work when it comes to salaries. Hence, to help these issues out, automating the payroll system has proven to be a great help. Have you faced this problem where a basic human error has caused big issues during the payrolls and the whole flow has been collapsed?

Why opt for an automated payroll system?

Stats show that businesses have opted for automated payroll systems which has resulted in 80% reduction in the payroll costs, overall. This includes a significant amount of human errors like mistakes in invoices, cheques, and etcetera that are issued to the employee.
Another study shows that almost 90% of the companies have now moved to an automated payroll systems with direct salary transfers, paperless payrolls, and new options of self-services. It also reduced the workload of HR as self-service allows employees to add personal information in the tools.

Benefits of Automating a Payroll System

There are tons of benefits of an automated payroll system and here are some of them

1- Payment Calculation

The automated payroll system basically uses payroll tools that require manual input to compute all the wages by calculating gross to net earnings of the employees. Hence, the accuracy of the results completely depends on the accuracy of manual input. So, in case, a terminated employee is due some severance payment and the payroll employee forgets to make his entry, the tool won’t update any payment. Such software and tools work best as long as the entries are entered correctly. So, the better option is to go for full automation tools like peoplesonic. Such software performs all the types of payments including hourly, weekly, overtime, double-time, commissions, bonuses, salaries, raises and etc. So basically, the automated payroll system does automated payment calculation and eliminates the manual paycheck writing and does direct transfers.

2- Efficiency

As it’s been already mentioned that payroll automation helps to reduce the overall time that is consumed in the manual payroll system processing that employee information, salaries, taxes, and etc. However, there are additional efficiencies presented by payroll tools as well. For example, these tools can be integrated into other systems and can help to track employees time, performance, reports, development, and other HR systems. This efficiency can be seen in the end when there is no manual work left.

3- Automated salary slips to employees

These tools have also diminished the manual work of generating salary slips and sending it to each employee according to the corporate SOP. Some businesses send salary slips every month and some don’t. They only generate if an employee asks for it because of some reason like for opening a bank account and etc. So, this is a plus point of an automated payroll tool that it generates salary slips after the transfer of salaries and individually emails it to each employee every month.

4- Security

The more a tool can help us, there is always a fear of data security. But you don’t have to worry as the automated payroll system will have more of a robust information security system that can easily prevent the leakage of sensitive informative data of the organization. The system’s dashboard can easily help the organization track the changes made in the data by which individual and when.

These tools and software can also help small businesses because they can be run without hiring multiple individuals. Also, there is no expert-level needed to run these tools. Keeping in mind the current scenario of quarantine, software like these are a blessing in disguise for you to manage a huge chunk of responsibility without creating any hassle.

Attendance Tracking Software Market to Boost in Coming Years: Top Key Player in the Market

Attendance tracking software should work to reduce rather than increase a person’s schedule. Attendance Tracking Software suite can generate, manage and maintain records on payrolls and taxes that are required during auditing. An Attendance Tracking Software can keep track of employee attendance, work assigned, leaves, overtime, and more from a single, integrated platform. Let’s talk about the top key player in the market at the moment  which is a modern cloud-based HR platform for increasing workplace productivity.

PeopleSonic  is a time and attendance system designed to automate employee time and attendance tracking for small to medium-sized businesses. This software dramatically reduces the number of hours it takes to process employee time records. Available in Standard, Professional, and Enterprise editions, Peoplesonic is scalable to grow with your business.

PeopleSonic works with a variety of employee time clocks, allowing you to choose the optimum way to capture employee time. Select from biometric (fingerprint), HID, RFID, or barcode clocks. PeopleSonic clocks feature an integrated network (Ethernet) connectivity, eliminating the expense of a dedicated PC that systems with just a USB connection require. Moreover, its geofencing feature (in mobile App) tracks the attendance based on user location. Hence, making it ideal for a wide range of industries where hourly and salaried employee time needs to be tracked, including hospitality, manufacturing, warehouse and distribution, healthcare, retail, IT companies, professional and medical offices, government, and educational agencies.

PeopleSonic gives you control over lost time and productivity, which can significantly impact your organization’s profitability. A study by the APA (American Payroll Association) shows that implementing an automated time and attendance system allows companies to save up to 4% of annual hourly payroll expenses.

It provides business owners, HR, and payroll administrators an easy way to gain control of employee time.A web module for time card editing and review is available in Professional and Enterprise editions.

In addition to attendance tracking software, it has the following functions:

  • Holiday Options
  • Daily, Monthly and Employee based reporting of working hours
  • Timesheets
  • Multiple shifts
  • Status of each employee
  • Bulk time/clock import
  • API based integration

Is PeopleSonic for you or not?

It is an appealing Software for employees and administration to improve accuracy and maximize employee productivity. It is for you if you are looking for:

Superfast company setup
Migrate or get started in 5 minutes or less with bulk upload functionality.

Easy to use interface
Navigate and become productive effortlessly from the moment you log on

Flexible Platform
Choose existing HR Apps or get a custom HR solution to suit your needs

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