How to Reduce Employee Turnover with Better Onboarding

Posted on

September 14th, 2021

The employee onboarding process has far-reaching effects within an organization. Effective onboarding improves productivity, boosts employee retention, and reduces absenteeism. If a company is struggling to retain its workforce, an ineffective onboarding experience may explain the churn of new hires.

Onboarding and Productivity

An unsatisfactory onboarding experience can hinder productivity and diminish a new hire’s performance. On average, it takes eight months for a new employee to reach their full productivity potential. Unclear objectives are part of the reason for such a long timeline to proficiency, as 60% of organizations don’t set goals for new employees. Meanwhile, 35% of companies lack an onboarding process altogether, while 63% don’t extend the onboarding process beyond the new employee’s first month with the company. Most organizations stop the onboarding process after just one week.

The focus of the onboarding process often compounds the productivity problem as well. Fifty-eight percent of companies report that their onboarding process concentrates on paperwork and administrative tasks rather than helping new employees learn their job. In addition, one-third of employees experience inconsistent or reactive onboarding. The result of these issues is a discouraged employee without a clear understanding of their role.

Onboarding and Employee Retention

Replacing an employee is a costly process. Businesses must spend money on recruitment, training, benefits, and more. It can take up to half a year or more to see a return on investment with a new hire, so companies can’t afford to have a retention problem.

Studies have shown onboarding has a direct correlation with how long an employee will stay with their company. One-fifth of employee turnover occurs within their first 45 days on the job, and nearly a quarter of new hires leave within the first year of their employment. In contrast, 69% of employees are more likely to remain at their organization for three years if they have a satisfactory onboarding experience. In addition, 58% of employees are more likely to stay at their job beyond three years if their company has an efficient onboarding program.

Onboarding and Absenteeism

An employee’s onboarding experience sets the tone for their tenure with an organization. A great experience improves retention by 82%, while a poor one makes new hires twice as likely to seek alternate employment. However, turnover isn’t the only problem associated with poor onboarding. A negative onboarding experience can leave new hires disengaged and unmotivated to perform. Unhappy employees are more likely to have attendance problems, such as arriving late, leaving early, or failing to show up to work at all.

If productivity is lagging or turnover is surging among a company’s new hires, their onboarding process may be to blame. Problems with attendance are often an early warning sign that an employee is dissatisfied and considering looking for a new job. Tracking the frequency and type of absences can help companies identify struggling new hires. Businesses can use this information to offer new hires support and reduce the likelihood of turnover. Contact the experts at Actec to learn more about our absence reporting solutions.

What is a Sick Day for Remote Employees?

Posted on

August 3rd, 2021

Andrew

The pandemic altered every business regardless of industry or size. Companies assembled their plans for a remote workforce and found new ways to operate when states began issuing stay-at-home orders. Part of this challenge was determining how to handle leave requests and attendance.

Why Are Remote Employees Working While Ill?

Working from home blurred the line between work and personal time, particularly for employees that don’t have a dedicated office. It made it easy to work outside of usual hours and increased the perception of always being available. Even before the pandemic, many employees would come to work while ill or return to work before fully recovering. Some of this is because many employees fear judgment from their colleagues or employers if they call out sick. Others feel the pressure to always be available to their customers.

How COVID-19 Changed Sick Days

The pandemic has further complicated what it means to take a sick day. In a traditional office setting, employees should stay home when ill to prevent spreading illness. Now that they’re already in their home, many feel guilty for requesting a sick day. One survey found that almost half of employees believe other illnesses are insignificant compared to COVID-19. Two-thirds of the respondents believe their employer would frown upon any employee who takes a sick day for anything less severe than COVID-19.

The Cost of Presenteeism

Presenteeism, working while ill, comes with a hefty cost. Productivity decreases nearly threefold when employees work while ill or in pain. They’re also more likely to need to take a sick day if they work while ill, further tanking efficiency.

Many businesses have responded by offering more paid time off during the pandemic or implementing personal days. Other companies are tackling the issue with a shift in company culture. They’re training management to be empathetic when an employee requests sick leave. They’re hoping to shift the perception that the company leadership wants their employees to get better for their health rather than to get back to work quickly.

The pandemic made all aspects of running a business harder than before, and managing attendance is no exception. Contact the experts at Actec to learn how our absence tracking mobile app can simplify absence management during the pandemic.

4 Ways to Help Employees Struggling with Burnout

Posted on

July 6th, 2021

Andrew

The ongoing pandemic has drastically altered how many businesses operate. Some are 100% remote, while others are taking a hybrid approach as the outlook on COVID-19 improves. These changes have forced many employees to adapt quickly. Employees who work from home have to juggle their family’s needs with their work responsibilities. Others have had to take on more duties or learn new technology to meet deadlines in a remote work environment.

Unsurprisingly, these factors have resulted in skyrocketing rates of stress, depression, and anxiety among employees. Businesses can use the following strategies to help employees struggling with burnout:

Provide value-based rewards. Performance-based rewards have their place, but their primary goal is to encourage employees to work harder. By nature, they’re more likely to worsen burnout than to alleviate it. Employees need to know they have value as a person beyond their work productivity. To put it another way, they need to feel like they are more than a cog in the business machine. Some value-based rewards include gift cards, bonus paid leave, or closing the office early without requiring a performance benchmark.
Avoid knee-jerk penalties. Many companies have systems in place that trigger punitive action automatically, such as an attendance policy. For example, the first tardy arrival may result in a verbal warning, the second a written warning, and so on. However, this practice doesn’t consider the why when it comes to employee attendance. Instead, companies should take a holistic view of the employee’s past attendance record. If that individual is usually punctual, the company should investigate to gain context for the situation. Burned-out employees may not feel comfortable bringing up the issue, and automatic penalties will only worsen the issue.
Take mental health seriously. It’s much harder to remain abreast of employees’ mental health in a remote environment. Managers have less face time with their teams, and tone doesn’t convey over text. Companies can take several steps to show they care about their employees’ mental health while respecting their privacy. For example, managers can send anonymous surveys to gauge employee wellbeing. Using a simple rating system of 1-10 can provide easy-to-track data to identify trends. Companies can also hold meetings to teach employees how to cope with stress, handle problems at home, and manage work challenges.
Reevaluate company culture. If an organization consistently emphasizes output over the individual, it’s creating an environment ripe for burnout. Some elements of company culture are carved in stone, but many are easy to change. Some examples include setting longer deadlines, improving or changing communication styles, or reducing workloads by hiring more staff.

Employee burnout goes beyond their workload. Emotional and mental fatigue take their toll as well. Failing to address stress within the workplace will lead to increased turnover, reduced productivity, and rampant absenteeism. To learn more about reducing absenteeism in the workplace, contact the experts at Actec.

Integrated Absence Strategies to Control Costs and Reduce Risk

Posted on

June 21st, 2021

Andrew

Large corporations commonly realize tangible operational improvements utilizing a cohesive absence management strategy. A few of the notable benefits include cost reduction, improved employee communication, and increased productivity. But large corporations aren’t the only organizations that silo their absence management, disability programs, and other human resource tasks. Whether you’re an organization of 100 employees or 10,000, separating HR functions can lead to:

Duplicate forms required to satisfy regulatory requirements (more work)
Inefficiencies in returning employees to work after their leave expired (wasted labor)
HR staff struggling to track all the different types of leave (wasted time, increased risk)

These inefficiencies also lead to drop in their revenue. Numerous organizations have merged their absence reporting and absence management with disability management in order to coordinate claims tracking, integrate lost time data, and implement best practices across all HR operations. The result:

A reduction in overall costs
An understanding of employee leave and absence drivers
A company-wide increase in productivity

Another step in this integration process was to establish a centralized reporting center. The call center offers employees a phone number that will connect them with a representative capable of tracking all absence types and answering any absence-related questions. You don’t have to be a large corporation to leverage an integrated absence management program. Contact the experts at Actec to learn what an integrated call center can do for your business.

4 Reasons Why Your Employees Are Sick Despite Safety Precautions

Posted on

June 8th, 2021

Andrew

Most companies implemented health and safety measures as COVID restrictions began to ease, and work could resume in person. However, many organizations are struggling to keep their employees healthy despite these precautions. The reasons driving these illnesses are surprising but simple to fix. The following are some common areas where contagion easily spreads amongst employees:

Clocking in and out for the day. Physical or in-person time clocks require employees to use a communal system. With so many hands punching, swiping, or scanning, germs can easily spread. Such systems also result in queues while employees wait their turn.
Paper schedules. Companies with shift workers or part-time employees may try to save time by posting the weekly schedule in a common area, such as a breakroom. However, this forces employees to congregate or come to work when off the clock to find out their schedule for the week. Scheduling apps eliminate this contact point while keeping employees up to date on their shifts.
In-person meetings. Whether it’s a walking meeting or a planned conference, gathering in person increases the risk of sharing germs across entire teams or departments. While some meetings do require face-to-face interactions, companies should hold virtual meetings whenever possible.
In-person scheduling requests. Organizations that don’t have an electronic system in place for leave requests have an increased risk of spreading contagion between staff members. In-person and paper-based systems pose a threat, as staff members must congregate in close quarters as well as handle leave request documents. Digital leave requests eliminate the person-to-person interaction and are much easier to track.

The pandemic has put a spotlight on how companies conduct business and what steps they take to keep their employees and customers healthy. Switching to a digital system can help eliminate many of the above problems, which helps to reduce absences and improve productivity. Contact the experts at Actec to learn more about reducing absenteeism and managing leave requests with our absence tracking mobile app.

4 Surprising Ways COVID-19 Contributes to Employee Absenteeism

Posted on

April 13th, 2021

Andrew

COVID-19 has put employees under more stress than ever, and it’s manifesting in several unpleasant ways in the workplace. While businesses can expect employees to call out for the occasional illness, skyrocketing absenteeism isn’t something companies prepare for or want. If employers notice a sudden surge in absenteeism, COVID-19 may be a contributing factor in unexpected ways.

Beyond the obvious of contracting the virus, the following details how COVID-19 contributes to absenteeism:

Anxiety and depression. Prior to the pandemic, a national health survey asked adults about their anxiety and/or depression symptoms. From January to June of 2019, around 10% of respondents reported that they suffered from anxiety, depression, or both. This number shot up by January of 2021 to just over 40%. Unchecked mental health problems have a strong correlation with absenteeism.
Not enough sleep. Over one-third (36%) of adults reported difficulties sleeping during the pandemic. Poor quality of sleep or insufficient sleep hinders productivity and can contribute to employee burnout. Chronically tired employees may begin to arrive late or call out altogether.
Poor nutrition. Employees are shouldering significant burdens because of COVID-19. Some may be struggling with income insecurity, fears for at-risk family members, or difficulties obtaining childcare. The pressure of these situations can lead to poor nutrition, as evidenced by 32% of adults that reported difficulties eating. While diet may not have an immediate effect on employee attendance, it can influence their health. Insufficient nutrition can contribute to fatigue, stress, and loss of productivity. It also lowers the immune system, which makes employees more susceptible to illnesses.
Worsening chronic health conditions. Individuals with chronic conditions likely had their health under control or were taking steps to do so before the pandemic. Unfortunately, many of those conditions are noted as high-risk for developing severe cases of COVID-19. Isolation also wreaks havoc on certain long-term health conditions, such as anxiety or depression. With 12% of adults reporting worsening chronic health conditions, employers may begin to see a corresponding rise in absenteeism.

Employees’ mental health and wellbeing are critical components to sustaining a productive workforce. If your business is struggling with absenteeism, Actec can help. Contact our team of experts to learn about our absence management solutions.

5 Techniques for More Effective Employee Scheduling

Posted on

January 19th, 2021

Andrew

Building an effective employee schedule is critical to every business’s success. This is true whether an organization operates 24/7, works a traditional nine to five, or spans unusual hours. While these companies have different scheduling requirements, all businesses can benefit from the following guidelines when putting together their employee’s schedules:

Understand the business. Employers need to know their scheduling requirements before they can optimize work schedules. For example, 24-hour businesses will need rotating shifts, whereas companies that operate during standard business hours will do best with fixed schedules. Businesses like coffee shops or restaurants have an additional complication of peak business hours. For example, the coffee shop will need more employees to cover the morning influx of commuters, while restaurants will need to schedule more staff to cover the dinner rush.
Consider employees’ needs. This isn’t as simple as knowing employee availability. Every employee has unique skills and preferences. Businesses that don’t consider these factors may schedule employees that are ill-suited to the shift. Continuing with the coffee shop example above, a new employee may have morning availability all week. However, their inexperience can become a significant bottleneck as they require more time to perform tasks than experienced employees do. It’s also best practice to try and schedule employees during their preferred hours. It may not always be possible, but it reduces employee turnover.
Keep the schedule predictable. Employees appreciate having some consistency to their schedule. While this isn’t an issue for companies with standard work hours, it can be a problem for shift work or 24-hour businesses. For example, ER nurses that work 12-hour shifts won’t appreciate their schedules switching from night shift to day shift every week.
Empower employees. Employees have lives outside of work, and they won’t always be able to work their usual schedule. Employers can implement software that allows employees to request time off rather than routing through a manager, then to a department head, before finally making it to HR. This allows companies to see all leave requests in one location, which facilitates better scheduling. It also gives employees some autonomy over their schedule.
Invest in technology. The days of creating a schedule with pen and paper are long gone. Investing in the right software can reduce the burden of schedule building, improve productivity, and increase profits. Employers can also use software to identify trends and make data-based decisions.

Actec understands the complexity and nuances involved in scheduling employees. Without the proper software, businesses may run into labor compliance issues, struggle to keep up with leave requests, and overlook attendance problems. Our absence tracking mobile app helps ensure compliance with labor laws, allows employees to submit leave requests, and provides actionable insight into employee attendance. Contact us to learn how our mobile app can help your organization.

5 Causes of Costly Unplanned Overtime

Posted on

January 4th, 2021

Andrew

Working overtime happens in all industries, particularly during peak seasons. However, paying employees overtime is an expense that executives don’t accurately calculate into the budget. It can cause several headaches across multiple areas within the company as well. HR has to make sure the company complies with labor laws as well as field disgruntled employees. Managers have to distribute the additional hours across their teams, which makes scheduling a challenge. Employees that work overtime may harbor resentment toward their employers or burn out from the extra work.

The costs of unplanned overtime have a domino effect throughout the entire organization. If businesses are paying more for overtime than they planned for, they may have one of the following problems:

A company culture that encourages working overtime. If employees receive bonuses for working overtime, it can incentivize staying late. Similarly, if management or company leadership conflates loyalty with working overtime, employees may feel their job is in danger if they don’t work more than 40 hours a week.
Chronic staffing issues. Every company has surges that may require employees to work late. However, if these periods of knuckling down become a weekly event, the company may have a staffing shortage. Employees that seem burned out or complain of needing a vacation may have too much work for one individual.
Insufficient training. Employers may notice certain employees take an excessive amount of time to perform their work. This issue could also present as new employees consistently taking longer than their coworkers to perform the same task. Providing employees with additional training or professional development opportunities can help cut down on this kind of unplanned overtime.
Outdated technology. Slow technology or insufficient equipment can hamstring productivity. If employees don’t have the tools they need to complete their work within normal hours, the overtime will begin to accumulate.
An unclear or poorly enforced overtime policy. If managers aren’t clear on policies, they may consistently schedule overtime without realizing the costs. Employees may also work additional hours without approval if the company handbook doesn’t outline the rules for working overtime.

Having advanced attendance tracking technology can provide actionable insights to help businesses combat unplanned overtime. Actec’s absence tracking mobile app provides data so companies can identify trends. This allows them to pinpoint which departments or employees have consistent attendance issues. Whether your company is struggling with employee tardiness, absenteeism, or unplanned overtime, Actec can help. Contact us to learn more about our absence tracking mobile app.

How to Manage Employees Across Multiple Locations

Posted on

December 21st, 2020

Andrew

With many employees still telecommuting, businesses are familiar with the challenges of managing employees they no longer see in person. Some of the most common pain points are confusion regarding new procedures or projects, diminished productivity, and administrative difficulties. Businesses can implement several strategies to help reduce these issues.

Provide Clear Guidelines

Employees are navigating their new norm while trying to keep up with their typical responsibilities. If employees aren’t sure what they’re supposed to be doing, their work isn’t likely going to align with the company’s needs. Confusion also causes delays and can stifle productivity. Businesses should set clear policies, update project priorities, and clarifying timelines for telecommuting employees.

Prioritize Communication

Employees may feel lost, neglected, or disconnected after so much time spent at home rather than in the office. They’re less likely to care about company policies without oversight and may lose interest in their work. Communicating often across multiple channels can help unify employees during these challenging times. Recognizing hard work, establishing a virtual coffee hangout before work hours, and other efforts to maintain open communication can help remind employees they are still a valuable part of the team.

Utilize Technology

Day-to-day administrative tasks are much more challenging when switching to a remote workforce. Without technology, attendance, meetings, and collaboration among employees are almost impossible. Many businesses embraced video conferencing to maintain meetings and facilitate communication between departments working on various projects. Investing in attendance tracking software is also critical to avoid time theft and unchecked absenteeism.

Actec understands the challenges companies are facing as the pandemic continues into the new year. We developed our absence tracking mobile app to help businesses accurately track employee attendance and identify concerning trends. Our mobile app also streamlines the administrative side of attendance reporting, as it is a self-service platform with several communication channels to suit employee preferences. Contact us to learn how our absence tracking mobile app can help your company.

HR 101 for Small Businesses

Posted on

December 7th, 2020

Andrew

Many startups and several small businesses often rely on a single individual to manage human resources tasks. Some business owners make this decision due to the small nature of the company and perceived lighter workload. However, even the smallest of businesses have to comply with labor laws and other work regulations.

When a single employee manages HR, that individual has to balance compliance with administrative tasks and ensuring all employees receive accurate and prompt paychecks. Their busy workload often means they have little if any time for other HR tasks like recruiting, onboarding, and scheduling.

Investing in HR software can help small businesses reduce manual tasks and master the following essentials:

Compliance. Federal labor laws are complex and constantly evolving. HR ensures the company complies with these laws and handles all required forms such as I-9s, W-2s, W-4s, etc.
Payroll. HR ensures employees receive their paychecks on time without errors. Payroll is a complex task involving collecting timesheets, calculating pay, and accounting for taxes and withholdings. This process is prone to human error when done by hand, which can result in costly compliance fines.
Recruiting. Finding the best person for an open position is a significant challenge. HR employees have to publish job listings, filter candidates, and perform background checks. Poor talent acquisition standards can result in high turnover and poor job performance, which has long term consequences for the company’s success.
Onboarding. HR has more work to do once recruiting candidates for open positions. New employees have to fill out several forms, learn company policies and procedures, and meet their team. Onboarding is critical to help employees find their groove and understand their role within the organization. Without it, they may flounder, make avoidable mistakes, or struggle to engage with their team.
Attendance management. HR manages employees’ schedules and leave requests to ensure the company has the appropriate staffing. This includes paid time off, sick leave, overtime, and more to comply with labor laws. They are also responsible for other areas of attendance, including tardiness and absences.

Without absence management software, it’s difficult to track attendance. Managers from different departments may provide sick leave requests at different hours of the day, and late arrivals may go unnoticed if it’s less than five minutes. While five minutes may not seem significant, it adds up over time—especially if the employee skims five minutes off the end of the workday and extends their lunch break as well.

Robust absence management technology allows companies to track attendance with much greater accuracy. It also allows employers to notice trends and identify attendance issues that can hurt workplace morale, productivity, and profits. To learn how mobile absence tracking software can help your business, contact the experts at Actec.