a consistent message being given to the customer. Set up an automatic reply on your generic email box, thanking customers for their email and giving them some hyperlinks to where they can find useful information, intranet page, frequently asked questions etc. Give an expectation of when they will receive a response, and also an escalation name and contact. Use generic emails as much as you can, and make sure your team takes responsibility to clear the inbox and that they know you are monitoring that they are doing this. Your team must communicate with customers this way, because then you have the widest group of people responding and you don’t end up with queries being missed because they have gone to individual emails. Also make sure any documentation that goes out, timesheets or internal communications quote the generic email address. Get your team to follow your example by filing away emails that are dealt with – so you know exactly how many are ongoing or not read and can quickly see if they are building up, or if
simple queries are not being dealt with quickly. Get your team to reply from the generic email box, so if the customer responds it will be back to the generic email box. ...get skilled up and engage the team and your customers
to find what they need quickly and easily. One less call to the payroll team or you, is one less interruption. Don’t arrive in work until the normal start time as you only want to be working in excess of your normal contractual hours in exceptional circumstances such as where work is payroll deadline critical or some kind of disaster recovery event applies. There is a life outside of work. Also, you don’t want your team thinking that you expect them to do, say, sixty hours a week – it’s far better that you get exceptional work for the standard weekly hours (e.g. 37.50) than poor quality work. Don’t do work in the evenings or at the weekends; it does neither you nor your employer any good. You need to be fresh during the week, not burnt out. I understand that there are exceptions when you need to do a bit extra, but it shouldn’t be the norm; I’ve learned the hard way and, trust me, it did me no favours. Communicate, if you need help ask. Use the resources at hand, look after yourself, get skilled up and engage the team and your customers in your vision of exceptional payroll service. You can do it. ❑
in your vision of exceptional payroll service
Spend some time writing some clear frequently asked questions in plain English with no jargon and put links to them in the automatic reply that you set up on the inbox. You need people to know where to find the answer to queries quickly without bothering you. Set up a smart, snappy intranet page with useful contact and information to policies, pension companies, self-service links etc, give your customers every help
Boosting immunity through food
Georgina Mason, marketing manager for The Healthy Employee, identifies essential foods and drinks
N obody plans to have a cold or the flu, yet no matter how many times you gargle with salt before bedtime or coat yourself in antibacterial hand cleanser, now and again the inevitable tickle in your throat hits hard. Suddenly, you’re out for the count and up to date on daytime television. So what are you doing wrong? Probably nothing, but you can do a few more things right. Certain foods and drinks provide natural immunity boosting properties that will help to strengthen you from the inside out. As an overview, a diet based on the following will enable you to build a strong
and resilient immune system: ● whole grains – brown rice, quinoa, oats, whole wheat pasta ● healthy fats – avocado, oily fish, nuts, olive oil ● green and orange vegetables – cabbage, sweet potato, spinach, sweet potato ● fruit – blueberries, pineapple, tomatoes, oranges, and ● protein rich foods – pulses, lean meat, eggs, fish. Interesting facts ● 45% of employees said the most
common reason for going to work when ill or under the weather is not wanting to let their team down. ● The human immune system is our protector; its job is to defend the body against diseases and other damaging foreign bodies. ❏ Remember – always aim for a healthy balanced diet, take plenty of exercise and find time to relax. If you have certain medical issues,
you may be asked to avoid some of these foods by your health care professional.
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Issue 28 | March 2017
| Professional in Payroll, Pensions and Reward |
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