FEATURE INSIGHT
Managing T&A in a global workplace
Annabel Jones, HR Director for ADP UK, outlines how T&A systems are increasingly important
A long with keeping up with fast- paced changes, human resources (HR) professionals also have to manage costs which are gradually increasing as money is lost through outdated and inaccurate enterprise resource planning and time and attendance (T&A) systems. According to the Health and Safety Executive (http://bit.ly/1wNI24t), UK workers took a staggering 30.4 million days off work in 2015/16 due to physical or mental health reasons. It is clear that HR has a major responsibility to monitor absenteeism, and by taking steps to encourage employee engagement and motivation organisations could greatly reduce costs associated with absence. So why is measuring T&A in today’s working world so complex, and how can HR professionals face this challenge? Tackling a remote workforce In the UK alone, 54% of UK office workers are able to work remotely, greatly complicating the capture and management of their working hours (http://bit.ly/29IPl6e). As ADP has found in its study of over 11,000 workers across Europe (http://bit. ly/2iMQp1e), 29% of UK employees would like to work where and when they want. This means that more people than ever expect to be able to work remotely. In many ways this is a positive change for organisations, as this means they can use remote workers to tap into extensive networks of professionals, innovators, technical experts, and local expertise. However, it is essential that companies have the right processes and technology to benefit from the agility of a connected global workforce. Losing track of the working patterns of employees can have a knock-on effect on the morale of the whole workforce, as workers lose trust in the ability of their employer to understand productivity levels and recognise what effort is truly being made by its employees. Workers may feel that their employer has little insight into their actual work, leading to a loss of motivation in turn harming the bottom line of the company.
Making systems smarter Organisations in a period of growth can become crippled by relying on old, antiquated systems as HR and payroll inaccuracies drain money from the organisation. The increasing number of remote employees coupled with globalisation can further confuse an already complex space. A study by the ADP Research Institute found that the average multinational company deals with over 31 HR systems, and over 33 payroll systems (http:// bit.ly/2iM5hZL). With so many different processes, it can be difficult to expand a business while monitoring the hours employees work correctly. ...companies list non-genuine absence in their top five causes of short-term absence It is vital that companies keep abreast of software and services to ensure that teams remain seamlessly connected and effective. A unified system is necessary to cope with such a varied workforce, offering solutions that empower managers, workers and organisational efficiency. Accurate forecasts on scheduling, staffing, workload, pay, absenteeism and more can be produced with a modern efficient system which helps develop an organisation further. The Aberdeen Group’s research (http:// bit.ly/2il1Bzg) suggests that integrating T&A monitoring with payroll reduces the error rate in tracking absence. Preventing absenteeism Absence due to illness causes huge losses for large organisations. In fact, the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development has found that the average worker takes off 6.3 days per year (http://bit.ly/2ifeahk). However, the Institute has also noted that around a quarter of companies list non- genuine absence in their top five causes
of short-term absence. Unsurprisingly, organisations that have a target for reducing absence, and use technology to record absence levels, are considerably more proactive in their approaches to combat absenteeism and can also reduce the cost of time lost. In the case of non- genuine absences, the most important and challenging part of reduction is creating a culture that encourages engagement among employees, making them less likely to take time off without good reason. Genuine absences can also be reduced with the efforts of HR. A concerted effort to prioritise wellbeing in the workplace could help to reduce absences ultimately leading to a better bottom-line performance from the organisation. Technology can help capture information regarding the workforce’s absence, and lead to more effective strategies for preventing and dealing with potentially negative culture problems within an organisation. Start today Many HR functions currently use a complicated array of systems in attempting to monitor T&A. Out-of-date systems are holding companies back from developing further in the global marketplace and are causing them to needlessly lose money. It is essential that HR departments keep pace with new programmes and software to ensure that teams remain connected and productive, while at the same time empowering both workers and managers alike. With an efficient T&A management tool accurate forecasts can be produced improving an organisation's development. Specifically, new technologies can help capture the workforce’s absence, and deal with absenteeism trends head-on. With the rise of remote employees, HR professionals need to work harder to ensure teams are truly connected. A unified, efficient and streamlined T&A system is needed to capture today’s world of the remote, flexible and part-time workforce. n
| Professional in Payroll, Pensions and Reward | February 2017 | Issue 27 40
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