Day Off

Author: dayoff

  • Time off Management for Startups

    Time off Management for Startups


    Time off Management or a PTO tracker has become a must for HR managers who want to excel in employee management. It is a definite struggle to ensure leaves for every employee and running work smoothly. Of course, you cannot make everyone happy. However, a smart Leave tracker or PTO tracking software streamlines the tasks for the HR management team. This way, a company easily manages paid time off for its employees and maintains the manpower at the optimal levels too.

    Startups in today’s era are trying to create the best work environment possible for their employees. One of the biggest necessities that startup employees look for is paid time off. Startups have very fast-paced work environments. Without paid time off, it is difficult for the employees to maintain a proper work-life balance.

    HR management in startup companies has now shifted towards increasing employee benefits to increase employee retention. Since work-life balance is very important in today’s era, startup companies use smart time off management systems for efficiency. Whether it’s a day off or a half-day leave, proper leave management ensures that work does not get hampered even with vacations.

    Why time off management tool is necessary?

    Tracking time off or leaves manually causes many gaps and confusion for the team. This also weakens the coordination between team members too due to miscommunication. A good free time off tracker helps streamline the entire system of leave-taking and management. An efficient employee leave tracker app also creates transparency within the team and increases coordination. Therefore, if you are starting a startup with a team, a day off app is necessary from the beginning.

    Now that you understand the need for an employee time off tracker software, here are the features HR managers should look for in a leave management system for business setups.

    Must have features for a time off management tracking app

    1.     All in one dashboard

    An all-in-one dashboard creates transparency because an employee can see his own day off balance and decide whether they want to take a day off or not. The employees can also see other employees leave and coordinate within the team for leaving. On the other hand, the senior management also has access to the leave balance and leaves taken on the all-in-one dashboard of a vacation tracker. This way, a person can see all the leaves taken and leaves left before allocating a day off.

    2.     Categories and fields

    A good free vacation tracker also has categories and fields for filling during application. This way, the employee does not have to mail his application to anyone. Instead, he can fill in the type of leave, duration, and nature of the system. The system files it in different fields and subfields.

    Others or leave approvers can see the application and understand the nature of leave and other details before allocating it to the applicant. A good leave management system has a customizable field system that suits the company’s policy framework with a few alterations. The fields introduced can be according to the company policy in an automated way.

    3.     Cloud-based time off management

    Today, every IT solution is turning into a cloud-based system for better data management. Since a company has numerous employees, it is better to shift to a cloud-based system for large-scale data storage and management. A cloud-based leave management system is a necessity for a startup that aims at expanding in the future.

    A cloud-based system not only makes it easy to access but also streamlines the system without glitches. The employees can access the leave application feature from anywhere, at any time. Cloud-based systems suit the needs of a flexible workplace and workers. On the other hand, you do not need new updates to the software, too, if it is cloud-based.

    4.     Auto Updated leave balance

    One feature that makes a leave management system easy to use is the auto-updating system of leave balance. If the leave balance is auto-updated, the HR manager can monitor every employee’s leave from time to time. It is easy for an employee to exceed his leave balance. However, you cannot keep track of this in a manual way when there are many employees.

    Therefore, it is best to use a paid time off tracker with the number of leaves allowed per your company policy. With each leave taken by an employee, the leave balance left is seen. The manager can then refer to the system and allot accordingly in the future. This way, everything is automated, and planning of leaves is better. In fact, the employees do not get to complain about any biased behavior if the leave balance is exhausted.

    5.     Seamless integration

    Another feature of a good leave management software is its integration into the already existing system. When you choose a leave management system, it needs to coordinate with the attendance system, the reporting system, and the monitoring system. Therefore, it is best to choose a system that integrates seamlessly with other employee management software.

    This ensures a complete digital infrastructure at the workplace and workflow automation. Seamless integration is possible today because a lot of new software supports different systems and works across many interfaces. This helps in the creation of an integrated system of workflow management.

    A good paid time off tracker and leave management system helps streamline and optimize many employee management processes at your company. You might start with a few employees and manual processes. However, your company will need smart leave management and a time off management system at some point. It is better to opt for a time off management system from the beginning.

    This gives your company a certain structure and helps in the development of team coordination. Paid time off management is crucial for employee satisfaction as well as optimal business processes. Whether you are part of a startup or an established company, it is important to integrate paid time off management system right from the start. When choosing a leave management system, choose one based on features and benefits.

  • Workplace Diversity: 9 tips to promote diversity and inclusion

    Workplace Diversity: 9 tips to promote diversity and inclusion

    The workplace consists of different nationalities, genders, races, religions, and ages. Making an outsider of an employee happens most of the time due to many reasons, alienating an employee is never accepted in any workplace. Here are nine tips on how to promote Workplace Diversity and Inclusion. 

    1. Respecting and acknowledging religions

    Different religions are present at a workplace, so it’s the employer duty to offer differences to each employee based on his/her religion. Holidays along the year are so many due to different religions so giving holidays for the whole workplace is important so that employees respect each other’s religions. Offering an employee holiday tracker to help employees know different religions holiday is good to create a strong relationship between the employees. Different religions require different practices so a place must be facilitated for employees to practice their prayers freely without the fear of judgement or alienation.

    2. Special treatment for those in need

    People hate seeing different treatment in the workplace. The workplace consists of different employees with different experience and different life responsibilities. For example, a newly hired employee is still a green leaf in the workplace with no knowledge about the workplace and its system, so giving the new employees extra training sessions and helping them in their first months is very important to balance the scales between them and the old employees in the workplace. Pregnant working women need to get a little help in their jobs, making them work from home is a great way of help to offer them rest so they can be productive as possible. Another method of helping pregnant women or women who care for a babies is early leave which managers can handle by an employee leave tracker.

    3. Hearing every voice

    Workplace should be a SafePlace. Hearing every opinion without caring for age, gender, religion, degree, and physical ability is important. Different mindsets offer different opinions and thinking possibilities. Holding meetings between employees is important to make communication easier among them and easier in working together and being productive.

    4. Socializing the working team

    Inclusion between employees and workplace diversity is essential so that they can work together easily and try to understand each other’s mindsets and cultures. Celebrating different religious holidays and decorating the workplace for a certain holiday, makes it better for the employees at your company to feel included and safer. This makes it better to understand different cultures of the employees. Organizing a working staff trip or vacation is also a great way to let your employees get to know each other’s backgrounds, personalities and their way of thinking and form a kind of friendship to share their ideas, in order to be more productive.

    5. Reject bias in promotions and evaluations

    Offering help in the start of the job for new employees is very good but bias all the time is not a good thing. Promotions must be given when making a review of the employee and their work. Gender equality is important at any promotion. That promotion must be present for the two genders equally and what determines who gets the job is their achievements and being able to handle the new post. Evaluating employees in their job is important and must be an honest evaluation that describes how the employees perform their jobs. At any workplace there must be no favorites present.

    6. Offering the employees your technology

    Nowadays everything is digitalized and in continuous development so introducing your employees in your technology is a great way of inclusion in your workplace. One way of inclusion in the workplace is presenting to your employees your company’s technologies. Employee PTO tracker is a software companies can use to track the employees PTO, so by offering a mobile app for your employees will surely make their life easier. An employee PTO tracker will help the employees keep track of their paid time off left. Introducing to your employees an employee self-service software or app that helps them know their payrolls date and their benefits information is also a great tool to help them.

    7.  Language barriers

    In most companies the employees come from different countries, different countries mean different languages. Communication between employees in the workplace becomes hard, so it is better to try and cross language barriers, by choosing a certain language and use it in the workplace. So non-native speakers need to learn certain language in order to make them included in the workplace and not be alienated.

    8. Words of encouragement

    Always encouraging your employees and telling them they are doing a great job is a great mental boost. Your employees must always try and help the newbies in the start of their jobs to make it easier and make them feel fitting to the workplace. Acknowledging progress is a great way for making the employees feel that they get performance monitoring along their progress and feel the inclusion in the workspace.

    9. Educating yourself

    There are numerous cultures present globally and workplace diversity, so always educating yourself with the different cultures of different countries is a great way so you can deal with any employee that comes forward to apply for a job at your company. The workplace consists of different aged employees so learning the new generations’ needs and way of thinking is also important. Social media in general is a great tool to learn how the new generations think and how they perform tasks.

    Gender equality which is a commonly argued matter that must be taken into your consideration when dealing with your employees. Learning about the common words that can be offensive to a specific group is important to avoid them in the future. Showing that women can be leaders for work groups is a great way to give women at your company recognition as capable working staff.

    Equalizing the roles of both men and women is very important to make both genders feel included in the workplace equally.

    These simple steps will help promote workplace diversity and inclusion and will help minimize alienating of your employees as possible. The workplace is a link that is stronger in numbers so one single employee is of great significance for the whole team.

  • HR Executive: The Ultimate Guide to Becoming an HR Executive

    HR Executive: The Ultimate Guide to Becoming an HR Executive

    If you ask some of the top Human Resources executives in the world why they chose to be an HR manager, there will be two primary answers. The first kind are the people’s person – they like helping others. The other has learned how to collaborate with people because the median salary for an HR executive is $70,000 while the top performers can earn in six digits. So, money is surely a big factor. 

    Regardless of which your source of motivation is, this is how you pave the road to becoming an HR executive.

    Step 1: Graduate from High School

    Even when you’re in high school, you can prepare for a career in human resources. It’s best to take a wide variety of courses in economics, business, technical communications, psychology, mathematics, and professional communications, if available. Experts also recommend taking up community college courses or AP classes to earn college credits to help score you a better position in the related university degree program.

    Step 2: Earn a Bachelor’s Degree

    Without any surprise, the first step towards building a career in HR is earning a bachelor’s degree in a relevant field. Some HR professionals get their BS in business or human resource management, some choose educational paths in sectors like operations, marketing, communications, legal studies, journalism, sociology, or psychology.

    Generally, these programs are offered in a school’s management or business department.

    Step 3: Complete an Internship

    According to The Society for Human Resource Management, 96% of HR executives said that their time as an intern played a critical role in their success in the industry. Internships allow individuals to gain first-hand experience in the sector of their choice. You get the best way to acquire and apply practical knowledge – that’s the focus of any human resources bachelor’s program.

    If you don’t have the chance to take up any internship during your time in university, don’t be afraid! Some companies have started accepting new college graduates into their internship program. The purpose of an HR internship is to show students how the industry works behind the scenes. Internships or externships are a great way for future HR managers to recognize, hone, and improve critical interpersonal skills.

    Step 4(i): Gain HR Work Experience

    After getting a bachelor’s degree in the relevant field, we suggest you enter the workforce to gather experience. Almost any upper or advanced management position in HR or a related field will be great. However, these generally require the students to provide proof of post-secondary training, on top of real-world experience. Entry-level positions comprise human resource assistance, specialist, or associate.

    Step 4(ii): Earn a Master’s Degree in Human Resources

    Although an optional step, a master’s degree in HRM or administration equips students with a strong foundation on which they can build a successful career as an HR executive. Think coursework in human resource theory, psychology, operations, speech, labor management, technical communications, employee development, employment law, accounting arbitration, contract negotiation, statistics, mediation, information technology, professional communications, and contract negotiation.

    Step 4(iii): Earn a Doctorate in Human Resources

    Getting a doctorate is another optional step that takes about three to four years. But it’s completely worth it in the end. A PhD in HR is strongly grounded in higher coursework in information technology, labor management, arbitration, professional counselling, mediation, technical communications, employee development, employment law, contract negotiation, professional communications, statistics, and of course, human resource theory paired with human resource operations. PhD holders in this field usually soar to advanced management positions, ultimately managing teams at private companies.

    Step 5: Try HR Certification

    Basically, in human resources certification, a third-party organization analyzes the standard of an applicant’s experience and knowledge. Those who meet industry benchmarks are eligible for certification. These talented individuals have a lot to offer, so it’s no surprise that a growing number of companies are on the lookout for HR executives with additional certifications. Not only do these show expertise, but they also display dedication and commitment to the field.

    Both the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) and the HR Certification Institute (HRCI) offer a variety of certification designations, like Senior Professional in Human Resources (SPHR), Certified Employment Benefits Specialist (CEBS), and Professional of Human Resources (PHR) certifications. Some more specialization tracks are Compensation Management Specialist, Retirement Plans Associate, and Group Benefits Associate.

    Keep in mind that to even sit for those exams, a learner needs up to four years of experience working in the HR field. Alternatively, a combo of experience and education could suffice. These exam lengths and durations vary by concentration and state.

    Another professional improvement choice is to get into a professional society. The Society for Human Resource Management and the National Human Resources Association are two of the most popular HRM professional organizations in the U.S.

    FAQ

    1. Where do HR executives work?

    Human resources executives work in every corner of the world where the human capital has to be managed. This could include the service industry, health and human services, elementary schools, transportation, communications, investment firms, healthcare administration, public safety, science labs, small-to-medium businesses, and even the government.

    • What are the most important activities of an HR executive?

    A HR executive must be able to:

    • Focus on the big picture. Recruitment is important but so does the retention of old, talented employees.

    • Maintain their initial passion as it will rub off on the employees and their subordinates.

    • Show actual interest in the work of each employee.

    • Successfully collaborate between various departments of the company.

    • Stay flexible to change.

    • Stay on top of market trends – technologically and practice-wise.

    • Maintain a positive approach to lucid conversation.

    Conclusion

    All top schools of the world have a decent HR program – some better than the other. Needless to say, acquiring a compelling degree from a high ranking university definitely sets you ahead in the game.

  • Employees Turnover: 5 Ways to Reduce it

    Employees Turnover: 5 Ways to Reduce it

    Managing employees turnover is also a part of managing the business. But if there is an excessive rate of employee turnover, it can be very harmful to the companies. When a company constantly experiences employees turnover issues, its revenue and productivity would be greatly affected. Not the business manager, but the employees are who help with running a business. 

    They greet and serve your customers and go through the work process to help you close deals and complete projects. But without proper turnover management, an organization would remain in the down condition for an extended period of time. Implementing day off app can be an ideal process to reduce employee turnover since absenteeism is one of the great causes of employee turnover. Moreover, there are numerous ways to manage a high employee turnover rate. Let’s get to know some effective ways.

    1.     Know the causes of high employees turnover

    It is essential to know the reasons behind employees leaving your organization so that you can reduce employee turnover. Letting your HR management know about the causes would help them optimize their employee management strategy. There are two types of employee turnover, i.e., voluntary and involuntary turnover. When an employee chooses to leave an organization voluntarily, it comes under the voluntary employee turnover category.

    However, when the employer releases an employee who is continuing to work for an organization, the turnover comes under the involuntary category. Voluntary turnover occur due to relocation, retirement, family, illness, a better opportunity, interpersonal conflict, or the organization’s poor management of employees that hinder their progress.

    Involuntary turnover occurs due to an employee’s poor performance, laying off of duty, committing any company prohibited terminable offer or absenteeism, etc. In order to reduce involuntary turnover, employers are advised to use the employee leave tracker app and employee time off tracker to analyze their performance.

    2.     Hire the right fits

    One of the most effective ways to reduce employee turnover is by hiring the right candidates. Any person who has a nice manner and behavior is not always suitable for doing a job if they don’t possess specific skills. With efficient capacity planning, the employers can identify the candidate’s skill gaps and help them recruit the right talent.

    Employers should look for hard skills as well as soft skills since training an employee for soft skills can be more difficult than hard skills. Moreover, also look for emotional intelligence and psychological safety in a candidate, so the employee would be able to develop more in the working environment and provide creative solutions to help you build your organizational culture.

    And remember not to hire, who always look for opportunities to lay off. You should utilize the PTO tracker to discourage your employees from absenteeism. The leave tracker enables the HR department to track the employees’ involvement in the organizational workforce.

    3.     Optimize the work environment

    Studies show that most voluntary turnover occurs due to the overutilization of employees by the organizations. Because of immense pressure, the employees left their job as they get tired and can’t have time for their personal time. Then again, not engaging employees by giving adequate workload can result in disengagement and low morale. Thus, optimizing employee engagement can act as a catalyst for reducing employee turnover.

    Along with that, the employer should offer an engaging work environment to encourage the employees to work more diligently. Give importance to recognize the employee accomplishments and efforts. If the organization provides a clear career path to the employee, it will not motivate them to look for other jobs and lay off their work.

    Vacation tracker and PTO tracking software play a significant role in identifying which employees are layoff their work and discuss their reason for disinterest in work. Organize effective team-building activities to make the new hires more comfortable around the work environment to show good performance.

    4.     Provide flexible work scheduling

    Having a healthy work-life balance is essential for employees to gain job satisfaction. Thus, employers should provide flexible work hours. Flexible work schedules and providing planned response times would give the employees better focus in their work and result in the completion of work with greater efficiency.

    Showing that the company cares about the employees’ well-being would encourage the employees to not leave the organization voluntarily. But if they don’t have flexibility in their work-life and start leading a busy life, they would probably start laying off their duty and cause absenteeism. With the integration of the time-off app, you can avoid such issues.

    Even though some work requires more physical interaction, conducting work from home when needed can prove effective for providing flexible options to maintain a healthy work-life balance. In such cases utilizing the day-off app can be very helpful to identify potential attendance issues. The HR managers would be able to delegate leave approvals to the team managers and prevent the micromanagement of employees.

    5.     Invest in training and development program

    Providing effective training and investing in employee development programs would show the organization’s commitment to the company and its employees. Providing a mentorship program is essential to make sure the employees would not show poor performance while they get job satisfaction resulting in long-term retention. Ensuring that the new hires are sufficiently trained would help the employees to perform to the best of their abilities.

    Employee development programs are the key to preparing the employees for more advanced organizational work. It would make the employees trust the organization to help them give better opportunities to develop. Without job satisfaction, the employees would start giving poor performance, eventually leading to laying off their work.

    The free vacation tracker and free time off tracker wouldn’t cost the company much, and the HR managers would be able to track the employee’s performance so they can report to the manager adequately. At the time of requiring new employees, the employer must lay down the organizational goals to the new hire, so they would be aware of what to expect from the organization.

    Thinking of the well-being of your team would help the employees to trust the organization on a deeper level. Avoiding overutilization of the employee is another strategy to reducing employee turnover. It would have a huge effect on various forms of employee wellness.

  • 8 Tips to Create a Winning Employee Appreciation System

    8 Tips to Create a Winning Employee Appreciation System

    Employee Appreciation Day is an official holiday in the USA and Canada which is a day where companies thank their employees for their hard work and honors employees globally for their work. On Employee Appreciation Day, they are given gift cards as a token of appreciation for their work. Appreciation is an important boost for a human to make them feel confident and move forward in their life, an employee is a human as well which needs to be appreciated to produce their maximum effort and not to be shy on saying their opinions and being creative. It is the employer’s duty to create a convenient appreciation system that makes the employees feel appreciated and valued. 

    1. Employee of the Month.

    One of the many methods of appreciating an employee and the most common one is employee of the month. This way of appreciation must be present in any successful organization to make some sort of healthy rivalry between the employees by doing their jobs to the max. At the end of the month, an employee is chosen based on their achievements, punctuality, completing their tasks, being a role model to others, and many other things as well. The employee of the month is given many prizes for their hard work, they are given a certificate, gift cards, sometimes they are given a big prize as a paid vacation in someplace chosen by the organization or a pay raise in this month and in some organizations, they hang this employee’s picture on the wall as a form of appreciation and encouragement.

    2. Cutting Working Hours and PTO

    Employees work for many hours along the whole week so occasionally as a form of appreciation and gratitude for their efforts making them do an early leave once in a while is good, so that they can return to their personal matters and life. On the other side making a rational plan by sending some of the employees home not all of them, then the next day sending the rest and keeping the others, to keep this plan as orderly as possible using an employee leave tracker is preferred to always keep in knowledge the present employees in the organization. Another form of gratitude is increasing their PTO if they are doing their work to the fullest way possible and tracking the employees by an employee PTO tracker.

    3. Sorts of Encouragement

    Any human loves being praised and appreciated. So always praising the good work is the fuel that makes the employee keep up the good work. Encouragement can be materialized like in any given moment getting the employees some sort of snacks is a good way of encouragement at the end of a stacked workday ordering pizza for the staff is a good way of showing appreciation or getting ice cream during the workday. The employer must always praise the employees in a way.

    4. Birthdays and Holidays.

    An employee’s birthday most of the time is on a workday, so getting the employee a birthday cake or a small cupcake or even singing them a birthday song makes the employee know he is remembered and appreciated. There are many holidays in the year that sometimes it is hard to keep track of so by making the employees use an employee holiday tracker makes it easier to track the holidays. On big and important holidays as a form of appreciation and goodwill giving the employees a small raise in the month of the holiday even if it is not noticeable in the payroll, but it makes the employees feel appreciated.

    5. Digitalization

    Our modern-day world is always in constant evolution so providing the employees with ways to work from home makes it easier for them in case of an absence or an early leave. Work from home became an important standard in any job so that if any crisis happens in any given moment the work doesn’t get delayed. Also providing the employees with applications that make it easier for them in their everyday work life as: an employee self-service software which employees use to change their contact information, their benefits information and can also track their payroll. Any applications that make it easier for the employees in their everyday jobs is a form of appreciation by wanting the employees to save their energy and time for their work and families.

    6. Hearing out the Employees

    An important pillar in a successful organization is hearing out the employee’s ideas and encouraging the employees to share their ideas to gain some sort of confidence and make them know that they are part of the team. The employees must feel comfortable when sharing ideas and feel appreciated because most of the time their ideas are good and can be used to improve the organization in many ways.

    7. Paid Vacations

    Offering employees paid vacations once or twice per year for the employees and their family is the greatest form of appreciating the employees and thanking them for their hard work throughout the year. These vacations or day off are paid by a certain percentage or fully paid in order to help employees be mentally stable by separating their minds from work for a couple of days. The employees’ vacation must be always monitored by an employee vacation tracker, to track the employees at hand at any given time

    8. Gift cards

    Most organizations get offers at restaurants or clothing stores, so they get gift cards every now and then. Handing those gift cards to employees as a prize for every big task completed is a good way of showing appreciation and encouraging them for the next tasks.

  • Remote Employees: Top 5 Best Practices When Hiring Them

    Remote Employees: Top 5 Best Practices When Hiring Them

    Thanks to the rapid technological advances, they have allowed the workers in different fields to carry out their works from different locations, and for that, they only need a working internet connection. Now, there is no need to be bound by those traditional workspaces. On the other hand, the world of work has changed in a drastic way after the COVID-19. As the pandemic has affected the economies and businesses, most of the companies are now changing their hiring strategies to follow the distributed workforce or remote employees working culture. 

    However, for that, they will have to follow the right strategies to hire the right candidates for the jobs. Furthermore, from hiring to introducing the candidate to the job, it is crucial for employers to develop a seamless experience. If you are following a digital recruitment process, then video interviewing may replace some factors of in-person interviews. It is crucial for HR managers to follow the right approaches when it comes to onboarding remote hires. So, how to make the process smooth and effective? Well, here are some best practices that you can follow while hiring new remote employees.

    Fine-tune the Hiring Process

    When you want to hire a remote team, that means you want to hire a particular set of skills required to excel at work. Some of the few important remote working skills are:

    • Self-discipline

    • A robust organizational skill

    • Great level of communication skills

    • Time management skills

    • Collaboration skills and more.

    Unless the applicants have these skills, there is no use in taking them further in the recruitment process. Without these skills, the candidate will be a bad fit. Well, there are different ways to test a candidate for these. For example, you can carry out pre-employment tests. You can use different tools for this that can unlock valuable insights to assist you in shortlisting the candidates.

    Always Commit to Conduct Great Remote Interviews

    Most of the best recruiters are very aggressive about gaining the required knowledge, learning habits, and they always try to master the latest technologies to compete, no matter what is the condition. So, you need to create a great remote interview process. What can you do about that? First of all, the HR managers should upgrade the technology and should test that in advance.

    Besides, they should organize the interview as well as script out questions. If your interview process consists of multiple people, then plan it carefully. If you are leading the HR management team, they ensure that they have all the tools to simplify the remote interview process. Tedious, awkward, or mediocre interviews will prove that the work culture is not interesting.

    Always Source the Right

    As a lot of candidates are looking for great remote work opportunities, they know the best go-to place to find a remote job. Well, those don’t cover the traditional job searching places. Now, the thins have changed a lot, and different platforms have emerged out to make the job search process more direct and easier for both the companies and candidates.

    If you are still using the traditional job board, then you may miss out on a huge group of talented candidates who are looking for remote jobs. Instead of promoting your jobs on these sites, try the new job boards that are quite popular among remote workers, for example, LinkedIn, AngelList, and more. You should always take advantage of the social media platform. Besides, try out these things to get better exposure as a remote employer or company:

    • Get listed in the remote startup directories.

    • Try to get placed in the lists like startups or companies that hire remotely.”

    • Create a post in different remote working communities, for instance, Facebook groups for remote candidates.

    Offer the Candidates a Realistic Preview of the Job

    Well, HR managers know that remote working is not for all. However, you can help the possible employees self-select out of the recruitment process by creating a way where they can witness a realistic preview of the job. What is the best way? Well, you can let the candidates an insider look into how they would be working remotely once they get selected.

    Remember that the content doesn’t have to tell the logistic of remote working.  You can also add some personal stories that will help in connecting with the right applicant. Besides, you can also integrate a company video into the online job application that can showcase the culture of your company.

    Remember to Develop a Perfect Work Relationship

    Well, transitioning to a remote-working environment can be a very challenging adjustment as there will be no in-person factors. However, even though it is challenging, it is important to remember that you will have to build a robust relationship with the new employees. Understanding different ways to align a new candidate’s ambitions with the goals of the company will always lead to a win-win condition for all who are involved.

    Every individual will feel highly motivated in various ways. And this is important to figure this out early on. Besides, you can use the best PTO tracking software to send out different policies, like leave management policies and more, to the new candidates quite easily. Try your best to develop a solid foundation that always begins with clear and efficient communication ways.

    Bonus tips- Use a Time Off App to Track the Leaves of Your Remote Employees

    While managing a remote team, it will become very challenging for the HR managers to keep track of the leaves. However, important to follow proper leave management to keep productivity up. This is where the HR management can use a powerful and well-developed employee leave tracker app, such as Day off, to get the task done. This is an easy way to manage multiple leaves, and you can send any important notice to the employees using the app. Besides, the Day off app will show all the important information in one place, making it easier for the companies to make important decisions.

    Follow the above-mentioned practices and use a professionally designed leave tracker and you can easily hire and manage remote employees.

  • How to Create Employee Orientation Materials

    How to Create Employee Orientation Materials

    Employee orientation works as the first impression or first sight that the employees have of your company. Most of the time, employee satisfaction and engagement heavily depends on the employee orientation carried off by the business. For instance, a boring and formal orientation will only lead the recruits to believe that working in your company will be dull and monotonous. On the other hand, a fun-filled and communicative orientation session will leave the recruits focused on the upcoming tasks and challenges. As a result, it is quite important to let the employees know few essential subjects via the orientation materials. Not only do the orientation materials help the employees settle down, but it gives them an overall idea of how things work in your business. To know the ideal creation of employee orientation materials, keep reading!

    Welcome your Employees

    First and foremost- Welcome the employees. Their presence is something you should always appreciate, as it increases the level of belongingness they feel regarding the company. The individual is told they are a great asset to the team in a welcoming greeting from the president or director. Coming from the leader themself might be a great deal to most new recruits, which acts as a further step to making them feel important in the workplace. This is a nice spot to lay out the organization’s values and objectives in broad strokes; after the warm welcome breaks the ice, the employees shall be more open to any rules and policies that the company wants to discuss. 

    The Employee Contract

    Next, the contract letter must be enclosed in the bundle of orientation materials. For each employee being recruited, a separate folder should be created with his or her contract letter inside. A document of the signed work contract letter or employment agreements, as well as any related non-disclosure, confidentiality, non-compete, or any other contracts, should be included in the bundle. The bundle and letters must be checked prior to the orientation event, as you don’t want the materials to get mismatched withing employees.

    Company’s Background Information

    Provide background information about your organization to make sure that the new recruit realizes their position in the business, what it represents, and where it’s heading. Your company’s vision and mission statement along with a summary of your growth strategy can all be included in the document. Other background data, such as newsletters, company brochures, or annual reports, is also beneficial.

    Including your company’s information or background will enable the employees to feel a certain involvement in the business. It is quite similar to watching movies, your employees shall live through the company’s history. How is that helpful? Well, it gives your new recruit an idea of the goals and broader vision that the business wishes to achieve; it helps them align their personal goals to that of the organization.

    Policies and Rules

    Different companies operate in different ways and, naturally, certain policies and rules shall apply. Whether your company is big or small, company policies and procedures must be provided to the employees on their orientation, to ensure that they abide by the procedures. Procedures regarding quality control, security, performance monitoring, emergency procedures, workplace health, leave policy, dress codes, workplace safety, reporting process, confidentiality, complaints, social network usage, employee conduct, absenteeism, energy saving protocols, waste disposal, efficiency protocols, employee assistance programs, workplace harassment or discrimination should be included and discussed in the rulebook elaborately. In addition to these, the rulebook should also cover important subjects like insurance, referral bonuses, or discounts that the employees may gain.

    Organizational Structure

    An organizational hierarchy is vital for your company to function, making it essential for your workforce to be on terms with the hierarchical chart. Providing the organizational directory and chart shall help the employees understand where they fit in the whole system. Aside from the hierarchical chart, a map of the entire facility should also be provided to the employees in case of any emergencies. For instance, you don’t want your employee to get lost within the company and not be able to find their way out.

    Required Documents

    Certain passwords and IDs are required for your recruits to have access to places, which must be included in the orientation materials. This ensures that your employees are aware of the surroundings and have access to business cards and other essential devices. Furthermore, keys and documents relating to the company attire might also be a good addition to the orientation materials, since all the pathways might not have password systems.

    Gifts or Souvenirs

    Providing a gift or a token of appreciation in the orientation materials shows that you value their presence and appreciate their addition to the company. A small souvenir or even tickets to a local attraction for employees to enjoy with their families can be a thoughtful gesture. There’s no one who doesn’t like a gift!

    Keep it Updated!

    As time changes, so do the employee expectations. To keep the employee expectations and engagement in check, you need to regularly update this bundle of orientation materials. As per the time, few things might need to be added or eliminated- it’s wise to upgrade your facility along with the world, as your orientation shall work as a first impression on your employees.

    Bottom Line

    An orientation event for employees is a big deal, as recruits tend to be awkward and unaware of most policies and procedures. As a result, including all required information in the orientation material and bundling it up with a few warm messages or an overview of the company can act as an ice breaker. Not only will it make the employees feel like they belong, but it will ensure they know all the essential things that are needed. Share this article with your colleagues at work and start arranging the orientation materials for your new recruits!

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  • 6 Tips for Creating the Best Employee Handbook

    6 Tips for Creating the Best Employee Handbook

    In the regular swirl of developing a perfect business, dealing with multiple customers’ requirements, and working to retain and attract the right talents, the HR managers may easily forget the real value of creating and maintaining a perfect employee handbook. Every company’s HR management should understand that having a well-developed employee handbook can help them shield the company from possible litigation as well as business conflicts.

    Besides, for the employees, it can serve purposes like setting different expectations to offering the employees all the important information. But for maximum benefits, you need to create the best employee handbook by considering the data from your time off app and other HR software programs.

    What do you mean by an employee handbook?

    An employee handbook can be called by many names, for example, a bar setter, a welcome pack, or a managerial time saver. Sometimes, the employee handbook can be used as legal assistance. In simple words, an employee handbook is a structured collection of different pieces of information that every member should know about a company, starting from the health or safety policies, disciplinary procedures to promotions and leaves. You can easily circulate an employee handbook among the staff using a PTO tracker, for instance, Day off.

    Why should every business maintain a good employee handbook?

    With different types of general information, internal structures, and different types of policies for the employees to keep in mind, having a well-developed employee handbook is important.  Not only will it help in saving time during the process of onboarding, but it will also set the laws for the new employees. For example, by combing it with the company’s Vacation tracker, you can tell them about the leave policy quite easily. On the other hand, this will help you to make sure that every member is treated properly and there is no legal issue.

    But to make it has the desired effect, the employee handbook should be attention-grabbing, and it should be taken seriously by your staff. So, how to create the best employee handbook? Well, here are some tips that you can follow.

    How to create an effective Employees’ Handbook

    1.     Make sure that it can tell a story

    There is no doubt that every company has a story. So, don’t forget to tell your story. Instead of making your new employees go through that 100 pages of legal policy, you can use the first 10 to 15 pages to capture the readers. Try to drive them towards the things related to the company, like the story, the mission, and the vision. When they can feel more connected towards something, they will love to invest their best.

    2.     Don’t forget to leverage the branding

    It is a fact that you have gone through many ups and downs to develop the brand presence in offline and online markets. But why stop there? You can consider your employees’ handbook as an extension of the brand. That means you can add beautiful photos, brand colors, icons, illustrations, and more to make it look stunning. It is the era of technology, and most businesses are now using digital employee handbooks. You can also use it and can even add gifs and important links, integrate it with the PTO tracking software, or add videos. You can enjoy unlimited possibilities.

    3.     Keep your company’s policies a little flexible

    No one will prefer to work in an organization where the policy is very strict. Besides, it will be impossible for a business to maintain a policy considering a single scenario, especially in the tech industry, where the workplace culture may evolve rapidly. So, instead of following a single policy for all types of scenarios, you should have flexibility in changing the policies based on the conditions. It will be good for you to state your policies explicitly in the handbook to make sure that all the members are on the same page. Besides, offer some general guidelines for various situations in the handbook.

    4.     Don’t forget to make the employee handbook accessible

    It is a fact that creating a handbook can consume resources as well as time. But you should not waste your valuable time on something that will be there in a cabinet untouched. Instead of that, you need to makes something that will be easily accessible. Whether you are creating a digital employee handbook or a PDF, make sure that the handbook is easily accessible through a mobile phone, tablet, or computer. Remember that the best handbooks are those that can be easily accessed quite frequently and easily. One of the best solutions for this is integrating your digital employee handbook with the Employee leave tracker app.

    5.     Properly layout the development paths

    If you have ambitious or motivated employees in your company, then from day 1 of their joining, they will find their way up. On the other hand, organizations with properly described development pathways in their employee handbook can be greatly benefited here. What you need to do here is laying out the current promotional paths in your employee handbook. Well, these can be the company’s management routes or team-or skill-specific pathways to the staff promotion.

    Remember that you should back up all the data with required actions as well. The HR Managers should make sure that the right people are made aware of the new tasks, and the team managers inform the teams about what they want to achieve.

    6.     Review and update the handbook regularly

    Consider the employee handbook as a breathing or living document.  You should update it with the changes to the company or when you change the existing roadmap. Besides, when you make the necessary changes, all the employees should be notified. If you fail to update it, employees will not prefer the handbook.

    An employee handbook can help a company in enjoying perfect growth while keeping the employees satisfied. So, follow these useful tips now and create the best employee handbook. However, don’t forget to add it to your existing Employee time off tracker so that every people in your company can access it.

  • Pros and Cons of Using a Leave Tracking Software

    Pros and Cons of Using a Leave Tracking Software

    Managers are often struggling with processing employee leave, individual leave details, and ensuring compliance with company guidelines. Leave requests must be processed regularly, and that procession procedure comprises checking leave history of the employee as well as the leaves available to them. In this case leave tracking software is the solution.

    A solid leave management system helps both parties in the equation. By enabling proper planning of employee leaves well in advance, it maintains productivity of the company. Employees can plan their leaves keeping business’ personnel requirements in mind.

    A good company will never ignore the benefits of an effective leave policy. Not only does it contribute to employee satisfaction, but it also plays an important role in the success of any company. However, there’s no universal formula proven to be effective for everyone. Companies try to combine multiple initiatives in an attempt to find the one that strikes the chord with their employee base.

    Although leave management seems simple, there are tons of complicated factors in play here. Tracking employee leave manually is time consuming and cumbersome. It can also result in an increasing number of errors in the calculations. This is why many companies have started integrating leave tracking software into their operations to streamline and automate the process.

    By using leave tracking software, the HR can track the presence of employees spread across different locations, shifts, and even time zones. Benefits of leave tracking software are multifarious, but they also come with a handful of cons to be mindful of.

    Pros of Using a Leave Tracking Software

    Ease of use

    Leave tracking software greatly simplify the burden of the administration. A simple stable internet connection is all an HR manager needs to have an overview of who’s working and who’s not from any corner of the world. No more spreadsheets filled with numbers and data!

    Moreover, the best of the leave tracking software are intuitive, which means they will let the management know if there are chances of under-staffing, plausible errors, and deficiency in team management.

    Simple leave policies

    Based on the organization’s leave policies, absenteeism policies are configured. Everything is programmed step by step, making it much easier for HR managers to work.

    Clearance to leave

    A super important feature for both managers and employees, authorization to leave lets executives know how many employees are available at any given time. It helps them accept or deny new applications. Some services are cloud-based, so employees can send in leave requests from the site or at home. Managers possess access to the iPad, phone, and other devices through which they can get into the software any time.

    With everything consolidated into a single platform, managers get a clear picture of the various vacation types they have set as well as vacation pay, vacation days consumed, vacation credits each month, and more.

    Accuracy

    Automated leave tracking software eliminates errors and simplest complex vacation policies so companies can apply them easily and accurately. Additionally, a comprehensive log of staff progress helps HR managers make better plans. Ultimately, the top management is able to deliberate duties and projects better.

    Transparency

    Transparency is a key element of any workplace. All information regarding leave policies, payment plans, vacation and PTO guidelines, and more are mentioned on the company-wide software, making the holiday system pleasantly transparent. Every member of the company can check their vacation history and balance. Managers or supervisors share this information so employees are always in the knowing about the rejection/approval of their vacation requests.

    Precise information

    With a leave tracking software, employees can access accurate information about vacation days, both available and taken, and plan according to that. Most employees like to plan their vacation days well in advance or at the start of the year so having a calendar that shows PTO or company holidays can be of great help. The process is shortened into a single-step operation which doesn’t require manual browsing of vacation logs.

    Many companies also integrate their online leave tracking software with payroll software to create precise payrolls based on various vacation types. Teams can be formed on these software too.

    Cons of Using a Leave Tracking Software

    Security issues

    If a system is easy to breach, it jeopardizes the safety and productivity of the entire company. Systems have to be designed in such a way that they can ward off unauthorized access requests and inadvertent disclosure.

    Expensive

    Price is one major concern here. Many companies don’t wish to invest in leave tracking software whereas some just don’t have the budget for it. This is a big issue for entrepreneurs and small businesses. Every software comes with maintenance costs. Software as a Service or SaaS systems are easier to organize from a financial point of view as it’s simpler to manage a cloud-based platform.

    Costs become an important factor in picking the perfect leave tracking software. Companies can avoid this by simply getting a free leave tracking software. In some cases, however, free versions of applications are limited in feature. And once the trial period is over, you are left wanting for more. Good ones are generally pricier.

    Day Off is an exception. Our free version has enough features for a small to medium company to go by without spending. You can surely invest in a premium version to get the whole experience, but the free version is, well, free!

    Scalability

    As businesses grow, they usually expand and break the shell of their status quo. For instance, they start with a basic leave tracking software to handle a limited number of employees. The system should be able to accommodate them as they evolve.

    Conclusion

    Before making the decision, it’s always wise to analyze the pros and cons of leave tracking software. For the most part, the pros outweigh the cons by a huge margin. It saves time and lets managers focus on more crucial tasks.

  • 23 Statistics Every HR Manager Needs to Know

    23 Statistics Every HR Manager Needs to Know

    When a business is successful, it can be credited to the incredible staff working behind the scenes 24/7. Human resources statistics, no doubt, is the essence of any company – no matter how big or small.

    Understanding current challenges and opportunities in the HR sector can help a manager take better decisions. Keep reading for some of the important statistics every HR manager should know.

    Hiring and Recruitment Statistics      

    According to a research conducted by Glassdoor, a well-designed recruitment and hiring strategy can help a business find qualified workers quicker. These individuals are a better fit for the company and job(s).

    • 51% of individuals would prefer searching for job opportunities via online listings. Many job seekers would rather ask for recommendations from their network of family, friends, and colleagues, but more than half of job hunters prefer scouring online job boards in order to find openings in companies.
    • 53% of people search up company information and reviews on various job search websites such as Glassdoor, LinkedIn, and PayScale. These offer genuine insights on what’s like to work for a particular company. Similar to how you would check out reviews of a certain product before buying it, job seekers like to look into company reviews before trying out for it.
    • Benefits (63% and salary (67%) are two of the most crucial factors for job hunters. Naturally, a “what’s-in-it-for-me” attitude is what fuels people to search for jobs in the first place.
    • 55% of job hunters aged between 35 to 44 applied for a job with a mobile device. Many assume that only younger applications use phones to apply for a job but this proved that all ages have embraced the existence of technology in the job market.

    Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Statistics

    Businesses that have strong diversity policies have outperformed those that did not. Representation matters, especially in the job industry.

    • The global workforce comprises of 55.3% male and 44.7% female (reference: LinkedIn’s Workforce Diversity Report 2020). Although women have made remarkable strides in every sector they have joined, they still remain underrepresented in comparison to the opposite sex.
    • Men hold 58% of leadership positions. In America, the approximate 60/40 split shows there’s a clean chance for further progress.
    • Latino and Black workers only hold 5.8% of leadership roles in the LinkedIn survey.
    • More gender diversity holds the potential to add $12 trillion in GDP.
    • Companies with more gender diversity perform better than companies lacking gender diversity by 25%. If a company puts both women and men in leadership roles, the chances of them outperforming their peer group increases to 25%.
    • Companies with ethnic diversity show 36% better performance than less diverse organizations.

    Onboarding Statistics

    A company must prepare its employee to handle their responsibilities efficiently. However, cutting corners can put a dent of performance and increase employee turnover.

    BambooHR is a company that provides HR SaaS and it highlight that:

    • About 25% of onboarding programs in companies don’t have any kind of training. Don’t simply hand your employee their computer, tools, and keys and expect them to give great results in one day. The majority of new hires want some form of formal training so they learn the ropes of the job quickly and effectively.
    • 20% of staff turnover takes part within the first 45 days. If an employee leaves shortly after joining, perhaps it’s because the onboarding program missed out on a crucial detail for the employee’s success. Recruiting and training new employees can be costly, so it’s necessary to retain as well as hire talent.
    • 72% of employees said that one-on-one time with their supervisor is an essential part of the onboarding process.
    • 70% respondents feel that having a friend at work is key at keeping the work environment positive. Starting a new job can be overwhelming, not to mention lonely. A solid onboarding process could help employees form bonds. 50% of workers who had a best friend at their workplace reported experiencing a stronger connection with the company.

    Employee Engagement Statistics

    Strong employee engagement significantly improves productivity and loyalty. It might be challenging keeping the present employees engaged, but it’s well worth it.

    • While 14% of managers are actively disengaged, a whopping 51% of them are not engaged. Managers have the biggest influence on employee engagement. If a manager isn’t engaged, it will directly affect their employees.
    • Gallup’s Employee Engagement poll suggests that 30% of American workers are actively engaged in their organization.
    • Companies boasting higher employee engagement rake in 21% more profits. Engaged employees tend to work harder to make sure the company achieves it goals and objectives.
    • 33% of employees search for a new job as they’re bored with their current job or does not approve the day off policy. There’s an inherent need to explore new opportunities with talented individuals.
    • 89% of employees believe that networking builds the foundation for a brighter future with more opportunities.

    Employee Loyalty Statistics

    Work Institute’s 2019 Retention Report vouches for increased employee retention and lower turnover costs when workers are loyal. The report claims that:

    • About 50% of HR teams confess that employee turnover and retention is their biggest challenge. Corporate culture management and recruitment make up the top three.
    • An estimated one third of workers will leave their jobs annually.
    • 27% of employees leave their workplace voluntarily each year.
    • Voluntary turnover cost is on the rise. In 2018, the cost was expected to have surpassed the $600 billion mark and it’s only growing.
    • 80% of exit surveys follow a poor methodology.
    • Work environment and job characteristics lead the way for employee turnover by 53% and 81% respectively.

    Bottom Line

    Statistics are a great way to understand the market conditions. When it comes to HR, these numbers can help executive prepare better plans, implement important measure, identify opportunities as well as weaknesses to make their organization a better place.

  • How to Hire the Best HR Manager for Your Company

    How to Hire the Best HR Manager for Your Company

    Hiring the right people at a company is the main reason behind any business’s success. HR manager and management is a crucial department in all companies, especially those of a large business. They carry out many essential duties such as recruiting or training, performance management, and employee leave management.

    Hiring a professional HR manager will increase the effectiveness of your HR department and also greatly contribute to the overall success of your business therefore, you have to pay attention when recruiting your HR manager to ensure that you have employed the right person who’ll meet your company’s needs and goals.

    Here, we are going to give you some tips that will help you with the process of choosing the best and most suitable HR manager for your company.

    1. Determine the Skills That Your Company Needs the Most

    Before hiring someone in any position, you need to know what exactly do you need in the first place. Of course, there are certain characteristics that all companies look for when searching for an HR manager like being a proficient problem solver and having high leadership skills, but each company will face different HR challenges that will require different roles from your HR manager.

    Therefore, understanding the factors that are of most efficiency to your company’s growth processes is the first step for successfully choosing your HR manager. It will help you build a clear idea about what skills you are looking for in an HR manager and so makes the process of choosing the suitable one clearer and more organized.

    2. Detailed and Specific Job Description

    Your job description should be as clear as possible. Write down all of the responsibilities and duties expected from the HR manager in details. Mention if there is any previous experience needed to apply or if the candidate has to acquire certain skills or certificates. Make sure you also include an overview of your expectations from them and any long-term objectives.

    This will ensure that no one, after employment, will complain when asked to do certain tasks, saying that they haven’t been previously informed about them, since everything was already laid out and agreed upon in the job description.

    You should also mention in your job description the benefits of working for your company. A good salary and friendly working environment are what all people look for, but there are other things that companies can provide to satisfy their employees and helps make your job offer more attractive such as, flexible working hours, social and medical insurance and transportation.

    Providing a detailed job description will make you attract those candidates that have the requirements and skills which you are looking for and so, you will be choosing your HR manager from the best pool of people available instead of going through hundreds of irrelevant job applications.

    3. Choose Someone That is Familiar with Technology

    Many technological innovations were introduced to the HR industry and lead to great exponential advancements that helped HR manager work much more productively. These technologies include performance management systems and leave manager software.

    Hiring an HR manager with previous experience of working with HR tech is very crucial and will definitely make a difference with your business’s growth.

    These new technologies greatly impacted the workstyle of HR managers and even other employees in the company. Leave tracking apps, such as Day Off, helps the HR managers keep track of the employees’ absence and presence in a much more efficient and easy way. Therefore, hiring an HR manager who has tech proficiency has many benefits like making employee leave management processes more accurate and ensure they run smoothly.

    For example, a leave tracker software will offer many useful features to both the employees and managers. They improve the company’s decision making and greatly reduces the amount of paper work that employees do. They can also prevent pay errors, leaving employees satisfied.

    A good HR manager is one that knows how to efficiently use these great technologies (such as PTO manager software, vacation tracker software and performance management software) and motivates his team to use them as well for a more flexible and simple work environment.

    4.Pay Attention to Behavioral Traits During Interviews

    Skills can be easily gained by most people with time and experience, but it is very hard to change someone’s behavior and traits. Therefore, when carrying out your interview pay attention to the way they talk and try to get a clear idea about their personalities.

    Be honest with them during your discussion and tell them what you exactly need. Talk with them about your company’s strong points and weak points. See if they have any ideas or new approaches that may help your company.

    Sharing with them these thoughts will show you who is motivated and if they are able to offer creative solutions to your problems. It will also help you know if that person will easily get along with your current teams and if they can fit with them.  

    HR expertise is important, but soft skills can be as important too. Here are some qualities and characteristics that are important to look for in an HR manager:

    • Fast and efficient decision making to be able solve problems fast with minimal losses.
    • Good communication skills to build a strong relationship with his team and other employees.
    • Good technical skills to be able to use apps like Day Off easily and know how to benefit from them.
    • Has the intention to continuously learn new things that will help with your HR management system.
    • Has the ability to multitask and so, leads to higher productivity of the company.

    Conclusion

    Hiring a professional HR manager will always be of great benefit to your company. It helps boosts your business growth and makes employees satisfied. Both expertise and soft skills are essential factors to take into consideration when choosing your manager.

    Things like excellent work experience, ability to handle excessive workload, knowledge about HR management and being up to date with technology are all examples of traits you should look for to spot a great HR manager.

  • How to Get the Most Out of Your Remote Team

    How to Get the Most Out of Your Remote Team


    The pandemic has taken a great chunk of our lives- both work and personal life-related. With all the chaos going on worldwide, working from home might have been the best possible option. But is it? Employees working remotely have taken a toll on their mental health and productivity, not to mention their enthusiasm for any task has decreased drastically. While motivating and influencing your team while they work remotely may not be as easy as you wish it to be, there are a few basic methods through which you can get the most out of your remote team.

    Initiate Daily Check-ins

    Interacting with your remote team is the way to begin monitoring them. Through frequent video conferences or one-to-one sessions, you’ll be able to keep tabs on whatever the employees are doing and if they are in the proper setting to work. Even though this may sound like a buzzkill to some, the daily check-ins will ensure that all the employees are fulfilling their due tasks on time and clearing any confusion. Furthermore, these shall encourage the employees to open up to you.

    Communicate with the Team

    On the topic of ‘opening up’, communication is key. In the pandemic work situation, employees already suffer from a lack of communication and interaction. What could be resolved in the workplace easily is taking a lot of time to decipher online, in a remote working scenario. To ensure this factor doesn’t affect the team and its overall performance. As a leader, you must communicate all the responsibilities and duties that they are assigned with. Not only does this enable the remote team to understand all the tasks properly, but it makes them feel important to the company.

    Utilize Technology

    Technology is a great tool once you master the art of it. With applications like Zoom, Google Meet, Discord, Microsoft Teams, and multiple others, it’s relatively easier to deal with remote teams now. Utilizing these applications shall gradually make your remote team accustom to the online working situation and enable them to work more productively. Aside from work-related stuff, you can even use these platforms to engage and communicate with the team!

    Formulate Rules of Engagement

    Information sharing might be troublesome for a remote team. For this reason, general rules of engagement should be introduced to the workforce; the rules shall describe when and how the employees can connect to you or the other team members. Remember to approach any difficulties through proper team engagement.

    Handle Expectations

    Company goals and visions have changed due to the pandemic and the employees need to be made aware of that. The way of work that you expected them to do earlier might not align with the current scenario. Hence, regular communication regarding the expectations associated with the remote team will take you forward at a consistent pace.

    Outcomes over Activity!

    Monitoring every activity in a remote environment might not be the best decision, as it takes plenty of time and effort than in a normal scenario. Instead, focusing on the outcome of each task shall be a better choice to manage your remote team. This leaves a majority of the work responsibility to the team, enabling them to work as they please as long as they deliver the desired outcome. Furthermore, this method ensures that your remote team starts feeling important and that they matter to the company.

    Make it Purposeful

    For a remote team, having a consistent and defined purpose will drive the employees into being more productive. The work-from-home situation can make the employees lose their motivation and purpose quite easily, which is why a purpose is required to tie everything together. Ensure that your employees are going forward with a goal set in mind.

    Enable Resources

    Proper resources need to be made available to your remote team. Without a stable internet connection, laptop or PC, audible speakers, etc. a remote team cannot perform or operate to its full productivity. As a leader, it’s your responsibility that your team is fully resourced before getting on with the company’s visions and goals.

    Omit Obstacles

    Complexities regarding personal and work-life should be considered right now if it wasn’t already. Any difficulty that your employees might be facing should be taken seriously, considering the current pandemic. While everybody is prone to the same danger, not everyone is in the same boat. Keeping that in mind, any obstacles should be eliminated.

    Time to Socially Interact!

    Social interaction among the employees of your remote team should be encouraged. Any gathering via online platforms should be motivated; a games night, movie night, or any games that could be played online should be encouraged. The ray of hope from social interaction not only ignites a livelihood in your remote team but helps them refocus on their work as well.

    Be Flexible

    A pandemic isn’t an easy situation to get over, especially with people falling sick here and there. A flexible practice or day off can be introduced if your remote team is going through a hard time- it shows that you care for your team and their wellbeing.

    An Empathetic Leader

    The abovementioned points all tied up together comes to this- it’s time to be an empathetic leader. Empathy and compassion will get your forward at an increasing pace during this hard time. Reaction to sudden problems can be managed by handling the stress and tension through empathy and calmness.

    Mentor, not Manage

    It’s crucial to remember that you cannot manage or discipline the remote team during a pandemic. It’s harsh and insensitive to some extent. Furthermore, the usual managing techniques would not work for everything now. Approaching as a mentor and motivator will help bring out the best from your remote team.

    Conclusion

    Handling a remote team is essential and not conventional at all. For that, it’s wise to be flexible and empathetic while being open to discussions that would not have occurred under normal circumstances. A remote team can take your company to paces, only if you manage to bring the most out of it.