Absent workers are one of an organizations biggest costs. Could technology help in this and other problem areas?
The devil is in the details: some of the biggest costs to a company come down to small details and inaccurate information. How can technology facilitate accuracy across departments?
Attendance
Absence accounts for a more than a third of the annual payroll, with an unplanned absence representing up to 2.5%. Reducing and controlling unplanned absences can have a significant effect on the bottom line, both in direct and indirect ways, as well as the morale cost associated with workers having an increased workload and increased stress. One way a good absence management program can help is to automate the rules you already have in place, such as an employee getting a verbal warning after three days unexplained sick leave and a written warning after five.
“That’s really a progression to help manage the employee’s absence, but without any automation a lot of that is being done on a best effort basis, so employees are not being treated fairly or in a timely manner,” Kronos workforce solutions consultant Charis Sie said. “Managers do not have the tools to show the employee this is the behaviour that is happening. When you implement an attendance management solution like Kronos you’re able to fully automate that, to have that visibility and take the blame away from the managers.”
Sie said Kronos clients had reported a reduction in absences of 2.6 days annually per employee, with direct savings of $202,000and indirect savings of $400,000.
Process and Accuracy
Often the cost of manual processes is in human error, as described by Sie. Having a process to follow online or in an application ensures people follow all the steps.
“Essentially if you can make the compliant process the easiest behaviour you reduce lazy shortcuts,” Ceridian Dayforces’ James Arsenault said.
It also ensures all the data you have is accurate. If all your employee data is entered manually it’s easy to miss a step or area. When an employee moves or has a child one missing memo could mean incorrect pay or benefits. By using one program across all departments you can make sure everyone has the same information.
“The application is able to help you and your organization have control over transactional data,” Arseneault said.
Compliance
Drivers, doctors, nurses, technicians – there are all kinds of jobs that require licences, certificates or some other form of approval to work in a given field or industry. An employee caught working on an expired license could be costly for the individual and the organization. An HR application can make compliance easy, ADP’s VP of marketing David McIninch said. “You can use the program to keep track of who needs to renew licenses or compliance and to enrol in training.”
Read the rest of HRM's 2013 Tech Toolkit: