Autor: dayoff

PTO which stands for paid time off is a privilege given to employees at any business in case of vacations, sick days, absence due to any matter and leaves. When applying for a job the employee is given a certain number of paid time off and leaves. The number of paid time off and leaves differ from one company to another depending on the company’s PTO policy, and to manage this you need the help of PTO tracking apps.

What is PTO tracker app?

PTO tracker software offers an automated software for leave tracking and management. PTO tracker software or app helps the employees when sending a request for their paid time off or leave and keeps track of employees present in the organization and those who are at leave.

Why to use PTO tracking apps?

1. Better at organizing

The process of using an excel sheet or spreadsheets or paperwork has a wide range of error to occur and losing data easily. PTO tracking apps offer an organized system to keep track of the employees without losing data.

2. Better accessibility

Earlier the spreadsheets that companies used for the paid time off were accessible by certain employees only to do the paperwork.

At this modern age PTO tracing apps and software tools are present, they made accessibility easier for both the employer and the employees.

3. Time and effort saving

Digitalization means easier communication, a PTO tracker app that is available for the employees makes it easier to push through their paid time off requests to their bosses. PTO tracker software saves time both for the employee and employer making them more productive.

4. Easier Tracking

One of the great benefits of a PTO tracker software is that it keeps track of employees’ PTO, how much have they used and how much is PTO is available. The presence of a PTO tracker app for the employees, offers them a counter for their used and left leaves.

5. Budget friendly

The cost of paperwork concerning the materials and the employees working in processing the paid time off and leaves is much higher than using a PTO tracker software which digitizes the process and makes it easier. Any organization must do their best at reducing their costs when they find their desired service. The saved-up money can be used for any other aspect which will result in increased productivity.

6      Best PTO tracking apps

1.     Kissflow HR Cloud

Key Features:

• Leave management, requesting leave and tracking it.
• Attendance management, monitor your employees’ attendance.
• Data can be accessed from multiple devices.
• Make communication easier due to the ability of sending feeds and documents to the whole team.
• Dashboards which show real time information on every process.
• Possibility of generating custom reports.

Pricing:

Kissflow offers different payment plans which start from 9.90 USD per employee per month and the payment plans differ due to your business requirements.

2.     Day off

Key Features:

• Step by step help in creating your team account and adding your employees.
• Easy to use and easy to understand user interface.
• Availability of a mobile app makes it easier to use by both the employer and employees.
• Pushing the request of a leave to the right person easily and rapidly.
• Push notifications whether the leave request is accepted or refused.
• Push notification of an announcement by the employer to the employees.
• Possibility of adding new leave types.
• Full overview for the team’s leaves and balance.
• Show the employees their leave balance and how many leaves are left.
• When completing inserting your team’s leaves and their request, a calendar with the leaves and the leave request is created which makes managing your team much easier.
• Presence of a calendar view for both the employees and the employer, to track team vacations and time off, monitor team absence and workflow.

Pricing:

Day off offers a free version with basic features which is a great chance for trying out the app. For using the full advanced features of the app, 1 USD per employee per month is paid. This is a great price yet cheap for all the great features presented in return.

3.     Zoho People

Key Features:

• Make leave request reach the employer in the right time.
• Helps HR to fix problems faster.
• Lets employees manage their work and the whole team’s work.
• Send notifications and documents to your employees.
• Availability of a mobile app to make access easier for both the employer and the employees.
• Manage employees’ data easily.

Pricing:

Payment plans start at 1 USD per employee per month and there is other payment plans which depend on the features required.

4.     GoCo

Key Features:

• Easily request time off or leave, makes the request reach the employer easier
• Availability of PTO and different leaves.
• Automatically adding holiday hours to you team’s time sheet.
• Reports on your team’s working hours.
• Calculates employees’ overtime.
• Manages employees’ attendance

Preisgestaltung

GoCo starts at 5 USD per employee per month

5.     Sage HR

Key Features:

• Makes leave requests and paid time off requests reach the employer faster.
• When requests are approved, they are automatically put on calendar.
• The calendar is available for both employees and the employer
• Employees can open their accounts and know their balance of leaves and paid time off.
• Availability of mobile app makes it easier to approve requests from anywhere.

Pricing:

SakeHr payment plan starts from 5.5 USD per employee per month and there are other payment plans depending on the business required features.

6.     Factorial HR

Key Features:

• Manage paid time off and different leaves and track them on calendar
• Tracks number of leaves and paid time off left.
• Creating own time off policies.
• Leave and paid time off requests reach the employer easier.
• Approval of time off request and leaves is easier just by a click.
• Adding as many leave types as wanted.
• Generate custom reports on employees’ leaves and Paid time off.
• Availability of a mobile app increases the accessibility.

Pricing:

The payment plan of Factorial HR is a flexible one it starts for 3 USD per employee per month. The payment plan differs depending on the features needed for the business.

A Human Resource manager helps retain and achieve your company’s objectives through communicative management of employees. As a result, the essential part of a business is in the HR manager’s hands that may go wrong with inefficient decision-making. With that being said, your company needs an ideal HR manager whose goals align with that of your business, somebody who understands the culture and nature of your company. While there aren’t any specific steps to land yourself the right HR manager, a few tweaks here and there might do the trick. Keep reading if you wish to hire the ideal HR manager for your company!

HR Manager Skills Requisites

There are a few requirements that your HR manager must-have. It might vary from one business to another, but the overall essence remains the same- communication. As an HR manager, the individual needs to be able to work in a team through effective communication and leadership skills. The main focus of an HR manager should remain on recruiting able individuals who shall add value to the firm, and manage them by keeping their strengths and weaknesses in mind. In addition to that, the HR manager needs to ensure that the benefits are coordinated accordingly and strategies are implemented efficiently. 

Aside from these skills, the HR manager that you’re looking for must have adequate knowledge about employment laws and regulations; the manager should use it while making decisions regarding recruitment.

Behavioral Traits

Behavioral traits examination is a vital test for managers when handing over your company’s operations and functions to them to handle. A few behavioral traits are set for your HR manager to have. Communicative personality, extroverted, task-oriented, driven, influential, innovative and persuasive are the traits that your HR manager must possess. While hunting for certain behavioral traits, it’s crucial to remember that most individuals develop these traits at an early age and let is build up within them. Hence, ‘learning’ a trait might be impossible for a human being unless they change their entire personality accordingly. With that being said, in case you find a candidate who matches all the requirements but fails to meet a specific behavioral trait that you were looking for, there is no way you can accept that person. 

For example- a candidate checks all the boxes required but is an introvert. This means managing a workforce shall be tough as well as communicating with others. Hence, this candidate cannot be accepted. Behavioral traits are of great importance when you’re handing the company’s missions and visions to your HR manager.

Say No to Traditional Practices

It’s been ages since the traditional practices carry out the hiring procedure. To find the right HR manager for your company, you need to introduce cognitive and behavioral assessments during recruitment process. These assessments shall show you how a person is, and if they can succeed in fulfilling the company’s objectives. In other words, your HR manager shall go through multiple in-depth assessments for him/her to prove why they are the ideal match for your business. 

Many companies worldwide have begun using psychometric tests as a tool for recruiting their managers. These tests give you an analysis of the managers’ personalities and how well can they mush into your company’s visions. It’s time to give those a try!

Remove Biases

Several biases take place while recruitment. Even though it’s quite natural, you need to avoid it. The recruitment of your HR manager needs to be bias-free, and the HR manager himself needs to not succumb to any biases while recruiting your workforce. In other words, it’s time to eliminate biases from your entire company to maintain the functionality. Biases may lead to the wrong individual getting in, and then failing to fulfill the objectives; we don’t want that to happen.

Stick to the Reference Profiles

A reference profile is a set of traits in an individual that creates an imaginary category, which the manager might fall into. There are several reference profiles for managers to be distributed into, but for an HR manager, the following shall suffice.

Persuader HR Manager

The confident individual who is empathetic towards others while making a decision. They are the official ‘type’ for an HR manager if there is any. These individuals are innovative while strategy implementation and natural leaders motivate the workforce.

Maverick HR Manager

If you wish for your company to fulfill objectives as soon as possible, you need to prioritize this type while searching for the right HR manager. Not only will these individuals fulfill the goals and visions for your company, but they shall identify growth opportunities for the human resource as well.

Captain HR Manager

 These people are the influencers, motivators, who can supervise and lead the workforce into performing efficiently. Any challenge you name, the Captain shall be able to provide solutions to with the help of his workforce. The leadership qualities for this profile are the main focus.

Search Right Places

Networking and communication are HR manager’s strong points. Hence, they might not adapt to the job postings on the company’s website. Instead, you shall probably receive recommendations regarding individuals who would fit the role of an HR manager in the company through other top executives. This portrays the networking ability of the individual, which is necessary for an HR manager.

Make it Purposeful!

Following a monotonous routine might not be your HR manager’s thing, nor do you want it to be. After you have hired an individual, it’s essential to make their tasks purposeful for them to enjoy and perform effectively. With that, you’ll end up with the right HR manager for your business.

Bottom Line

HR managers are communicative individuals that everybody likes, making it easier for them to lead and motivate the workforce to fulfill the company’s objectives. Since the task assigned to HR managers is important, finding the right individual for the job is as well. Let our article’s tips lead you to the perfect match!

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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 depend 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 about.

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 it’s natural that 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 new 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 new 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!

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.