Is your organisation taking advantage of flexible working arrangements?

The team at Mitrefinch were interested to discover that over one million Queensland employees have engaged in some form of flexible working arrangements as part of their main job, and it begged us to ask the question - is your organisation engaging in Flexi Working?

As reported in HC Online, the figures released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS), found that Government sector employees reportedly make greater use of flexible working arrangements than their colleagues in the private sector, with 67% of government staff using some form of flexible working arrangement in the last year. However the private sector aren’t far behind, with 56% of employees advising that they are able to take advantage of similar flexible work arrangements.

Those working in the government sector enjoy the additional freedom of being able to choose their start and finish times as well as when to take annual leave.

It’s not a big surprise that financial reasons were the driving force behind Queenslanders wanting to work more hours. While, lifestyle was the main reason given for those wanting to work less hours.

The benefits of flexible workplace arrangements have been well documented and the Australian Government Job Access factsheet provides employers with a multitude of reasons why organisations should look to offer flexible work options to employees, such as:

• improving the ability of employers to attract skilled and motivated employees
• creating greater staff loyalty and higher return on training investment
• increased trust and respect
• reduced stress levels and improved morale and commitment
• reduced absenteeism and staff turnover
• improved productivity
• potential for improved occupational health and safety records
• assisting compliance with anti-discrimination and workplace relations laws.

For further information you can read the full article on HC Online here.

Want to introduce flexible working arrangements but not sure how?

Web-based time and attendance software is an effective, yet affordable, means of managing an organisation's entire workforce, allowing management to take full advantage of today’s flexible working practices such as mobile working and flexi-time, keeping costs low and increasing employee productivity.

A web-based time and attendance system allows employees to manage their own time and attendance information in a controlled, accessible and efficient way - regardless of their location.

Staff can remotely clock in and out of tasks, appointments and projects via desktop PCs, laptops, iPads/notebooks and the latest communications devices and smart phones. They can also view their holiday entitlements, apply for leave, and request updates to their personal records without constantly interfering with the valuable time of HR staff.

A web-based time and attendance system also facilitates real-time project tracking, providing accurate analysis of employee activity anytime, anywhere – this greatly increases efficiency and ensures that labour-related costs are genuine.

Meanwhile, powerful reporting functionality enables managers and supervisors to identify the commercial impact of staffing decisions.

Ready to take the next step?

For more information on how a web-based time and attendance system could help you embrace mobile workforce management and flexible working arrangements contact Mitrefinch today on 1300 884 831 (Aus) or 09 363 9557 (NZ).

Alternatively feel free to chat with us online at http://www.mitrefinch.com.au

One in 3 workers chuck sickies - how are you monitoring Absenteeism?

Have you ever “chucked a sickie”, taken a “doona day” or invented an elaborate excuse to take a day off?

If so, you’re not the only one, with new research revealing that one in three British workers have lied to their boss in order to take time off.

As reported by Human Capital, the PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) study found that the majority of respondents (61%) said they did so because they felt unmotivated and tired with their job.

The research also revealed that 15% of those who took a day off work felt they’d been working hard and deserved it, whereas 21% "pulled sickies" to deal with "family responsibilities".

Interestingly, hangovers, good weather (you can’t blame the British for wanting to make the most of the sunshine when they get it!) and romance were also named as motivating factors behind calling in sick.

On a more serious note, absenteeism costs UK businesses up to 32 billion pounds ($48.5b) a year and can be crippling for many small companies. However, Neil Roden, HR consulting partner at PwC, believes that a large percentage of absenteeism could actually be prevented.

"Our findings suggest a large chunk of this loss is preventable. If people are bored and depressed with their jobs, employers need to think creatively how they can get people back in gear", he said.

SO WHAT’S THE SOLUTION?

According to Human Capital, the NSW government have published a number of strategies that HR professionals and small businesses can adopt to help reduce absenteeism on their industrial relations website. These include:

• Promote a high performance work culture and emphasise the importance of the employee fitting into this culture
• Provide flexible work practices which meet the needs of your business and your employees
• Promote the use of carer's or domestic leave
• Widen job responsibilities
• Increase promotional opportunities
• Recognise and reward your employees' contribution
• Provide training and development
• Establish an effective means of monitoring annual leave and long service leave data to ensure your employees are taking adequate recreational breaks.

IF YOU CAN’T MEASURE IT YOU CAN’T MANAGE IT!

By effectively measuring absence and sickness in the workplace, supervisors and managers can easily identify:

• how often a worker is absent
• how much working time has been lost
• if there is any particular pattern forming (i.e. a particular worker regularly calls in sick on a Monday morning)
• and where absenteeism occurs the most (i.e. within a particular department, team)

Armed with this valuable information, management can then assess the extent of their absenteeism issues and decide on the best means of tackling the problem.

For example, if absence is high among a specific team or department there may be an issue with the supervisor/manager, or employees may be subjected to workplace bullying.

HOW CAN A TIME AND ATTENDANCE SYSTEM HELP?

An Employee Time and Attendance system is a powerful tool for analysing and managing employee time and associated costs.

By recording unplanned absences, holidays and other leave (compassionate, parental etc...), a Time and Attendance system builds a complete Employee Absence Profile which can be viewed on a weekly, monthly, or annual basis. While a Group Absence Profile allows you to analyse absence for a specific team, department or site.

By measuring the work absences of individual employees a Time and Attendance system can identify how these absences impact the organisation’s overall productivity, while real-time colour-coded reporting allows supervisors and managers to quickly identify potential problem areas and plan work schedules according to available resources, skills sets etc…

A web based Time and Attendance solution can also facilitate flexi-work patterns and working from home initiatives, enabling employees to record their start and finish times, as well as allocate time to specific jobs/projects regardless of their location.

Employee Self Service functionality also provides staff with the opportunity to check their own Annual Leave balances and request time off (subject to approval) without having to speak directly to their manager or HR department - if they have accumulated enough leave they may be encouraged to book some time off as opposed to “Chucking a Sickie”!

If you’d like to find out more about how an automated Time and Attendance system can reduce your company’s absence rates and boost productivity contact Mitrefinch Employee Management today on 1300 884 831 (Australia) or 09 363 9557 (NZ).

Our Free Guide to Choosing a Time and Attendance system is also available for download online.

Benchmarking Payroll: Feedback from the NZPPA Annual Conference and Payroll Expo

Mitrefinch were delighted to be a part of the New Zealand Payroll Practitioners Association (NZPPA) Annual Conference and Payroll Expo which took place in Auckland last week.

The event, the largest of its kind in New Zealand, featured an impressive line-up of presentations with a strong emphasis on current payroll legislation, with Peter Dunne, Minister of Revenue, providing the keynote speech.

Round table discussion groups hosted by NZPPA’s Accreditation arm, Inland Revenue, Payroll Giving, the Department of Labour, and Buckett Law facilitated interaction between attendees and industry specialists, enabling them to ask questions and find out more about services available to them.

While the Training streams covered conference related subjects such as; Customer service skills for payroll, the Wages Protect Act, Top 5 Payroll Calculations, handling difficult people and managing stress in Payroll.

As one of the event exhibitors, the Payroll Expo provided Mitrefinch with an opportunity to speak to a large number of payroll professionals on the challenges involved in fulfilling the ever-changing demands of their businesses.

In keeping with the Conference Theme, “Benchmarking Payroll - Improvement, Performance, and Achievement”, we were only to happy to demonstrate how our employee management solutions have enabled some of the world’s leading organisations to reduce payroll costs and associated administration, improve payroll accuracy, and achieve superior planning and control of employee schedules and jobs.

Our extensive range of data capture options, in particular our mobile applications for effective time management and job costing for remote staff, drew lots of attention to our booth, as well as our delectable Mitrefinch cupcakes (courtesy of the 12 Cupcakes company) and our prize draw for a hamper from The Sweetest Little Chocolate Shop!

If you missed out on the event, the presentations and photos will be available online at the NZPPA website later in the week.

Alternatively to discover how Mitrefinch Time and Attendance and Employee Management solutions could help benchmark your payroll processes contact us on 09 363 9557, marketing@mitrefinch.co.nz or visit us online.

Mitrefinch also look forward to exhibiting at the TAPS Payroll Expo in Sydney and Melbourne later this year (October).

Aussie cleaners share in back pay pay out - how can you safeguard your business from an underpayment case?

Hundreds of cleaners across Australia are sharing in a $242,000 pay out after investigations by the Fair Work Ombudsman found they were being underpaid, reports the Canberra Times.

A total of 621 cleaners in Australia were rewarded back pay after Fair Work investigators looked into 315 companies as part of a nationwide campaign.

Of those 315 companies, 117 were found to have breached workplace law, with the most common breaches being underpayment of penalty rates and inadequate record-keeping practices.

United Voice branch secretary, Lyndal Ryan commended Fair Work Australia but said the issue went beyond the 11 employees.

''The problem of underpayment is probably not reflected in the figures because it is more widespread,'' she said.

Fair Work Ombudsman Nicholas Wilson advised that they were alerted to a potential issue within cleaning services when records between March 2006 and April 2010 showed it was generating the fourth-highest number of complaints.

So how can you safeguard your organisation from a potential underpayment case?

Ensuring that you are compliant with penalty rates and modern awards can represent a major headache for many organisations, with recent workplace cases such as Toys 'R' Us having to pay back up to $1 million to more than 1000 young employees, highlighting the importance of effective Award Interpretation and Time Management processes.

An automated Time and Attendance System can take the stress out of employee allowances and entitlement calculations via an in-built, fully customisable Award Interpreter.

Easily calculate base and overtime pay, weekend and public holiday penalties, as well as leave loading and shift penalties, ensuring consistent application of your business rules. A direct interface to your external payroll application further reduces payroll administration and the potential for costly payroll errors.

Visit our website to find out more about effective Award Interpretation and automated Time and Attendance Systems or feel free to call us on 1300 884 831 (Aus) or 09 363 9557 (NZ).

Follow us on Twitter and Facebook, or join our Linkedin group for updates on employee time management solutions.

Can you afford not to?

Mitrefinch to exhibit at NZ Payroll Expo as part of the NZPPA Annual Conference in Auckland

Mitrefinch Group are looking forward to being a part of the upcoming New Zealand Payroll Practitioners' Association (NZPPA) Annual Conference and Payroll Expo in Auckland this coming Thursday and Friday (21-22nd July).

The NZPPA Annual Conference is the largest payroll event in New Zealand, drawing over 150 payroll professionals from small, medium and large businesses across the region.

This year’s conference has a “Benchmarking Payroll - Improvement, Performance, and Achievement” theme and will feature an impressive line-up of speakers including the Minister of Revenue, Peter Dunne and best-selling Author, Debbie Mayo-Smith.

The conference program aims to enage attendees with a number of interactive sessions; round table discussion with a range of government, technical experts and payroll related organisations, practical training on conference related topics, and case studies from payroll practitioners providing real-world advice.

Running in conjunction with the conference, the Payroll Expo will provide attendees with the opportunity to learn about the latest payroll technology and tools to implement best practices, operational efficiencies and cost savings. The Mitrefinch team will be showcasing our range of Employee Time Management solutions at Booth 11.

“Mitrefinch are delighted to be associated with NZPPA and the Payroll Expo. We look forward to meeting fellow NZPPA members and demonstrating our new biometric time and attendance solutions, as well as mobile applications for effective job costing and time management of remote staff”, said Jamie Fitzsimons, Mitrefinch AsiaPac Marketing Manager.

As an event sponsor, Mitrefinch have negotiated a special deal for clients who want to attend the conference at the discounted NZPPA member rate. For those who can’t make the conference, the Payroll Expo is open to the general public and entry is FREE.

The NZPPA Annual Conference and Payroll Expo takes place on July 21 - 22 at the Rendezvous Hotel in Auckland, to register or to find out more about event visit http://www.nzppa.co.nz