Payroll Software and People Management blog

Staff and Workplace Mobility Improve Business Productivity.

Posted by Sage MicrOpay on Wed, Jun 05, 2013 @ 03:16 PM

Sage Australia Business IndexStaff mobility is now mainstream in Australia with half of all businesses stating it is conceivable for their staff to work away from the office. Close to nine in ten (88 per cent) of these organisations have introduced policies to enable staff to work from home or away from the office, but for the majority (60 per cent) the policies remain informal rather than formal. 

Almost two-thirds of businesses with a staff mobility policy confirm the policy is delivering business value. One-third reports a tangible return on investment (ROI), while almost three in ten say they are realising intangible benefits such as improvements in staff satisfaction, morale, a reduction in absenteeism and improved productivity. These are among the major findings of the Sage Australia Business Index 2013, a study of Australian business attitudes, concerns and trends.

Large and medium sized organisations are most likely to say they could theoretically have a mobile staff policy (97 per cent and 81 per cent respectively). Medium businesses are the most likely to act on this potential, with three-quarters of those who believe staff mobility is feasible, enacting a formal or informal policy. This compares to six in ten (62 per cent) large businesses. Only one in eight (12 per cent) organisations does not allow staff mobility other than in extenuating circumstances. 

Email is the most commonly used application when working at home or away from the office, followed by company file shares, drives and servers; company knowledge management and collaboration tools; accounting systems and customer relationship management (CRM) systems.

The willingness to embrace mobility appears to be driven by weakening performance and business confidence among Australian businesses in 2013 compared to 2012. With an expectation of leaner times ahead, large numbers of Australian companies of all sizes are turning to staff and enterprise mobility initiatives as a means of achieving productivity improvements. 

Mobile enabling the business

Beyond the question of allowing staff to work away from the office, the Sage Australia Business Index 2013 found that Australian businesses are also increasingly mobile enabling the workplace to facilitate connections between systems, staff, customers and suppliers.

Over half (53 per cent) of all Australian companies and eight in ten medium sized businesses believe mobile enabling the workplace is relevant to their business. Two-thirds of these organisations have, or are currently implementing mobile enabled workplace systems. Among the remaining one-third, six in ten plan to implement mobile enabled systems within the next 24 months.

The majority of businesses that have implemented, or are implementing, a mobile enabled workplace are using mobility to connect staff with each other, share business data between staff and to connect with customers and suppliers in real time. 

Businesses that are engaged in enterprise mobility say their strategies are advanced, working well and more than half are seeing some form of value or return. The two core perceived benefits are improvements in staff productivity and communication, both of which out-ranked the more directly measurable benefits of business cost reduction and revenue gains.

The research provides insightful outcomes in relation to the benefits that have been enjoyed by businesses that embrace mobility technology in the workforce. Sage MicrOpay’s Meridian ESP Mobile solution has been designed and developed for today’s workforce and helps businesses and employees stay nimble and efficient. To find out how we can assist you to become more mobile with your workforce, click here

Download your copy of the Sage Australia Business Index 2013

Topics: employee self service, Australian business

Advantages to adding an employee self service solution to your payroll software.

Posted by Sage MicrOpay on Fri, Feb 15, 2013 @ 12:11 PM

ESSBenefitsAs a result of new advances in technology including the rapid rise in popularity of devices such as smartphones and tablets along with powerful wireless internet connections, more and more businesses are implementing employee self service solutions with their payroll software to enhance productivity.

To shed some light on why this is the case and to introduce you to how these systems are revolutionising the way payroll departments function, included below are a few of the advantages that ESS solutions are bringing to companies.

Reduce the administrative workload.

Employee self service solutions give staff the ability to view and amend their information including personal, contact and bank details. By transferring the responsibility of maintaining accurate records of these details from payroll personnel to each individual staff member, employee self service portals can successfully reduce the severe administrative burden that many payroll professionals face every day. The process of leveraging a business’s entire workforce to maintain staff records by giving employees the control to change their own information also often facilitates a higher level of accuracy.

Email coordination of leave applications and approvals.

Quick, easy application and approval of leave is made possible with the use of ESS systems. Employees are able to forecast leave amounts and submit applications online anytime, anywhere, triggering the sending of automatic email alerts to managers for approval. The mobility and convenience this provides to staff, as well as the expedited application/approval process that occurs as a result of the automated workflows that ESS software possess promotes a more engaged workforce. Once again, administrative duties are also kept to a minimum with details of approved leave being imported directly into payroll software for the next pay cycle when using integrated systems.

Minimise paper-based processes.

The benefits of replacing numerous paper-based processes such as leave applications as well as payslips with online substitutes using employee self service solutions are numerous. Time-consuming data entry by payroll and HR staff is no longer required. The occurrence of common errors such as lost application slips or incomplete contact details forms become a thing of the past. The allowance of employees to view and print their pay advices also dispels any need for staff requests for pay information or copies of previous payslips.  Additionally, another obvious advantage of switching to paperless methods is the consequent positive effect on a business’s carbon footprint.

Enhance the mobility of your workforce.

Many businesses often rely on broad networks of employees across multiple locations to successfully carry out their operations. This scenario is often accompanied by its own unique set of challenges, none more prevalent than the need to efficiently gather data such as start and finish times to accurately process the payroll. The integration of an employee self service solution featuring mobile timesheet entry capability with a payroll software system greatly simplifies this conundrum. Giving staff the ability to input their own timesheet data online, coupled with the widespread use of smartphones and tablets with internet capability, means critical timesheet information can be compiled quickly from several different sites.

 

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Topics: employee self service, payroll software