HRIS & Payroll Excellence - August 2022

AUGUST 2022 • Vol.09 • No.08 10 Important Factors to consIder When choosIng hr technologIes - Brett Farmiloe, Founder and CEO – and CHRO(ISSNTerkel.io2564-2030) 2316 31 36 rethinking Workplace collaborationAndrewWrikeFilev, harnessing Big data Is the Key to smarter hr Insights - KyleSequoiaHolm, employmentlaw101 - Elizabeth Hartsel, Fortis Law Partners the changing compensation and Benefits Landscape - Tanya Jansen,   beqom

07 On the Cover XndeI Articles 12 A Wealth Of Data Comes At The Expense Of Productivity Time tracking software is a must-have in the digital age of project management - Lakshmi Raj, Co-CEO, Replicon 20 3 Tips To Leverage AI And Automation To Meet Recruitment Demands Amid Recession Concerns Recruiters are in an increasingly competitive and uncertain market - Ray Meiring, CEO and Co-Founder, QorusDocs 28 The Critical Compensation Metric Most Small Businesses Ignore If you focus only on being competitive with wages and benefits, you will miss an important nuance - Thompson Aderinkomi, CEO and Cofounder Nice Healthcare 34 Rising Inflation Rate: How Can Employers Support Their Staff? Top tips to follow - Andrew Caldwell, HR Advisory Manager, Peninsula Canada 38 The Future Of The Workplace Embracing change and moving ahead - Gilles Raymond, Founder & CEO, Letsmeet HRIS & Payroll Excellence AUGUST 2022 Vol.09 No.08 (ISSN 2564-2030) 10 Important Factors to consider When choosing hr technologies New tech can solve your existing problem, however, to what extent do they fit into your existing work culture is key - Brett Farmiloe, Founder and CEO – and CHROTerkel.io

Top Picks 16 23 31 36 Rethinking CollaborationWorkplace How to eliminate communication challenges once and for all - Andrew Filev, Founder and CEO, Wrike Harnessing Big Data Is The Key To Smarter HR Insights Preparing for the next economic change - Kyle Holm, VP, Total Rewards Advisory, Sequoia Employment Law 101 What you should know to protect your business - Elizabeth Hartsel, Partner, Fortis Law Partners The CompensationChanging And Benefits Landscape How to win the war for talent - Tanya Jansen, Co-Founder, beqom INDEX

How are our HRIS & Payroll Products and Services helping to make you smarter? HRIS & Payroll Excellence - Monthly Interactive Learning Journal This monthly interactive learning experience captures key metrics and actionable items and keeps you focused on your Core HR: Payroll for HR and HRIS management goals and solutions. HRIS and Payroll Webcasts for Credit HR.com webcasts deliver the latest HRIS and Payroll industry news, research trends, best practices and case studies directly to your desktop. Webcasts are available live online with a downloadable podcast and a copy of the slides (PDF) available before and after each webcast. Earn all of the required recertification credits for aPHR, PHR, SPHR, GPHR, and SHRM Certifications. HR.com’s one-hour webcasts, in every HR specialty including HRIS and Payroll, are pre-approved for HRCI and SHRM credit (excluding Demo webcasts).HRIS and Payroll Virtual Events Virtual Events in the HRIS and Payroll program merge human resources management as a discipline with basic HR activities and processes within the information technology field. With continuous offerings of new technologies in the HR industry to improve HR practices and efficiencies in payroll and any information systems, there’s a boundless need for education as well as surveillance of systems integration. Each Virtual Event consists of up to 10 credit webcasts. Payroll for HR and HRIS Community Join over 37,000 HR.com members with a similar interest and focus on Payroll for HR and HRIS. Share content and download research reports, blogs, and articles, network, and “follow” peers and have them “follow” you in a social network platform to communicate regularly and stay on top of the latest updates. This well established Payroll for HR and HRIS Communities are an invaluable resource for any HR professional or manager. Use these invaluable HRIS & Payroll resources today! For more information phone: 1.877.472.6648 | email: sales@hr.com | www.hr.com

and payroll processes. Happy reading and don’t forget to send us your feedback! What to consider When choosing hr technologies Subscribe now for $99 / year And get this magazine delivered to your inbox every month Become a Member Today to get it FREE! SIGN UP OR For Advertising Opportunities, email: sales@hr.com Copyright © 2022 HR.com. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form without written permission from the publisher. Quotations must be credited. Editorial Purpose Our mission is to promote personal and professional development based on constructive values, sound ethics, and timeless principles. Excellence Publications Debbie McGrath CEO, HR.com - Publisher Dawn Jeffers VP, Sales Sue Kelley Director (Product, Marketing, and Research) Babitha Balakrishnan and Deepa Damodaran Excellence Publications Managers and Editors HRIS & Payroll Excellence Team Deepa Damodaran Editor Chinnavel Design and Layout (Digital Magazine) Vibha Kini Magazine (Online Version) Submissions & Correspondence Please send any correspondence, articles, letters to the editor, and requests to reprint, republish, or excerpt articles to ePubEditors@hr.com For customer service, or information on products and services, call 1-877-472-6648 HRIS & Payroll Excellence: (ISSN 2564-2030) is published monthly by HR.com Limited, 56 Malone Road, Jacksons Point, Ontario L0E 1L0 Internet Address: www.hr.com Write to the Editor ePubEditors@hr.comat deepa damodaran Editor, HRIS & ExcellencePayroll debbie mcgrath Publisher, HR.com

hope

& Payroll Excellence will help you achieve excellence

In 10 Important Factors To Consider

What factors are most important to you when evaluating and choosing HR technologies to add to your tech stack? Is it a self-service option for employees? Or how well the new technology will integrate with the existing technology stack? Or is it the total cost of ownership?

your

Disclaimer: The views, information, or opinions expressed in the Excellence ePublications are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of HR.com and its employees. Under no circumstances shall HR.com or its partners or affiliates be responsible or liable for any indirect or incidental damages arising out of these opinions and content.

edItor’s note

other articles this month,

When Choosing HR Technologies, Terkel.io CEO Brett Farmiloe lists down the top 10 factors that HR leaders and CEOs consider when evaluating, selecting and deploying new technologies to optimize existing stacks in their organization. According to a report, only 15% of companies disclose labor costs, yet there is an increasing segment of these businesses deriving much of their value from intangible assets –the people who make it all happen. The SEC recently announced a petition for human capital disclosures that requests additional information on the way public companies report their workforce investment. Simply put, “The Working Group On Human Capital Accounting Disclosure Petition For Rulemaking” wants more information to examine and analyze how companies invest in their Checkpeople.out,Harnessing Big Data Is The Key To Smarter HR Insights, where Sequoia’s Kyle Holm will guide us on how businesses can become smarter on their total people investment. In Employment Law 101, Fortis Law Partners’ Elizabeth Hartsel will take you through some of the most common employment law pitfalls that she has come across and the top items every entrepreneur should have in their proverbial back pocket to help protect their business and avoid potentially costly litigation. Also, read The Changing Compensation And Benefits Landscape to understand how you can win the war for talent today. That is not all! several and this of HRIS in HRIS

We have featured

edition

In a world of unparalleled challenges (global pandemic, racial injustice, politi cal rivalry, digital 4.0, emotional malaise), uncertainty reigns. Finding opportu nity in this context requires harnessing uncertainty and harnessing starts with reliable, valid, timely, and useful information. The Excellence publications are a superb source of such information. The authors provide insights with impact that will guide thought and action. Excellence publications are my ‘go-to’ resource for contemporary and action able information to improve leadership, engagement, results, and retention. Each edition offers rich and diverse perspectives for improving the employee experience and the workplace in general. I regularly read and contribute to Leadership Excellence and Talent Manage ment Excellence. I use many of the articles I read to augment my own presen tations and I often share the articles with my clients. They are always quick, right on target for the latest issues in my field, and appreciated by my clients. If you want to stay up to date on the latest HR trends, choose a few of the dif ferent issues from the Excellence series of publications. dave Ulrich Rensis Likert Professor, Ross School of Business, University of Michigan Partner, The RBL Group Julie Winkle giulioni Author, Virtual /Live Keynote Presenter, Inc.’s Top 100 Leadership Speakers dr. Beverly Kaye CEO, BevKaye&Co. We’re eager to hear your feedback on our magazines. Let us know your thoughts at ePubEditors@hr.com WHY EXCELLENCE PUBLICATIONS?

Submit Your ArticlesHRIS & Payroll Excellence presented by HR.com August 2022 7 What factors are most important to you when evaluating and choosing HR technologies to add to your tech stack? To help you best evaluate your HR technology needs when adding to your tech stack, we asked HR leaders 10 Important Factors to consider When choosing hr technologies By Brett Farmiloe, Terkel.io new tech can solve your existing problem, however, to what extent do they fit into your existing work culture is key and CEOs this question for their best insights. From self-service options for employees to how well the technology integrates with the existing stack, there are several important factors that should guide HR leaders in evaluating, selecting and deploying new technologies to optimize existing stacks. coVer artIcle

2. Ease of Access Anywhere Anytime - Arthur Worsley, Founder, The Art Of Living

10 Important Factors To Consider When Choosing HR Technologies

The most important factor I consider when evaluating and choosing HR technologies to add to my tech stack is the ability to be used on-the-go. I think it is important that an employee can access their workflows and employer tools from anywhere—on their phone, on a desktop computer, or even on an iPad. That way, you do not have to worry about whether or not they are going to be able to use the software when they need it.

Submit Your ArticlesHRIS & Payroll Excellence presented by HR.com August 2022 8 Here are 10 important factors when choosing HR technologies: 1. Self-service options for employees 2. Ease of access anywhere anytime 3. Total cost of ownership 4. How the new and the current systems may overlap 5 How much the tech affects humanness in the teams 6. Assurance of continued and better productivity 7. Customizability and scalability of the technology 8. Boosting HR core functions and serving company priorities 9. Ease of adoption by the team 10. How well it integrates with existing stack 1. Self-service Options for Employees - David Bitton, Co-Founder and CMO, Doorloop We look for an integrated solution when selecting an HR technology that has self-service functionalities. We select those that enable our employees to keep track of, manage, and update their data so they may add, view, and modify their own private data as needed. By doing so, we can cut down on labor hours, reduce user error, and minimize redundant work. Moreover, it is advantageous in that it guarantees that information is constantly correct and current, preventing mistakes or errors that can impair efficiency. Also, employee self-service allows HR staff to devote more time to mission-driven activities like employee engagement and retention.

technologies without reservations see efficiency improvements, but the impact on other areas is often Takeconcerning.recruitment

Submit Your ArticlesHRIS & Payroll Excellence presented by HR.com August 2022 9

4. How the New and the Current Systems May Overlap - Alex Chavarry, Co-Founder, Cool Links A lot of features overlap when it comes to HR technology. If you are looking to add new software to your existing pool of tech, for example, there is a strong possibility that something you have already overlaps with the features of your new product. It is important to take a moment and consider if there is any real gain to adopting tech with features that are already covered by something you are currently using. Consider whether or not the features would make the job easier, be easy to learn and adopt for workers, and be worth the cost when compared to doing things the way you are currently.

3. Total Cost of Ownership - Danielle Bedford, Head of Marketing, Coople Cost is always a consideration when choosing any business technology. But it is especially important when choosing an HRIS because of the potential return on investment. A good HRIS can offer significant cost savings by automating many of the tasks of HR staff. In addition, a good HRIS can help managers make better personnel decisions that lead to increased productivity and profitability. When considering cost, be sure to look at the total cost of ownership, not just the initial purchase price. The total cost of ownership includes the costs of implementation, training, support, and maintenance.

5. How Much the Tech Affects the Humanness of the Teams - Max Korpinen, Co-Founder and CEO, Hireproof

6. Assurance of Continued and Better Productivity - Chandler Rogers, CEO, Relay As remote work continues to trend bigger, productivity is the word of the year. Using HR technology to understand and improve productivity is a necessity to look for when adding new programs. When deciding which features will work best for your company, consider where your company stands with productivity. Has it been at the forefront of company focus for long, or is it something the company is just now beginning to hone in on?

as an example. Theoretically, the whole process of finding, evaluating, and hiring new employees could be automated. Actually, many companies offer such services already. However, human relationships are what companies and teams are built on. For many, entering a new company is like joining a family. That is why having a human talk with candidates has intrinsic value. You would not send a robot in your stead to welcome your newborn into the world - you should be there yourself because that is the right thing to do. Among HR practitioners, dehumanization is seen as the most significant risk of increased AI adoption, and I agree. The main factor I consider when implementing HR tech is this: does this technology augment or destroy the “humanness” of my HR team?

If you have an understanding of your company’s productivity already, then you may be looking for features in HR tech that can help you identify areas for improvement. But perhaps productivity has just come into the company view, so you would be looking for an HR tech that can help you understand where company productivity is already at, in order to move forward in the near future. Whatever stage you are at in productivity improvement, there is HR tech that can help take you further, and should be the selling point of any newly adapted technology.

10 Important Factors To Consider When Choosing HR Technologies

If you do not feel confident that your new HR tech provides benefits to your existing tech stack, then it is probably best to wait on it. As the old adage goes, if it is not broken then do not fix it.

The trend in HR tech has been to automate everything and anything. Companies that adopt emerging

10. How Well it Integrates with Existing Stack - Claire Williams, Chief People Officer, Ciphr When evaluating which HR technologies, make sure you do your due diligence. The key thing I consider is how any new platform will integrate with my existing HR tech stack. Does the vendor already have a relationship with the provider of my existing HCM?

8. Boosting HR Core Functions and Serving Company Priorities - Fernando Lopez, Marketing Director, Circuit One of the biggest concerns when building an HR tech stack is to get all your core functions covered. Since most HR department budgets are limited, spending over budget and missing the bigger picture can be far too easy when you are excited about some shiny, tech-forward features. You need to ensure your tech minimizes bottlenecks and makes your core functions faster and easier before you get wrapped up in the excitement. By creating a list of ‘must-haves’ and ensuring every layer in your tech stack meets those needs first, you can then choose between the software that has your ‘nice-to-haves’ next.

9. Ease of Adoption by the Team - Corey Donovan, President, Alta Technologies Adoption is the most important factor I consider when looking at adding any HR technology to our Brett Farmiloe is the Founder and CEO – and currently CHRO - of Terkel.io. Brett is an SHRM Influencer and has also been a keynote speaker at several state SHRM conferences around the topic of employee engagement. Would you like to comment? stack. While new software can promise to solve our HR challenges, or ease reporting burdens, as an operator, I have to decide if my team will actually be up for doing the work to make it possible. If adoption is possible, but requires extensive effort to create new habits, we have to weigh the cost and time of that implementation, versus the net benefit in the short and long term. We recently considered implementing a company-wide ATS, but with so many other initiatives in place, it fell off the 2022 to-do list. For now, each team will continue with their own tools, and that works for us until we can build the initiative into next year’s plan.

Submit Your ArticlesHRIS & Payroll Excellence presented by HR.com August 2022 10

Do they have proven case studies from customers who already use that combination of software? Will adding this application to my HR tech stack make my life easier – and not cause complications because it does not integrate with the existing suite of applications? And will it be easy to swap out if I no longer need it, or need to replace it?

10 Important Factors To Consider When Choosing HR Technologies

7. Customizability and Scalability of the Technology - Saadia Hussain, Finance and HR Director, Pearl Scan One of the most important factors when choosing any new HR tech to add to our stack is whether it is customizable and scalable. We will be using that software and tech daily, so we need to know that it is built to last and will grow with us in our HR industry and not slow our business down.

y Do you have expert payroll knowledge to share? y Do you have great ideas for improving payroll education and training? y Interested in being at the forefront of an engaging, new Payroll Certification? Join our AdvisoryPayrollPanel to guide the next frontier of education and certification Calling Payroll Experts… HR NeedsExpertise!Your Learn More

Submit Your ArticlesHRIS & Payroll Excellence presented by HR.com August 2022 12

Employee time tracking has been an important metric for enterprises since the early days of physical punch clocks. Organizations primarily used the manual version of time and attendance management systems to ensure employees adhere to stipulated work hours. Plus, project managers could calculate their team members’ remuneration based on their work hours. However, organizations worldwide were forced to make wholesale changes to their operating model and switch to hybrid and remote workplaces after the pandemic disrupted business continuity. Amid ongoing changes where enterprises tweak processes further, eyeing more employee-friendly workplaces by switching to a 4-day work week or letting employees work from anywhere as digital nomads, manual time tracking cannot adequately address existing challenges. Plus, an increasingly global and dispersed workforce mandates a relook at how companies track employees’ work time to make them future-ready and employee-friendly workplaces. Despite the clear need to revisit time tracking mechanisms to attune them to the post-Covid landscape, some companies continue to use manual entries for time and attendance data. It is a proven yet a

Wealth of data comes at t he expense of productivity By Lakshmi Raj, Replicon grossly outdated and inefficient process that forces employees to focus on mundane, bandwidth-sapping activities instead of productive and engaging work, affecting employee engagement and morale. automated time and attendance processes Improve employee productivity Aside from augmenting processes, automatic time and attendance mechanisms directly impact employee engagement. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics suggests that over 47 million workers have left their workplaces voluntarily in America alone since the pandemic began. Burnout, reduced employee engagement resulting from the abrupt shift to remote and hybrid workplaces, and organizational aversion to using scalable technology and automation solutions are fueling the Great Resignation. This trend has forced enterprises to wage a fierce battle to acquire and retain talent. Research also suggests that most employees believe that AI-based tools and systems improve their overall performance, reduce workload, and help them strike a better work-life balance. All this translates into higher employee engagement, reduced attrition, and improved productivity. time tracking software is a must-have in the digital age of project management

Submit Your ArticlesHRIS & Payroll Excellence presented by HR.com August 2022 13 A Wealth Of Data Comes At The Expense Of Productivity

Enterprises can address these challenges by improving the process to ensure hassle-free, anywhere, anytime access with automated and mobile-enabled timesheets that offer several advantages over their manual counterparts.

2. Hassle-free filling and instant approvals

Thus, enterprises must consider the benefits of switching to automated time and attendance tracking systems as software assumes a central character and shapes every facet of daily workflows. remote and hybrid project management mandates automating time and attendance tracking Enterprises worldwide have eased workplace rules and regulations, opting for permanent remote work or hybrid setups. Thus, employees work long hours outside of their physical offices, relying on manual timesheets to key in their daily tasks. However, employees can lose sight of project goals and exceed budgets when using manual timesheets in the absence of in-person meetings, dispersed teams and real-time data.

Manual processes are error-prone and timeconsuming. Organizations using manual timesheets expect employees to gather information and key in their work time details. This process leaves room for mistakes and delays approvals as managers need to check and approve them individually. Thus, it is a highly inefficient exercise.

Fortunately, progressive enterprises can automate timesheets and schedule real-time alerts. Plus, they can use chatbots, helping employees complete and approve timesheets instantly to minimize friction and manage workforces more seamlessly. Therefore, automating time and attendance tracking is crucial for creating an efficient and future-ready workplace management ecosystem.

1. Instant and accurate visibility Remote and hybrid operations have blurred instant and accurate visibility into employees’ attendance and work hours. Manual processes were never designed to accommodate the challenges in project management in the post-pandemic world. Thus, switching to automated tools is a natural progression as new-age time and attendance tracking systems feature GPS, geofencing, facial recognition and biometric identification capabilities. As a result, organizations can offer greater flexibility to their employees to work from anywhere while gaining complete and instant visibility into their work and attendance.

Workforce management and project management Will go hand-in-hand Workforce management and time-tracking software are partners and enablers in creating a more robust project management framework, not just tools that organizations onboard to create more tech-driven teams. The project management landscape is changing more than ever, and mastering it needs new strategies and workflows.

Submit Your Articles

Submit Your ArticlesHRIS & Payroll Excellence presented by HR.com August 2022 14 A Wealth Of Data Comes At The Expense Of Productivity

too!

Companies justifiably will not want to invest in a system that requires considerable changes to the current setup by incurring an additional expense. Thus, they must choose plug-and-play-enabled time-tracking tools and assess their interoperability and integration capabilities before making a decision.

Automating time tracking has several financial implications for enterprises beyond helping build more remote-ready and future-forward project management capabilities. Unfortunately, many organizations still track time weekly or even fortnightly! This system creates room for errors as managers do not have real-time visibility into business-critical initiatives. As a result, they often make course corrections based on old and incorrect data. However, the damage is already done by then, resulting in unnecessary project delays and cost escalations. Managers need modern tools to gain real-time visibility into employee time and work data that can empower them to make decisions quickly to mitigate issues before they manifest into more significant bottlenecks.

Managers must build actionable and deployable plans based on real-time insights by automating time and attendance-related workflows. Enterprises that enable their managers with these tools will have a headstart over those that let their managers figure out which KPIs are accurate or important. Enterprises that adopt this modern digital infrastructure will build better and more efficient remote and hybrid teams to enjoy long-term advantages over their slower-moving counterparts.

automating time tracking makes Financial sense

automated time tracking enables Better analytics and time management

Employees now prefer to work staggered hours, sometimes not even the standard 40 hours a week, and desire flexibility. Thus, the organizational focus must shift from tracking a typical workday of eight hours to analyzing how its employees spend their workday with intelligent tracking. Simply put, analytics is much more than numbers and has profound implications for task management and budget oversight. Efficient project management depends on the prudent allocation of tasks. Automated tracking software gives managers a visual and customizable bird’s-eye view of how their team members prioritize tasks. Thus, managers can reallocate tasks, address challenges and create enabling processes in real-time by identifying time-intensive activities. Plus, they can design work schedules and verify billable and non-billable hours. So project managers can improve resource utilization and minimize cost overruns. make the switch, but! The market is replete with automated time-tracking software packages that promise convenience, ease of use and stellar features. First, however, enterprises must assess whether or not they can integrate the tool with their existing HR, ERP and payroll systems.

Lakshmi Raj is Co-CEO of Replicon. She has extensive experience in web-based marketing and was instrumental in providing global visibility for Replicon’s product. Prior to starting Replicon, she worked as a software engineer for Verity (formerly known as FTP Canada). Lakshmi holds degrees in Computer Science and Electrical Engineering. Would you like to comment?

Empower HR Tech Europe brings together credible practitioners who are at the height of HR technology to an immersive event experience. Our six-track conference showcases what is possible, what is realistic and what the next steps are. HR Professionals will take away specific, measurable, actionable, realistic and timely tactics that tie into their business needs. With formats designed to foster an environment of inclusiveness and honest discussion, Empower HR Tech Europe will allow you to collaborate with your peers, industry experts and solution partners through every element: A NEW KIND OF HR INDUSTRY EVENT FOR THE U.K. AND EUROPE ConcurrentKeynotes Conference DemonstrationsPanelWorkshopsSessionsDiscussions Round-Table Brainstorming Expo FunInfluencers1:1sFringeVideoToursMontagesNetworkingwithPeers,Partners,&AnalystsandMORE!····· ······ SAVE UP TO £440 Early Bird Ends 18 Nov 2022! REGISTER NOW hr.com/empowerhreurope-attend Bring your team! Group pricing is available. Contact CorporateEducation@hr.com for more information. CHART YOUR PATH IN OUR UNCERTAIN WORLD OF WORK 25-26 January 2023 ExCeL Venue, London

digital-first workplace has become increasingly complex. Just take the number of applications workers must use on a daily basis to get work done. New data from Wrike finds that teams use up to 14 different apps – including email, messaging tools, video conferencing platforms and more. rethinking Workplace collaboration

Submit Your ArticlesHRIS & Payroll Excellence presented by HR.com August 2022 16

Using a variety of communication methods means that priority tasks are more susceptible to falling through the cracks, often overshadowed by meetings, one-off calls and Slack messages. Long term, this contributes to high levels of employee burnout and creates friction between employees and managers. To address this, business leaders need to look for new solutions and methods that streamline employee work, instead of adding to the laundry list of tools they are already using. Inefficient Work Is contributing to employee Burnout The research found that 60% of knowledge workers are stressed

top pIcK

how to eliminate communication challenges once and for all

Today’s

By Andrew Filev, Wrike

Submit Your ArticlesHRIS & Payroll Excellence presented by HR.com August 2022 17 because their job is eating into their personal life. The root cause of this? Inefficient ways of working - unnecessary meetings, and lack of clarity around next steps or project ownership - are causing workers to repeat the same tasks and waste valuable time during the work day, resulting in the need to work late or dip into personal time. These disparate, unfocused tasks fall into what we call the “dark matter of work” – data, systems, applications and workflows that are often invisible to the broader organization but take up time and resources. This lack of visibility and inefficient way of working ultimately leads to burnout and low employee engagement. Along these lines, Wrike data found that employees lose about five days a year compensating for unclear instructions, unnecessary meetings, derailed projects, and focusing on administrative tasks rather than work that matters and contributes to larger organizational goals. As more companies continue to navigate hybrid and remote ways of working, it is clear that many are struggling to find ways to collaborate digitally and efficiently. To solve this problem, companies must look for ways they can streamline their workflows. One way to do this is by putting a bigger emphasis on an asynchronous approach to work, in which employees are not expected to be online at the same time or complete their work simultaneously.

Andrew Filev is the Founder and CEO of Wrike. Would you like to comment?

Having disorganized or invisible workflows not only creates friction between coworkers – it creates tension and leads to disconnection between leadership and employees. Our data found that 57% of knowledge workers feel their employers do not understand how hard they work and 68% say this has cost them a promotion. Ultimately, lack of visibility into what employees are working on can create a culture where they feel

ownersfollowingassignthisaretrackThisassignmentsallsourceplatformshouldTowithunderappreciatedundervalued,anddiscontenttheirwork.preventthis,organizationsconsiderimplementingathatservesasasingleoftruthtodocumentwork,actionitemsandinasharedplace.willallowteamstomanage,andalignworkthatteamscollaboratingon.Inpractice,enablesteammemberstotangibleactionitemseachmeetingwithclearanddeadlines,mapout

Having full visibility into workflows helps leaders understand exactly how employees are contributing to projects, and can help combat any feelings of tension between workers and leadership. The way we work is changing.

specific needs for new projects, and track progress in real-time.

Collaboration

While this has granted many people more flexibility, it has also introduced a set of new collaboration challenges to overcome. When teams fall into the trap of letting their work control them, by wasting valuable time repeating tasks and trying to stay organized, they run the risk of burning out. Collaboration at work needs to change and adapt to meet the needs of today’s hybrid Byteams.pivoting to use new work management tools that streamline workflows and adjusting to an asynchronous way of working, employers can combat burnout, ensure greater employee happiness and engagement, and improve overall productivity.

Rethinking Workplace

This can encourage employees to be fully transparent about their work and document their project updates for the next team member to pick up on. It can also help cut down on unnecessary meetings and free up time to work. lack of Visibility into Work can create a disconnect Between employees and managers

2022 SPEAKERS Inspiring keynotes · Educational sessions, panels and workshops for industry thought leaders · Intimate round table discussions with hot topics ·1 on 1 meetings with partners and key suppliers · Guided market tours · Product demos Industry leaders will share their experience, vision, and innovations over three packed days in Nashville. Join them at an event filled with fun, parties, networking and collaboration! October 5 - 7, 2022 Nashville, Tennessee SAVE UP TO $750 Get your conference pass for as low as $300 REGISTER NOW Marshall Goldsmith Executive Coach Top Ten Business Thinker Author/Editor Courtney McMahon Vice President of People Analytics Colgate Palmolive Beverly Troxtell Head of HR Change Management & HR Evolution PayPal Linda Cai Head of Talent Development LinkedIn Melanie Tinto CHRO Wex Nikita Steals Head of Talent Acquisition Capital One Dave Sachs Senior Director People Analytics and Data Science Northwestern Mutual Ryan McCrea Head of Learning & Development Atlassian https://www.hr.com/InspireHR-attend hr.com/InspireHR-attend

SAVE UP TO $750 Get your conference pass for as low as $300 REGISTER NOW SPONSORS & EXHIBITORS IMAGINE THE POTENTIAL OF HR AND YOU! https://www.hr.com/InspireHR-attend hr.com/InspireHR-attend 2022 TOPICS LEADERSHIP & BEING THE BEST LEADER POSSIBLE EMPLOYEE EXPERIENCE & WELLBEINGMANGEMENTTALENT DEVELOPMENTSKILLTRANSFORMATIONDIGITALACQUISITIONTALENT Bring your team! Group pricing is available. Contact CorporateEducation@hr.com for more information.

Recent research has found that 42% of recruiters believe that artificial intelligence allows them to be more strategic and productive with their daily workloads. This is incredibly important considering that, since the pandemic, 45% of companies have increased their outsourcing efforts. Whether business opportunities are slowing down or increasing, it is imperative recruiters remain competitive to secure new clients. With modern digital solutions like proposal software, recruiting agencies can leverage AI-driven

3 t ips to leverage aI and automation to meet recruitment demands amid recession concerns

It is a very interesting time for the recruiting industry right now. Many businesses are at a crossroads amid looming fears of a recession. While some companies have enacted hiring freezes, others are still competing for top talent as job openings soar, with over 2.6 million jobs created in the first half of 2022 alone. Today, HR departments that are seeking new hires are turning to recruiting agencies to help find talent and fill these needed roles. However, as some industries slow down hiring efforts and others ramp up, recruiters are finding themselves in an increasingly competitive and uncertain market.

1. Leverage Artificial Intelligence to strengthen competitiveness

Should recruiting firms brace for decreased business opportunities amid hiring freezes? Or should they prepare for an influx in workloads as other companies search for top talent? During this unpredictable time, recruiting agencies can leverage artificial intelligence (AI)-powered digital technology to meet their unique business needs. With AI-driven tools, such as proposal management software, firms can strengthen their competitiveness, increase business opportunities, improve employee collaboration and streamline proposal development, all of which are inherently important during this challenging time.

Submit Your ArticlesHRIS & Payroll Excellence presented by HR.com August 2022 20

By Ray Meiring, QorusDocs recruiters are in an increasingly competitive and uncertain market

Submit Your ArticlesHRIS & Payroll Excellence presented by HR.com August 2022 21 tools and data analytics to develop high-quality, compelling request for proposal (RFP) responses that stand out from the competition. For recruiting firms, creating competitive and businesswinning proposals begins with understanding which areas of their proposals resonate most with clients. Digital solutions with specific metric-tracking capabilities can help identify which proposal content clients engage with most, including link clicks and document shares. With this data, AI can suggest the best content to include in a proposal, improving its effectiveness and boosting new business wins. Cloud-based platforms can also seamlessly store this important data within their interface, allowing recruiting agencies to view it instantly anywhere and anytime.

When equipped with these modern AI tools and data-driven insights, recruiters have the upper hand over competitors with high-quality, personalized RFPs that stand out from the competition and win over new clients. 2. Utilize automation tools to Increase Business opportunities Eighty-four percent of recruiting agencies have a digital transformation strategy planned or currently in place. In fact, almost half (48%) of firms report they have executed their digital transformation strategy to incorporate automation capabilities into their sourcing Currently,efforts. 46% of companies develop proposal content from scratch, a long process that requires a lot of resources and valuable time to execute. By utilizing modern automation technology, such as proposal software, firms can increase their chances of winning new business by responding to more RFPs annually. This advanced digital technology updates and stores the latest content in real-time, enabling firms to create proposals without concerns about critical work or important information disappearing. Due to this, recruiting agencies can more efficiently develop proposals, eliminating time-consuming setbacks that result in unfulfilled business issuchOptimizingopportunities.non-billabletasks,asproposaldevelopmentbecomingincreasinglycrucial amid staffing shortages and rising demands for recruiting services. In fact, automation is a top priority in 2022, with a third of recruiting firms planning to

3 Tips To Leverage AI And Automation To Meet Recruitment Demands Amid Recession Concerns

For firms faced with outwinning competitors as business opportunities slow, advanced automation technology such as proposal software will give them the competitive edge to develop

In addition, cloud-based software tracks document edits and changes in real-time, allowing agencies to closely monitor time investment, progress and employee collaboration on each proposal. Through this process, firms can more efficiently approach proposal development, so they don’t have to turn down critical business opportunities due to a lack of time and resources.

As companies’ HR departments continue to rely on recruiting agencies to find top talent, recruiters will continue to face increased workloads, high client demands, and an influx in business opportunities. With cloud-based software, firms can utilize real-time collaboration tools that enable employees to work more efficiently without disrupting billable hours or crucial client cloud-based platforms enable recruiters to better manage proposal development by creating a single access point to important documents. As a result, team members in various locations can seamlessly co-author proposals in real-time, mitigating common document-sharing issues like formatting errors, size limits, or accidental deletion.

Submit Your ArticlesHRIS & Payroll Excellence presented by HR.com August 2022 22 3 Tips To Leverage AI And Automation To Meet Recruitment Demands Amid Recession Concerns adopt automation tools in the coming months. With automation solutions, agencies can leverage crucial features that streamline operations and lead to increased business opportunities.

high-level, personalized RFPs that attract and secure new clients.

With these real-time collaboration capabilities, 70% of companies can generate more RFPs annually, showing how cloud-based platforms can be incredible resources for teams trying to improve collaboration and streamline their proposal process. looking ahead Whether firms are facing an influx in business proposals or are seeing a decrease in workloads amid hiring freezes, it’s essential recruiters have the tools needed to meet their business needs.

Fordeadlines.example,

3. Implement collaboration capabilities to streamline proposal development

Meanwhile, firms dealing with increased new business offers and workloads can leverage AI-powered and cloud-based tools to streamline proposal development and seamlessly collaborate on RFPs in real-time, enabling teams to stay on top of their work and fulfill more business proposals per year. As industry trends continue to shift, recruiters should consider executing their digital transformation strategies now for reliable access to AI-driven, automation, and real-time collaboration tools that set employees and clients up for success.

Ray Meiring is CEO and Co-Founder of QorusDocs. With more than 20 years of industry experience, Ray is a frequent speaker, author, and webinar host on a wide variety of topics including leadership, market strategy, automation and the application of AI, business development, and proposal automation for professional sales and bid teams. Would you like to comment?

harnessing Big data Is t he Key to smarter hr Insights

Submit Your ArticlesHRIS & Payroll Excellence presented by HR.com August 2022 23

The SEC recently announced a petition for human capital disclosures that requests additional information on the way public companies report their workforce investment. Simply put, “The Working Group On Human Capital Accounting Disclosure Petition For Rulemaking” wants more information to examine and analyze how companies invest in their people.

By Kyle Holm, Sequoia preparing next economic change pick

for the

According to the report, only 15% of companies disclose labor costs, yet there is an increasing segment of these businesses deriving much of their value from intangible assets – the people who make it all happen. Additionally, an increasing number of companies report a loss for accounting purposes, making analysis of operational costs (where the largest line item is likely their people investment)

top

Submit Your ArticlesHRIS & Payroll Excellence presented by HR.com August 2022 24 Harnessing Big Data Is The Key To Smarter HR Insights

HR teams had to parse benchmarking information (if it was even available) and pull volumes of employee

To uplevel systems to meet the requirements of a decision impacting human capital management, HR systems should be securely integrated with the payroll, HRIS, equity administration, and benefits administration systems in an HR tech stack. The result is a seamless and flexible way to manage human capital investment as the business grows and

Ultimately,changes. businesses need to unify people data, program designs, utilization metrics, benchmarking, and more under a complete and holistic strategy that addresses the entire lifecycle of human capital investment. how to Interpret data

Operating people programs with siloed data stuck in disconnected systems makes it hard to see the bigger picture and understand how people investments impact the bottom line.

HR leaders are particularly challenged to evaluate a company’s investment in its people and analyze where their compensation, equity awards, bonuses, and benefits stand in relation to the rest of the market. Traditionally, getting to a basic level of understanding of benefit competitiveness has been a tedious, time-consuming and imprecise process.

rethinking the approach to people Investment

critical to understanding value. Everyone (regulators, investors, etc.) is realizing that a company’s most valuable asset is people, and as such, wants businesses to become smarter on their total people investment.

According to estimates, about 75% of knowledgebased companies’ spend is on people – easily the biggest single investment. However, most companies struggle to validate that their investment is making its intended business impact, whether increasing employee retention, managing costs, justifying individual offerings, or all the above. It is a high-cost budget item that cannot be ignored.

Even the savviest HR organizations must rely on an array of transactional systems to manage people data. It is how those systems work together – or do not – that determines whether the company succeeds at transforming data into true insights and outcomes.

More so, if the SEC’s proposed reform is approved, that would require businesses to provide a more detailed breakdown of income statements to give investors more insight into workforce costs. All eyes are on this decision related to the impact on employee experience, productivity, and satisfaction. However, when businesses know what questions to ask, they can be smart about how that spend is determined. how to collect data

Submit Your ArticlesHRIS & Payroll Excellence presented by HR.com August 2022 25

conclusion The SEC’s petition is a response to the trend over the past few decades of the lack of transparency of “human capital firms,” organizations that generate value due to the knowledge, skills, competencies, and attributes of their workforce. Yet, despite the value generated by employees, companies are suffering from a lack of data that led to a call for information Fordisclosure.many,this looming decision can have far-reaching ramifications, but companies cannot revert to onesize-fits-all fringe benefits and must deliver rewards tailored specifically to each employee’s financial, physical and overall wellbeing. The employees will not just benefit, but the business will too. Learning how to fully optimize a company’s spend now will ensure it is prepared for the next economic change.

Kyle Holm is VP, Total Rewards Advisory, at Sequoia Would you like to comment? data spreadsheets to determine how much they can and should be offering team members across the organization. And often, by the time the data is accumulated and analyzed it has become dated.

To unlock the potential of human capital investment, it is critical to connect programs to outcomes validated by data and seen through a unified lens. Analyzing information across numerous business dimensions through a holistic view is the key to understanding the needs and outcomes of a business, making up-to-date and digestible data critical. how to apply data

Harnessing Big Data Is The Key To Smarter HR Insights

The working group says investors need to be able to distinguish between labor costs and investment in the workforce, saying labor needs to be treated in the same way as R&D. Part of improving a business’ total people investment strategy (and providing an additional level of reporting) is having deeper insights into the ways a company invests in its employees, and being able to slice that data by role, demographics, departments, and more, so they can uncover gaps and opportunities to improve their people investment. Today, technology solutions are aimed at bringing holistic and actionable people data to the fingertips of HR leaders for daily decision-making and now, depending on the outcome of the Commission mandate, accurately value the business. The proposed disclosure requires a breakout of total compensation by category, including salary, bonus, pension, stock and options and Forward-thinkingmore.people teams will be enabled by dashboards that bring together an unprecedented amount of people-related benchmarks and datapoints unique to the business, including workforce analytics, pay and equity data, benefits and wellbeing cost and utilization, and forecasting and modeling capabilities. People teams can work smarter, with more accurate data, to provide insights not only to governing bodies, but to support critical activities, such as board meeting reports, executing projects, and effective collaboration with the C-suite.

GROUP RATES AVAILABLE For Your Organization Certified HR professionals help companies avoid risk by understanding compliance, laws, and regulations to properly manage your workforce. HR Professionals lead employee engagement and development programs saving the company money through lower turnover and greater productivity and engagement. A skilled HR professional can track important KPIs for the organization to make a major impact on strategic decisions and objectives, including: succession planning, staffing, and forecasting. For HR Professionals Show that management values the importance of the HR function, and has a commitment to development and improvement of HR staff. Ensure that each person in your HR department has a standard and consistent understanding of policies, procedures, and regulations. Place your HR team in a certification program as a rewarding team building achievement. HRCI® & SHRM® CERTIFICATIONPREPCOURSES HR.com/prepcourse CALL TODAY TO FIND OUT MORE 1.877.472.6648 ext. 3 | sales@hr.com

1 Less expensive than a masters or PhD program, and very manageable to prepare with 2. legislation and best practices 3. Recognized, Industry benchmark, held by 500,000+ HR Professionals We offer group rates for teams of 5+ or more for our regularly scheduled PHR/SPHR/ SHRM or aPHR courses. For groups of 12+, we can design a more customized experience that meets your overall length of the course. Groups rates for HRCI exams are also available as an add-on. All group purchases come with 1 year of HR Prime membership for each attendee to gain the tools and updates needed to stay informed and compliant CALL TODAY TO FIND OUT MORE 1.877.472.6648 ext. 3 | sales@hr.com | HR.com/prepcourse Group Rate Options 123

BusinessesMetricCompensationCriticalMostSmallIgnore

By Thompson Aderinkomi, Nice Healthcare

If you focus only on being competitive with wages and benefits, you will miss an important nuance

Finding and retaining good employees has long been a critical success factor for companies of all sizes. Today, employees have more choices than ever and the battle to entice and keep talent is even more difficult. In fact, according to data from Gartner, 37.4 million employees will quit in 2022; pre-pandemic the annual average was 31.9 million. Benefits are a key factor in employee decisions to quit or take a job. Health and retirement benefits as a tool to attract and retain employees have reached a 10-year high. Forty-eight percent of employees indicate that a healthcare plan is an important reason to join a company and sixty percent consider it an important reason to stay. Fast-growing small businesses are no strangers to ensuring that the employee benefits packages they offer are attractive while being sustainable for their businesses, particularly health insurance. A MetLife survey reveals that it’s not just the offering, employees want benefits that address their main stressors, particularly around personal finances, retirement, and their family’s health — which overlap considerably.

Submit Your ArticlesHRIS & Payroll Excellence presented by HR.com August 2022 28 Submit Your ArticlesHR Strategy & Planning Excellence presented by HR.com August 2022 1 The

With benefits being so important to the health of a company, surprisingly, many companies make the mistake of overlooking the amount of disposable income your employees will have after paying for their contribution to health insurance and how it compares to other markets.

For example, the Council for Community & Economic Research (C2ER) survey shows that in the first quarter of 2022, Hawaii is one of the most expensive states to live in, with a cost of living index of 192.7. Mississippi is the least expensive state to live in with a cost of living index of 83.1. The average income in Hawaii is $103,780 and is #7 of the top 10 with the highest average incomes. When we look at the states with the lowest average income, Mississippi is #1 with an average income of $41,776.

TOP PICK

Submit Your ArticlesHRIS & Payroll Excellence presented by HR.com August 2022 29 Submit Your ArticlesHR Strategy & Planning Excellence presented by HR.com August 2022 2

The Critical Compensation Metric Most Small Businesses Ignore

Contributions can vary greatly by market. You must account for the nuances of cost to understand how your benefits impact your staff. Even considering state data and comparing it to household income, will give you a more realistic view of how your benefits financially affect your employees.

As we all look for ways to support our employees’ overall well-being, optimizing their disposable income is one way that can achieve that goal. Being cognizant of the true costs to your employees can be a win for your bottom line and theirs.

Would you like to comment? Thompson Aderinkomi is CEO and Cofounder of Nice Healthcare, a company that is solving systemic pain points by bringing primary care directly to the patient with in-home visits, lab tests, and x-rays.

As you evaluate your benefits, particularly health insurance, it is important to understand how the costs will impact your employees. According to the Kaiser Family Foundation, in 2021, group health insurance participation cost employees $5,969 annually, or roughly 27% of the premium, for family coverage and $1,299, about 17%, for an individual.

In a market like Mississippi, employees will be more impacted because they have lower wages but a higher contribution to health insurance.

We would expect health insurance premiums to be higher in Hawaii and lower in Mississippi, but that is not the case. In Hawaii, the average employee contribution to employer-sponsored healthcare is $5,240, and in Mississippi, it is $7,241.

Another hidden cost is the cost of utilizing benefits. In situations that are not emergencies, employees are using personal time for medical visits. Depending on location, this may require driving a distance for appointments. Time has value and it is a cost that is added to co-payment, co-insurance, or employee responsibilities. The direct primary care (DPC) movement is one approach that holds promise. This alternative model provides access to primary care for a flat fee. With a DPC program, you can potentially lower your employees’ out-of-pocket costs immediately. It can also immediately reduce health insurance premiums if employers and their consultants are able to jointly pressure insurance carriers to recognize the positive impact of this meaningful, alternative model.

Salary and benefits are pillars of recruitment and retention strategies. However, if you focus only on being competitive with wages and benefits you will miss an important nuance. This becomes even more important as we search for talent beyond our local geography.

epublicationeditorialcalendar2022 CheckoutthenewandupcomingthemedHRtopicsin HRIS&PayrollExcellence. Check ePublications Editorial Calendar Here. Would you like to submit an article? | Write to us at ePubEditors@hr.com Submission Guidelines 1 Payroll 2023 Dec 2022 2 HRIS Tech 2023 Nov 2022 3 Pay and Compensation 2022-23 Oct 2022 4 AI and Automation in HR Sep 2022 5 Wage and Hour Aug 2022 6 HR system: Cloud or On-Premise July 2022

Submit Your ArticlesHRIS & Payroll Excellence presented by HR.com August 2022 31

As a litigation attorney and employment attorney, I have been on both sides of many employment law disputes. Below I will share the most common employment law pitfalls I see regularly and the top items every entrepreneur should have in their proverbial back pocket to help protect their business and avoid potentially costly litigation. 1. employee handbook I have listed this first because it is one of the most vital tools in every business owner’s toolkit. Employee

top pick

By Elizabeth Hartsel, know to protect business

employmentlaw101

Fortis Law Partners What you should

your

Owning a business comes with many responsi bilities, and when entrepreneurs reach the point where they need to hire employees, a whole new set of obligations arise. Unfortunately, many business owners find themselves woefully underprepared in this arena–and through no fault of their own! Entrepreneurs are focused on being visionaries and selling their products and services. They didn’t start a business because they were dying to deal with the nitty-gritty details of being an HR manager or creating formal employment policies. So when they find themselves with more employees than ever and no employment guardrails, major complications can erupt.

Employers should have a template for each type of employment agreement because they will vary inherently due to the position and nature of employment. For example, an employment agreement for a CFO will not look like that of a manufacturing facility employee due to the amount of access to proprietary information, the type of compensation involved and other factors.

For example, several states recently passed bills that will impact the use and enforcement of non-compete and non-solicit provisions. A skilled employment attorney can counsel companies on ways they can still protect their trade secrets and intellectual property in employment agreements. For instance, all provisions around confidential information and intellectual property protections should extend even after

Employment Law 101

employment agreements

Submit Your ArticlesHRIS & Payroll Excellence presented by HR.com August 2022 32 handbooks provide important legal guardrails for both employers and employees. They not only formalize guidelines, expectations and terms and conditions of employment but more importantly, they help provide a layer of protection against employee claims and Anlawsuits.experienced employment attorney can help create a comprehensive handbook addressing fundamental policies. The following is a list of essential topics to outline in the handbook: ● Compensation and benefit policies ● Vacation, sick, and paid/unpaid leave policies, including state and federal mandates for national health emergencies, such as the Covid-19 pandemic and maternity and paternity leave ● Dress code ● Workplace safety and security policies ● Conflict of interest statements ● Internet usage policies ● How to file or report workplace complaints ● Equal employment, disability, and anti-discrimina tion policies ● Workers’ compensation policies

Work with an experienced employment attorney to develop these two agreements that should contain protective clauses relating to confidentiality, intellectual property, non-solicitation and non-compete agreements and arbitration. Each factor can differ depending on job responsibilities, industry and unique federal and state employment laws.

2. executive and non-executive

Finally, employment agreements should also include choice-of-law and venue provisions specifying which state or country’s laws will be used to interpret the agreement and how disputes will be resolved, i.e., mediation, arbitration, court, etc. Again, discuss each option’s pros and cons with an employment attorney.

If the lines are blurred, or an independent contractor agreement was not signed, and the company gets audited by the Department of Labor, they will face expensive employment misclassification penalties.

Employment Law 101

These are a separate animal from standard employment agreements because there are so many distinct boundaries and legalities around work location, taxes, company property and benefits that identify whether or not a worker is considered an independent contractor vs. an employee of the company.

Employers often reach out to their attorneys in need of a severance agreement immediately due to circumstances requiring them to terminate an employee the very next day. Unfortunately, that is not always a feasible ask. By preparing template severance agreements in advance, moving in a quick time frame will be Employerspossible.should also have two template severance agreements on file—one for employees ages 39 and under and one for employees ages 40 and over. The need for separate agreements based on age is an important distinction many employers are unaware of.

Elizabeth Hartsel is Partner at Fortis Law Partners and the head of their Employment Law practice. Would you like to comment?

Employees ages 40 and above are legally entitled to 21 days to review a severance package and seven days to revoke their signature on the agreement.

Understandably, many startups and young companies do not have the funds to staff an internal legal and HR department. However, working with a skilled employment attorney to make strategic decisions about how best to protect your company and assemble templates of the agreements listed above can cost less than $5,000. In turn, the business will receive significant protection against potentially costly employee claims, lawsuits and litigation.

3. Independent contractor agreements

employment ends—a key element many employment agreements miss and that many employees may not understand they are legally bound to uphold, even after separating from the company.

Submit Your ArticlesHRIS & Payroll Excellence presented by HR.com August 2022 33

4. severance agreements

In addition, consult with an attorney to determine which specific issues or behavior will be included in the agreement as grounds for termination ‘for cause’ and whether or not the company will provide severance or other compensation for termination for or without cause.

Rising Inflation Rate: how can employers support t heir staff?

By Andrew Caldwell, Peninsula Canada experiencing. Being asleep at the wheel during a time like this leads to unproductive workers, absenteeism, and job-hopping as workers seek higher wages to offset increasing prices. in the country. This impacts everything from employees’ salaries to the cost of raw goods for business owners. Employers across the country need to pay attention, now more than ever, to the stress their workforces are

Submit Your ArticlesHRIS & Payroll Excellence presented by HR.com August 2022 34

Canada’s inflation rate has reached its highest point in nearly 40 years, skyrocketing to 7.7%. Inflation is the measure of the increase in prices of goods and services, meaning the cost of living has gone up for everyone top tips to follow

When the costs of goods and services are on the rise, who wouldn’t appreciate a good discount? Creating an employee assistance program where staff can find deals and save on local restaurants, grocery stores, and gas stations, will allow you to provide a tangible benefit for your staff without increasing salaries. This is a simple and proven way to help staff save on everyday expenses while increasing engagement and productivity at work. They are more than just a discount tool, they also provide support for employee well-being. create a healthy Work environment While salary and benefits matter, a healthy work environment plays an even more significant role in employee satisfaction. Employers should stress the importance of a work-life balance, recognize good work, and provide opportunities for growth to their workers. Ensuring staff are not burnt out or unmotivated helps to not only create a healthy environment but also shows their employer cares about their overall well-being. Retaining a high-performing workforce starts with them being happy to work for you. This includes creating an environment they want to spend time in. This could mean different things to different businesses, but it includes everything from upskilling to rewarding and being invested in a worker’s success.

Submit Your ArticlesHRIS & Payroll Excellence presented by HR.com August 2022 35

A Certified Human Resources Professional (CHRP) with extensive HR consulting experience; Andrew Caldwell is an HR Advisory Manager at Peninsula Canada. In this role, Andrew is responsible for ensuring all Peninsula clients enjoy the same market-leading quality of advice that the group is renowned for. He also assists in training new advisors, developing best practices for client engagement, and specializes in resolving complex employee relations issues. Andrew has considerable knowledge of provincial employment standards legislation. He stays up to date with changes in labor law and briefs his team accordingly. Before joining Peninsula in 2018, Andrew spent seven years at Xerox Canada where he gained significant expertise in recruitment and training. Would you like to comment?

If a company is not able to offer raises or bonuses, there are other benefits that can be offered. In my experience, one of the most appreciated and easily accomplished is extra paid time off. Bonus PTO can come in many different forms, such as birthday PTO, half days on Friday, or summer hours so employees can enjoy the nice weather. Bonus PTO has been proven to have a positive impact on staff retention and overall work satisfaction. remote and hybrid Work After 2 years of the pandemic, many workers have become accustomed to remote or hybrid work. Offering these options can help combat the rising cost of living by reducing transportation and food costs, allowing employees to feel as if they have more control of their finances. Commuting is becoming costly and as gas prices continue to increase, workers are left with no cost-efficient ways of getting to work. By offering employees a hybrid or remote work option, they can save money and time while staying productive. employee assistance programs (eaps)

How can employers help their employees while reducing the risk of losing them in today’s competitive labor market? Here are a few critical tips to best support your staff during these stressful times. offer competitive salary and Benefits

One of the main reasons employees leave their jobs is due to a higher paying offer. Providing employees with a good compensation package makes them feel more valued and appreciated. It also works to keep staff motivated and not seek out alternative offers. Employers can also consider increasing salaries, offering bonuses, or implementing an EAP program. It cannot be overstated how important it is for employers to focus on compensation. It is the main driver in retaining top-performing employees and attracting new talent to their team. Invest in Other Benefits

Rising Inflation Rate: How Can Employers Support Their Staff?

The US workforce has undergone dramatic changes during the pandemic. However, despite the seemingly constant shifts, employees and job candidates’ expectations around total compensation, salary transparency, workplace culture and benefits offerings have consistently grown stronger. Today’s employees are willing to step away from their current roles if those expectations are not reasonably met. In fact, according to beqom’s 2022 Compen sation and Culture Report, 65% of Americans have searched for a new job over the last year. Instead of in-office perks that wooed employees pre-pandemic, employees’ needs have shifted, and in addition to higher pay, they are looking for flexible working hours (70%) and increased pay transparency (60%).

Submit Your ArticlesHRIS & Payroll Excellence presented by HR.com August 2022 36 the changing compensation and Benefits Landscape

By Tanya Jansen, beqom how to win the war for talent

In order to retain talent, employers must search for solutions that are both budget-friendly for sustained use and clearly show employees that they are valued. offering competitive compensation and Increased Salary Transparency  According to our data, less than half (48%) of em ployees know their total compensation. However, as inflation in the US continues to spike, employees are taking a closer look at their earnings, and half of all employees have asked their organization for a raise or promotion. Amid challenging economic times, employees are also calling for employers to be more transparent around salary benchmarks. More than half (58%) of employ ees have spoken to a colleague about their salaries in the past year and 43% have found out that a colleague in their equivalent role with similar experience is earn top pick

Employees’ grievances and secrecy around pay can create distrust for their employer. (In fact, when em ployees perceive a pay gap, there is a 16% decrease in intent to stay, which is 50% worse than the typical im pact of a pay freeze.) However, by providing increased levels of pay transparency and more insight into how decisions around pay are made, employers can work to build greater trust with their staff. The same goes for an organization’s gender pay gap. Women continue to earn 82 cents compared to every dollar men earn, and according to our report, over one-third (37%) of employees say their workplace does not disclose its current gender pay gap internally or externally. Instead of leaving employees to discuss pay on their own, employers must get at the forefront of these conversations to clearly and accurately share the process behind salary decisions. This is especially important when considering employ ee retention since 60% of employees say they would be willing to leave their current position for more pay transparency.

Pay Should Reflect an Organization’s DEI goals and progress Beyond their personal salary, employees also value their organization’s equal pay strategy as a whole. The majority (80%) of employees say that they want to be a part of a company that values DEI, and more employees are paying attention to the bigger picture of how compensation practices can factor into their company’s DEI goals.

The U.S. job market is still tight, which is why employ ers must keep evolving their compensation, company culture and benefit offerings to stay competitive. In order for employers to win the war for talent, they must make an effort to stay up-to-date on employees and job candidates’ expectations, and implement them wher ever possible.  Tanya Jansen is Co-Founder of beqom. Would you like to comment?

Even for parents who are not considering quitting, many still feel that being a working parent during the last two years of the pandemic has disrupted their career and pay paths. Nearly half (45%) of U.S. working parents believe their path to promotion has been nega tively affected and 47% believe their ability to receive a pay raise has been negatively impacted.

The Changing Compensation And Benefits Landscape

providing Working parents with Flexible Benefits During the pandemic, working parents realized that there are better ways to balance career and family obligations, including working remotely or on a flexible schedule. With this in mind, many are seeking benefits and perks that give them more work-life balance, and allow them to live a healthier personal and professional Workinglife. parents are typically juggling their job duties and childcare at the same time, and without flexibility, childcare benefits, or paid parental leave, it can be challenging to fit both priorities into each day. Consid ering nearly half (48%) of working parents have thought about exiting the workforce because of childcare responsibilities (compared to 46% in 2021), these ben efits can make or break their decision to stay with their current employer.

Submit Your ArticlesHRIS & Payroll Excellence presented by HR.com August 2022 37 ing more than them, leaving them questioning pay equity within their organization.

In prioritizing DEI in their company, employees are clearly looking for pay structures that reflect their strong desires for overall equity. In fact, 34% of employees say their workplace has implemented a new or updated DE&I plan in the past year and nearly two-thirds (64%) of those respondents say the new plan included an equal compensation strategy. These efforts toward creating fair and equal pay are criti cal for today’s employees, and when employees see their leadership reflecting their shared values, it can strengthen appreciation and retention.

On one side, you have companies that are reluctant to offer work from home. They resist the push by asking their teams to be at the office “40 h a week”, or to be at the office a few days per week.

By Gilles Raymond, Letsmeet  Embracing change and moving ahead

Submit Your ArticlesHRIS & Payroll Excellence presented by HR.com August 2022 38 Submit Your ArticlesHR Strategy & Planning Excellence presented by HR.com August 2022 16

The Future Of The Workplace

On the other hand, you have a vast majority of the teams that do not want to lose time commuting and have more freedom in the way they use their time. As said, it might be scary, disturbing, and challenging, but you have no other choice than to embrace the change. Embracing it will give you the choice to organize and structure it. If you do not, you will face passive resistance, demotivation, legal risk, and counterpro ductive behaviors.

If you look at the big trend for the last 100 years regarding the way we work, they are all about improving the quality and the speed of communication. From the first wired phone to Slack, from the fax to Zoom, from feature phones to WhatsApp. Linked to it, is the pressure to execute fast. What those communications brought on top of the intensity and density of communication, is the speed.  When my parents were working, they were communicating with memos, and the expected time for an answer was within a month, and at the end of their career, fax pushed down answering time from one month to one week. When I started to work, the main communication stream was email and you were expecting an answer within days. With instant messengers (Slack, Wechat, etc.), you are talking for hours, or even minutes. A company is a competitive social organization, and the ability to communicate and move as fast as possible will always be a key success factor. My top workplace trends for the future include:  Work from Wherever: The unstoppable trend with structural effect on average salary, commute infrastructure, urban planification, internationalization, cultural domination, and management. The collateral effects will be visible on numerous levels. Most importantly, we are at the start of this wave, starting to understand it and adjust to it. Many examples and data mentioned above are confirming the trend. It will impact the organization, the management, the infrastructure, the working hours, and the commuting.

The pressure regarding working from home (WFH) is understated. Kastle Company manages access controls in 2600 office buildings in 138 cities in the US. Their data shows an occupancy rate of 44% and moving more down than up. Companies are facing significant pushback from the employees regarding the back to the office. As a consequence, most of the pushbacks are done under a kind of passive resistance with real rationales, but also through weaker arguments. Companies that are offering full remote, mention it in their advertisements to attract talent. Linkedin data shows that remote jobs offer represented 20% of the paid job posting and received over 50% of all applications. Companies that are not offering it (like Google), list their offices from which you can work. It is clearly an important element for recruiting talent.  Let us check what did not change in the last century. First, is the increasing need to meet and communicate.

Socialization: From pro to private and from real to virtual. We met most of our social network during college and at work. Spending less time at the office will impact our social interactions in quantity and quality. Virtual connections to initiate social interaction will be more and more successful. As a reminder, in April 2020 – the start of the lockdown in many US cities – 19% of the 30-44 yo population had an active account on Tinder. DEI: Diversity, Equity and Inclusion will be key elements to appreciate the ethics of the company.

Intelligent productive tools We are piling productivity tools, and the acceleration of the trends is impressive.

As mentioned above, we moved in a few years from 5 tools to 20+ software. They have for the moment limited capacity. Artificial intelligence will change that, it will write basic emails on our behalf, set reminders, build to-do lists, and define the best process.

The Future Of The Workplace

Gilles Raymond is the Founder & CEO at Letsmeet Would you like to comment?

Submit Your ArticlesHRIS & Payroll Excellence presented by HR.com August 2022 39 Submit Your ArticlesHR Strategy & Planning Excellence presented by HR.com August 2022 17

Internationalization: It is a major collateral effect of the WFW. If you allow people to work from wherever it also means you can recruit people from wherever. In that case, why would you recruit a developer at $100K if you can have one at $50K? Outsourcing to third parties abroad has been in place for decades. The new wave is the recruitment of full-time employees from all over the world, not as external consultants but as full team members. It will reshape the labor market, redistribute the wealth between different countries, and decrease the pressure on rare skills.

VC, HR, are tracking in detail the indicators regarding DEI. Internationalization should ease this trend. Humans, and by extension, companies have the tendency to resist changes. I love to say humans are mammals full of habits. When wire phones arrived at work, there was only one phone by company or service, because management thought it would distract people. I saw the same trends on the internet. At the start of the internet, access to the web was restricted, because companies wanted to be sure that employees were not wasting time surfing the web. 10 years later, those behaviors sound absurd. When you have a massive push about the way people want to work, it is counterproductive to fight or even slow down this evolution. It might be disturbing, and scary, but you have no other choice than embrace the change, especially when that change is about freedom.

The State of Employee Retention 2022 September 28, 2022 regIster The State of People Analytics September 14, 2022 regIster The State of Today’s HR Tech Stack 2022 September 7, 2022 regIster Mending the Shattered Promises of HR Technology September 7, 2022 9:00 AM - 10:00 AM ET regIster Mentoring programs for culture shifts and embracing diversity September 6, 2022 3:00 PM - 4:00 PM ET regIster Scaling for Success: HR Compliance for Now and the Future September 8, 2022 2:00 PM - 3:00 PM ET regIster VIrtUal eVents & hr.com WeBcastsUpcomIng www.hr.com/upcoming_webcastswww.hr.com/virtualconferencesView our Upcoming Webcasts Schedule and Register Today! castsBeW Using Data-Driven Insights to Respond to the Challenging Labor Market September 14, 2022 1:00 PM - 2:00 PM ET regIster How to Really Make Talent Your Top Priority September 13, 2022 12:00 PM - 1:00 PM ET regIster entscastsBeWVIrtUaleV View our Upcoming Virtual Conference Schedule and Register Today!

THANK YOU Thank you for partnering with us! LEARN MORE Ceridian’s flagship platform Dayforce helps you manage the entire employee lifecycle, from recruiting and onboarding, to paying people and developing their careers. Oracle solutionorganizationsprovidesacompleteconnectingeveryhumanresourceprocess from hire to retire— including global HR, talent management, workforce management, and payroll. LEARN MORE A DVERTISE WITH U S We’re creating an experience that helps over a million employees have the best HR experience possible. BambooHR sets people free to do great work—not just HR pros, but organizationsentire LEARN MORE UKG delivers best-in-class HR and workforce management in an unmatched suite of solutions and services, backed by people who care about yours. Our solutions create global workforce experiences that reflect the true connection between life and work. LEARN MORE Paychex, Inc. (Nasdaq: PAYX) is a leading provider of integrated human capital management software solutions for human resources, payroll, benefits, and insurance services. LEARN MORE

Like to submit an article? Use our online submission form or for more information go to www.hr.com/ExcellencePublications Publications 13 targeted publications to reach Your audience Informing, Educating, Enlightening and Assisting HR professionals in their personal and professional development, the Excellence series offers high-quality content through the publications!