Ascentis Blog

Information to help HR and payroll managers, recruiters, and compliance officers become more effective.

Tag Archives: new year’s

12 New Year’s Resolutions for HR and Payroll – Concluded

11. Use proper and complete sentences in all business e-mails

We all get those emails from colleagues – the short, quick answers. They return half a sentence in response to our question from a month ago.  Now you have to go back and read the full e-mail string to be able to decipher the meaning of the answer and figure out what that abbreviated sentence is supposed to indicate. If your goal is to save time this year, help those around you save some of their time when reading your e-mails.  A short, precise answer is much easier to read then a cryptic, abbreviated response.

 

12. Find 10 ways to reduce your costs

“What a great idea … like we haven’t already done that.” In the current economy we have all been looking at ways to cut costs. Sometimes some fresh eyes can really help. Ask the receptionist if she has an idea or call on contracts that have been running with vendors for awhile. You might be due for a price reduction; most vendors are not going to alert you to that fact. Stop printing out documents for files; this could save substantial money overtime. Rather than printing e-mails from employees, attach them to their files in your HRIS/HRMS or payroll software.  Don’t have the ability? Go back and read resolution #1, and make life easier for you and your team!  Creating a paperless, or near paperless, office could save your company substantial money and time.

Remember to keep checking back, we are full of ideas!

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12 New Year’s Resolutions for HR and Payroll – Continued

7. Do something nice for your team/employees/management

Do something nice and it will come back to you.  Send a thank you card from your team to that department that always chips in to get notices ready for employees. Bring in potted plants for the dark IT department.  Be creative, make them smile and they will share those smiles.  A workplace should be somewhere that employees enjoy being, not dread. 

8. Take a vacation

Who has time for a vacation? We all do! A vacation is supposed to be time for YOU, time to refresh and rest your mind, body and soul. Recharge and get yourself back.  A vacation doesn’t have to be spent in Paris, but it can be!  Spend some time at home, organize that back room that has been driving you crazy, explore the local farmers’ markets or just grab a book and curl up on the couch.  Remember, time to do what you want to do is a vacation.

 

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12 New Year’s Resolutions for HR and Payroll – Continued

5. Plan your week

Taking five or 10 minutes at the beginning and the end of the week to plan is a wonderful thing.  Not only are you slowing down for a couple of minutes, but you are organizing! What are your goals for the upcoming week? What did you accomplish this week?  (This is where you should stop and reflect, smile, and feel good about getting something down in the middle of the zoo.)  What do you need and want to accomplish next week? Now at the beginning of the following week, go back over this list. Has anything changed? A lot of times priorities look different after a day or two.  Update the list if need be and start your week. You have already accomplished something very important!

6. Create a wellness program

A wellness program sounds complicated and fancy, but it doesn’t have to be. If it is in the budget, then help employees get gym memberships. If it isn’t, then create other ways to support healthy living. A healthy, happy employee is much less likely to call in sick and much more fun to work with. Some ideas that can be implemented at very little cost include:

Create a weight loss group – employees weigh in each week, set goals, maybe give a reward at the end of a set amount of time;

Coordinate monthly hikes – on a weekend set up a hike, have employees invite family along or even take off early from the office on Friday and walk to a nearby park;

Stop filling the fridge or vending machines with sugar – look at healthier options, use sparkling waters or natural sodas, supply fruit and gum, rather than candy bars;

Call a local healthy restaurant – have a chef come in and talk to your employees about ordering healthier options when they go out. This will drive business to the restaurant and show the employees that you care about their well being.

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New Year’s Resolutions for HR and Payroll – Continued

3. Decrease hours worked, increase  productivity

Easier said than done, but start scrutinizing your daily, weekly and monthly tasks. Is there a way to be more efficient?  Will a new HRIS/HRMS create less work and open up more time for more important things, such as strategic planning? The market has numerous different solutions, so start searching.  SaaS (Software-as-a-Service) could help you get a new solution approved quicker by offering low monthly maintenance fees rather than a large budgetary commitment. How about using a task manager? There are many applications for your phone to remind you to get to work or stay organized.  Be creative (and/or pushy)!

4. Delegate

Every company has someone that can do more, but won’t tell you that. Is it time for a job description inventory?  Have all employees write up their job descriptions in detail. This is a great way to accomplish two tasks.  1, Get updated job descriptions, and 2, Finding those people that are spending their day shredding (a.k.a. web surfing).  Great! Now you have someone that can do some filing or some additional data entry.  If you have an HRIS/HRMS that uses role-based profiles, give them access to the areas that they need.  You have just created an assistant!

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