Month: June 2018

Posted on by Wifi Attendance Super Admin

 Wi-Fi Networks

The growth of technology and communication has presented the opportunity for young entrepreneurs to flourish. When you peek inside a traditional small start up, you would find many devices operating without wires. Those cumbersome wires and their complex networking have been left behind for a while.

If the business is towards home user based, wireless networking proves to be a major factor for the firm’s productivity. It is important towards smooth functioning of the business.

Wi-Fi has been a great service for providing networking access for many computers. This is specifically useful for small businesses in which the number of users is quite less as compared with larger companies.

For connecting the users and clients, small businesses look to set up Wi-Fi. However, a seed of doubt always comes to the mind before setting it up.

However, one thing always to be considered is that even the best of the set ups crumble under heavy usage. This point can affect your choice as the one picked from bargain bin would hardly sustain a heavier load.

Access points are the centre of your set up. They are the site where all users send and receive their data. Even the professionals of IT would tell you that access point is the main target of heavy usage. It is the component most likely to crumble when put under serious usage.

Access points, which are developed specially for business offer a variety of features to explore and resistant to heavy load. Before setting up a Wi-Fi for your business, you should first be aware about some of the capabilities your Wi-Fi can provide.

1. Understanding the variables

Before setting up a Wi-Fi, it is quite important to understand and clarify the variables. Not every Wi-Fi system is the same. The basic question to be understood is the nature of customers. You should have a clear idea about the users and in what manner they would be using the Wi-Fi.

The number of people, the duration of usage and the nature of usage should be taken into consideration. Once you find answers for these questions, it becomes easier to lay down a plan. It will guide you for right package and better service equipment for your network.

2. Multiple SSID access

Typical consumer access points generally support one just a single network without wires. However, it is not impossible to create an array of access points and wireless network, which you can call Service Set Identifier (SSID). If you set up these on a business grade, you can assign different set of access policies for each SSID.

 You can create separate network for LAN and different encryption processes for different SSID. This would provide you a layered security, which would not be easy to break.

The best feature it provides is the guest mode. In this mode, new users can use the network as per their needs but they are not allowed any access to the system of network hiring.

Businesses can deploy Internet using SSID for their network. It provides very rich feature- isolation from the corporate world.

Using SSID enables you to isolate your business network from outer world. It shields you from outer risks and you can disable it when the deployment is over.You can also set up different networks for speakers and cameras, leaving your main network untouched.

3. Better management

This is an important advantage of access points in a Wi-Fi system. It allows better management of various networks. It can even transfer users from busy and slower ones to less congested ones. It customizes the user experience and add to its quality. This can be done by various controlling machines, which switch over the networks in a flash.

4. PoE

PoE refers to Power over Ethernet. It eliminates the need for those power cables for each system. It creates an integrated system for power management. Standard PoE switches are very easy to replace when they go faulty.

Traditional external power adapters are cumbersome to replace, as you have to look for each different circuit and power output, which is not an easy process to operate.

5. Equipment and support materials

When you go shopping for your Wi-Fi equipment, always look for materials, which are easy to manage. If you set up your Wi-Fi in a proper way, it will run smoothly.

However, in case of any problem, you should have the resources to log into SSH system and address the problem sooner rather than later.You should opt for a low maintenance hardware and cloud controller.

A cloud controller helps the various access points to communicate with each other. Though the features are similar, the durability and price vary widely from manufacturer to manufacturer.

It does not mean that the hardware will not be fit if the features are limited. It all depends on the need and demands of your business.

Choose firewalls, gateway and switches which are easy to maintain. Shop your equipment from those manufacturers who are well known and offer better support services.

If you get your services from a local provider, issues might creep in the future when you would want to change your service provider.

6. Performance boosting

Though the bandwidth for wireless operation is increasing slowly, still it is finite only. It is still subject to external applications and shared among many devices. Poor quality hardware has the most bugbear on system. It delivers poor wireless network service and user experience might be a horror.

Though devices makers are coming up with different hardware and services to claim superiority, the basic requirement remains the same, a good Wi-Fi service.

Device manufacturers have launched Multiple Input Multiple Output (MIMO) which allows a number of users to simultaneously send and receive data. The access points can transmit and receive data continuously in real time.

There will hardly be any lag in the system, if the system uses MIMO of good quality. You should use access points that support multiple radio/antenna chain, which will allow it to send and receive data from multiple servers at the same time.

 Better support for data services is always appreciated. The client system should also be able to utilize the services. MIMO access points are good for Wi-Fi system if the need and budget of your office allows it.

7. Using multiple access points

 In case your office has not many systems to operate or your work area is rather small and compact, you should be willing for multiple access points. It would create multiple layers for various works and help in smooth functioning of the system. It is not compulsory that you should be opting for manual channelling for access points.

 These systems incorporate some built in channel management systems, which are not too bad either.The channelling system includes monitoring the Wi-Fi system, opting for minimum congested channel and even looking at neighbour access points so that they do not cause any interference.

Some are completely automatic while some allow modifications according to need.

8. Positioning of access points

There is hardly anything properly utilized when not placed at appropriate position. This is the same case with access points also.

This aspect is often look over by businesses and it is almost a bane for networking systems.You should never be placing access points next to walls or anything, which may cause interruption for the signals.

The RF radiations from each access point, travelling in a straight line can help you estimate the coverage. Obstruction hit spots are virtually dead for wireless network.

Locating the access points high on the wall or ceiling is a good option, as very few obstructions would incur at those places. Installation of a few access points would not bother you really.

9. Wiring of Workplace

 Proper and efficient wiring of the workplace is a necessity for proper working of Wi-Fi system.It should be able to provide necessary bandwidth as well as sustaining power through PoE. It should also be ensured that other devices as if printers and scanners should be connected though wires up to optimum capacity.

This would leave greater bandwidth for more usable devices such as tablets and laptops. LAN wiring should use latest technologies for optimum utilization.

10. Access to internet

Some access points, which are business grade offer basic routing. However, for more compact use and data transfer, you may look for external internet router, which has built in local networking channels, which route the devices to external internet.

11. Concerns for security

As the size of the company and users increases, it becomes quite unrealistic to use the old and same passcode for the whole of organization. The solution for this problem can be using separateSSID as mentioned earlier.

It should be configured as per the user authentication and encrypted with proper security measures. For each user, RADIO server should be installed at the back end.

Accounts of the users can be stored on RADIO server or it can be synchronized on directories. This allows easy access for Wi-Fi to manage the accounts of the users.

When the employees leave, their account can be deleted and new accounts can be added at utmost ease.

12. Wi-Fi passwords

This is also an aspect of setting up Wi-Fi for your business. Having a single password for all the systems connected with Wi-Fi is not considered the best of the options. Use servers to customize user id and password for each system.

This would add only to the security of the system and help you keep the valuable data of your company secure. In case of any data theft, it can be tracked easily and the system bearer cannot refuse claims for the responsibility.

13. Watchdog for usage

In case you set up Wi-Fi for business purpose, you would never want your employees logging into their social media accounts and wasting time there.

You would also not be pleased when your employees would listen music or watch videos using the Wi-Fi of the company. Therefore, there is a definite need to watch what is going on which system.

Undesirable content should definitely be blocked and any unwanted attempts to reach them should be reported soon. There also should be a monitoring system doing all these.

14. Public Wi-Fi

 If you run a business involving direct contact with customers such as malls, shopping complexes, you would want to set up a public Wi-Fi.

This would not only attract customers but also tempting them to stay longer. The longer they stay, the more you benefit. This is also a part of business and a way to keep customers engaged.

15. Hotspot gateway

It is the body and bone of your Wi-Fi system. It refers to the route by who a guest gets access to your Wi-Fi and leaves it. It connects users with the server and creates a virtual portal so that the user may browse.

When the guest choose your Wi-Fi, the set up will automatically take him to a virtual portal, which would demand some details before allowing him access.

The details might be email address or phone number and the user’s consent for the terms and conditions. It is very much safe and keeps hackers and data thieves a distance away from your setup. It also gives you some legal hands in case of any discrepancy, courtesy to those terms and conditions.

It generally comes in the form of software allowing various services and hardware for configuration.Another option you can look for is public Wi-Fi providers. They provide access to users varying between 100 to many thousands.

16. Actual setup

 Once you have figured out all these, it would require a real world set up. Actual installation of the hardware and software needs to take place. Extra firewalls should be installed with the setup so that no one unwanted would get access to the system.

The main router should be kept away from everyone’s reach and the passwords frequently changed. One very efficient way will be generating one time password (OTP) for providing access. This would cause users to submit their details.

 You can look for that personal responsible by using those details, in case any unfortunate happenings. It is also quite necessary to hide the mode of operation of your Wi-Fi from people other than official staffs.

You should also be able to control the strength of signals emitted by your Wi-Fi so that it covers premises only within your business area.

Generally, hotspots come up with their own security and safety measures. They also provide features to add up to those security measures.

Some more security features can be bought for your Wi-Fi. Though it may cost you a bit, it is important to safeguard your system form unwanted data thieves.

17. Seeking help of professionals

It would ruin all your planning and purchasing if you hand over the setting up of your Wi-Fi to some amateur individuals. For planning the setup as well as equipment to be bought, you should consult some professionals who hold good expertise in this field. For that, you can look forward to many firms who provide these services at an affordable rate.

You should clearly lay down a working plan before setting up your Wi-Fi. A vivid description of all the processes should be worked out.

The manufacturing company should be decided with consultation and research. The opinion of the expert should be heard and the place to shop the devices.

The cheaper and affordable ones should be preferred. You should also take into consideration the previous record of the selling firm.

Replacement facility should be available and people repairing service should be there by the firm. No one would like the devices purchased go down in a couple of weeks and the selling firm not giving a word about it.

18. Proper maintenance

 Once you have set up your Wi-Fi, you are definitely going to need some maintenance work. For proper maintenance, you can give contract to a firm who holds good reputation in this field.

As of now, not many firms give proper attention on Wi-Fi and wireless networking for a small company. Professionals with enough work experience and better reviews should be appointed for the maintenance as well as setup.

Bringing It All Together

Wi-Fi has become an integrated part of business in the current times. Public as well as private Wi-Fi is important for proper functioning. It depends according to the needs of your company. Private Wi-Fi helps connect all the users to a common system.

Sharing of work becomes easy and teamwork can be efficiently visualized with the Wi-Fi system. Tick the boxes of everything required for Wi-Fi and get the job done.

Posted on by Wifi Attendance Super Admin

When everything is doing well in your organization, you do not think too much about it. However, when productivity slackens, the pace slows down, may even grind to a halt and cost you your business.

Productive work and unproductive work are separated by a hazy line. Most times, unproductive cannot be discerned from productive work. Many tasks in the workspace are not clearly defined and many other tasks are of a collaborative nature.

In this context, it is important to realize that workplace monitoring is an important activity which ensures that employees end up doing the work that they are actually paid for.

Whereas employee monitoring is manually possible for those organizations with only a few employees, the same is impossible for an organization that employs thousands of employees in many different locations on regular and other shifts.

Such organizations use monitoring (oversight) agents installed on computers that help to provide complete visibility. They help to improve the office metrics and employee productivity and consequently the efficiency of the organization.

What Does Employee Monitoring Software Packages Do

In addition to the simple function of tracking time by recording clock-ins and clock-outs or managing employee schedules, the modern employee monitoring software packages are more extensive and possess monitoring functions such as logging in keystrokes, track the locations, and take screenshots.

The software can be customized according to different employee groups so as to suit their functions.

The data that is generated can be aggregated and interpreted as reports and dashboards and help to distinguish between productive and unproductive employees. In the rest of the article, we are going to discuss some of the most popular software tools that are used in corporate organizations to improve employee productivity.

1. Time Doctor

This is a time management tool that allows for real-time tracking of various jobs and works to prevent waste of time. It is best used by those organizations or individuals that want to remotely track a team’s work time. It helps to assess the productivity of the team as well as its time management.

Some of the metrics that are measured include Internet use time of the employee, a list of the websites that were visited, and the applications that were used.

Time Doctor is programmed to take screenshots once in every three minutes to ensure that employees are continuing to do their work. There are other features such as setting priorities for tasks and removing multitasking options.

2. BaseCamp

BaseCamp allows the employees to add tasks as they are scheduled for the coming week, month or even on a day-to-day basis. The tasks can be ticked off as soon as they are completed.

It gives a chance for the management as to how much an employee has been able to get through with their marked tasks without any direct intervention. The employees need to be taken into task only when they do too little work in a day.

3. WorkZone

Touted as an alternative solution to Microsoft Project, this software tool allows managers to define task/subtasks in a way that they understand. However, at the level of the employees, these tasks are broken down into smaller jobs that they would understand.

Sharing documents and framing comments are possible. In addition to all of these, one can feed in personal projects which allow him/her to collaborate with their managers.

4. WorkiQ

WorkiQ is built to study an employee’s computer behaviour and generates reports about how much time has been spent on non-productive sites as compared to productive work done.

Their dashboards are designed to display at a glance as to which of the employees are involved in work and which others are distracted from their work.

It is also possible to categorize activities across different applications and gives options to compare how the different workers handle the same type of work.

This helps to acknowledge and reward productive work and spot unproductive work when it occurs. True productivity can be measured even when it is a mix of complex tasks.

5. DeskTime

DeskTime is an application that allows for tracking jobs in real time and classifying each task as being productive or otherwise. In turn, this leads to finding out just how much productive each employee is. Agencies can also track billable hours among the employees.

6. 15Five

15Five is a web tool that helps the manager to link with all of their employees even at times when they are very busy. The software package works towards developing the employees so as to drive the business forward.

The package is designed so that all the employees are aligned to work towards the company’s top priorities.it helps to spot top-performing employees and acknowledge their good work.

The feedback is a lightweight affair (15 minutes a week) that helps the employee to focus on self-development as well as improve the team’s morale. Managers are allowed to pass comments as responses so that they create improved business results by removing roadblocks and coaching the employees.

7. SaneBox

Replying to emails is an activity known to be a time waster in most businesses. Reading and replying to emails as soon as they arrive at work is a common practice.

Many messages are irrelevant and redundant. Employees that batch up their emails and read them at one point in time are found to be more productive in their work. However, this may not be possible every single time. SaneBox can step in here to help.

SaneBox is more than just a spam filter in that it learns from a user’s previous email behaviour. SaneBox automatically filters emails according to what you tend to open first and what you tend to keep away for later.

The latter type is stored away in a separate folder and a summary of each of these messages is displayed to you. The software package has provisions for users to unsubscribe themselves from sites with just a single click.

8. Trello

Trello is a clear work organizer package. The software is cloud-based and helps to organize small and big tasks. It allows the teams to move in synchronization and works much like a project management software program. Processes and functions as and when they are started can be easily accommodated in Trello.

Many a time this does away with the need for unnecessary emails to fly across and is a definite time saver. The package is robust and enthusiasts can try out a free version.

9. Salesforce

Salesforce is a cloud-based site and is specifically suited to those organizations dealing in sales and CRM. A sales manager can run up as to how many calls were made by his team in a day, how many emails were despatched, how many opportunities were handled and how much income was generated.

These metrics help to generate several relevant reports, automatically and is a great time saver. Similarly, customer data can be viewed optimally that ultimately helps to get more new clients and service the existing clients in a better manner. The Community Cloud aspect of Salesforce helps to redefine employee engagement with a view to improving productivity.

10. Todoist

Todoist helps an individual to follow up with every task that we need to accomplish on a day-to-day basis. Team tasks can also be planned and executed using Todoist. Deadlines can be input and productivity can be gauged with the help of the tasks that are completed on time.

The best part about Todoist is that it can be used on any platform. As the software package is cloud-based, you can access it using any device and you can practically monitor your workforce just about from anywhere.

11. Assembla

If your aim is to keep your entire team in constant communication, and want to know the latest of the workload, then Assembla is the right tool. Assembla helps you to enjoy repositories from just anywhere as it is cloud-based.

Project managers can work without intervening in the work of the development team as all the metrics are available anywhere. Moreover, it means less time on emails and improved productivity.

12. HipChat

HipChat boils down to an ‘instant messenger’ type of application at the workplace. It enables instant one-to-one communication.  This time tracking and management tool provides a complete chat history.

Any employee that missed out on important meetings or communication can catch up using the history without actually having to disturb anyone.

This becomes a tool to measure employees’ performance on a daily basis and also decide as to what strategies would work to improve productivity. Productive and unproductive groups can be segregated and some of them can be driven to better their own performances to improve total productivity.

13. Asana

Asana is a time-tracking software package that ultimately helps to control the expense budget. The Harvest Timer is a notable option in the package that comes with integrating Asana with Harvest, the time-tracking software. It enables an individual to determine the amount of time that is spent on every single task in a day.

Tasks can be assigned to individuals and thereafter tracked. All the project members can be kept in the loop. All issues surface immediately and can be corrected without any loss of time. This helps to complete the projects on time and stay within the budget. Above all, it keeps clients and the employees happy.

14. Google Streak

Everyone knows of applications that work to control big projects so as to finish them on time. However, the smaller jobs of a mega project almost always never make any entry into any app. Many of them are tracked only through emails.

In such a case, Streak helps to track emails and solve the unresolved jobs that come through them. Reminders for such emails are marked and follow-up is set up collaborators. This application helps one to see all the jobs through, both big and small.

15. Pipedrive

Pipedrive is an application that helps to monitor the performance of those working in sales organizations. The advantage of the app is that it is easily customizable and the data reporting function is extremely robust. This facility generates many metrics for employees as well as the management and these can be used to improve the productivity.

Final Thoughts

As many as 15 tools that help to improve business productivity have been introduced. However, it is crucial to understand that a tool by itself is not responsible for increasing the productivity of an organization.

The culture of productivity has to be instilled into the employees by making use of the right type of incentives and making them aware of the moral responsibility. Employee monitoring tools cannot be draconian tools that drain the morale of the workforce.

 

 

Posted on by Wifi Attendance Super Admin

Most businesses focus on external growth and ignore the aspect of time and attendance management. An outdated attendance monitoring system that cannot accommodate flexible options and is difficult to use can negatively impact the growth of the company and its bottom line.

A business can be successful only when its managers look at the big picture. While sales are important, business owners must not ignore the development of efficient systems. HR and other internal teams must be able to productively coordinate and complete their tasks.

Here are 5 must –have features of an employee attendance app

1. Clocking In and Out

The most obvious feature, to begin with, is the ability to clock in and out. Employees must be able to record their working hours with the help of the app. Depending on the employee attendance app you choose, this feature may have its own style of use.

In certain apps, employees can remotely mark their time and attendance. In case of others, the employee needs to be in office wifi connectivity range.

2. Flexible Schedule Options

Some organizations allow flexible schedule options. This means that employees can start and end their day at different times. Time and attendance apps must be able to mark and monitor the working hours of employees accordingly.

A feature incorporating the different schedules and rosters must be inbuilt for improved functionality. This feature is a lot of times equipped with the option for notifications and alerts.

3. Management of Absenteeism

An employee attendance app must monitor absenteeism as well. Employee absence could be because of sickness, vacation or holidays, or paid leaves. In either case, the HR team must be able to track who’s in, who’s out, who is working overtime, and what are the allowances to be set for each.

4. Payroll Management

The process of payroll is automated in most organizations today. An integrated employee attendance app must seamlessly generate attendance data. This data is essential for calculations of payroll cycle, salary, and other benefits.

If your employee attendance app and payroll module are not appropriately integrated, you are missing out on these advantages.

In the absence of an integrated HRMS, chances of data loss in between the different steps are high. This is because different people are managing different activities from timekeeping to payroll.

An automated process ensures that information is at all times available to the employee, the Human Resources team, and the managers.

5. Mobile

The workforce today is generally scattered. They are working in the field, in the office premises, or even from home. An employee attendance module must have a mobile version that allows employees to remotely clock in and out, managing the number of hours the whole workforce has operated for.

This also includes data from those who are not on the premises. Some employee attendance apps also provide GPS tracking system keeping location monitoring and worker safety in mind.

One of the popular employee attendance apps that fulfill all features giving you the ability to manage your employee productivity better is Wi-Fi Attendance apps.

These apps are efficient solutions with all the necessary features to help you track your employees. There are two versions of the mobile app along with a web version.

1. Employee Attendance App

The app is for employees making it easier for them to mark attendance. All that employees need is an office wifi connectivity range. This feature ensures that any kind of fraudulent activities are eliminated and right tracking and monitoring of employees can be recorded.

2. HR App

This is for HR professionals. It makes their work efficient and allows them to make decisions on the go. Not just that, professionals can also focus more on strategic workforce instead of administrative work.

The web version offered for Wi-Fi Attendance apps has more features as compared to the mobile version. This can be accessed by both the employees and the HR teams.

Its dashboard is user-friendly and there are features for managing leaves, attendance, time, team preferences and more. Check out more details about the apps here.

Posted on by Wifi Attendance Super Admin

Are we all aware of listening skills? Probably most of us do not have a clear idea about listening skills. You might have missed some business opportunities or job opportunities owing to poor listening skills.

Make sure you do not miss your next opportunity because of your unawareness on listening skills. Here is a detailed guide to hone your listening skills

Listening Skills

Listening can be defined as the ability to receive and interpret messages accurately, in the communication process. It is the key to effective communication. When one is not able to listen effectively, messages can be misunderstood.

Due to this, the message breaks down leaving the sender of the message in a frustrating state. If you wish to improve your communication skills then listening is a must. They are important in every walk of life.

Listening skills are highly important, so much so that employers provide listening skills training to their employees. It is well known that effective communication can lead to greater productivity with fewer mistakes and increased sharing of information, which leads to more creative and innovative work. So many successful entrepreneurs and leaders credit their success to their good listening skills.

Listening skills can also prove to be very beneficial in everyone’s personal lives. It helps one in maintaining a greater number of friends, colleagues and social networks. It gives an increased confidence and self-esteem. It also helps students to get higher grades in school or college or in academic work.

It leads to better health and overall a greater sense of well-being. According to some studies, it has been shown that speaking raises blood pressure whereas listening can bring it down.

Listening vs. Hearing

Listening vs Hearing

Many people mistake listening as the same as hearing. However, both of the processes cannot be termed as same. Hearing is when sound enters your ears. It is a physical process, which happens automatically, provided that you don’t have any hearing problems.

On the other hand, when listening is being talked about, it requires more than hearing. Listening requires focus and a concentrated effort, mental and sometimes physical too.

Listening is not only about paying attention to the story. It is about the way story is being told, how the voice and language are being used along with the body language of the person telling the story. It is about knowing and understanding both, verbal and non-verbal messages.

The ability of each person to listen differs according to the degree to, which you are able to perceive and understand those messages. Listening cannot be called as a passive process. It is a process in which a listener should be involved as much as the speaker.

One would often hear about the term ‘active listening.’ This term can be defined as the process of being fully involved.

The famous author, Rachel Naomi Remen has described learning in one of her quotes, which says, “The most basic and powerful way to connect to another person is to listen. Just listen.  Perhaps the most important thing we ever give each other is our attention.”

Time spent on listening

On an average, a lot of time is spent on learning. Adults spend 70% of their overall time in being engaged in some kind of communication or the other. A research has shown that, of this, 45% of the time is being spent on listening, 30% speaking, 16% reading, and 9% writing.

Therefore, there is a lot of time for listening. It is worth taking a little extra time to ensure that you listen properly and effectively.

Time spent on listening

This has been proven by the research of Adler, Rosenfeld, and Proctor in 2001.

Interplay: the process of interpersonal communicating (8th edition), Fort Worth, TX: Harcourt.

Hurdles to effective learning

Hurdles to effective learning

There are some hurdles or barriers, which lead to ineffective learning. For example, it is a very common problem that a sentence distracts us or two instead of listening effectively to what the person is saying. That time is spent in thinking of the reply that one is going to give.

This clearly means that one did not pay attention to the rest of the message of the speaker. There can be a lot of other distractions as well, such as one might find the message of someone else speaking to more interesting. The speaker’s appearance can also distract you.

When you indulge in any of these, it shows in your body language too. The lack of attention is itself projected in your body language. It is harder to control body language. You may be showing lack of interest by not making an eye contact or the lack of posture.

The speaker will realize this sooner or later. He will probably stop talking due to these reasons. At the worst, they can be upset and offended.

The Listening Process

The Listening Process

Listening is a very active process. It involves the following three basic steps.

1. Hearing

It is just a process by, which you absorb the words and voice of the speaker. You should be able to catch what the speaker is saying. For example, you were listening to a documentary or a report on zebras. The speaker said that no two zebras are alike.

If you are able to repeat the fact then you were listening to him carefully. In case you are unable to, you were not listening carefully.

2. Understanding

The next part of the process is that you are able to make sense of what is being said. It is when you have heard what the speaker has said and you are able to understand it in your own way. For example, when the speaker said that no two zebras are alike, you tried to get a meaning out of it. You try to understand that it could possibly mean that the stripes on each zebra are different.

3. Judging

Analyzing and judging what has been said is the last part of the process. After understanding what has been said, you tend to realize whether it can be true or not, whether it makes a sense or not. For example, when you thought after listening to the speaker that each zebra might have a different pattern of stripes, you tend to analyze if that can be true.

You might relate it to the fact that each human has different fingerprints so it might seem believable that zebras might have different kinds of stripes too.

Importance Of Listening Skills In Business Communications

Listening Skills In Business Communications

Verbal communication constitutes an important part of business communications. One needs to constantly interact and listen to so many clients as well as colleagues in the office. The ability to not only listen but also listen effectively is what works in business communications. One needs to build up this skill to be able to work in a team environment or even individually.

Listening is such an important component in establishing commendable working relations between employee groups along with the management and the staff. Also, a small business cannot afford to alienate its customers and clients. It is very important to maintain an eye contact and give your full attention to your clients.

Good listening skills obviously have an effect on your customer relations. They define majorly whether a customer will stay with you or not. Therefore, to help you know more on the same, here is a list of a few ways in, which listening skills are important in business communications.

1. Active listening works

Active listening is when the entire attention of the listener is focused on the speaker; he tries to avoid interrupting the speaker, shows genuine interest in what he is speaking by remaining non-judgmental.

Instead of the just hearing the word, when you can imply and make sense of what the speaker is saying is when you are paying attention. This includes being able to read non-verbal clues such as the body language and facial expressions.

It may happen sometimes that facial expressions might contradict what the person is saying. It is significant to engage fully in a conversation or discussion and this is what makes it a key part of active learning. You can uncover the root of most problems by just being an attentive listener and being polite in your reply. Your inviting posture can make a big difference.

2. To Gain Information

Listening is very helpful in acquiring facts, which can help you to take better decisions for your business. For example, when you take an interview of a job applicant, you will discover his attitude for the job when you listen to him carefully and perceive what he is saying with the help of your listening skills.

You will be able to judge how he must have performed in his last job and his achievements on his resume. When you listen to him/her and analyze what he has been saying and the way his personality is, you decide whether he/she is fit for your company or not.

3. Conflict Resolution

Workplace disputes always disturb the atmosphere. Unhappy customers can also disrupt productivity and all of this can lead to an inefficient work environment. However, if one has an ability to listen he/she can convert the situation of a disruptive conflict into an opportunity in, which there can be growth.

If the upset colleagues or dissatisfied customers feel that they are being heard, it can automatically calm them down.

It can relieve their unwanted negative feelings along with providing an opportunity for the problem-solving process to begin. When you listen effectively, the clients and the co-workers get an impression that you are concerned. This forms a basis of trust and commitment.

4. Motivation and Productivity

When one learns to listen effectively, it can bring benefits to the business and the speaker. When a department listens to what the employees have to say, it does not only hear what they have to say but they also get an insight into what makes each worker tick.

If the manager is a good listener and communicator, he can motivate his employees to a greater level. Effective listening makes it easier for the manager to choose appropriate rewards for his/her employees. These can be private or public praise, responsibilities in addition or a greater amount of independence.

5. Perception Management

Working for the reputation of a small business is hard as you need to make efforts constantly. Its reputation increases or diminishes its chances of success in future along with profit.

Effective listening skills can always prevent misunderstandings along with ensuring that the first encounter creates a positive impression. All of this helps in maintaining a good reputation of the small businesses.

It must not be forgotten that when consumers are being talked about, word of mouth is a very powerful advertising medium. When one takes the time to listen effectively and tries to offer a solution to the pertaining problems at once, it gives out an impression that you have the potential to spread.

Listening is also important when you deal with suppliers or vendors. It is very helpful in creating efficient work relationships, helps in saving valuable time of both the sides and can have potentially many more benefits. Strong relationships can always benefit the business in the long run.

Examples Of Effective Learning

  • When a job candidate shares that her understanding of a question, which was unclear, during an interview and asks if she is right.
  • An interviewer notices that the candidate doesn’t look him in the eye while answering.
  • A customer service employee repeats the complaint back to the complainant to assure that he/she has been heard.
  • The manager summarizes all that her team said during the meeting and asks if it has been heard correctly.
  • A counselor reassures the client by telling him that he is listening and encourages him to discuss his traumatic experiences.
  • The meeting facilitator encourages his team members for their opinions about a proposal, which is being shared in the meeting.
  • The interviewer asks follow-up questions to gain clarifications on what the candidate has said.
  • An employee pays much attention to the speaker when the training session is being conducted and asks clarifying questions on the same.

What Makes A Bad Listener

What Makes A Bad Listener

Your listening skills can be considered underdeveloped if you keep interrupting the speaker during a conversation. If you respond poorly, failing to answer the required question will be a poor reflection of your communication skills. This gets more highlighted if you are taking a job interview.

When you talk way too much, it can be problematic. It must not be forgotten that conversations should be managed from both the sides equally. When you monopolize speaking, you fail to listen effectively leading to poor communication.

This way you prevent the other party to fully express what they wanted to. Therefore, you end up making a bad impression.

Qualities Of A Good Listener

Qualities Of A Good Listener

Being a good listener requires some basic qualities and has so many advantages. It makes communication so much easier. Listening demands to interpret verbal messages along with the non-verbal clues.

If a person is in business then the importance of such skills has already been discussed. Poor listening can drag our work project and makes it more time-consuming.

Good listeners usually have quick and easy solutions. It is known that great listeners are great winners in personal and professional life. They are great motivators and communicators.

They are also great leaders in all the industries. Therefore, here is a list of a few qualities, which are needed for you to be an effective listener.

1. Make eye contact

It is really important to look the person in the eye when you are communicating with him/her. It shows that you are genuinely interested in the conversation. It reflects that you are interested in listening to the problems of the other individual and would be ready to provide your help if needed.

2. Ask questions one at a time

What happens is that sometimes we ask too many questions and expect the other person to answer them all at once. Such conversations do no reap the best results since appropriate time was not given to the speaker to explain and complete what he wanted to say, instead you wanted the answer to all your questions.

Ask one question at a time and let him complete the explanation of the question. After he finishes, you can ask him if there is anything more to be added.

3. Pay attention

Paying attention is the key component of being a good listener. One should be attentive and present in the place where the speaker is saying something.

Sometimes what happens is that your mind catches a certain word and then it travels elsewhere, leaving you distracted. You must try to avoid this by focusing purely on what the speaker has to say.

4. Do not interrupt in between

It is basic manners to not interrupt someone when he/she is talking. You must not talk in between a conversation and let the speaker finish completely. You must ask your next question only after he/she finishes.

You can give your feedback after that. When you maintain this courtesy, the other person will be fairly interested in the conversation.

5. Take Notes

This can be a helpful quality for the ones in the business. When you are in an important meeting you must take notes of the things discussed in short bullet points.

This will make things clear and help you remember them. It can also be helpful in clearing your doubts and summarize all that has been said and discussed.

6. Use whiteboards to understand better

It is not possible that you understand 100% of what the other person says. It is very reasonable that you might not get some things. In that case, using a whiteboard is advisable.

Some conversations can be explained in a better way when you tend to draw them or represent them in the form of short notes or tables. This can help to analyze your verbal communication.

7. Give a pause of a few seconds

When a person is about to finish talking, you should let them take at least 3 to 4 seconds break. This will help you judge if they have finished speaking. There are chances that the person might start talking again after their pause. Therefore, in that case, they should not be disturbed.

8. Focus on the subject

You must focus on the subject, which is being discussed and you should not direct the conversation towards any other topic. Do not jump to next question until the person is finished with the previous one. You should not divert the conversation to unrelated topics.

9. Do not show the gesture signs

This needs to be taken care of that you do not show expressions or gestures that you are ready to talk, before the other person is done with speaking. Therefore, you must not move your head forward or open your mouth to talk, etc.

Do not assume anything: You must not assume anything. If something is not understood then you can wait for them to finish and then put forward your query. You can explain what you have understood from the conversation and what not. Then you can ask the person to correct you where you go wrong.

10. Do not make early judgments

This is a very important quality for being a good listener. Before you let the speaker complete, you just pick some words and they revolve around in your mind and everything else the speaker says is not listened to. Therefore, you must not try to make early judgments and listen to the speaker fully.

11. Do not equate listening with agreeing

This is an amazing quality, which the good listeners possess. They do not equate listening with agreeing. They understand that good listening is a quality, which equips you to be able to disagree as well. When you listen carefully you understand clearly, what is it that you disagree with.

12. Willing to speak

Good listeners do not equate listening with silence. They understand the importance of communicating and that one needs to speak too after listening, to take the conversation further.

Ways To Improve Listening Skills

Ways To Improve Listening Skills

The importance of listening skills has already been discussed. In this high speed and busy world, communication skills have become so important. We devote lesser and lesser time to listen to each other. Genuine listening has become a rare gift of time.

It helps build relationships, ensure understanding, improve accuracy, and resolve conflicts. Therefore, to help you with all of this efficiently, here is a list of a few ways in which you can improve your listening skills.

1. Face the speaker and maintain eye contact

Divided attention does no good, neither to the speaker nor to the listener. Due to this, the communication fails. Making eye contact is considered a basic essential for effective communication. When you talk to a person, look him/her in the eye.

You must have the courtesy to face your partner with whom you are carrying out a conversation. Keep aside the things causing distractions, such as your mobile phone, papers, book or anything else. You must look at your partner even if they are not looking at you.

2. Be attentive but relaxed

Once you make an eye contact with the person, it is not that you have to stare at him/her incompetently. You need to be relaxed, in order to focus on what the person is saying. You are allowed to look away every now and then like any normal person would do. The only thing is that you will have to be attentive.

You need to deal with your mental distractions along with the background activity or noise. You should not focus so much on the speech mannerisms of the speaker that it becomes a distraction for you. In the end, obviously, do not be distracted by your own thoughts.

3. Keep your mind open

You need to be free from any thought to give full attention to the speaker. Therefore, you must listen to him/her without making prior judgments or criticize what the speaker is telling you.

You compromise your effectiveness as a listener as soon as you make judgmental bemusements. You can feel alarmed by what the person says but wait until you hear him/her out completely.

It is extremely necessary to hear and absorb without jumping to conclusions. You must take care of the fact that the speaker is using his/her words to express his thoughts and feelings that you do not know.

You will find out about how he feels only after listening properly. You should not be a sentence-grabber. There’s no point interrupting and trying to finish other person’s sentences.

4. Try to picture what the speaker is saying

You should allow your mind to work in a creative manner. It should create a model of the information being communicated in his mind. It can be an arrangement of abstract concepts or make a liberal picture. Your brain will do the work if it is focused in the right manner. What is required is that your senses should be completely alert.

When the conversation goes on for long stretches, you must try and remember the keywords and phrases. You can note them down if you want. Also, you should not spend your time planning what to say next when it is your turn to listen.

You cannot do two things at a time, rehearse and listen in this case. Your only priority should be to concentrate on what the speaker is trying to convey.

5. Do not interrupt and impose your solutions

Interrupting in between cannot be termed as a good habit. When you interrupt a person, it sends all kinds of bad messages. It may mean that what you are saying might be more important than what the speaker intends to say. Or that what you are saying is more interesting, relevant or accurate.

We all have a different pace when it comes to listening or speaking. If you are a quick thinker or nimble speaker, then you need to control your pace and be a more thoughtful communicator.

When you listen to someone talking about his problems, you should refrain from suggesting immediate solutions. The person might not want your advice. Sometimes all a person might need is a good listener.

6. Wait for the speaker for clarification

It is not possible for anyone to understand anything completely. It is human to have doubts or not to understand anything and it would be considered good if you look forward to talking to the speaker about the same. However, you must not interrupt. Wait for the speaker to take a pause.

7. Ask questions only to ensure understanding

You must only ask relevant questions. One question can take the conversation in a completely different direction. That direction might not have anything to do with the real topic being discussed or talked about.

However, sometimes you might get back to the original topic but most of the time, one is not able to. Therefore, you must think before asking a question as it should disturb the original flow of the issue being discussed.

8. Try to feel what the speaker is feeling

Your effectiveness as a good listener is assured when you try to feel every emotion that the speaker is going through and you convey it to them by your gestures, such as you can use your facial expressions or your words. You must try to feel their sadness when they are upset, their joy when they are happy and so on.

To be a good listener, empathy is a quality, which can be termed as the heart and soul of good listening. To be empathetic, you should try to put yourself in the place of the person narrating their experiences, and then feel their emotions or thoughts.

However, this takes a lot of concentration and energy but this facilitates communication at its best. It is very generous and helpful to do this.

9. Give regular feedback to the speaker

When you give regular feedback to the speaker, you make him feel that he is being heard and listened. Feedback not just means, getting back to him by speaking. It can also be in the form of a simple nod while he is discussing the topic.

Tying It All Together

By now, you must have understood how important it is to inculcate good listening skills. It is said that the world today is a global village and we are all connected to each other.

However, we do not pay attention to each other and listen effectively to be able to solve the problems that we encounter as an individual, company, nation or even the entire global village as a whole.

This shows that we are in dire need of effective communication skills. The tips to improve it have also been discussed. You can use some basic materials for practicing listening skills such as listening to a podcast episode, which you have a transcript for.

Listening to just the dialogues of some movie or show would also help. You can start with short clips and then move to the larger ones. Hence, you must learn with patience and strive to be a better listener.

Posted on by Wifi Attendance Super Admin

You may have resolutions to lose weight or become healthier this year but what about the resolution to become a better employee? Striving to become a better worker at the company can make you indispensable and also get you a promotion in the long run.

Read Also: How To Build Great Work Relationships

Irrespective of the industry you work in, here are 15 different ways to become a better employee in 2019.

1. Prioritize tasks at hand

In the face of overwhelming responsibilities, it is natural to get carried away with the thought of “what should I tackle first?”

A simple response to such situations is to “Prioritize” tasks.  You can put down all tasks in ascending order of priority on paper and stick to the plan.

 The deadlines should be able to help you get the order of planning right.

If deadlines are not the factor your brain is wired to follow, you have other options like the complexity of task, time taken or any other factor you believe will help you achieve the target.

A regular practice of this method will eventually help you figure out your personalized execution strategies.

It is the mark of a good employee to figure out all his strengths and weaknesses through trial and error techniques.

2. Keep up the learning game

Learning new things revamps you to attain a better version of self.

Your professional journey marks a new phase of educating yourself. People tend to give up on it once they feel they have accomplished the success they had in mind and get comfortable in the lap of monotony.

Constantly remind yourself, that nothing should stop you from learning. It is a part of progress and helps you rediscover your abilities and emotions.

It will help you keep pace with dynamic trends of workspace and digital world.

Set goals to try and get accustomed to new technologies each time. And when you have achieved one, move towards another.

3. Face to face collaboration

If there is one thing that digitalization has majorly impacted, it is the connection between people who find it more comfortable to chat, rather than talk in person.

The emails and skype makes the job easier and faster without a doubt, but also tends to affect the value of human relationships on a deeper level.

If you think, this has nothing to do with your workspace collaborations, listen up! Virtual talks actually lead a lot of time down the drain during important discussions that are precursors to imperative decisions.

The simple reason being, the sporadic inability of the people on both sides of the screen to clearly comprehend what is being said.

In person conversations on the other hand save a lot of time foster collaboration.

4. Be passionate towards work

Analyze the mindset and attitude you hold towards your work. If there is no passion involved, you are probably not even doing it right.

There is no point in showing up at work each day with blinkers and kicking up a series of events that have become your second nature since you do it every day.

Do you feel it’s the right direction to lead your professional journey into?

Growing with your job each day requires a 100 percent dedication. Unless you connect with the work at an intellectual level, the output will lack both precision and value. 

Rather than maneuvering around with the same old tricks to, put some thought into crafting new approaches and see how that yields.

The element of mental involvement opens new doors of expertise and authority.

5. Improve your focus

The current generation has a lot of distractions. In fact, there seems to be a new one popping in every day. While some are important, some just end up wasting a lot of your time.

To add value to what you do at your and accomplish more than you decided to, enhance your focus. Identify which distractions trouble you and restrict their usage. As you learn to limit distractions, your productivity will improve.

6. Engage with employees

Some employees work from remote locations. If you are one of them, chances that you interact with colleagues face to face are lesser. This can impact your association with the organization and other team members.

Try to turn on your webcam or fix meetings with colleagues whenever you get a chance. Such interactions help for better communication and build working relationships. If you physically work at the workplace, walk over to your colleague and initiate a conversation.

7. Ask for feedback

You may feel that what you are doing is extremely efficient and above expectations. But do remember that it is not all about you. Ask your seniors for feedback and understand how you can improve your performance.

Listen to their inputs positively and ensure that you are not selfish and self-centered. Working with an egoistic and selfish employee isn’t fun, so avoid being one.

8. Don’t judge

Today, people tend to be judgmental. This isn’t improving results in any manner and is just making the workplace more complicated.

Respect your colleagues even if you disagree with their opinion. When you show more respect to the thoughts and beliefs of other people, you will be more productive and successful.

9. Accomplish

High performers always focus on what they need to accomplish. They do not get bogged down by workload. So concentrate on what you need to accomplish rather than just being busy.

10. Do not blame

Always remember that when you point a finger at someone, there are three fingers pointing back at you. If something hasn’t been done in the right way, ask yourself how you can bring an improvement.

Read Also: How to Improve a Toxic Work Environment

Take ownership and accountability. Employees who avoid blaming and take accountability of what’s happening are valued more than other employees.

11. Don’t be complacent

There is no reason to be complacent. You cannot know everything and there’s always room to learn more. The world is changing fast and team members who consistently take an initiative to learn are valuable and marketable.

attendance app

12. Be Proactive

A lot of employees just meet job requirements. However, it is important that you remain committed and try to finish additional things on the task list. It can be challenging but is definitely rewarding. With this attitude, you will notice a sense of success for yourself.

13. Enhance your soft skills

Less-tangible skills like emotional intelligence are of great value today. For instance, an employee with high EQ has the ability to handle pressure, can cooperate with other team members, is ready to take feedback, and is also empathetic. Such employees are always more welcome in the working environment.

14. Have gratitude

Remember to say ‘thank you’ often. Don’t let anyone’s favour or anyone’s support go unnoticed. Co-workers will be more willing to help if you have a positive attitude and the ability to show gratitude.

15. Get better at goal setting

Goals are essential for progress. But just setting the goals is not enough. Goals must be beyond an employee’s comfort zone and often tied with broader corporate goals.

Perform frequent checks to understand how well you are progressing and ask for constructive feedback from peers and managers.

16. Manage your time well

Setting goals isn’t enough, meeting them on time is equally vital. If you don’t stretch deadlines and complete your assignments on time, you are like a star performer.

Do not generate too many ideas since they can sway you from the actual task at hand. Finish one milestone at a time and move forward with every step.

17. Improve your social media game

The social media game can help you in several ways to boost your career. Search for thought leaders and strive to position yourself at par with them. Share what you are working on and highlight your achievements.

18. Send better emails

Emails are an important medium of communication at the workplace. Make sure you write clear, concise, and actionable emails.

Start with what is worth the attention and then move on to the explanation bit. Do not forget to mention the next steps. Learn to respect the time the recipient is giving to read your email.

19. Work on how you deal with conflict

When more people are working on a particular project, differences in opinion are bound to arise. These differences can escalate to a conflict depending on the kind of people working together.

Read Also: How to Build a Better Company Culture

Try to find out the cause of a clash and fix it at your end before rolling up your sleeves. Keep the ultimate goal as the center of your thought process and recommend a compromise.

A Final Thought

The above-mentioned tips are great to start with and you can really contribute much more to your organization. No one will lead you to become a better employee, it is you who has to take the initiative and bring about a difference.

Posted on by Wifi Attendance Super Admin

Creating a flexible work schedule for your company may not seem easy. But with a systematic approach, you can prepare a list of options beneficial for both you and the employees. When HR leaders know what they need to implement, their task becomes easy and they are in a position to manage employees better.

Flexible Work Schedules Already Exist

You may not have a formal flexible work environment in your organization but the truth is that it is already happening. Many employees have ‘terms’ with their managers. As part of these ‘terms’, they enjoy work from home, occasional day offs, early leaves etc.

Such under the table arrangements with managers create inequality as some employees have privileges while others don’t. This necessitates the need for a formalized flexible work arrangement program.

In an informal setup, the use of such arrangements cannot be monitored. While employees and managers may be reluctant on the implementation of a formalized flexible work schedule, it is important to create fair guidelines. Such a working environment suits both the employee and the employer resulting in better productivity and an increased morale.

Have Different Flexible Work Options

A successful flexible work arrangement (FWA) requires the right combination of flexible work options. Flexible work schedules can be divided into different categories:

1. Flexible Time:

This involves leeway with respect to the amount of time they need to work for. Employees need to complete eight hours but there is no restriction on what time they start and what time they end.

They could take few hours off to complete personal tasks such as attending their child’s school event or visiting the bank. They could also opt for different shift timings.

2. Flexible Time Off:

Here, employees can opt for extra vacation, long-term leaves or personal offs.

3. Flexible Location:

This gives employees the option of working from home without having a physical presence in the office.

How to create a flexible work schedule?

When HR leaders prepare a flexible work schedule, there are certain questions that they need to ask themselves:

1. What is the purpose of FWA?

Think of the problem you are intending to solve with the implementation of FWA. For instance, the option of flexible location reduces real estate costs since you don’t need space to fit employees. Similarly, flexible time gives employees space to complete their personal tasks and feel that the organization they work with is considerate.

2. What is it that your employees need?

A well-drafted FWA program can boost employee engagement and productivity. This is why it is important to select flexible work options as per the requirements of the employees. Sit and discuss with employees what they are looking for.

3. Are your managers comfortable?

One of the most common reasons for the failure of FWA programs is excessive leniency. If there are too many flexible options, managers struggle to track when employees are working and when they are not. Your FWA options must be suitable for both the managers and employees.

4. Is your FWA a good fit?

This is extremely important. Different departments have different goals and it is important that your flexible work options suit the type of work performed at your organization. The ultimate objective of your FWA program is to improve productivity and that is exactly what it should lead to.

You may have to alter the compensation scheme and also incorporate different performance management techniques in your HR program for the successful implementation of the FWA. Take all these factors into consideration before you announce the FWA program in front of all employees.

A Customized Flexible Work Schedule

The FWA program you finally implement must be suitable for your organization. It must have appropriate guidelines and boundaries that provide comfort to the employees and managers. Perform a test run to be sure of the program you devise and understand if there is a need for any tweaking.

Use the flexible work schedule to your advantage. Promote it on all career-related portals and your website to attract prospective talent.

 

Posted on by Wifi Attendance Super Admin

Onboarding is a popular term these days and refers to the process of hiring new employees for the organization.  It sets off before the employee’s start-date and can extend to about six months or even a year.

Being an overwhelming process by itself, the end result and the impact may depend on the techniques that you use and the length of the process.

There are many tools that you can use today, each of which promises you the best engagement results and retention rates.

In this context, we are going to draw out a checklist that would help you to hire the right employees. Such a hiring process is seen to enhance employee performance and commitment to the organization.

1. Get to know the local laws.

It is important to know the local laws relating to a maximum number of weekly hours of work, maternity leave, annual leave, notice of termination, public holidays, etc.

2. Start the hiring process.

This requires that you assess your organization’s current as well as future needs and define the roles for which you would need people.

At this stage, you can also deliberate as to whether hiring is the best option or you have better alternatives. If you decide to hire, you would clearly want to know what you need from the individual.

3. Create a suitable job description.

This stage requires that you know the skills/qualifications the person requires and the amount that you are willing to compensate the employee with.

In this context, remember that it is important to maintain a record of every candidate’s strengths, weaknesses, interview notes, expectations, etc.  You would have to refer to these throughout the onboarding process.

4. Attract the right candidates.

The next step is to advertise the vacant positions. Suitable candidates should hear about the opportunity and match it with their skills, salary expectations and experience.

The manner in which you advertise may depend on the industry that you are in. Social media, online job portals, newspapers, recruitment agencies, etc., are some options that you may consider.

5. Get on with the recruiting.

This involves a whole gamut of activities including communication with prospects, interviews and screening, etc. You have to determine as to who will do the recruiting.

Activities as described in the previous step and this one is sometimes more efficiently done by someone in the team or an outsourced recruiter.

6. Get your employees started up properly.

This is the orientation period and is the most important phase of the onboarding process. Ensure that you do not overlook this process. This is the time period when your employees align with the culture and vision of your organization.

A tour of the work premises is absolutely essential during the induction program. They also have to be provided with an overview of the business that your organization is involved in.

This is the time when the employee is educated about the roles and responsibilities at the workplace, prevalent dress codes, safety protocols, evacuation procedures, operating hours, payroll, etc.

7. Complete all the paperwork.

It is time for the employee to sign up for various benefit programs, insurance coverage documents and retirement plan documents. The new employee will at this time also complete all the payroll forms.

8. Set company expectations.

The employee is informed about the probationary period and the times when the performance appraisals would take place.

9. Start training program.

The new employee is trained on all aspects of the job, from the simple to the complex. The duration of the training program is also notified to the employee.

Final Thoughts

It is a good idea to standardize the onboarding process with a checklist as listed above. This is because taking optimum time to onboard the employees is the key to increase the productivity of the new hires.  The absence of a checklist-based onboarding process is seen to result in higher manpower turnover rates.

 

Posted on by Wifi Attendance Super Admin

Do you have an automated employee attendance tracking system at your office? Many startups begin with minimal to no attendance tracking. However, as the company grows, tracking of attendance becomes necessary.

Many companies realize this too late after paying for wasted man-hours. Lack of attendance tracking can lead to losses where employees are taking you for a ride.

Some companies do have an attendance tracking system in place but it is simply inefficient. To help you avoid losses we have put together 10 most common attendance tracking mistakes in the form of an infographic. Each point also includes a solution for you to avoid them.

Take a quick look!

10 Attendance Tracking Mistakes

Posted on by Wifi Attendance Super Admin

Today, time is considered to be money, but somewhere down the line the responsibilities thrown upon one’s shoulders can be intense and take a toll on their personal lives.

It is one of the most important reasons as to why people often struggle with a proper work-life balance, especially if they are regular employees of performing organizations.

Lack of work life balance can take a toll on the body and at the same time also hamper personal life. In the long run, emotional health tends to deplete massively and thus brings forth days of despair.

A healthy work-life balance can ensure that the person has time for his profession as well as the family. It helps to build the morale and promotes a healthy lifestyle.

For the people willing to lead a healthy lifestyle and follow up with their family while keeping their work deadlines under control, these 15 work balance tips can come in handy.

1. Identify one’s strength and going by it

In the professional field, people ought to have their very own set of strength and weaknesses. It is crucial that they play along with their power and avoid going by their shortcomings.

The person needs to avoid taking up jobs that do not fit their work spectrum, and if it is necessary, then they can also take the proposition of outsourcing the work into account.

2. Prioritizing the work

Prioritizing the work helps to gain a lot of time and save effort. A person can prioritize his/her work based on either difficulty standards or emergency levels.

If you have time in your hand, then you can surely get the more straightforward tasks completed ahead of the difficult ones. It will allow you to concentrate on the functions which are more difficult at the later stage.

3. Understanding your comfort zone

Every individual has their very own comfort zone. There are hours of the day where you can work to your best, and you should assign the most crucial tasks to such hours.

It will help you concentrate better and get the work done with relative ease. Thus, you can spare time for other jobs later.

4. Do not let the work seep into your personal life

A regular 9 to 5 job does not leave much of a personal life because the working hours can stretch even further. You should try to complete your office work there only so that at the end of the day you can have some “me time” left with you. You can try to spend the time with your family and friends while avoiding any stress of work.

5. Sticking to your work hours

What people fail to do often is set dedicated work hours and stick to them. As a part of your professionalism, it is essential for you to hold to your dedicated work hours.

It will help you get your tasks done within the stipulated period so that later on you can spare some quality time for your loved ones. If you are unable to do so, then you might be well into working late hours.

6. Long-term management

When you have a series of events coming your way, it is best to prepare yourself for them. The best way to do so would be to manage your time ahead of schedule.

Plan your days and have the events sorted out in such a manner so that it does not hamper your work. In this way, you will be able to maintain an optimum work-life balance.

7. Make the workspace ergonomic

Your workspace ergonomics are going to make things easier for you. Try investing in equipment and machinery which will help make the task easier. You can also design your workspace to make it comfortable for you so that you can relate to the work at your hand.

It will help you gain more interest in your profession and thus contribute to complete the task faster.

8. Stay away from performing extra

There is no point in overstressing yourself with work. You do not need to push yourself to the limits, especially if you are good at the job.

Try completing the task at your hand with all dedication and when you have some time left from the deadline, revise the work or perhaps take a chill.

9. Make the most of your holidays

Holidays come as a blessing for people into their professional careers. When you do get holidays, try spending it with your family and friends.

Do not waste it entirely in sleeping or planning future work. The moments with your loved ones are going to help you forge a tremendous and memorable life ahead.

10. Set your own rules

If you have problems playing by the rules, then try setting your very own ones. Beyond regulations, these would be statements and milestones set to help you accomplish.

Finish work according to your solid credentials such that you can assess your skill levels. Challenge your professionalism to get the job done ahead of time, and you will never miss out on your family.

11. Reach office on time

If you want to leave the office on time, then you need to be at your office on time. Punctuality is a great way to get the optimum work-life balance. It will make your boss happy and provide you with personal moments to cherish after a long yet fruitful day at work.

12. Break the silence

Everybody isn’t a professional at every task. If there is anything that you cannot do or are not comfortable with them, you need to speak up.

Let them know your limitations so that they make secondary arrangements for you. Taking up impossible tasks will only make you compromise on your work-life balance.

13. Try aiming for success and not just figures

If you are an entrepreneur, then you must be counting data for your business. All you need to do is stop overdoing yourself, especially in the pursuit of higher profits.

Aim for success and indulge in limited but useful work. Complete the work in the designated period and spare the necessary time for yourself. Work can wait, but the family needs to be your priority.

14. Hire a consolidated and professional workforce

Having a professional workforce can help you get the task completed within a short period. The professionalism with the work also helps to enhance the quality of the output.

This activity ensures that you have to spare minimum effort into assessing the work during its stages of implementation.

15. Set the deadlines accordingly

It is always not necessary to go by the rules of the client. As a professional, you will have the best idea with regards to the requisite time needed for the work.

Communicate with your clients and set the deadline accordingly so that you are not stressed out with the job. It will help you to maintain professionalism and complete the task without hampering your personal life.

Takeaway

These 15 ways can help you consolidate the struggle between work and personal life. Following those as mentioned earlier will ensure your professionalism and help promote your well-being amidst the social circle.

Posted on by Wifi Attendance Super Admin

Employee absenteeism, payroll calculation and fake attendance are problems that take away lot of time from an HR’s work day. Time spent on tallying attendance, checking for proxy and matching leave with payroll can be saved by a good attendance tracking system for your employees.

But what is a good attendance tracking system. Does your current system have any faults that are causing problems?

Let’s look at the features a good attendance tracking system should have. This will help you to upgrade your current system or get a new one.

What should a Good Attendance Tracking System Have?

Minimum Hardware Requirement

A good attendance tracking system should have minimum hardware requirement. With cloud solutions and a smartphone in every employee’s hand there is no need to spend money on expensive biometric trackers and other equipment.

Attendance trackers also need maintenance and have failure someday despite it. Having an attendance tracking software that runs with employee smartphone and on cloud is the solution you should look for.

This will need no investment and also reduce wait time in front of RFID machines as each employee has his own tracker now.

Ability to Track Productivity Time Accurately

It is difficult to track working hours where the trackers only marks punch-in time. There is no way to know whether the employee left right after punching in.

Even if punch-out time is tracked, things like forgetting to mark attendance, leaving without punching make it difficult to record the productive hours spent by employee. Cases of absenteeism can increase in such a scenario.

For this reason an ideal attendance system should track the actual time spent by an employee in the office. This is possible today and wifi attendance system uses the office wifi to track hours spent in office along with employee location.

Prohibit Buddy Punching

Buddy punching is a practice that is very harmful for your business as well as your work culture. It is very easy for employees to mark attendance for their colleagues with RFID tags or manual desktop log-ins.

Biometric prevents this problem but has its own set of limitations. With a wifi technology this is taken care of as attendance can only be marked in area which has office wifi.

Work with your HRMS

A professional attendance tracking system should integrate with your HRMS. Without this payroll calculation, leave management, productivity tracking as become a frustrating task.

You want system that automatically feeds in this data into HRMS so that you don’t have to do it manually. Also check that data formats are compatible.

A lot of tasks can be automated today and HR should take full advantage to technology so that they can concentrate on strategic work.

Customized Alerts

You may need customised alerts or reports according to your business and teams. This could customise alerts for late arrivals to team supervisors. Sales and on- site workers may also need customization.

You may want to customize your attendance tracking as your business operation and employee count grows. Attendance tracking system should be able to scale with your business and change according to your needs. Some systems also support web API that allow you to customize your attendance systems.

Error Free Functioning

Errors in attendance tracking can interfere with so many other HR activities. Downtime of attendance tracking means regularisation of attendance, changes in leave management and errors in payroll calculation.

Make sure you choose a professional vendor with reputation of minimal errors.

Final Thoughts

Good attendance tracking system is essential for maximizing employee productivity. Without it your company can face problems of absenteeism, low productivity and insincere employees affecting the culture of your company.

Thanks to wifi attendance technology you can now install an attendance system that requires minimal hardware investment, tracks location and prevents proxy marking.

When choosing a system always make sure that it integrates well with your current HRMS, can grow with your business and functions error free.