Employee and Manager Self-service Surveying
- HR Software
- Payroll Software
- Recruitment Software
- Online Payslips
- HR Services
- HR Systems
- HR Outsourcing
- HR Consultants
- Absence Management Software
As adoption of Internet-based self-service continues to grow, organisations are beginning to experiment with a broader range of capabilities . Once seen primarily as a way of automating basic HR administration – by allowing employees to directly input address changes or bank account details, rather than sending a form for an HR administrator to fill in – it now influences a range of HR disciplines from recruitment and training to performance management.
Webster Buchanan Research divides self-service into two types: informational/ promotional and transactional. Informational self-service is about giving employees, managers, and in some cases job candidates, access to information that would previously have required them to call or email the HR department – including, for example, details of training courses, job vacancies or employment policy. Transactional self-service enables managers, employees and job candidates to interact online with HR and payroll – for example, by submitting individual employee performance reviews, applying for training courses or submitting a job application and tracking its progress. Informational self-service is often a good place to start a self-service project because it’s usually an easier technical project, focused primarily on information broadcast rather than the management of workflows and processes.
Historically, most self-service activity has been carried out in the HR field, but the survey demonstrated that interest is growing in payroll, perhaps because its transactional nature lends itself to cost reduction initiatives. Some 17% of respondents already provide online pay advice (an ‘electronic payslip’) today and 42% plan to do so within twelve months, while almost a third of respondents (32%) plan to do so long-term. Similarly, 11% of respondents already enable employees to view their pay history online, 38% plan to within twelve months, and another third (34%) are looking to do so long-term.
In another payroll-related field, 14% of respondents enable employees and managers to input time and expense data online, with 47% planning to do so over 12 months and 23% looking at it long-term.
Among more traditional HR self-service capabilities, current and planned adoption levels of most capabilities vary, but with a clear long-term trend towards adoption:
• Recruitment Slightly more than one in ten (13%) of organisations currently enable internal and external candidates to submit job applications online, while 38% plan to do so within 12 months and 29% over the long-term. While the forecasted adoption level is encouraging, actual take-up today is similar to the findings of Webster Buchanan Research’s survey in early 2008 , suggesting that adoption may have slowed during the economic turmoil of the last year. A smaller number of companies (8%) currently enable internal and external candidates to track the progress of their application online – again, similar to last year’s survey – while 20% plan to within 12 months, 37% long-term, and 35% have no plans.
• HR administration Within 12 months, approximately four out of ten respondents will have enabled employees or managers to change their personal records (e.g. home address or bank account details), with 16% already doing so today and another quarter (25%) planning to do so over the year. In addition, slightly more than one third of respondents (36%) plan to enable this kind of interaction long-term. Given that this is one of the most basic components of self-service, it’s perhaps surprising that almost a quarter of respondents (23%) have no plans to embark on this kind of project, although many of them are in the smallest companies where the lower volume of changes required would result in less significant time and cost savings
• Absence Just over one in ten (12%) of respondents already enable employees or managers to request holiday time or leave, with another 23% planning to do so over the year and 39% looking to long-term. The same proportion (12%) already allow managers to approve holiday or other leave online, with 29% planning to do so over the coming 12 months and 40% long-term
• Training A third of respondents will enable employees or managers to request training/education programmes within the year (7% today, 26% within 12 months), with a further 40% expecting to do so long-term. Today, just five per cent of organisations allow managers to approve training or education programmes online, but 29% plan to within 12 months and 45% long-term
• Benefits Over a third (35%) of respondents will allow employees to view benefits information within a year, with 8% offering that capability today, 27% planning to within 12 months, and exactly half expecting to long-term. The slightly higher projected adoption rate for viewing benefits compared to more basic HR administration/employee data entry (85% over the long-term versus 77%) may reflect the fact that this kind of service is often outsourced rather than built in-house. In terms of the transactional component of benefits, no respondents enable employees to change their benefits online today, but almost a quarter (23%) plan to do so within 12 months and 48% long-term
• Performance management Just five per cent of respondents currently enable employees to view personal performance data (e.g. results of performance appraisals), but 20% plan to within 12 months, and 42% will do so long-term. Interestingly, that leaves a third of respondents seeing no benefit in doing so, with a significant proportion of the largest companies opting out
• Sharing documents No respondents currently enable employees or managers to upload and share electronic documents (e.g. copies of driving licence, employee performance reviews), but 16% plan to within 12 months, and 49% long-term
The extent of planned self-service adoption is reflected in respondents’ dismissive attitude towards classic adoption barriers. The vast majority of respondents (82%) dismissed concerns that not all of their employees have internet access at work or home, suggesting either that they believe home usage is prevalent or they’re confident that workplace self-service kiosks can cater for any employees with limited internet access. Similarly, 70% of respondents said resistance from employees was not a barrier, dispelling objections during early waves of self-service adoption that the technology shifts the burden of HR administrative work onto employees. In fact, with home banking and other online commerce now widespread, the likelihood is that the majority of employees may well expect to manage their own information over the internet.
Finally, the majority of HR managers (59%) said resistance to self-service adoption within the HR department was not a barrier. However, four out of ten respondents ranked it 3 out of 5, on a scale where 1 reflects a significant barrier and 5 no barrier at all. This suggests that while many HR managers do not expect internal resistance to thwart a self-service implementation, they’re aware that they will need to sell the concept to team members who may be wary about its impact on their jobs.
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Top Five Considerations When Buying a Handbag
- Leather Briefcases
- Leather Document Case
- Leather Wallets
- Leather Purses
- Leather Handbags
- Leather Luggage U.K.
- Ladies Leather Briefcase
- Leather Backpacks
- Leather Attache Cases
- Leather Briefcases
When choosing a new handbag, the first temptation is simple to choose the prettiest or most stylish one. While that might be the path to immediate gratification, it can often lead to dissatisfaction in the long term.
Of course, a good handbag should be attractive and should appeal to one’s sense of style, but it should do more. A handbag, aside from being a fashion accessory is a functional piece of equipment as well. It needs to be suited to the way each individual typically uses a handbag. Different people, of course, will have different requirements. Some need little more than a tiny clutch purse to hold their wallet and car keys. Others will require a more substantial shoulder bag that is roomy enough to hold everything from a make-up kit to a first aid kit. Before choosing any new handbag, one should consider what is going to be in it, and choose one that is sized appropriately.
Secondly, a good quality handbag should be built to last. That entails solid construction, stout stitching, and high grade leather. Leather should be soft and supple, rather than rigid. More flexible leathers will provide not only more comfort, but will also resist damage better. They also tend to have a richer, more complex coloration that adds character to the handbag. Leather is certainly going to be longer-lasting and more damage resistant than any vinyl handbag. Vinyl, in addition to scratching, can become brittle and prone to cracking in cold temperatures. If you should leave the bag in your car during the winter, for example, and then take it out it may crack and start to tear along the fold lines as you open and close the cover flaps or pull on the zipper or other fasteners.
The straps of the handbag, if it has any, should be robust and firmly attached to the bag itself. Many a good handbag has ended up in the garbage heap after a strap has become detached. A good handbag maker will offer a warranty on the handbag’s basic construction and materials. If straps, stitching or fasteners fail with ordinary use within a reasonable time period, they should offer some recourse for repair or replacement of the handbag.
While price is an important consideration, it is always cheaper to pay a bit more for the right handbag than to have to replace the wrong handbag. The wise shopper will check prices, but doesn’t automatically assume that the cheapest handbag is the best deal. The handbag that lasts and best meets all the needs of its owner is always the better choice than one chosen for price alone.
Finally, style, color, and overall appearance of the handbag should be considered. If the statement made by having a handbag from a famous name designer is important to one’s fashion sense that should be considered, but again not at the expense of quality, function, and the other previously listed attributes.
Online Bingo for Kids
Probably most of us would agree that the internet is a dual edged sword when it comes to our children. Certainly any newspaper from a major city anywhere in the world on any given day will contain at least one horror story involving children duped by an online predator; maybe the child is missing, maybe brutalized or maybe even dead. Many times the incident started with an online predator contacting the child on what would normally be considered a children’s website.
Therein lies the crux of the question of whether or not to let your child play games such as bingo online; is the risk worth the reward? Or to put it another way, is the fun and educational value that your child will derive while playing bingo online be worth the risk that a predator may be lurking in the chat room?
Online bingo has been praised as a great educational tool. Schools know that in order to compete in today’s job market, students must learn how to use computers. Recognizing a level of social responsibility, online bingo website operators have joined educators to create a potentially powerful learning tool for children of all ages. Today, if you go online and search among bingo websites, you will find a great many offer free bingo games specifically designed for instructional purposes. Children as young as toddlers can benefit by playing games on these websites.
Games for those too young to read often utilize brightly colored, highly attractive screens and high levels of activity to keep the child’s attention focused. Games for children of this age and ability are commonly matching games, such as the bingo game with cards that shows animals instead of numbers. The child hears a noise an animal makes instead of a “caller” relaying a number. The purpose of this bingo game is for the child to “daub” by pointing and clicking on the animal on the card that makes the noise they just heard. This is bingo created to reinforce memory and recognitions skills, as well as enhancing the child’s coordination by requiring the child to point and click. Adults would call this educational, toddlers would call it fun.
There are some really good games for older children as well. Online bingo can be used to make math fun. We had flash cards; today’s kids have online bingo to learn their multiplication and other math skills. One online bingo game stands out for teaching math to any child struggling with the subject. The child or teacher chooses the level to play and then the game begins. Bingo cards are similar to real bingo cards in that the grid squares contain numbers. Near the card is a “caller” box that contains a math problem, such as “2 x 2 =”. The goal is for the child to click on the correct answer on the card. Each game contains a set of problems for the child to work. There are various levels to this game ranging from easy to difficult. Again, kids think of bingo as fun, not as work.
Now the question becomes, is online bingo’s potential for education worth the associated risk? This is a question each parent must answer for themselves. When any child is on any website, it is highly recommended that they are supervised by a responsible adult.
Broadband for Communication
In today’s world, international communication is increasingly important and our computers help us to do just that via the internet. With the powerful tools of email and instant messaging at our fingertips, we can stay in touch with people around the world. We can chat in real-time and we can even see them and talk to them via video messaging and internet phone calls. However, how many times have you finished an incredibly long email to your aunt Tia and tried to send it, only to find that your connection has timed out and you lose the entire thing? Or, you are trying to talk to your friend in Australia and every time someone messages you on MSN the Skype connection fails.
Dial-up internet has been with us for many years and many of us have become accustomed to its little frustrations. But we don’t have to. When you sign up for a broadband connection, these little annoyances just fade into distant memory. Whatever kind of connection you get, and there are myriad broadband deals out there, you will soon be asking yourself why and how you ever survived without this modern miracle.
Whereas you used to have to wait hours to download one simple song, for example, that song can now be yours in minutes, depending on the speed of your connection. Broadband speed can vary quite considerably, but I wouldn’t worry too much. Any broadband connection will be light years ahead of your old dial-up connection and you will be astounded by how much faster your use of the internet becomes. When you start looking at getting a broadband connection, you will find a wide variety of broadband deals available, and you will probably want to compare prices and service before buying. You should also check to make sure that broadband is available in your area.
This is something you should think about when it comes to moving to a new house. While I’m not suggesting that you base a decision to buy a house entirely on whether or not there is a fast internet connection available in the area, I would definitely recommend considering it. Especially if you are a big user of the internet and it becomes more or less indispensable if you are running a business, then it is particularly important to be able to get things done immediately. This means being able to communicate with your colleagues, employees and suppliers so that your company runs smoothly and broadband could be invaluable to you when it comes to this.
There are a number of websites where you can check whether or not there is broadband available in your area and you can even use many of the same sites to find out what kind of deals are available as well. You don’t have to call around to every single provider yourself, when finding the right deal for your home or business communications, it is as easy as going online and looking around. Broadband internet connections are now so widespread that the competition has driven the prices down, making it even easier for you to get a great broadband deal.
Taxi Insurance Coverage
It is very important to understand exactly what an insurance policy covers so that in the event of an accident, you understand what you will be reimbursed for or what the other party will receive if you are at fault in the accident. If you decide to purchase taxi insurance online, when you receive your online quote you can get full details about exactly what the policy covers from most online insurance brokers. Most insurance policies for taxis include an excess, but most insurance companies will allow the policy holder to remove this excess for a small additional fee if it is not wanted.
Most basic taxi insurance policies include comprehensive insurance. This particular layer of insurance provides coverage if your taxi is damaged by fire, flood, vandalism, or if is stolen. This is the broad definition of comprehensive coverage and it is a good idea to thoroughly examine your insurance policy to see what exactly is covered by comprehensive coverage. Third party fire and theft insurance provides coverage for the other party if you are responsible for an incident that results to a third party. This is also known as liability coverage and the exact items it covers also tend to vary from policy to policy, so it is always a good idea to thoroughly review the details of the policy.
If driving the taxi is going to be your sole means of livelihood, it is very important to make sure there is a clause in your insurance that covers breakdown and recovery. Some taxi insurance providers even provide their clients with a guaranteed replacement taxi in the event of an accident. If the taxi is the sole means of livelihood, it is very important to have these clauses in the policy so that any losses due to not having the taxi available can be kept to a minimum in the event of an accident.
Perhaps you have decided that a fleet of taxis may serve your business purpose more effectively. What options are available for taxi insurance in this instance? Many insurance companies offer a fleet insurance option that offers sizable discounts for fleets of taxis. These policies usually contain all the basic features that are found in an insurance policy for individual taxis. For the best offers, it is ideal to consult with a company that has fleet specialists who can customize a policy specific to the needs of your fleet and provide you with the best rates.
Just as important as choosing the actual coverage for your taxi insurance is the company that you choose it from. Experience is the key when choosing an insurance company. A long track record of prompt service is especially essential with regard to taxi insurance, since downtime needs to be kept to as short a time period as possible. Thorough research with regard to the finer details of the insurance policy, finding out if there are special discounts available for fleets and making sure that the policy covers replacement and breakdown will result in insurance coverage that really does protect your business interests.
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