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Although more than half of those working remotely feel more productive, many challenges remain in hybrid and remote work environments. Without face-to-face contact, getting to know your team, your manager, and your job responsibilities are different than face-to-face. Have no fear; you’re not the first to travel on this road. Here are some tips to […]

According to a Timeview survey, 88 percent of people don’t use a dedicated time management system at work but “make do with a calendar, their email inbox, a to-do list or work it out as they go along.” The same survey found that over 90 percent thought better time management would reduce their workplace stress. […]

“The purpose of an employee management system is to help improve workforce productivity, identify ways to engage and retain talent and alleviate administrative burdens for HR professionals. Achieving greater efficiency through the use of technology can also help control costs and minimize compliance risks,” according to payroll services provider ADP. Accurate Time and Attendance Tracking […]

This is where all-in-one workforce management software like coAmplifi comes into play, offering a comprehensive solution for organizations to streamline their operations working in blended remote, hybrid, and onsite work arrangements. The Future of Work in an Ever-Changing Work Environment We’re now living in the work-from-anywhere era where many team members want to avoid being […]

People are one of the most important resources for any business, no matter what industry. Workforce management, which refers to the strategic use of a company’s workforce, focuses on optimizing an organization’s most treasured resource – its workforce – in support of performance excellence. Goals of Workforce Management Workforce management refers to the strategic use […]

Several types of project management software are available, so it’s important to find the one that’s right for you and your team. Project Management Software Features One of the primary objectives of project management software is increasing productivity by automating repetitive and time-consuming tasks. Another aim is to use data analytics to deliver meaningful project […]

American philosopher Henry David Thoreau summed up many of our problems with time when he said, “It is not enough to be busy; so are the ants. The question is—what are we busy with?” Without priorities, we risk being busy but not productive. This overview of 7 prioritization strategies can help you organize your time […]

For many organizations, getting a growing collection of apps to talk to each other is a major problem, mainly when different teams use different software solutions. Most applications are unconnected, creating isolated islands of information. James Gamble of Atlanta Ventures has discussed – Despite the increase in fast communication and widespread connectivity, ‘silos’ often emerge. […]

This software typically includes time tracking and compliance tools, timesheet creation, task management, and other common workplace functions. The data provided by an employee productivity platform can be used to monitor performance and measure progress toward goals. Here are some ways you can use an employee productivity platform to measure and track productivity. 1. Setting […]

A Deadline is More Than a Due Date While it’s true that a deadline is simply the date a task is due, you can also see it as a commitment to get something done. Deadlines move a plan closer to reality. According to Napoleon Hill, author of Think and Grow Rich, “A goal is a […]

Employers must understand the legal ramifications of classifying a position as hourly (non-exempt) or salary (exempt) because of associated wage & hour compliance requirements. Non-exempt and exempt jobs are defined by the federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and may also be defined by applicable State laws. Definition of Hourly (Non-Exempt) Hourly jobs pay an […]

This article defines positive labor relations, labor management partnership, and explains how they benefit the workplace. What are Positive Labor Relations? Positive labor relations are the relationships between a company’s employees, their respective union, and management working together towards common goals. It includes terms and conditions of employment, and following collective bargaining, is reduced to […]

The transition to remote and hybrid work environments (in addition to on-site) makes open communication more critical than ever. Many managers struggle with the change to online communication. Fortunately, companies that support telecommuting have learned how to manage communication effectively with remote teams. Here are a few tips. Set Communication Expectations Remote & hybrid employees […]

Benefits of Workweek Planning You can better estimate your daily work hours and personal time when you plan your week. Having a plan for the week contributes to work-life balance by helping to shield you from unexpected emergencies that mean working longer hours.  Your plan can improve your productivity when you prioritize the items on […]

Project vs. Program Management The difference between project and program management boils down to the difference between projects and programs. According to the Project Management Institute (PMI), “A program is a group of related projects managed in a coordinated manner to realize benefits not available from managing them individually. Program management is the application of […]

U.S. Census Bureau figures show the number of Americans working from home tripled between 2019 and 2021, from 9 million to 27.6 million. Many are navigating an unfamiliar landscape with few road signs to help them steer. The profusion of devices we all use, from mobile phones to tablets and laptops, adds to the problem. […]

In both the public and private sectors, for industries that are at risk of organizing, management needs to recognize the importance of union-management collaboration. Each side wants the best for those they represent, but this often leads to an adversarial approach to negotiations. When both sides adopt a collaborative mindset, it clears the path to […]

Over the past months, Covid-19 restrictions pushed remote and hybrid working to the forefront of workforce management trends. Now that life is returning to normal, remote and hybrid work models are here to stay. According to McKinsey’s 2022 American Opportunity Survey of 25,000 Americans, 58 percent of employees are working from home at least one […]

The pandemic crisis forced many companies to implement quick solutions for remote work, turning to SaaS tools for online communication, collaboration, and security. The number of tools put into use skyrocketed. According to Okta, a software security company, organizations with over 2,000 employees used an average of 187 business apps in 2021, while smaller organizations […]

In 2021, over 47 million Americans voluntarily left their jobs. COVID-19 escalated the exodus from many industries, especially those involving customer service. As a result, businesses across the country have had to scale back operations because of employee shortages. Anyone involved in workforce management should be concerned. The pandemic can’t take all the blame for […]

Workload management is not the same as time management. It requires a strategic approach that satisfies workload demands, stays on schedule, and keeps teams productive. Managers must factor in the skills, experience, and availability of every team member and do their best to ensure the work distribution is equitable so everyone can enjoy work-life balance.  […]

Many people associate workplace one-on-one meetings with criticism from managers and grievances from employees. This may be true in some organizations, but smart companies use regularly scheduled one-on-ones to build trust and rapport between management and employees. With workforce management systems automating many office operations, it’s more important than ever for managers to schedule time […]

What it Means to Work through Lunch Employees who work through lunch may seem more productive, but the habit takes a toll on morale. Studies have found that eating lunch alone can lead to social isolation and weight gain.  Staying at your desk through lunch, even if you’re surfing the internet or taking care of […]

Artificial intelligence and the associated technology known as machine learning (ML) are making their way into every industry. We’ve been told these technologies will change our lives, but what exactly are they? For those involved in manufacturing, how will they change the industry and boost productivity? Keep reading to find out. Definition of Artificial Intelligence […]

In project management, flowcharts are used to represent a project’s workflow process from beginning to end. The visual depiction allows project stakeholders and team members to gain a quick overview of the steps needed for project completion. Seeing each step laid out gives the audience insight into the workflow process. Benefits of Project Management Flowcharts […]

In business, you won’t earn trust without transparency and openness. Company leaders who promote open communication are more likely to be trusted and to have an engaged and productive workforce. There are several proven methods that managers and employees can use to make trust part of company culture. First, it’s important to understand what trust […]

What Makes KPIs Important? Any organization with goals to meet can benefit from KPIs. They help align organizational strategy and execution, with a focus on results. KPI’s let you check in on how the organization is doing. Based on successes and failures, they allow you to adjust and realign your organization’s strategy and execution. KPIs […]

Every business needs up-to-date insight into how the workforce performs, what contributes to the bottom line, and what it costs. There are many ways to measure workforce performance. The most effective way is to predict future trends based on historical data.  While there are many critical metrics, we’ve chosen five critical metrics for tracking the […]

Transparency in the workplace has many benefits. When companies are transparent about goals and objectives, everyone can work towards the same targets. Employees who feel informed about company decisions are more likely to be productive and loyal. According to a Harvard Business Review study, 70 percent of employees feel most engaged at work when they […]

Benefits of transparent communication Transparent communication describes a work environment where both good and bad information is shared across all levels of the organization. This means it goes both up and down the organizational hierarchy. According to the Society for Human Resource Management, “Fostering a culture of innovation requires open, transparent communication. The information must […]

In a recent Pricewaterhouse Cooper (PwC) survey of U.S. executives, 86% said AI was part of their mainstream technology in 2021. According to PwC, “AI is paying off in concrete ways, with benefits ranging from revenue growth to better decision-making and improved customer experiences.”  This blog will look at ten examples of how AI is […]

In a recent study on the future of work, the World Economic Forum reports that half of all employees will need a skills update by 2025 to keep up with the demands of technology. The study also predicts that machine automation will do away with up to 85 million jobs while at the same time […]

According to a 2020 research report by the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM), “85 percent of jobs that will exist in 2030 have not been invented yet.” Understanding the future of work and how the workplace will evolve is key to deciding on a career that will take you into the next decade and […]

According to a 2019 Gartner Artificial Intelligence survey, 17 percent of organizations were already using UI-based solutions for HR operations, and another 30 percent planned to do so by 2022. The reasons cited for making the change include cost savings, an improved employee experience, and support for data-based decision-making.  What is Artificial Intelligence? Artificial intelligence […]

Workforce management systems were originated in call centers to increase efficiency. Once productivity increased through the systems and processes, other businesses and industries followed.  Today, workforce management is described as a framework that organizations can use to improve time management, forecast staffing requirements, ensure regulatory compliance and produce analytical data about employee skills, training, and […]

Human resource experts have identified various common stages for multiple types of workforce planning. While different experts may say there are three, four, or five stages, all seem to agree on the basic planning process: analyze the current supply of employee talent and come up with a prediction of future demand; identify the gap between […]

To turn a long-term goal from a dream into reality, you can make the work less daunting by breaking it down into bite-sized pieces that are relatively easy to finish. You can turn these chunks into short-term goals. While digital tools like workforce management software streamline the scheduling process for short-term goals, careful planning requires […]

Employers who want to keep their best workers and attract new talent must pay attention to this year’s workforce trends, or they may find themselves unprepared for the next wave of changes. “We’ve been living through the greatest workplace disruption in generations, and the level of volatility will not slow down in 2022,” says the […]

Employees can figure out how they spend their time, but support from their employer is critical. Managers who prioritize the health and well-being of their teams should take steps to understand what work-life balance means for each team member and help them achieve it. Here are ten practices managers can use to help their teams […]

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that 73.3 million workers were paid an hourly wage in 2020, representing 55.5 percent of all workers. Of these hourly workers, about 1.1 million received pay at or below the federal minimum wage of $7.25 per hour, making up 1.5 percent of all hourly workers. Being paid a […]

Recent studies show that organizations that are more transparent, especially with team members, experience increased engagement, better collaboration, and higher productivity. When everyone is working with the same information and a shared vision, the entire team feels more connected. What is Workplace Transparency?  Glassdoor, the employer review site, defines a transparent workplace as “an organization […]

The activities of many human resources organizations can be categorized into three areas: recruitment, compensation (including benefits), and employee engagement. KPIs in these categories are among those most often used by human resources, provided they’re relevant to the organization’s business goals. Recruitment KPIs Finding, interviewing, hiring and onboarding new employees is one of the most […]

1. Start with SMART Goals Try setting some SMART goals if you find yourself looking at a long to-do list with no idea where to start. According to Norman Vincent Peale, an early advocate of positive thinking, “All successful people have a goal. No one can get anywhere unless he knows where he wants to […]

Workforce forecasting can bring many benefits to a business, including reducing the risk of staffing shortages, providing an understanding of your current staffing skill set, and streamlining your recruitment strategy based on your forecasted needs. According to the Society for HR Management: “There is now an approach for high-performance organizations to develop and sustain high-quality […]

Going forward, many companies are planning on adopting a workforce management model that combines on-site, hybrid, and remote office work. According to a survey conducted by HR consulting firm Mercer in May of 2021, nearly 70% of companies plan on moving to the hybrid model even after COVID-19 restrictions are lifted, with only 20% returning […]

To keep up, more companies will continue to allow many employees to do their jobs from any location, and set their own hours, to the degree it supports the customer base. Thanks to digital workforce management tools, there is no reason to assume that encouraging remote work will negatively affect the bottom line. Silo Mentality […]

What is a Project Deliverable? Any product or service produced by a project may qualify as a project deliverable, provided it meets a few criteria. First, stakeholders in the project must agree with the deliverable. These may be either internal or external stakeholders. The deliverable must be within the scope of the project and can […]

Why are Labor Management Partnerships Formed? Many of the partnerships of this type are formed by companies that provide critical community services. Employers, especially in the public sector, are faced with mounting challenges to improve performance and the quality of services while reducing costs. Unions have a stake in the ability of employers to meet […]

Health Risks in the Office While everyone’s health status is different, as a general proposition, overall diet, exercise, nutrition, and other factors all contribute to overall health. Prolonged sitting is less healthy than a combination of exercise, regular movement, and some sitting. Having a regular exercise schedule outside of work doesn’t guarantee to be free […]

Where Did the Idea of coAmplifi Come From?  The idea for coAmplifi started long before the Covid-19 pandemic began. Technology has evolved, and we realized that the future of work would include more teams working in three types of environments: (a) remote, (b) hybrid, and (c) onsite.  However, none of the existing software offered everything […]

What is Workforce Management Software (WFM)? Workforce Management (WFM) is a set of processes and management tools used to optimize workforce productivity through strategic human resource allocation and embedded processes. It includes software management solutions that automate key human resource functions, time tracking, scheduling, training, data collection, analytics, and forecasting.  Initially used in call centers to […]

The office may be ready for employees to return, but are they ready for the office? Many miss in-person contact and are eager to get back, while others have adapted to working from home and enjoy skipping their previous commute. In the middle are those who prefer a hybrid schedule that includes both working from […]

What Does Email Task Management Entail? Email task management means you’re using your inbox to track and manage tasks, projects, and perhaps even larger programs. All the operations associated with task management, including setting deadlines and priorities and assigning tasks to other people, are managed via email software. Most basic email systems only support sending, […]

The National Bureau of Economic Research reports that the average workday increased by about 50 minutes in areas with lockdowns. This wouldn’t be a problem if the additional work time resulted in increased productivity, but the risk of work-from-home burnout is cause for concern. What is Job Burnout? According to the Mayo Clinic, job burnout […]

You’ve recruited, interviewed, and hired a potentially great employee who may be working on-site, hybrid, or remotely, but don’t congratulate yourself yet. Without an effective onboarding process, all that effort might be wasted when the new hire leaves after a few months on the job. First impressions can have an enormous impact on a new […]

Is Working from Home Here to Stay? Many companies that were previously doubtful about allowing team members to work from home were able to successfully establish remote work programs in 2020. A survey of 800 employers conducted by HR firm Mercer found that 94% reported equal or higher levels of productivity during the pandemic. According […]

Many behavior experts believe that greater transparency in the workplace environment can bring about unintended changes in behavior due to a well-known psychological phenomenon known as the Hawthorne effect.  What is the Hawthorne Effect? The term Hawthorne effect refers to the results of studies of workplace behavior conducted by Harvard Business School professor Elton Mayo […]

Wage & Hour litigation can threaten the health of any business, so it’s critically important for companies to comply with current wage & hour regulations. The U.S. has a long history of laws that protect employee rights, especially those related to wage and hour. Unfortunately, adhering to Federal, State, and local regulations adds complexity to […]

Even before the COVID-19 pandemic, a growing number of companies were allowing team members to work from home. That trend gained additional momentum in 2020. A recent Gartner survey reports that over 80% of companies plan to allow part-time remote work after the pandemic, and 47% intend to allow full-time working from home. According to […]

Your company may spend a lot of time defining, tracking, and evaluating strategic goals, but do you have a solid plan for achieving them? According to a survey reported in the Harvard Business Review, an estimated 67% of well-formulated business strategies fail. Many of these failures occur when management and team members lose sight of […]

Having a solid business plan is a crucial step when a company starts out, but many organizations fail to update their plan or develop a new one with each passing year. Lack of planning is one of the reasons 65 percent of businesses fail during their first 10 years, as reported by the U.S. Bureau […]

Companies lose money every year to employee theft of equipment and supplies. Even more prevalent is the theft that occurs when employees are paid for the time that they haven’t worked. This form of stealing can be just as harmful to a business as the loss of physical assets. A study conducted by the American […]

Workplace transparency fosters openness between leaders and team members, creating a trust that leads to success. Transparency that brings real change doesn’t come with a one-time initiative — it requires an ongoing effort and a receptive company culture that allows team members to communicate honestly with management, and feel that their opinions and ideas are […]

Many organizations spend a significant amount of time and money on annual raises and performance reviews without seeing a clear return on investment. Team members often feel they are unfairly evaluated rather than viewing a performance review as an opportunity for improvement. On the other hand, team leaders frequently complain that the review process consumes […]

The number of Americans working remotely grew from 20 percent in March of 2020 to more than 70 percent a year later. While studies have found that some companies experienced increases in productivity during this period, the sudden shift to a work-from-home (WFH) model was challenging for many others. Managers with little or no experience […]

The practice of project management can be incredibly complex, with dozens or hundreds of tasks and dependencies needing to be tracked. Project management software tools have become so popular because of the support they provide in scheduling, organizing, and reporting on project workflows.  They can also improve team communication and collaboration.  When searching through all […]

Whether held in person or online, face-to-face meetings offer the opportunity for like-minded people to come together for planning, brainstorming, and information sharing. When meetings are correctly planned, they can foster cooperation and lead to group solutions that meeting participants would not have arrived at on their own.  Planning a meeting and making sure all […]

Managers often face a tricky balancing act when it comes to requests for time off. There’s denying that everyone deserves time off from work throughout the year for vacation, medical appointments, or illness. The problem is that approving time-off requests without careful consideration may keep team members happy, but the practice can seriously disrupt business […]

For businesses that use time tracking software to bill clients for hours worked, getting team members’ buy-in to the system is critical. Unless they use the system conscientiously, there’s no guarantee that billing hours are accurate. Even if hours aren’t billed, inaccurate tracking by team members can lead to missed deadlines, poor project management, and […]

Your teams are not made up of robots, but of living humans whose well-being depends on satisfying other needs besides work. These needs may include family responsibilities, health issues, or personal development.  The difference in personal needs between team members means that work-life balance has many individual meanings. In general, work and personal lives are […]

Project management software helps streamline business operations by increasing team member efficiency and collaboration projects. It can also provide insights into project workflows and tasks. To realize all the benefits of a new project management system, it’s crucial to gain the support and opinions of team members. Transitioning to any new software is challenging, but […]

In the past, attempts at using HR data as a decision-making tool were limited by the lack of tools to help pull meaningful information from team member statistics. Using multiple spreadsheets to derive metrics on complex topics, such as team member turnover and engagement, is challenging at best. The development of more sophisticated analytic software […]

Prioritizing can be challenging when large, complicated projects that frequently change are involved. Project management software is excellent for tracking tasks for a deadline, but human input still needs prioritization. Being able to prioritize and manage tasks to hit a deadline in a dynamic work environment is a skill that takes time to master. The […]

Since mid-level managers and team leaders can have a significant impact on workplace culture, they need to recognize and avoid behaviors that can undermine employee morale, decrease team member engagement, and contribute to team member turnover. Most managers don’t do this on purpose. Lack of experience and inadequate leadership training can lead to bad habits […]

Having a prioritized task list can improve time management by taking the guesswork out of deciding how to spend your time and where to direct your energy. If you sometimes feel overwhelmed by the number of things you need to do, check out these tips on how to prioritize your tasks. Commit to Your List […]

Major workplace shifts always come with some level of stress. Still, you can minimize losses in productivity by following a few essential steps based on the experience of companies with long records of using remote teams. These 12 Tips Will Help Managers and Remote Team Members Equally. Set Expectations From the Start. Remote team members […]