Workforce Management Blog

Failure to plan often results in failure to succeed within the hospitality industry.  The demands of hospitality are endless, specifically to the workforce. You must adjust the workforce to the constant change in demand, whether it is a normal business-as-usual- day, or a week full of events and conferences in the middle of peak season.

The hospitality sector faces strains and challenges unique to the industry. The biggest challenge is centered on controlling labour costs without compromising the quality of service provided to guests. Fortunately, there is automated workforce management systems that can help increase workforce efficiency and increase profitability as well.

The key benefits of using automated workforce management solutions are:

1. Reduced labour costs and increased workforce productivity and guest satisfaction

Manage more effectively staffing demands
Determine how many employees are needed to operate effectively

2. Ability to monitor planned costs vs. actual costs with increase labour visibility

Provides daily insight for management to see their planned costs against their actual costs – allowing for changes to be made immediately to stay within budge

3. Compliance with HR regulations and specific working agreements

Minimizes the risk of non-compliance with labour laws

4. Pay based on schedule

Avoids unnecessary costs and payments

To learn more about how workforce management solutions are benefiting the hospitality industry, visit our Synerion Hospitality Suite – the most comprehensive and integrated workforce management solution in the market.

Go Green, Increase Productivity – Workforce Management Software
With Earth Day just passing, many people are asking themselves what they can do to help preserve the environment for future generations. This isn’t just a personal matter however, more and more organizations are asking themselves the same question.

Adopting an effective employee management system will enable your company to cut labour costs and increase productivity, but it is also a greener alternative to a manual HR process. In particular, organizations within the healthcare industry readily realize the multiple streams of benefits of utilizing a time and attendance system.

Recruitment has always been a challenge for those in healthcare. In order to keep the highest of standards for providing superior healthcare services, the industry needs to find skilled professionals quickly due to shortages, but then have to endure long training periods. These challenges require a lot of time and money in order to achieve superior performance levels in your workforce. Healthcare industries should not just provide services that improve the lives of its patients, but it should also utilize solutions that align with all other aspects of the organization.

As well, traditional methods of workforce management, such as timesheets, have a detrimental effect on the environment, contributing a high level of paper waste annually. Green technologies do exist that can replace these old methods.

Workforce management solutions include time and attendance software that uses automated data collection methods that do not include paper nor plastic disposables- biometrics, the internet, voice recognition, mobile phones, all of which are extremely accurate methods in tracking employee behavior.

Not only do these technologies have a more positive effect on the environment, but also they are more accurate, efficient and effective in meeting organizational goals.  It is a win-win solution for all.

There are multiple benefits of adopting a WCM solution for your organization. To learn more about what WCM can do for you, visit our website.

With the complete transfer of control over the recruiting process out of the organization, HR managers are losing valuable knowledge that can directly affect the company’s business results

Because of the task load imposed on the organization’s recruiters, HR managers often resort to outsourcing services such as placement companies to facilitate the process of recruitment. The obvious advantage of using outsourcing services is freeing the HR department from dealing with tactical tasks for the benefit of strategic ones. Managers and recruiters assume that use of outsourcing will relieve them from having to keep track of the search and screening process and eliminate the need to maintain an internal pool of candidates for future searches. However with outsourcing, organizations renounce, often without being aware of it, control of the recruitment process.

In practice, by transferring control over the hiring process outside the organization, human resources managers lose valuable knowledge that can directly affect the company’s business results. This valuable knowledge, accumulated in the process of recruiting, includes information about changing market trends, data about the company’s positioning as an employer, and more. For example, a comparative statistical analysis of the applicants who seek various positions over a period of time allows the company to assess whether it is regarded as an attractive workplace relative to competitors in the market. A positive or a negative answer allows the company to organize and actively work toward improving or maintaining its positioning. Another example is a search for a candidate for a particular job. If it turns out that the number of applications for the position is considerably lower than the number of candidates for other positions in the organization, it is reasonable to assume that there is a shortage in this particular type of professionals on the market, so that even when a suitable candidate is found, compensation is likely to be very high.

The knowledge accumulated in the process of recruitment can also pinpoint critical aspects such as weaknesses that can jeopardize the ability of the organization to meet its goals. For example, the identification of critical skill shortages in the organization, which are one of the main business risks that companies recognize today.

This type of information is valuable and companies should not neglect it. It can reduce the uncertainty under which the company operates, identify the problems that need to be dealt with, and assist in making decisions concerning the changes required for the company to remain competitive. The company that collects such information and quantifies it with reference to its future plans can prepare and act in additional ways to bring the missing talent into the organization and carry out its strategy.

It is important to note that returning control over the recruiting process to the organization will help the recruiting department reposition itself in the organization as a contributor to the business success of the company. It does not require the active involvement of HR managers in all processes. HR managers must only ensure that the process itself is under control, and return to recruiters the knowledge and the decision-making power about how to recruit, whom to recruit, when, and by what means. This can be accomplished with tools that allow measurement of various processes in accordance with key performance indicators (KPI), such as time to hire for the specific job, type of occupation, the cost per hire by various recruitment sources (placement agencies, social networks etc.) and more.

There are cases and circumstances when the organization should definitely use outsourcing services for recruitment. The HR department, however, should make an informed decision when and in which cases or for what positions this is to be done, and what is the right mix to ensure the return on investment.

To achieve the goals they set for themselves, organizations must use the tools for measurement and evaluation of the effectiveness and the costs of the recruitment process. In this way they can choose effective recruitment processes and means for each position or job in the organization, decide when and which outsourcing firms to involve in the process, and save direct and indirect costs.

To learn more about the recruitment process ,click here.

1)    Price: This is always a consideration when a company or organization makes a purchase. However it is not always in the best interest of the organization to go with the lowest price. E-recruitment software is an investment and the return on investment may be much higher with a premium software package. Alternatively a low cost solution may not fulfill your organization’s requirements and any price paid will not be worth it.

2)    Support: Analyze the level of support your organization will receive from the seller. Do they have a support team that you can easily get in touch with? Do they have dedicated individuals on the support team that will be able to follow up with you for ongoing issues? What is the cost of getting support for your software? Is support built into the contract?

3)    Expertise: It is important to purchase your product from a company that has a solid and well established reputation in the software industry. Recruitment software is a sizable investment and your company should do their due diligence when selecting a vendor. Getting references from a potential seller is something that should always be done. Ask the references questions not just about the software but about the implementation and support process to get a full picture of your potential business partner.

4)    Features: E-recruitment software comes with a variety of features and each software solution can be vastly different from the next. For example some newer recruitment software solutions have the ability to leverage social media to hire candidates, while others can parse different portions of candidate’s resumes and provide a more holistic view of the candidate’s total experience. Therefore when considering a recruitment software solution you should have detailed demons done and ask as many questions as you can think of so you know exactly what you are investing in.

Synerion North America Inc. acquires ITR Systems Division

Synerion becomes the largest Canadian mid-market provider of WFM solutions following the acquisition of ITR Systems Division.

Dec 15^th, 2011, Mississauga, ON – A veteran in the WFM industry, Synerion announced this week their acquisition of the assets of the  ITR Systems Division.  Combined, the merger will create a company with more than 65 years’ experience and 20,000 customers worldwide, in a wide array of industries. The merger of the ITR division with Synerion means more effective, efficient and superior solutions for Synerion’s and ITR’s clients.

About Synerion

Tracking more than four million employees in various industries, Synerion provides comprehensive Workforce Management (WFM) software solutions and services that enable organizations to effectively optimize their most valuable asset – human resources. Using cutting edge technology and industry best practices, Synerion’s WFM Suite offers organizations a set of integrated tools for the measurable management of workforce performance. The solutions help companies meet organizational goals and maximize business performance.

About ITR

Established in 1965, ITR is the largest privately owned Canadian provider of workforce management systems, with more than 45 years of experience. With offices across Canada, ITR delivers exceptional, scalable solutions and responsive customer service. ITR’s Systems Division develops, implements and supports innovative software that helps organizations of any size and in any industry manage all aspects of their workforce including: time and attendance; employee and job scheduling; accruals; labour allocation; and time and labour reporting.  Tracy Parzych CEO of ITR believes that Synerion will be able to nurture and grow the ITR System Division.  She added, “The merger will enable the software to become even stronger and bring new opportunities to the employees”.

Ernie Pozzobon, President and CEO of Synerion North America, says this merger will provide expanded capabilities, and better levels of customer support.

“Synerion is excited about the possibilities and opportunities that will stem from the acquisition of ITR’s division and looks forward to creating many new and innovative releases in the human resources software arena in the future.”

“Moreover,” Pozzobon said, “the products and consulting services that Synerion delivers, combined with the complimentary products with which the company integrates, will create synergistic value. Customers will feel this synergy and ultimately receive a higher return on their investment.”

To learn more about Synerion, visit www.synerionwfm.com.