The Friday Tip
Once a week we highlight some unique and useful feature provided by the People Inc. system in our 'Friday Tip'. These tips are often based on a support call that we took during the week. Our aim is to help customers get more from using their People Inc. system. If you do not receive these tips but would like to, please contact the People Inc. help desk and ask to be added to the mailing list.
Unused Leave
20th September 2024
As we approach the end of the holiday year, it is possible that there are members of staff who still have a significant number of holiday days left to take. Some simple steps can help avoid a rush to book unused leave at the end of the year.
The system can help you:
- List employees who have booked less than 60% of their allowance
- Send an e-mail to these people to highlight the possible problems.
- Confirm the rules on minimum staffing levels over Christmas
- Manually manage carry-over for exceptional cases
Getting Ready for 2025
13th September 2024
If your holiday year runs from January to December, there are a number of important tasks that need to be completed in the coming weeks. You will need to:
- Add 2025 holiday allowances for all members of staff
- Check that 2025 bank holidays are recorded in the system
- Publish the 2025 holiday year in the ESS absence calendar
- If you manage T&A with People Inc, add the 2025 staff roster
A step-by-step guide can be found here.
More on Access Profiles
6th September 2024
Access Profiles give you control over the permissions users are given within the People Inc. system. The system presents you with literally hundreds of options when managing Access Profiles. This can mean that it is easy to overlook some important choices. When working with access profiles it is important to consider:
- Who is allowed to delete employee records
- The level of access to Wizards and Plug-ins
- The reports made available to system users
There is more information on Access Profiles available here.
ESS Security Features
30th August 2024
Whilst Access Profiles and Password Policies are the main tools used to manage Employee Self-Service user-accounts, there are a number of additional features designed to provide greater control over ESS access.
- The Single Sign-on feature - provides seamless access to the ESS using Windows user-accounts authentication.
- The Manager Security feature - controls access to employees' personal information when logged in as a manager.
Please contact us if you would like to take a look at either of these features.
Managing User-Access
23rd August 2024
Access Profiles are used to manage the information made available to People Inc. system users. They can be used to control:
- The screens and data-Items that users have access to.
- Whether users can create, alter, or delete records.
- Access restrictions based on seniority or location.
- Access to reports and to attached documents.
- Whether a user is allowed to access specific system features
- Access to online forms (and access to advanced ESS features)
For more details on Access Profiles and how they can help, please contact our help desk on 01908 265111.
Password Policies
16th August 2024
Did you know that our system includes a comprehensive password policy feature? This gives you extensive control over advanced features designed to enhance the security of your system.
- Enforce minimum password complexity
- Account suspensions or blocks
- Password expiry (and password history)
- Two-Factor authentication
If required, you can designate certain accounts with the privilege to bypass these standard requirements.
Improving Reports with Graphs
9th August 2024
Did you know that you can include graphs within your People Inc. reports? This can significantly boost their clarity and impact. Graphs are not only visually engaging but also serve as powerful tools for displaying data directly from your system. Listed below are some examples:
- A bar-chart showing Staff Turnover year-on-year
- A line-graph showing how Sickness Absence Rates have varied
- A series of Pie-charts showing equal-opportunities information
Click here to see images of example People Inc. reports, including a selection that include graphs.
Form Layout Reports
2nd August 2024
Reports generated using People Inc. do not have to be simply made up of rows and columns (a list report). There are a variety of layout options, and one of the most common is form layout. You can very easily configure a report to emulate a form, streamlining the process to generate documents pre-filled with data. These can then be sent to employees for review and a signature.
You can also take advantage of the reporting feature within the Employee Self-Service (ESS) portal to provide your staff with access to forms generated in this way. Prefilled with their details, individuals can then complete the forms as required, saving time (and making the process really efficient).
To see some example reports, click here.
List Reports
26th July 2024
List reports are the go-to choice for many due to their straightforward, spreadsheet-like layout. Here is why they are so popular:
- They are quick to set up – just 2 simple steps: choose your data, decide on the order of the columns.
- They provide an easy-to-use snapshot of the data in your system whenever you need it.
- The template can be saved and re-used again and again.
Their spreadsheet resemblance makes them a breeze to export to Excel. You can see lots of examples of list reports on our website, click here.
Exporting Reports
19th July 2024
Reports generated using People Inc. need not be printed. Once the report is open, you have lots of options at your fingertips. You can save the report as a PDF document, a Word document, or an Excel file (in fact you even have a number of options available to you when exporting to Excel)
- Report Style: Choose this to mirror the report's original look in Excel.
- Data Style: If you are looking for a clean, easy-to-use spreadsheet.
- CSV (or tab-delimited text). This is the option to choose if you are planning on importing your data.
To see some example reports, click here.
Running Reports
12th July 2024
Did you know that People Inc. system comes with a powerful reporting tool that can be used to generate reports that can serve multitude purposes:
- Identify Trends and Issues
- Maintain HR Records
- Support Management Decisions
Additonally,new reports can be developed, and any existing report can be customised to meet the needs of your organisation and can be exported in the formats required. If you are interested in learning about how you can develop your own reports, click here.
Pension Opt-out
5th July 2024
Another example of a custom feature that users can easily add to their People Inc. system is a screen designed to record and manage historical pension opt-out information. This can be used to help demonstrate compliance with Pension Auto-enrolment legislation.
This type of screen can also allow users to record details of the pension scheme for each employee, and they can then keep a history of any changes to employee and employer contributions.
Monitoring Late Arrival
28th June 2024
It is useful to keep records of when employees arrive late for work, particularly if this happens on a regular basis. Some organisations do not want to record late arrival as absence because this can mean that absence statistics are affected (lateness shows as occurrences of absence).
A custom Late for Work screen is an effective way to monitor late arrival and ensure that this is followed up in an appropriate way. Reports (or screen filters) can be used to monitor things such as more than 3 occurrences in a 6 month period, late arrival following the weekend, etc.
One to One Meetings
21st June 2024
Did you know that the People Inc system allows you to efficiently collect notes from your one-to-one meetings? By incorporating a straightforward screen to record this information, you can tap into a wealth of advantages:
- Accessibility: The system ensures that all relevant personnel have access to the meeting details.
- Document Management: Attach any necessary documents directly to the meeting record.
- System Reports: Retrieve meeting details effortlessly through system-generated reports.
Health Surveillance
14th June 2024
When monitoring health surveillance information and requirements, it’s crucial to maintain an accurate history for all employees. By configuring a straightforward health surveillance screen, the People Inc system can efficiently track this information on your behalf. If you wish to enhance the process further, consider the following steps:
- Automated Reminders: Set up automated reminders to keep you or the employee informed about key dates.
- Action List Automation: Implement automation for providing all relevant parties with details on important dates.
Issued Uniforms
7th June 2024
Did you know that it is possible to track branded clothing and uniforms separately from other issued equipment? By creating a dedicated uniform screen, you can maintain a detailed history of provided uniforms, set up automated reminders for returns or distribution to new starters, and generate comprehensive reports.
Assigning Actions to Others
31st May 2024
While line-managers have access to any actions assigned to them using their standard ESS login, other users (for example IT, or the payroll team) can be given a custom access profile (designed to protect confidential information) and use this to access details of Actions they have been assigned.
Once tasks are completed, users would usually update the appropriate Action List entries to keep their colleagues informed. HR are then able to monitor progress and ensure actions are not missed.
Onboarding Checklists
24th May 2024
People Inc. can generate checklists to help manage HR processes. These are commonly used to manage things like onboarding, recruitment or running training courses and are based on a list of user-defined steps.
Each step can be assigned to an individual or a team. For example, during onboarding, HR would usually look after employment contracts and take up references, IT may issue a laptop or a mobile phone, and the employee’s line manager is likely to arrange their induction training.
Action List Manager Tool
17th May 2024
While Actions can be managed using the main Action List screen or via the Actions tab on any data screen (for example, on the employee screen), the Action List Manager tool is specifically designed to aid users in reviewing and updating Actions. Individual Actions can be updated, and follow-up Actions can be created using the Action List Manager tool. This tool enables a better understanding of your forthcoming Actions and commitments. It is even possible to export this list to your Outlook calendar.
More details on this tool can be found here.
Automating Actions
10th May 2024
Did you know that you can automatically generate Action List entries based on significant dates? This feature ensures you receive prompt reminders for critical events such as the conclusion of probation periods, forthcoming appraisals, or renewals of certifications. In addition to automatically generating Actions, the system can send notification and reminder emails on your behalf. This functionality ensures that users are informed of their pending Actions.
Using the Action List
3rd May 2024
The People Inc. Action List is designed to ease the management of a variety of HR-related tasks and activities. The Action List can be used to conduct a broad spectrum of tasks, from recording notes against a record to setting reminders for future requirements. Its use is not confined to generating Actions solely for employee-related activities; it is also possible to create Actions for general tasks, such as annual reminders, bank holidays, and year-end processes.
More details on the available functionality can be found here.
Managing and attaching documents
26th April 2024
Keeping employment documents within People Inc is a great way to ensure staff records are kept secure, well-organised and accessible. You can attach any number of documents and files to records within your system. For example, you can attach sick notes to individual sickness absence records.
You can also manage file-attachments in folders within employee records - a folder for pay-related letters, one for training certificates, another for scanned copies of official documents.
Controlled access to attached documents can be granted to other members of staff within the organisation as required.
Employee Access to Letters
19th April 2024
Whilst most People Inc. users will store copies of letters against employee records within the system, few then take the next step and provide employees with access to their letters electronically. This is much quicker and much easier than printing letters and posting them to employees.
When the system generates a batch of letters, it can automatically save a copy against each employee's record. Members of staff can then access their letters by logging into the People Inc. ESS. There are lots of benefits associated with this approach: it saves time and money, it is much greener (no printing required), and over time, it provides a full history of letters for staff to refer to.
To learn more about People Inc. letter generation, click here.
Generating e-mail
12th April 2024
You can create e-mail templates within your People Inc. system. These can be used to send messages to individuals, groups of employees, or even to the whole organisation. It is possible to send simple messages, memos and reminders, and formatted e-mail (for a variety of different purposes).
The system will save copies of e-mails you have sent (as attachments within individual employee records).
Note that you can also get the system to automatically generate notification and reminder e-mails (based on dates recorded in the system - for example, as a probation end-date approaches).
