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.
Attached Documents
15th November 2024
It is possible to attach electronic copies of documents and other files against individual People Inc. records. These can then be made available to line-managers and other users.
- Depending on the size of the individual files, you can attach an almost-unlimited number of MS Word documents.
- You can also attach scanned copies of letters and forms, but should keep an eye on the resolution of the scanner.
- You can store photographs against records, but once again, you need to think about the size of high-resolution images.
More information on attached documents can be found here.
Data Export
8th November 2024
Employee-related information often needs to be shared with other teams and other systems. For example, when an employee moves to a new home, both HR and the Payroll team need to be notified.
Payroll-related changes are automatically collated within People Inc. This makes it very easy to share the information with the payroll team. The information can be extracted (and saved as an Excel spreadsheet).
The data export feature can be used to share other data too. This includes expense claims, timesheets, training information, vehicle details, etc.
More information on data-export can be found here.
Recalculating Data
1st November 2024
Some of the information managed using People Inc, is re-calculated by the system overnight to keep it up-to-date. The system also checks key dates and expiry dates and send out notifications and reminders for these.
People Inc. automatically recalculates things like age and length-of-service for each employee. When you log in to the system, if time-dependent information seems to be out-of-date, the overnight recalculation feature may not be running correctly.
The overnight recalculation feature also updates the turnover statistics and makes sure current job and current salary details are shown correctly. More information on this feature can be found here.
Data Backups
25th October 2024
Where People Inc. databases are stored on a server, the IT support team will usually make sure that the data is backed up regularly. People Inc. back-ups contain all the information required to restore the system (screens, reports, letters, data, user-accounts, etc.)
Users can also run a system backups on an ad-hoc basis. This is useful (for example) if they are about to import some data, or modify a screen.
It is worth checking to ensure that backups are taken at least once a week, and that they the restore process is understood.
More information on backing-up your data can be found here.
Importing Data
18th October 2024
Keeping HR records up-to-date is an ongoing, perhaps never-ending task. If you have to type lots of information into system screens it can be both time-consuming and repetitive.
Where this information is already managed in another system, or perhaps in an Excel spreadsheet, it is usually possible to import the data into People Inc. (rather than type it in).
Importing information is much quicker, 100% accurate, and can free up members of the team for other activities.
More information on importing data can be found here.
Some Absence-Related Housekeeping
11th October 2024
As the holiday year-end approaches, you should take a few moments to ensure your absence records are up-to date. Here are some things to check:
- Are last year’s holiday allowances closed? This may affect carry-over figures. You might also check the allowances for the previous year.
- Are all holiday requests processed? This should be checked on a regular basis (pending holiday requests are not deducted from allowances).
- Where staff have not clocked-in/out, these entries need to be reconciled (was the employee at work, or were they absent)?
- If you allow staff to buy or sell holiday days, you should make sure that any 2024-related requests have been processed.
Unused Leave
4th October 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. Here are some simple steps that you can take to help avoid a rush to book unused leave in December.
The system can help you:
- List employees who have booked less than 60% of their 2024 leave.
- Send an e-mail to these people to encourage them to book time off.
- Get staff to review the HR Policy document on unused leave.
- Manually manage carry-over (to next year) for exceptional cases.
Getting Ready for 2025
27th 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
20th 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
13th September 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
6th September 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
30th 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
23rd 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
16th 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
9th August 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
2nd August 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
26th 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.
Commission, Overtime, Expenses
19th July 2024
A simple history screen can be set up within People Inc. to record additional payments made to employees. This might include bonus and commission payments, expenses, and overtime.
Where line-managers have access to employee records via the Employee Self-Service module they can add information to this screen for members of their team. The payroll team can extract this information (into an Excel sheet) and use this to update payroll records.
Reports can then be used to cross-check and analyse the details of the additional payments made to employees.
Monitoring DBS Checks
12th July 2024
People Inc. provides the ideal mix of features to allow users to manage DBS check records. When this approach is taken, clear historical records are held centrally and securely.
An new screen designed to hold DBS records can be built very quickly within the system. Most organisations will record the date of issue, the DBS certificate number, the level (basic, standard, enhanced) and the expiry date. If needed, users can attach a scanned copy.
As the expiry date approaches, the system can automatically send a renewal reminder e-mail to the user. For more, 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.
