The Friday Tip - page 3
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.
Different Types of Letter
5th April 2024
Did you know that you can set up letter templates to cover a range of different areas (recruitment, onboarding, employment contracts, benefits, pay-review, staff training, employee awards, disciplinary, termination, etc.)?
Letter templates can also be used to generate pre-filled forms to circulate to employees (for example, to check their contact details, a sickness return to work form, a training feedback form, a flexible working request, etc.).
When a new version of an employment policy needs to be distributed, the letter generation facility can be used to send a copy to each employee (and the system can automatically make a note against each employee record at the same time).
Letter Generation
29th March 2024
How can the People Inc. letter generation feature help?
- Using standard templates ensures that content and quality is maintained
- Really quick and easy to create a letter (go to employee, choose letter)
- Simple to retain copies of letters (saved against employee record)
- Employee can access copies of letters electronically via the ESS
You can set up any number of letter templates within People Inc. (using MS Word). These can include your organisation’s styling, layout, header & footer, logo, etc. You can also merge-in information from the system (name, address, job details, details of pay and benefits, details of training courses, etc.) into letters.
Salary Review Letters
22nd March 2024
Following a salary review, letters can be generated automatically (using People Inc.) to confirm details of updated salary information. Standard salary review letter templates are provided with the system. These letter-templates can be updated using MS Word if changes are required (to change the content, styling or layout).
Salary review letters can contain information about both old and new salary figures, the effective date, and other details relating to the salary review process, and the letters can be generated in advance of the pay review so that they can be checked before they are sent
When salary review letters are generated, a copy is automatically saved with each employee record.
Salary Review (Salary Review Managers Plugin)
15th March 2024
People Inc. provides a range of tools to help manage the salary review process. Employee salaries can of course be added manually, and simple Wizards can be used to apply a cost of living increase for a group of employees.
Alternatively, you can use the Salary Review Manager plugin to assist you with your salary reviews within the People Inc system. You can learn more about the Salary Review Manager plugin by clicking here.
April - Allowance End of Year
8th March 2024
If you base your absence on the financial year, you will be approaching the end of your 2023-2024 holiday allowances and you will need to go through the People Inc absence year end process.
We have created a helpful guide to walk you through everything you need to consider and do to get your system ready. You can access the guide by clicking here.
Additionally, we have also included details on how to prepare if you use People Inc Time (our time and attendance module)
Online Employee Information form
1st March 2024
The process associated with collecting personal details from employees has undergone significant innovation in recent times. The web-browser and the electronic form have completely revolutionised what is possible.
When a new member of staff joins the organisation, filling out a personnel details form (during their onboarding) is a quick way to collect and verify personnel details. To help things progress quickly, the People Inc. ESS allows new employees to do this before they join (rather than wait until they are in post).
Health & Wellbeing
23rd February 2024
The People Inc. system can be used to conduct regular Health and Wellbeing surveys. These could be done as part of an ongoing employee engagement initiative, or simply to monitor aspects of health and safety at work.
Set up as a traditional form, or as a list of questions in a table, this information can be collected and analysed quickly and easily, and alerts generated automatically if required (for certain responses from staff). Users can also monitor the frequency with which forms are completed.
Custom Staff Appraisal Forms
16th February 2024
Most organisations will use an appraisal form that has been developed with their needs in mind (in our experience, every company manages appraisals differently). People Inc. provides several different ways to record and manage appraisal records. These are based on different types of form, and users can adapt the forms to match their specific requirements.
The scheduling and reporting tools that are standard People Inc. features can of course be used with custom appraisal forms to ensure that the appraisals actually take place, and the points that are recorded are then analysed (and acted on).
To learn more about adding a custom appraisal form, click here.
Training Evaluation Form
9th February 2024
Did you know that you can use the People Inc. system to collect feedback from employees who attend training courses? A online training evaluation form can be added to the ESS to facilitate this (just one of the many different ways you can customise you People Inc. system).
Some of the benefits of a training evaluation form are:
- HR can analyse the effectiveness of staff training activities
- Any shortcoming associated with training is identified quickly
- Employees feel they have a voice (their views make a difference)
Click here to read more about training evaluation forms
Ideas and Suggestions
2nd February 2024
Collecting ideas and suggestions from employees is a really good way to engage with staff. It is very easy to set up a form to do this (using the People Inc. ESS module), and a simple online form is an effective way to collect information from members of staff.
Asking for ideas and suggestions can help individuals understand that their efforts really do make a difference (and that their views are taken seriously), can motivate them and encourage them to do more, can improve their outlook and can change the way they approach their jobs.
More on adding an Ideas and Suggestions form can be found here.
Reporting Accidents at Work
26th January 2024
When there is an accident at work, staff should be able to record details of the incident quicky and easily (while the details are fresh in their minds). This can be done using a form within the People Inc. ESS module (available 24x7 from any PC or mobile device).
If an ESS form is used, duty staff can be notified automatically, the information can be used to help to identify where and how risks arise, put measure in place to avoid further incidents, and establish whether an accident needs to be investigated.
More on recording details of accidents using People Inc. can be found here.
Registering Private Mileage
19th January 2024
An ESS form could be used by members of staff to submit details of private mileage (for company vehicles). In this type of form, an employee would fill out a grid (a list of journeys, or a mileage summary per day/week) and the system would generate a summary for each form (mileage totals, etc.).
Checks and balances can be made within the form, for example, to ensure that entries are sensible (mileage readings are given in date order) or to check that employees have not missed a range of dates.
The employee can return to the form to update it on any number of occasions, and then submit it once it is complete. The information entered via forms can be monitored, analysed and extracted using reports.
Request Flexible Working
12th January 2024
UK Employment law requires that organisations consider requests for flexible working that are received from their employees. These requests usually need to be processed within three months of them being raised.
Adding a form to the People Inc. ESS is quick and easy to do, and can provide the basis for an auditable process to manage flexible working requests.
Employees can complete the form from their PC or mobile phone, and the system will automatically check for things like employment status, length of service, and the time since the employees most recent existing request.
Click here for more on adding an ESS Flexible Working Request form.
Close 2023 Absence Allowances (Step 5)
5th January 2024
For organisations where the holiday year finishes at the end of December, there is one last step to take to ready the system for managing absence in 2024: last year’s absence allowances need to be closed. To do this:
- Check that all 2023 absence bookings have been recorded.
- Make sure staff do not have excessive levels of unused leave.
- Use a Wizard to close the 2023 absence allowances.
- Make sure the correct number of holiday days are carried over.
This completes the the fifth step of the People Inc. absence year-end process. Click here for details of all 5 steps.
2024, a New Year
29th December 2023
With just a few days left to go before the New Year, our thanks go out to those we have worked with in 2023: our clients, suppliers, partners and colleagues.
It has been another busy year here at P&A Software with a full schedule of exciting new projects for us to work on.
We would like to wish you all a prosperous and happy New Year and look forward to working with you again in the coming months.
Merry Christmas
22nd December 2023
As the year draws to a close, we would like to wish you all a wonderful festive break.
We are looking forward to relaxing and spending some time with our families, having the opportunity to focus on something other than work, and to re-charge our batteries.
Wishing you all a Merry Christmas from the People Inc. team here at P&A Software.
Support over the festive break
15th December 2023
With Christmas fast approaching, we would like to pass on details of our availability during the holiday period. The People Inc. help desk service will be available up until lunchtime on December 22nd. After that:
- The 25th and the 26th are bank holidays; our office will be closed.
- From the 27th to the 29th , you can contact the helpdesk via e-mail.
- The 1st January is a bank holiday, and the office will be closed.
- A full help-desk support service will resume on Tuesday 2nd January.
If you need to make any special arrangements for support during this period, please contact us before the 21st December.
A Festive Theme
8th December 2023
Did you know that you can change the look and feel of the People Inc. screens? Included with your system are around 25 different styles for you to choose from.
You can access these styles via a mini-button on the title-bar (the row of 6 small buttons in the top left-hand corner of the screen).
Some of the themes relate to a specific time of year. Loading the Christmas theme adds snowflakes to the screen background and snowmen and ribbons to items on the screen.
Merry Christmas 😊
Staffing Levels During the Holiday Period
1st December 2023
People Inc. provides several ways to see who is providing cover over the Christmas and New Year period.
- There are two absence calendars available within the system. These show individual and team views of employee holidays.
- The ESS calendar tool shows shift patterns (People Inc. time), holiday bookings, and details of another absence records.
- The People Inc. Employee Directory gives a day-to-day, colour-coded indication of availability for each member of staff.
More information about managing absence at year-end is available here.
Managing Carry over
24th November 2023
Now that the year is coming to an end, you should make sure the 2022 absence allowances within People Inc. are reconciled and closed. When absence allowance records are closed within the system will finalise the carry over figures (unused holiday carried over from 2022 to 2023). This will ensure that any figures for 2023-2024 are correct.
More detail on this topic can be found here.
