With the growing digitalization of our lives, our way of working has changed. We’re moving away from the old ways of running a business in favor of modern solutions. Are existing business practices still relevant? If so, how can we revise them to fit into our modern day IT landscape? We’re taking a look at old strategies made new, like staff scheduling online as the answer to good old analog HR work.
Business 2.0
There used to be this cliché of unpopular nerds being the laughingstock of society, hiding away in their basements to play with their computers. Well, take a look at Silicon Valley now. The popularity of the internet and technology has made the IT sector into one of the most profitable careers today. If it does not make you rich, at the very least your skills are wanted literally everywhere.
With that development, there came the movement of self-employed software specialists or people founding start-ups in hopes of creating the software solution that becomes the next Facebook or Amazon or whatever online business there has been in the last decades that has made their founders rich. Or, at the very least, to become relevant enough that the business giants are looking to buy up your firm or idea.
But it’s not all about the money. Start-ups are full of idealistic, young, talented people looking to work with like minds to brainstorm and innovate and move society forwards. There is meaning to be found in this kind of work, and the opportunity to work with people you like in an environment you enjoy.
Workplace Culture
There’s been a change in workplace culture. Business these days tend to have flat hierarchies. The ideal work environment is one where everybody gets to speak their mind and bring in ideas. We are moving away from strict power structures. Less dictating, more working in tandem. Many young people dream of a workplace where they can have fun and find fulfillment and meaning. Working together with friends on something you are passionate about is the ideal. But it can bring difficulties.
Lack of System
When you try to revolutionize the work environment, it’s not always helpful to abandon all that has been built so far. Some of these allegedly out-of-date work practices are there for a reason. They were created as organic solutions to problems that pop up in day-to-day business life and are strategies to make it easier. If you use them as a guideline, you can come up with a business system that works for you without risking being badly organized and lacking control.
Staff Scheduling and Time Logging
A proper staff management is the single most helpful tool to keep your business organized. When you are working alone or with friends the temptation to let things run a bit more relaxed is big, but really, it’s non-negotiable. Especially when there’s an amicable relationship between you and your workers, and you aim to keep it that way. Having an overview over the time spent working is extremely helpful in navigating difficult discussions about people putting in equal effort. This way people can’t feel wrongfully accused, since tasks and the time spent on them are clearly registered. Discussions about work will be fact and not blame based, which will avoid hurt feelings.
You can use effective staff scheduling to keep an eye out on the working hours, to make sure you keep withing legal limits. Having an overview of who is working on what, to which times, helps to plan for downtimes. You will have an understanding for when you will need to hire new people to fill in for others missing time, or when you have too much staff for too few tasks.
It will give you an idea as to who deserves which amount of pay, or whether a raise or promotion is warranted. The bigger your staff gets, the more important it is to keep things sorted. Especially when you expand to multiple locations and need to link them in your business scheduling. All in all, this overview will help you plan costs and spending.
Something old, something new…
Here’s where the future comes into play. While it isn’t smart to get rid of old-school staff management altogether, we can use IT solutions to boost our HR department. You don’t have to rely on paperwork or huge Excel spreadsheets to keep up with scheduling. As with every other part of our life, smart people have innovated the system and came up with software solutions that help you keep track of old, dusty business practices. It’s the best of both worlds. The benefits of established systems with the simplicity of intuitive web and app solutions.
That makes it easy to include modern workplace changes. These IT solutions are easily updated to include new work models like home office and can be used with add-ons according to your needs.
