Our clients often share that, before switching to Rise, they did everything everywhere: tracking payroll in one place, using Excel to count vacation days for employees, relying on email for recruiting, and so on… not to mention having to remember individual logins for each application. 

It’s the double-edged sword of the digital age. Organizations can find a solution for everything, but not a solution that does everything. Rise is a truly all-in-one people management solution—and now even more so with our new integration with Xero. 

With the Xero integration, small business owners as well as financial professionals such as accountants and bookkeepers are able to effortlessly map journal entry items to their account and sync payroll data from Rise to Xero easily. For clear insights into operational expenses, you can map whole organizations, departments, or individual employees. Enjoy extra peace of mind with automatic built-in checks for report balances before syncing with Xero.

Many platforms that claim to be all-in-one payroll solutions still require manual data entry. 

Having to export information from one system to another or manually re-enter data is not only time consuming but also introduces the risk of errors. When it comes to paying your people accurately and on time, you quite literally can’t afford to make mistakes. Studies have shown that employees have little tolerance for errors when it comes to their pay cheques, with 49% of workers reporting that they will begin looking for a new job after just two mistakes. 

All-in-one payroll solutions make running payroll much more seamless, reducing errors, automating compliance, and minimizing manual data entry. 

The Rise and Xero integration gives accountants, bookkeepers, and small business owners the ability to:

• Skip multiple logins and review all clients from one single dashboard 
• Generate and download standard or custom reports at any time
• Connect with our Canadian-based support team by phone, email, or live chat
• Sync all payroll data to Xero easily
• Save hours of work by reviewing all bookings and invoicing clients from one place 

Learn more about the Rise and Xero integration.

The post How integrated payroll solutions are critical to the success of Canadian accountants, bookkeepers, and small businesses appeared first on Rise.

1. The Essential HR Handbook by Sharon Armstrong and Barbara Mitchell

This classic HR guide, now in its 10th edition, covers the fundamentals of modern HR—including how to recruit through social media, creating highly attractive and retentive benefits packages, and fostering a culture of inclusivity through diverse hiring practices. 

2. Multipliers by Liz Wiseman

This thought-provoking book discusses “Diminishers”, people who reduce capability and intelligence from teams, and “Multipliers”, people who foster and amplify their teams’ capability and intelligence to produce better results. 

3. Bring Your Human to Work by Erica Keswin

With case studies from top brands including Lyft and Starbucks, this book will show you how to foster genuine connections at work, in turn building a company and culture that embraces your people—and helps you hire and retain the best, most productive talent.

4. The Fearless Organization by Amy C. Edmondson

This book explores the culture of psychological safety, providing you with a blueprint for creating such a culture to help you encourage fresh ideas and critical thought from everyone within your organization. 

5. Good to Great by Jim Collins

Based on a compelling study, Good to Great details the type of leadership required to achieve greatness. It also discusses how to foster a culture of discipline, build a better company with new technology, and more. 

6. Work Rules! by Lazlo Block

Lazlo Block, former head of people operations at Google, writes about how the company hires and manages its employees. Block shares that there’s more to Google’s HR strategy than free gourmet cafeterias, massage rooms, and haircuts.

7. Belonging at Work by Perry Rhodes

As summed up in its subtitle, this book will show you the everyday actions you can take to cultivate an inclusive organization, providing you with personal stories, case studies, and practical strategies to inspire you, and leaders at all levels, to create a culture of inclusivity. 

8. HR on Purpose by Steve Browne

This book by HR leader and popular "Everyday People" blogger Steve Browne takes a fresh look at HR and challenges you to drop your preconceptions of what HR should be—and instead imagine what HR could be—through anecdotes, insights, and epiphanies. 

The post Top 8 HR books to add to your summer reading list appeared first on Rise.

What’s a typical day like for you?

My day starts at 5am with a glass of warm water and lemon—there’s no better way to start your day than with vitamin C and antioxidants. I sit through a guided meditation on one of my favourite apps, Insight Timer.

I try to start my day consciously deciding how to spend my time, deciding which tasks matter most and dropping or creatively re-assigning the rest. I try to jettison meetings and tasks to spend more time supporting the team and our clients. 

But, most of my time I'm entangled in a web of commitments. It's a tough balancing act, one that I haven't completely mastered yet and will probably continue to work on for the duration of my career. Even with the best planning, my work days usually end up being 12 hours, but with lots of conscious and careful decisions about how I break up that time throughout the day.

How do you manage stress?

I take many small resets throughout the day, even if it means popping outside for fresh air for a few minutes, taking a minute to play with my dog, Pepe, reading inspirational quotes on Instagram or flipping through a Dwell magazine.

What does work-life balance mean to you?

People like to say it’s a state of equilibrium between work and play, but I’m not sure that I see it that way. I think it’s about empowerment and choice. It’s me deciding if today is a 4-hour workday or a 12-hour workday. It’s me deciding if today I’ll pop out for a massage or acupuncture. It’s me deciding if I have time to prep a meal or if it’s takeout instead. 

What are some things you do to take care of your mental health?

I try to do a number of things, but like anyone, I struggle with consistency.

I try to get some exercise in, even just 30 minutes of walking. I eat fairly healthy, usually with prepped meals and lots of salads. I also try to stick to a regular bedtime schedule. 

I set goals for myself, both short and long term. And most importantly I stay connected to family and friends. 

Like most people, I’m hard on myself, often focusing on what I’m not doing rather than what I do get done. I don’t drink enough water or get enough exercise in or get enough sleep and I take in a lot of caffeine. But it’s all a part of that balancing act—when I’m able to organize my healthy self, I usually feel pretty good. 

What’s an accomplishment that you’re proud of?

I’m proud to say that I’ve helped build a company that empowers women and treats everyone the same. Gender equality is a fundamental human right and is essential to achieving peace and being able to reach our full potential. 

What’s a piece of advice you can offer to someone who is just starting out in their career and is struggling?

Plenty of brilliant people struggle at the beginning of their career. But no role comes without learning. Learn something from anyone and everyone, and in every role. Trust in yourself, do the work, and you’ll get where you want to go—and sometimes you also need to learn where you don’t want to go first.

The post How the president of a tech company manages mental health appeared first on Rise.

We originally published this article in April, 2016—four years before the COVID-19 virus forced companies to become remote in a very short amount of time. Now, at the tail-end of the pandemic, Canadian employers have a choice to make: remote, hybrid, or return to the office entirely? 

As the Amazon Business Return to Office report recently uncovered, most Canadian employees want remote work to stay for good. "Only one-in-eight (12%) say that working entirely at their physical workplace is their ideal working scenario moving forward, and more than two-in-five (43%) Canadian office workers say they would be likely to look for a new job if their current employer mandated they return to the office full time." 

With that in mind, the virtual-only companies we feature in this article—pioneers in remote work and still in business today—prove that workplace culture doesn’t depend on the proximity of team members.

1. Fire Engine RED

Who says that team-building is impossible with distributed companies? Fire Engine RED, a software provider in the education sector, proves otherwise. A virtual walking club and virtual book club keep team members connected, while biweekly all-hands meetings, conducted via conference call, ensure everyone is on the same page. “By not spending money on office space,” Director of Communications Chuck Vadun explains, “we’re able to invest more in serving our clients better.”

The company encourages employees to save also, as evidenced by the company’s “REDuce Your Bills” event. “Our CEO put together a tip sheet,” Vadun explains, “then gave our team the entire day off to call our cable providers, cell phone companies, insurance agents, and others to get better deals.” Together, Fire Engine RED employees saved an extra 25,000 dollars each year. It’s clear that this 100% virtual company has made cost-effectiveness part of its culture, to the benefit of clients and team members alike.

2. Zapier

Zapier has been completely remote since the very beginning. “Even though Bryan, Mike, and I lived in the same city, we had different schedules and were bootstrapping Zapier on the side,” co-founder Wade Foster explains the company’s origins. “We worked on Zapier in every spare moment we each had, but those moments didn’t magically line up at the same time where we could work in the same room.” And as the company grew? “Since we were already a distributed team, it made sense to keep moving that way…we could hire people we knew were awesome, but just didn’t live in the places we lived.”

Foster acknowledges that it’s more challenging for an established company to suddenly become wholly virtual. That’s why he advises starting slow: “Have a single department try remote and have everyone work from home for a month to see how it goes.” Soon enough, you might find your team spread over several continents, just like Zapier’s own!

3. Buffer

At the end of 2012, Buffer—whose app facilitates social media sharing—became a fully virtual company. So far, so good. In fact, CEO Joel Gascoigne says he is “in love with the choice we made to be distributed all across the world.” Buffer’s team members (over 85 at last count) work all around the globe and do so with unquestionable synergy.

How? Well, that collaborative spirit is fostered by “Buffer Bootcamp,” a 45-day probationary period that allows potential new hires to see if remote working, as well Buffer’s overall culture, suits them. During this time, candidates for full-time positions first come on as contract workers. Several in-depth chats over the course of six weeks ensure they and Buffer are a good cultural match. In the end, about 70% of these candidates are hired on full-time and connect on a more permanent basis with the Buffer team—remotely, of course!

4. FlexJobs

FlexJobs is dedicated to helping people find flexible work options, including remote opportunities. The company has been office-less itself for the last eight years. It hasn’t held them back. “Creating a company culture is an interesting task in a virtual environment,” notes Director of Online Content Brie Reynolds. “We think about how to translate traditional office happenings into a virtual environment, and that’s led us to try activities like virtual trivia happy hours, virtual yoga classes, and even a remote book club.”

Some of those ideas, of course, have been more successful than others. The key, according to Reynolds, is constant check-ins with your team and a willingness to experiment with what works best. Sure, a virtual environment can never function exactly like a physical office, but with a little effort and ingenuity, it might work even better.

5. The Content Factory

This digital PR firm is 100 percent virtual, a decision that owner Kari DePhillips has never regretted. “I’m not limited to searching for talented workers who live within a 20-mile radius of where I am,” she explains. “I get to hire the best person for the job, no matter where they live.”

That virtual model also led to a more diverse workplace. “We have two employees with chronic health issues,” DePhillips explains, “and although they can work from home, they wouldn’t be able to regularly work in a standard office environment.” The Contact Factory’s flexible environment creates career opportunities for people who might not otherwise have ready access to them. As a result, the company benefits from additional perspectives.

6. Automattic

They’re the people behind WordPress—and in fact, it’s that very platform that inspired the company’s business model. “Automattic made a decision from the beginning that distributed is the future of work, and that future also matched perfectly with the mission of WordPress.com: to be a global platform for users around the world,” the company tells us. “Why not have our own team represent that same global community?”

Automattic team members mostly communicate through the WordPress platform, publishing internal blogs to keep everyone up-to-date. Google Hangouts and Slack fill in the gaps, allowing colleagues to connect virtually. “Going distributed made sense and continues to work for us,” Automattic explains, “because we built our entire culture around it.”

Ready to tear up your lease? We don’t blame you. Slack, Zoom, and Basecamp (to name just a few tools) facilitate collaboration so that working remotely is as good as being there. In any event, the success stories of these companies show that the typical workplace model is on its way out the door.

The post Examples of virtual companies that ditched the office appeared first on Rise.

Not sure what communicable disease prevention means for your workplace? Download our free resource: the Gradual office reopening checklist: A guide for Canadian employers, which includes a list of health and safety precautions that your workplace can take in order to continue to decrease the spread of COVID-19. 

As defined by WorkSafeBC: “Communicable disease prevention focuses on basic risk reduction principles to reduce the risk of workplace transmission of COVID-19 and other communicable diseases”. 

Moving towards communicable disease prevention means that, in the majority of workplaces, COVID-19 is being treated as any other contagious illness. We’ve broken down a variety of current recommendations for you:

• Masks are still recommended (but not required) in all indoor spaces until individuals are fully vaccinated—which is 2 weeks after the second vaccine dose.
• If you feel unwell, stay home and get tested. 
• Workplaces should continue to promote good hand hygiene, with sanitization areas and hand washing signage in place. 
• Sanitization and cleaning of common surfaces should still happen at regular intervals throughout the day.  
• Physical distancing is no longer mandatory, but encouraged. In instances where physical distancing is not possible, workplaces may choose to add or keep up barriers between workspaces. 
• Workplaces may choose to reduce travel (particularly international) until a later time
• Organizations may need to modify some employees’ duties/roles in order to accommodate their comfort level, particularly if they choose not/are not able to be vaccinated.

Employers are also obligated to stay on top of any changing regulations that may impact their employees. 

It’s vital that employers are continually checking with their local health authority to ensure that they’re complying with all current regulations. Employers’ number one responsibility is to ensure the safety of their employees, so organizations should continue to monitor the situation and be abundantly cautious even as restrictions are lifted. 
For more information on precautions you can take to protect your team, download our latest resource: the Gradual office reopening checklist: A guide for Canadian employers.

The post The hows and whys of communicable disease prevention in the workplace appeared first on Rise.

With the majority of Canadian provinces moving into the final stages of their reopening plans, many workplaces are preparing to return to the office. Employees who’ve been working from home for the better (or worse?) part of 16 months are wondering what that means for their health and safety, with 43% of Canadians surveyed being fearful of contracting COVID-19 from coworkers.

Employers have an obligation to keep their employees safe, while employees also have their right to privacy. It’s a fine line between ensuring everyone’s safety and infringing upon human rights.

Can employers require a Covid vaccine before returning to work?

Global News writes that: “Because the federal and provincial governments have so far refrained from making the COVID-19 vaccine mandatory, it’s ‘unlikely’ that workplace policies that do so will stand if tested in court or through arbitration”.

So, can employers require a Covid vaccine? The short answer is no. An organization can make a policy that requests employees be vaccinated against COVID-19, but they will have difficulty enforcing it. 

For certain industries, such as those that work with vulnerable communities or travel internationally regularly, vaccines may be required so that the employee can continue to perform all aspects of their job. For example, an unvaccinated nurse may not be given particular shifts (in the ICU or ER), so while the vaccine may not be a condition of their employment, it may impact job duties.

Naturally, there are exemptions and unvaccinated employees can be required to wear PPE (masks, gloves, etc.) at all times. As always, we recommend speaking to an employment lawyer if you’re unsure whether or not you can (or should) require your employees to be vaccinated. 

Can employers require proof of vaccination?

Again, this may vary depending on your industry. Generally speaking, an employer may ask to see proof but an employee is not required to share any of their private medical information. 

Canadian Lawyer Mag writes that “all provinces have an obligation to ensure the health, safety and welfare of its workers, [but] this must be balanced with the employee’s right to privacy. Employers should evaluate whether implementing a vaccine verification program is integral to providing a safe workplace and ensure that such a program does not unreasonably infringe on an employee’s privacy expectations”.

Can employers require employees to be tested for COVID-19?

Yes. If an employer has reason to believe that any of their employees may have COVID-19 or have been exposed to it, they can require them to be tested and confirmed negative before returning to work. This is particularly true if an employee is unvaccinated, as a means to ensure that they’re still protecting their other employees. 

In fact, Quebec recently implemented a policy for healthcare workers who have refused vaccination that they “must be tested for COVID-19 a minimum of three times a week”. 

If you’re going to enforce vaccination or regular testing, it’s essential to have a clear policy in place. 

Your workplace should create a COVID-19 return to work policy that clearly outlines safety measures and procedures, as well as requirements of both employee and employer, i.e. proof of vaccination, frequent testing, the procedures if someone tests positive for COVID-19. For employees who refuse to sign the policy, there can be a discussion about how being unvaccinated impacts their work (such as modified duties so they are interacting less with others or continuing to work remotely).  

However, Global News writes that “if there is no workable solution, or if the employee has no religious or health grounds for declining to be vaccinated”, there would be what’s called “a frustration of contract” where “employers would likely be able to end the employment contract with limited liability”.

Although the answer to questions like ‘can employers require a Covid vaccine?’ are not black and white, organizations should try to do what’s best to protect their employees. Ensure that you’re following all local health and labour regulations, and consult with a legal professional if you’re unsure of how to approach vaccines and workplace safety.

The post Can employers require a Covid vaccine before returning to work? appeared first on Rise.

The novel coronavirus COVID-19 has had a significant impact on the way we do business: cashless transactions, social distancing in public and working (or staying) at home are just a few of the ways we as individuals helped to flatten the curve. 

Also in an effort to reduce the rate of transmission, organizations shifted to a remote work model—or temporarily scaled down or shut down operations. 

Now, with fewer and fewer cases of COVID-19 reported daily, provincial governments have just released updated workplace guidelines to help restart the Canadian economy. 

If teams can continue working from home, it’s still the most recommended approach.

However, if some roles or departments in your organization require more face-to-face interaction or access to documentation or specialized equipment, it’s possible to have employees return to the physical office—but only if proper social distancing and hygiene protocols are in place (for example, hand sanitizers in prominent locations; masks and gloves for everyone to use; and personal workspaces set 2 metres apart). 

There’s also the issue of schools remaining closed and little or no childcare available for parents working from home. As an HR manager, it’s essential that you continue advocating flexibility for all employees with dependants, either children or relatives at a higher risk for contracting COVID-19. 

Use email or video conferencing to share any updates and decisions your organization makes regarding reopening your office. Expect (and allow) feedback, as some employees may not be comfortable sharing the workspace just yet. Encourage open dialogue and be transparent about the measures you’re taking to support your employees' health and wellbeing. 

Your organization has to make a number of essential changes to safely reopen. We’ve put together a free checklist to help guide you through these changes, including which policies you’ll need to update; how to ensure workplace hygiene; and how to implement social distancing protocols in the office. 

Download our Office Reopening Checklist: A Guide for Canadian Employers for free. 

The post COVID-19 workplace guidelines you need to know before reopening appeared first on Rise.

Il suffit de découvrir le site web de cette agence pour tout de suite comprendre l’esprit esthétique et le savoir-faire ultra original de cette équipe de 10 ninjas du digital. Leur mission : travailler main dans la main avec de nombreuses marques, pour les accompagner dans la création de nouvelles formes d’interactions et de communication.

Et pour cause, chez Timecode Lab, tous les talents et compétences sont réunis dans une équipe soudée qui donne le meilleur d’elle-même pour faire en sorte que chaque projet soit unique et poussé à son maximum!

Pour Stéphane Hoareau, Président et stratège, « le succès des clients, c’est notre succès. Nous prenons très à coeur tous nos projets et nous bâtissons avec nos clients une vraie relation de confiance durable : on s'investit personnellement pour guider nos clients vers les meilleures idées et possibilités, tout en tenant compte de leur réalité d’affaire. Chaque projet nous fait apprendre et nous permet de repousser les limites des possibilités. »

Alors quand une agence amoureuse de l'esthétique a un coup de foudre pour la plateforme Simple comme Rise, c’est une belle collaboration qui commence! On vous raconte tous les détails.

Avant Rise, une gestion de la paie qui donnait des boutons….

Lorsque Stéphane Hoareau fonde Timecode Lab en 2012, il découvre le parcours du combattant pour gérer la paie de ses employés. Il confie alors cette gestion administrative à un fournisseur de paie traditionnel et très vite, tout se complique. 

« Pour moi qui aime les choses visuelles, j’ai dès le début été refroidi par l’aspect triste et non intuitif de la plateforme. Quand j’ai commencé à l’utiliser, mes a priori sur la gestion de la paie se sont confirmés : c'était long, compliqué, il fallait appeler pour faire ses modifications, je n’étais du tout guidé et accompagné, il y avait de nombreuses erreurs sur les relevés de paie. Même télécharger des rapports était un casse-tête ».

Heureusement, Stéphane refuse le statu quo, décide qu’il mérite mieux, et… découvre Simple comme Rise!

Une transition facile « comme si c'était trop beau pour être vrai…! »

Ce qui a tout de suite interpellé Stéphane en découvrant l'identité de Rise, c’est l’aspect vivant et dynamique de notre plateforme, bien loin de l'idée qu’il se fait habituellement des fournisseurs de paie. « Au début, j’ai même pensé que c'était un peu trop beau pour être vrai » explique-t-il, sourire en coin. Puis, après une démonstration du produit, la collaboration commence vraiment, alors même que Rise n’est pas encore installé dans ses bureaux de Montréal. Et même à distance, tout se passe comme sur des patins!

La transition et l’implantation des données se sont super bien passées et j’ai été très bien accompagné par la spécialiste en implantation. En vidéoconférence, elle m’a tout expliqué très clairement, c'était le top! » 

Après avoir adhéré aux logiciels Paie et RH de Rise, Timecode Lab décide ensuite de profiter de la solution de gestion des avantages sociaux. « Sun Life est client de notre agence, alors quand j’ai vu que Rise et Sun Life étaient également partenaires, cela m’a donné confiance et j’ai aussi adhéré à l'outil d’administration des garanties collectives. J’aime bien le fait que tout soit intégré dans une seule et même plateforme » poursuit Stéphane. 

Tout est clair : « J’ai découvert que la paie n'était pas un mal nécessaire »

Comme beaucoup d’entrepreneurs, Stéphane voyait avant la gestion de la paie comme un domaine obscure, désagréable même… mais dont il faut s’occuper pour prendre soin correctement son monde. La bonne nouvelle, c’est que depuis que Rise s’occupe de la gestion Paie + RH + Avantages pour son organisation, tout est devenu plus limpide, plus simple et plus rapide pour lui. 

« Avant, je pensais que la gestion de la paie, c'était un peu comme se faire arracher une dent chez le dentiste : c’est pénible, ça fait mal, mais il faut bien passer par là. Grâce aux explications des spécialistes de Rise, je me sens parfaitement en contrôle des détails de mon organisation et des dossiers de mes employés. Je sais que les mises à jour et les modifications vont être rapides. Par exemple, ce matin, ça m’a pris 3 min d’approuver la prochaine paie de mon équipe. Et quand j’ai une question, il y a toujours quelqu’un que je peux joindre facilement. » 

Je sais que les mises à jour et les modifications vont être rapides. Par exemple, ce matin, ça m’a pris 3 min d’approuver la prochaine paie de mon équipe.

Un autre point positif qui change la donne? La plateforme de Rise est compatible aussi bien avec les systèmes Microsoft et Apple!  

« Je n’aurais jamais voulu vivre la période du Covid sans l’accompagnement de Rise »

Enfin, pour toutes les entreprises du monde et du pays, la crise généralisée du Covid-19 a été une grande période de chamboulement, d'inquiétudes… mais cela a aussi marqué un virage pour se réinventer et se serrer les coudes. Pour notre plus grand bonheur, Timecode Lab a remarqué les efforts déployés par les équipes de Rise pour accompagner les organisations dans cette situation exceptionnelle. 

Stéphane en témoigne : 

« Nous avons dû nous adapter et malheureusement, procéder à des mises à pied temporaires, effectuer des ajustements de salaires… l’accompagnement de Rise a été incroyable pendant ce moment. Tout aurait pu être si compliqué mais tout s’est passé plus sereinement, je n’aurais jamais voulu vivre la période du Covid sans Rise ». 

L’accompagnement de Rise a été incroyable pendant ce moment. 

Pour Rise, il n’y a pas de récompense plus précieuse que celle de savoir que nous pouvons simplifier la vie de nos clients et faire la différence pour eux. Et d’ailleurs, nous comptons bien accompagner Timecode Lab encore longtemps! Grâce à sa créativité, à ses talents multi-fonctions et au savoir-faire en interne de ses programmateurs, l’agence sortira grandie de ces temps particuliers. Elle a même puisé dans son énergie et ses ressources pour permettre à un superbe projet d'intérêt collectif de voir le jour : le site VOCAB. Une plateforme d’apprentissage du français qui utilise l’intelligence artificielle pour accompagner les élèves du primaire dans la maîtrise de leur langue. Ça fait du bien de se serrer les coudes!

The post Timecode Lab et Rise : l’histoire d’un coup de foudre numérique et humain appeared first on Rise.

Solidarity with Canadian businesses

As an HR tech company immersed in the world of payroll and benefits, we’re seeing firsthand the dramatic impact the coronavirus pandemic is having on businesses across the country. Our phones are ringing off the hook with enquiries about termination and layoff processes, generating records of employment (ROE), applying for subsidies, and changing benefits as the financial toll of closures and cancellations forces companies to reduce and reorganize their workforces. It’s a painful new reality that many Canadians are facing.

Thankfully, in true Canadian spirit, companies everywhere are stepping up to help in this time of crisis and it’s truly inspiring. Nearly all Internet service providers have removed their data caps so employees can work from home without incurring extra charges; Hootsuite is offering free access to its professional social media scheduling tools so that businesses can preserve customer relationships; Shaw opened up its more than 100,000 WiFi hotspots across Canada to the public to help people stay connected.

We’re all global citizens and we need to band together to navigate this new normal. At Rise, we’re doing our small part to help Canadian companies and their employees in this unprecedented situation. To ease the financial hardship and streamline HR processes that are being relied on heavily during the pandemic, we’re offering our group benefits online management tool, Rise Benefits Essentials, free of charge to clients of our partner organization, Sun Life. This tool will help Sun Life’s clients—thousands of businesses across Canada—manage their group benefits simply and conveniently. And they can do it all while working from home. Until the pandemic subsides, we will also be offering new Rise clients the opportunity to sign up for free access to Rise HR and Payroll until December 31.

Continuing to serve

We’re keenly aware that many companies rely on us to ensure their employees are paid on time and accurately. As the situation with COVID-19 evolves, Rise remains operational and ready to serve our clients. The Rise platform is supported in a “high-availability” model, meaning our system is designed to be continuously operational, and we maintain redundant data centres which are tested on a regular basis for your peace of mind.

From a talent perspective, we’ve implemented a business continuity plan to ensure that Rise personnel are working from remote locations during regular business hours. Our clients can rest assured that they can rely on us to continue to support all of their payroll, HR, and benefits administration needs during this challenging period.

Related Reading: Resilience in the Face of the Unpredictable

In this extraordinary time, we’re committed more than ever to helping Canadian businesses support their people. We’re continuing to fulfill our mission to enhance the employee experience through better engagement and a focus on health and financial wellbeing—whether people are working remotely from their kitchen table or back at the office somewhere down the road.

And as we all watch the development of the pandemic with feelings of uncertainty and concern, we can be inspired by people from all corners of the global community who are standing by each other in this exceptional time. As American politician Bob Kerrey rightly noted, “Unexpected kindness is the most powerful, least costly, and most underrated agent of human change.” Stay safe, take care of each other, and we’ll get through this together.

Sincerely,

Julie Bevacqua,

President, Rise People

The post We’re in this together. A message from our president. appeared first on Rise.

In managing all aspects of the people experience at an organization, HR professionals (like yourself) have their hands full. It can be a struggle to accomplish all of the responsibilities and projects on your plate within the confines of a nine-to-five day.

While we don't have a magic wand to make your to-do list shorter, we do have some science-backed tips and hacks to help you get through the day's tasks faster—and with less stress—than ever before.

So let’s stop procrastinating and just get started on this list of 19 productivity hacks for HR professionals, shall we?

Our first productivity tip?

1. Create a daily plan

When you arrive at work each morning, set aside 15 minutes to make a plan for the day ahead—but be strategic about it. Try to think about your overall goal, and then break down how you’re going to accomplish that step by step.

Once you’ve thought about your goal, list out the tasks you need to complete today in order to reach it. What obstacles do you foresee? What resources do you need? Make a simple and strategic plan for how you’re going to succeed today, and then get started.

2. Do your most challenging tasks first

You may look at your to-do list and think, “I’ll just do these quick tasks first to give me some momentum and a sense of accomplishment, and then I’ll tackle those big audacious ones.” That’s all well and good, but that doesn't leave much time or energy to get the most challenging tasks done, so they often bleed over into the next day.

If you need to break down your challenging tasks into smaller pieces and spread those out over a few days, that’s fine too. But starting your day by completing your hardest task—or the one you like the least—will make you feel more accomplished than completing 10 easy ones.

Perhaps there’s a difficult conversation you’ve been putting off, or you’re staring down hours of boring data entry. Whatever it is, just do it. Turn off that annoying part of your brain that’s telling you to put it off, and run head-first into the challenge.

3. Set priorities

Not only should you complete your most challenging tasks first, you should also make sure you’re getting the most important tasks done early in the day, too.

After you’ve made your day's simple and strategic to-do list, put numbers beside each task, with one being the most important, and 10 being something you could leave to the next day with no trouble. Try to accomplish as many tasks in the “one” category as you can, and don’t be hard on yourself up if you don’t get to some of those less important things.

4. Don’t multitask

Bad news multitaskers: you’re not doing your brain any favours. Research from Stanford University shows that our brains simply are not wired to focus on more than one string of information at a time.

Additionally, multitasking isn’t just hindering your ability to complete the tasks at hand—it could also affect your IQ in the long term.

“A study at the University of London found that participants who multitasked during cognitive tasks experienced IQ score declines that were similar to what they’d expect if they had smoked marijuana or stayed up all night,” writes Travis Bradberry in Forbes. Yikes!

Do yourself a favour and stop multitasking. Close all those tabs on your internet browser and focus on one task at a time -- your brain will thank you for it.

5. Batch similar tasks together

As you work your way through your to-do list, let the selective focus of your brain be your guide. It can be hard to switch between verbal, written, and data-analysis tasks, so try to bucket those into chunks throughout your day. Get all your phone calls out of the way, then start on your emails, and then give yourself time to switch over to data-brain to finish those administrative duties.

Switching back and forth all day can waste time as you wait for your brain to adjust to the task at hand. Try to keep that switching to a minimum whenever possible.

6. Meditate daily

“Meditating daily will strengthen your willpower muscle. Your urges won’t disappear, but you will be better equipped to manage them,” says Peter Bregman in Harvard Business Review.

Meditation not only helps you stay more efficient and focused, it also helps you make conversations more productive. “For example, when you want to blurt something out in a meeting but know you’d be better off listening," Bregman says.

As HR professionals, you’re often faced with challenging management situations that make you feel frustrated, and that frustration can carry over and reduce your focus on other tasks. Meditation helps you maintain control of your mind and your day, so why not give it a try?

7. Set a work sprint

Studies show that humans are most productive in 52-minute sprints followed by 17-minute breaks. Rather than trying to stay focused for as long as you possibly can, set a timer on your phone or computer for 52 minutes, and see how much you can get done in that time.

You may find yourself getting distracted every ten minutes or so, especially if the task is challenging or not something you enjoy. That’s okay. It will take you a while to train your brain to stay focused for almost an hour at a time. Let the distractions come, learn to recognize when they’re happening, and then gently direct your mind back to the task at hand.

Then, when your 52 minutes is up, pat yourself on the back. Don’t fall prey to the urge to use your 17-minute break to do more work now that you have momentum. Stand up, have a drink of water, eat a snack, and clear your mind. Then dive back in for another sprint.

8. Know your deadlines

Sometimes, a tight deadline is all we need to get motivated—even if it's a self-imposed deadline.

For HR professionals especially, deadlines can be serious business. Missing them could cause compliance issues and open up liabilities for your company, like if you forget to add an employee to your benefits plan on their 91st day of employment, for example. So make sure that you know what those deadlines are.

Additionally, knowing your deadlines can help you prioritize. If a colleague comes to you for a favour or your boss adds something to your plate, knowing your deadlines can give you leverage to say "no" when you need to and ensure you're not putting too much on your plate all at once.

Which brings us to our next point...

9. Learn to say “no”

As an HR professional, you know it’s important to be a “yes” person—someone who readily embraces new challenges and is always willing to help out a colleague.

However, sometimes you can spend so much time taking on new tasks as they get thrown at you that it can feel like your day gets away from you. At the end of the day, even though you've done a-million-and-one things, it's hard to feel productive when you're still staring down the same to-do list you started the day with.

Knowing your priorities—and your deadlines—will help you say no when you need to. Helping others is important, but not at the expense of your own work.

10. Eliminate distractions

We know we’re not good at multitasking, but sometimes we do it even if we don’t mean to. We’re in the middle of a meeting and we feel our phone buzz in our pocket. While reviewing resumes, email and Slack notifications pop up on our desktop nonstop. These distractions affect our brains—and our productivity—more than we might think.

Looking to complete a tough task? Go find a quiet space, close out of your email application, and turn off your phone. Whatever requests are coming in can wait until you're finished the task at hand. Work in an open office? Try sound-reducing headphones. You can even make a little sign for your desk that says "Do Not Disturb" so that colleagues know you're in the middle of something important.

For productivity hacks 11 through to 19, read 19 Productivity Hacks for HR Professionals (Part 2/2).

The post 19 productivity hacks for HR professionals (part 1/2) appeared first on Rise.