New features and updates galore (since we last posted)

By Ryan | September 3, 2010

Whoa! Summer flew by and we’ve been terribly neglectful of announcing some of the awesome updates and new features of BambooHR.  Even though we’ve been quiet, we’ve been busy making things better for our customers.  But we’re also committed to doing a better job of announcing our exciting news to the world more frequently. :)

Here’s a quick overview of the things that have changed since our June 2nd product post:

New Features

  • Links dashboard widget
    If you want a specific set of company links to show up for employees, go to Manage > Links and add some now.  These could be links to benefit providers, the company webmail login page, or whatever you want.  It’s a nice way for employees, especially new ones, to quickly get to the resources they need.
  • Customize your Add a New Employee page
    We realized quickly that all of our customers add employees to BambooHR in different ways.  Some love to fill out all the information right away.  Others want to get a name and a hire date in there and worry about the rest later.  We’ve updated the Add a New Employee page so you can decide which fields you want on there and which you don’t.  Simply click the Customize View link in the upper right corner of that page, select the fields you want, remove the ones you don’t, and click Save.  It’s easy!  Please note that any changes you make affect all users with permissions to add new employees in BambooHR.
  • Terminating employment
    To terminate an employee, look for the Take Action button when viewing an employee record.  That button reveals the “Terminate Employment” link.  Click that link and we take you to a page to fill out all the necessary information regarding the separation (only Termination Date is required).  Once you click save, we also mark the employee as Inactive and disable employee self-service access for that employee.  If you find you need to edit any of the fields related to terminations, you’ll find them on the Job tab.

Updates

  • International addresses
    We added a Country field to the Personal tab.  If an employee lives outside the U.S., you can change the Country field to another country and the rest of the address fields update to support international addresses.
  • International phone numbers
    Related to the Country field change, we also changed our phone number fields to be open, rather than forcing the standard U.S. format (XXX-XXX-XXXX).  This allows us to support international phone numbers.
  • Custom fields
    We can now add mult-row text fields as custom fields.  What in the world is that?  It’s like the large text field you see on the Notes tab.  So we now support quite a few field types as custom fields (for most tabs on the employee record).  If you need a custom field added to track something special, let us know.  We’ve seen everything from boot size to favorite candy bar!
  • Terminating benefit coverage
    If an employee is enrolled in a benefit, there is now an action to Terminate Coverage for that employee.  You can future date the termination if you wish.
  • Employee self-service
    We revamped the look and feel of Employee Self-Service.  Some things got swapped around and many of the Dashboard widgets received a face lift.  Employees now have a much better view of their information.  Plus, you can customize the Dashboard to display only those widgets you want them to have.  To change what employees can see, go to Permissions and click on the Groups tab.  Then click Edit next to Employee Self Service.  The new look is hot and the functionality of ESS is only getting better!
  • Emergency contacts
    Speaking of hotness, we updated the look and feel of the Emergency Contacts tab.  The information is displayed more like business card, which should make it easier to read.  We also support international phone numbers and addresses in these fields now.
  • Pay change reason
    One of our prospective customers suggested we add a list of reasons for pay changes to the Compensation table on the Job tab.  We thought it was a great idea.  You can manage the list of reasons and even create reports that group pay changes by reason.
  • Recent Activity
    We updated the Recent Activity widget on the Dashboard to track who added the file or employee or report.  We also made the module more compact and added some pagination so you can browse backward in the history of things added to BambooHR.

Bug fixes/refinements

  • We squashed lots of bugs and made several minor changes to the look and feel, all with the goal of making BambooHR super easy to use.

Help Desk

We also launched a new help desk system that allows our team to keep better track of customer support requests.  We were handling everything in email and things were getting lost in the shuffle as the number of customers has ballooned significantly in the last several months.  We like our new system, but we’re still getting use to the new process, so we are grateful for everyone’s patience as we learn the ropes.

We’re also expanding our help desk team so we can respond faster and operate more efficiently.

What’s the best way to get a hold of us?  Use the new Feedback tab on the left side of the screen.  Messages sent that way are sent directly to our Help Desk queue.  Multiple team members monitor this queue throughout the day, so that will definitely yield the quickest response.

Coming Soon

We have more great stuff on the way.  I can’t spill the beans yet, but I’ve never been as excited about the stuff we are working on as I am right now!

Kudos from Customers

I’ve mentioned before how much we love feedback from our customers (present and future).  The suggestions we receive make us better every day.  Of course it’s also wonderful to receive kudos, high fives, and fist bumps. :) Here’s a smattering of recent pats on the back (and no, these aren’t from our mothers):

“This is exactly what I am looking for!  I’ve spent hours and hours on webinars and yours is perfect.”

“This whole thing is really exciting, I can tell you that right now.”

“I’ve never seen anything like this that is so simple and straightforward. It’s perfect for the small and mid-size company.”

“I think you were sent from heaven, this is incredible.”

I know this is an awful lot of tooting our own horn, but we really are excited to make your work life better with our software. When we receive comments like those above, it helps us know we’re on the right track.

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How Vacations Benefit Our Work

By Ryan | June 22, 2010

Yesterday was the first official day of summer and, for most of us, that means more vacations!  While at first you may think that more vacation time means more employee time-off and, therefore, less work being done but it can actually be quite the opposite.  Taking time off has been shown to improve productivity at work.  Elizabeth Scott, M.S., discusses the value of vacations in her article, “The Importance of Vacations, for Stress Relief, Productivity and Health.“  She lists seven effects that vacations have. These include:

  1. Vacations Promote Creativity: A good vacation can help us to reconnect with ourselves, operating as a vehicle for self-discovery and helping us get back to feeling our best.
  2. Vacations Stave Off Burnout: Workers who take regular time to relax are less likely to experience burnout, making them more creative and productive than their overworked, under-rested counterparts.
  3. Vacations Can Keep Us Healthy: Taking regular time off to ‘recharge your batteries’, thereby keeping stress levels lower, can keep you healthier.
  4. Vacations Promote Overall Wellbeing: One study found that three days after vacation, subjects’ physical complaints, their quality of sleep and mood had improved as compared to before vacation. These gains were still present five weeks later, especially in those who had more personal time and overall satisfaction during their vacations.
  5. Vacations Can Strengthen Bonds: Spending time enjoying life with loved ones can keep relationships strong, helping you enjoy the good times more and helping you through the stress of the hard times. In fact, a study by the Arizona Department of Health and Human Services found that women who took vacations were more satisfied with their marriages
  6. Vacations Can Help With Your Job Performance: As the authors of the above study suggest, the psychological benefits that come with more frequent vacations lead to increased quality of life, and that can lead to increased quality of work on the job
  7. Vacations Relieve Stress in Lasting Ways: It should come as no surprise that vacations that include plenty of free time bring stress relief, but research shows that a good vacation can lead to the experience of fewer stressful days at least five weeks later! That means that vacations are the gift to yourself that keep on giving.

I have experienced many of these effects after going on vacation and look forward to re-charging a couple of times this summer.  If you don’t already have some vacation time scheduled, I hope you to start planning today! And encourage your employees to do so as well.  We can all benefit from taking a break and coming back with reduced stress, re-charged batteries and a renewed attitude.

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Stay Young by Continually Learning

By Ryan | June 15, 2010

“Anyone who stops learning is old, whether this happens at twenty or eighty. Anyone who keeps on learning not only remains young, but becomes constantly more valuable regardless of physical capacity.” – Harvey Ullman

We don’t have to be a student enrolled at a college or university to be learning.  There are many things that we can do at any age and at any level to grow in knowledge and continue moving towards excellence.  Some ways to do this are to read, seek and listen.

Let me explain.

There are so many great and wonderful things written out there every day – books, articles, blogs, etc.  The internet provides a resource to more words than our eyes could read in a lifetime.  Find works that you are interested in and/or that pertain to your job or dream career.  Delve into writings, soak up the words and your wealth of knowledge will grow continually.  Bookmark blogs, read newspapers, subscribe to magazines and purchase or borrow books that interest you.

Instead of reading whatever is posted on a blog or written in a book or magazine, we can proactively research specific things we are interested in.  If a question arises, seek out the answer(s).  One thing my friends and family constantly find me doing is searching the internet.  I cannot stand to have an unanswered question – whether it’s a subject that comes up in conversation or something that pops up in my mind, if I don’t know the answer, you had better believe I will soon find it!  If there is a specific topic that you wish you were an expert on, become one.  Look for more information online, ask a friend or colleague, check out a book from the library or attend a class.

Lastly, one thing that we do nearly every day but maybe don’t realize or give the attention and credit it deserves is merely listening.  Each one of us is different; we have different experiences, thoughts and interests that are unlike anyone else’s.  Whether it’s a casual conversation with an old friend, a one-time exchange with a store clerk, or a story from a child or a neighbor, there is something new to be heard and learned.  Ask questions when talking to someone, pay attention to their words and the feelings behind them.  You will be surprised at how much new information is presented to you daily without even having to seek it out.  Take advantage of the things you can learn from those around you.

Remember, there is strength and youth in knowledge.

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Finding and Maintaining a Work-Life Balance

By Ryan | June 8, 2010

The challenge of achieving a nice work-life balance seems to be more and more difficult these days. The competitiveness of the work force drives many to work harder to ensure security in their job.  While it is important to work hard, it is more beneficial to find the right strike of work-life balance. It’ll improve every aspect of your life and will affect those around you positively as well.  Let’s talk about some ways to help you with this balancing act.

First, keep it separate. Often times our work and personal lives blend together so much that there is no definition of one or the other. Make an effort to keep them divided.  If you do this, you can put 100% of your attention into the things you do – whether it be work, hobbies, spending time with family or friends, etc.  If you answer the phone or respond to emails while watching a movie with your family, you are not being fair to them.  Likely, if you bring in personal baggage to the office, your work is at the disadvantage.  Make sure to work hard but once you leave work, leave it. Set aside time for your friends or family, your hobbies and even yourself.

Plan out your schedule to help you achieve the personal and professional lives you want.  By planning things out, you can make the most of your time.  Every day will be different so figure out your daily routines to ensure time is being allotted for the things you need (and want) to do.  You will find that a schedule allows you the opportunity to get things done more easily.

Another thing you can do is learn to say “no”.  We often push ourselves so hard because we want to be the best at everything and don’t like to disappoint but we’re not superhuman. We cannot do it all.  If you feel like you can’t do something as well as you want to, just say “no” to it.  It is okay to do this! And it is better to not take responsibility for something that you can’t make a priority or that bumps something else off of your priority list.

At first, it might be difficult to make these changes but doing so will lead to a more efficient and happier you.  I encourage you to explore your current work-life balance and wish you luck in finding and maintaining it!

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I see your true colors

By Ryan | June 2, 2010

We recently launched a fun little feature and a very useful report.  Take a look!

Color Scheme

Now you can make BambooHR match your company colors.  Go to Mange > Color Scheme and play with the color palette to find something that works for your organization.  It’s easy and fun!  Note: The color scheme selected will be seen by anyone who logs in.

Color Scheme

Time Off Used Report

Time Off Used ReportThis report makes it even easier to see who has taken time off during a particular pay period.  The default date range is the current month, but you can adjust the start and end dates however you wish and update the report to see exactly who took time off when.  Results are broken down by time off category.  Of special note: This report will show both active and inactive employees that had any time off recorded during the date range you selected.  This ensures that even those leaving the company during a pay period have their time off accurately reported for payroll.

You can also export the report in Excel or PDF formats (fancy!).

To run the report, go to the Reports tab and click on “Time off used” under Report Library.  It’s a piece of cake!

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Focus on Strengths, Not Weaknesses

By Ryan | June 1, 2010

Many of us have had performance reviews that we’ve left feeling like we have a lot to improve on.  While we can – and should – be constantly improving, I think our time would be better spent on building our strengths.  If you’re too focused on fixing your weaknesses, you can become overwhelmed and discouraged.

Heather Mundell shares her thoughts on where the focus should be in her post Build Your Strengths Rather Than Fix Your Weaknesses. Heather talks about everyone having skills that don’t come so easily and suggests time be spent working on your strengths because doing this will “attract the people and opportunities you’re seeking.”

Let’s think about this for a minute.  If we focus on things that we are good at, our confidence increases and we are more efficient.  We’ll also have more interest and motivation.  People will start to notice these things!  We can achieve happiness and fulfillment by honing in on our strengths – who doesn’t want that?

Now, I’m not saying we should just pass over our weaknesses and not do anything about them.  We should still find time to work on them but should limit it and not make it our primary focus.  Building our strengths is a much more productive use of our time.

This doesn’t have to be just for us as individuals – this can be extended to your entire company! Encourage employees to work on their strengths, look for opportunities to praise them and steer them towards doing things they are good at.  Efficiencies will increase and everyone will be happier.

We are not all good at everything but we all have a few things that we are great at.  Let’s put our time and energy into those things – we’ll enjoy our jobs more and it will show.

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There’s a Leader in You!

By Ryan | May 25, 2010

What is the difference between a manager and a leader?  Changingminds.org says that the biggest difference is “the way they motivate the people who work or follow them.”  Let’s take a look at how dictionary.com defines them:

Man∙ag∙er [man-i-jer]

-noun

1. a person who has control or direction of an institution, business, etc., or of a part, division, or phase of it.

2. a person who manages: the manager of our track team.

3. a person who controls and manipulates resources and expenditures, as of a household.

Lead∙er [lee-der]

-noun

1. a person or thing that leads.

2. a guiding or directing head, as of an army, movement, or political group.

So while a manager may be in charge of a business or department, a leader is someone who directs and leads a group.  Managers can be leaders but you don’t have to be a manager to be a leader.  The article in Changingminds.org goes on to say that “when [leaders] want to lead, they have to give up authoritarian control, because to lead is to have followers, and following is always a voluntary activity.”  Are you a leader?  I’ve put together a list of some leadership quotes that I think illustrate ways to be a good leader.

Let’s do this Letterman-style.  Here are the Top Ten leadership quotes:

10. “The key to successful leadership today is influence, not authority.” – Kenneth Blanchard

9.  “The best leader is the one who has sense enough to pick good men to do what he wants done, and the self-restraint to keep from meddling with them while they do it.” – Theodore Roosevelt

8. “Leadership is solving problems. The day soldiers stop bringing you their problems is the day you have stopped leading them. They have either lost confidence that you can help or concluded you do not care. Either case is a failure of leadership.” – Colin Powell

7.  “Outstanding leaders go out of their way to boost the self-esteem of their personnel. If people believe in themselves, it’s amazing what they can accomplish.” – Sam Walton

6.  “A leader is one who knows the way, goes the way, and shows the way.” – John C. Maxwell

5.  “I suppose leadership at one time meant muscles; but today it means getting along with people.” – Mohandas Gandhi

4. “A boss creates fear, a leader confidence. A boss fixes blame, a leader corrects mistakes. A boss knows all, a leader asks questions. A boss makes work drudgery, a leader makes it interesting.” – Russell H. Ewing

3. “Don’t tell people how to do things, tell them what to do and let them surprise you with their results.” – George S. Patton

2. “Leadership is the art of getting someone else to do something you want done because he wants to do it.”  - Dwight D. Eisenhower

1. “If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader.” – John Quincy Adams

And there you have it, folks.  I hope something stood out to you and inspired you to become (or continue to be) a great leader.

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Exciting feature updates

By Ryan | May 18, 2010

We have a bundle of new features and updates for you! Lots of exciting things are on the way, but it’s always fun to get things into your hands as soon as they’re done (oh, the beauty of software-as-a-service!)

Files Tab

Once you are logged in, click on the Files tab to explore some neat stuff.  Here are some things to look for:

  • New look and feel
  • Sort files within categories (by date, size, and name)
  • Filter by category
  • Add a new category from the main Files page
  • Share and unshare files from the main Files page (and easily see which ones are already shared)
  • Rename categories
  • Delete categories
  • Download multiple files at once (all zipped up nice and tidy)
  • Move multiple files to a different category
  • Delete multiple files at once

Whew!  That’s a lot of stuff.  We’re excited to get feedback on these changes, so please let us know what you like and what you don’t.  After we get feedback and make any needed changes, we’ll be applying these same changes to the Documents tab for employees.  That will provide a consistent experience between the two sections.  So let us know what you think!

Dependents and Emergency Contact tabs

The information on these tabs use to take up an awful lot of vertical space.  We’ve made refinements to make it a quicker read.  This also serves as a bit of an experiment for some user experience changes we’re working on in other areas of the software.

Keyboard Shortcut

One of the things we’ve noticed as we’ve used the software is that the more we use it, the more we wish there were some features that would save us a few seconds here and there.  For example, it’s sometimes a bummer to go from mouse to keyboard to mouse again.  So we decided to do something about it in one instance.  Simply type ‘s’ on your keyboard and the cursor will pop into the search box and you can start searching for a name.  It’s actually a lot cooler than it sounds.  The only caveat is that if you are already typing in a text field, the shortcut won’t work.  Obviously, if you type ‘s’ while in a form field, you really want to type an ‘s’, not search for another person.

We’ve got lots of ideas for small shortcuts like this that will shave time off certain tasks.  If you have some ideas of your own, please let us know.  These seconds add up to minutes, which add up to hours, which add up to days.  If shave enough time off enough tasks, you’ll be able to take a nice vacation!

Oh, and We Love You

We love our customers! We appreciate your feedback.  We’re grateful to be associated with you. We’re thrilled to make software that makes your job easier.

Stay tuned for more exciting updates.

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Simple Ways to Boost Morale

By Ryan | May 18, 2010

Employee morale is a vital – but often overlooked – element of a successful work place.  High morale can improve efficiencies, create more pride in one’s work, strengthen teamwork through bonding and increase productivity.  Enhancing employee morale can be fairly easy and inexpensive, so why is it missing in so many offices across the world?

Let’s talk about some of the simple ways morale can be boosted.  In an article by wiseGEEK, they talk about how most people like to feel appreciated. Appreciation can be shown by writing a thank you note or simply saying “thank you for your excellent work!” or “you’re awesome!” wiseGEEK goes on to say “It is a grave mistake on the part of employers to only interact with their workers when there is a problem.” I fear that this is the case in many companies. Nobody likes to be noticed only when something goes wrong. We should learn to praise in the good times and constructively criticize when necessary. Whether in private, at employee meetings or recognition lunches, make sure to tell those around you how great they’re doing.  Reward incentives are another way of showing gratitude for someone – give them a gift card, movie tickets or a cash bonus.

Another way you can help improve employee morale is by promoting team camaraderie and encouraging social interaction. These go hand in hand. You can put together team building exercises or have social events such as office barbeques or basketball games. Let departments decorate the office for a holiday and make it a competition – this will create enthusiasm. Also, staff meetings that include everyone should be held at least once a month.  It is important that everyone feels like they belong, it will help motivate them to come to work every day.

Creating an atmosphere that people want to be in is another thing you can do to enhance office morale.  Post inspiring quotes, add décor, paint the walls if possible – the physical surroundings can have a huge impact on one’s productivity and happiness.  Also, if it’s within budget, bring in food for everyone. Whether it’s bagels for breakfast once a month, an occasional pizza lunch, supplying snacks in the break room or having holiday potlucks – food can go a long way.

Annie Suh writes in her article, “Office Morale Boosters: 5 Best Ways to Improve Workplace Culture” that employees “thrive when their emotional and intellectual needs are met.” So challenge them, utilize their skill sets, recognize them and trust them by giving them more responsibilities. There are so many small and simple actions that can be taken to improve employee morale and can produce amazing results. Take a look at what your organization is doing (or not doing) and take some steps towards creating high employee morale today. We know you can do it!

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Live Your Life Well

By Ryan | May 11, 2010

It’s Mental Health Month! (Did you know that this has been celebrated for the past 61 years? Wow!) This year’s theme is “Live Your Life Well” – it’s aimed to help you cope better with stress and promote health and wellness in all aspects of your life. Mental Health America has come up with some awesome tips to help each one of us battle the stresses and demands of the daily grind. These tools have been tested and proved effective to help people cope better and enrich their lives.

So here they are, 10 Tools to Live Your Life Well:

  1. Connect with others: People who feel connected are happier and healthier – and may even live longer.
  2. Stay positive: People who regularly focus on the positive in their lives are less upset by painful memories.
  3. Get physically active: Exercise can help relieve insomnia and reduce depression.
  4. Help others: People who consistently help others experience less depression, greater calm and fewer pains.
  5. Get enough sleep: Not getting enough rest increases risks of weight gain, accidents, reduced memory and heart problems.
  6. Create joy and satisfaction: Positive emotions can boost your ability to bounce back from stress.
  7. Eat Well: Eating healthy food and regular meals can increase your energy, lower the risk of developing certain diseases and influence your mood.
  8. Take care of your spirit: People who have strong spiritual lives may be healthier and live longer. Spirituality seems to cut the stress that can contribute to disease.
  9. Deal better with hard times: People who can tackle problems or get support in a tough situation tend to feel less depressed.
  10. Get professional help if you need it: More than 80 percent of people who are treated for depression improve.

I’m sure most of you reading this currently do at least one of these but how many are you not doing? These are great (and much-needed) reminders of steps we can take to help ourselves. I have to admit, I read these about a week ago and started adapting some of them into my daily life and have noticed a huge difference in how I feel. I feel so much healthier – and not just mentally, but physically and emotionally, too! I would challenge you to pick one or two things on the list and make them a priority in your life and see how it affects you. Because, let’s face it, we all could use a little help when it comes to relaxation and feeling better!

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