One of the panels that interested us was “Protecting Temporary Worker Welfare: Harassment and Work Site Safety Investigations”. The panel discussing this issue included legal and safety experts from the staffing industry.

Temporary-worker safety is the topic of a new initiative from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration. Late last month, OSHA announced that it had “sent a memorandum to the agency’s regional administrators directing field inspectors to assess whether employers who use temporary workers are complying with their responsibilities.”

It’s not all bad news: for one thing, it shows that staffing associates are being taken seriously. Also, OSHA is working with ASA to develop guidance for this initiative, so we’ve got a voice in it.

Here are some of the panel’s recommendations about how to make sure you and your clients pass OSHA inspection with flying colors:

1. Document as much as possible in the client contract: who trains the associate, who’s responsible for day-to-day supervision, what tasks associates will be performing (avoid “other duties as assigned” as much as possible), what tasks associates are prohibited from doing, whether you’re allowed to investigate any on-the-job accidents.
2. Have clear boundaries: Make sure your client contract doesn’t indemnify your client’s employees as well as your associates, or make you responsible for your associates after their assignment ends.
3. Talk safety from the start with clients: Give each new client a “safety partnership letter,” outlining your commitment to the safety of your associates and clearly showing each party’s responsibilities. For existing clients, your sales force could meet with them to talk about associate safety.
4. Be prepared for the worst: Make sure your staffers know your accident investigation procedures and can perform them whenever an accident occurs. Be sure you have access to a well-trained investigator and outside legal counsel in the case of a serious accident. Also, take advantage of the 24-hour medical professionals that are available, such as nurse triage and reporting services.
5. After an accident, make your presence visible: Promptly interview all associates involved; call, discuss, review and investigate. Let your associates know that you care about their safety. When interviewing them, ask if there is a better/safer way to perform an operation.

Not only will these tips help out with an OSHA investigation, they can make it easier to win worker’s compensation claims. W/C claims can be very costly; settling one $50,000 claim requires $1 million in sales.

What do you do to help ensure the safety of your associates? Let us know in the comments!

The post Temporary Worker Safety: Our Concern and OSHA’s appeared first on COATSsql Staffing Software and Applicant Tracking.

If you ever find yourself confused about how to do (or undo!) something in COATS, you’ve got a few different ways to get an answer. Of course, you can always contact our awesome Technical Support Crew, but if it’s after hours or you’re out of tech-support time, you’ve got other options in the form of documents.

Food for thought: Document – any written item, as a book, article, or letter, especially of a factual or informative nature.

COATS provides different documents to reference: the COATS manual, our White Papers and “What’s New”:

• The COATS manual comes up whenever you click F1 while working in COATS. The document itself is a PDF, so you must have Adobe Reader installed on your system to view it. The manual is organized with an interactive table of contents, making it easy to find what you’re looking for. To access the desired section, hold down the CTRL key and click on the section of your choice.
• White Papers are instructional documents that give you step-by-step directions through different processes in COATS. These instructions guide the user from setup to completion of the selected procedure. These white papers are available on the download page of COATSsql or COATS Standard, under the version update they’re associated with.
• Last but not least, we have the “What’s New” document that is created in correspondence with every COATS version release.  This lists all the items that have changed in the recent update, separated by the section to which each change is related. Some new features may include minor changes to procedures, such as where to access a new report. For new features that include new or significantly altered processes, you can reference the relevant white paper.

A new “What’s New” is released with every new version or update of COATS. Not all new versions have White Papers, just those with new or significantly changed processes. The manual is not updated with each version, although a new version of the manual was released earlier this year. If you’ve got a question and can’t find the answer in the manual, pulling the What’s New and the White Papers can usually fill in the blanks.

Of course, if all else fails and these resources leave you with further questions users can always call Technical Support. But when you put them all together, these files are almost as good as speaking with us. After all, who do you think puts them together?

If you’d like to contact Jessica for help that can’t be found in these documents, you can call our Tech Support specialists at 1-800-888-5894.

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Oh, that wonderful task you get to do once a month! So you go into Bank and click Recon. Then what? Well, start by getting your monthly statement from your bank. Once you have that, select the end date of the statement on the screen.

Upon the reconciliation opening up, enter in the ending balance in the Statement Balance field. You will notice that the last time a user posted, cleared and exited a Bank Recon will show in the upper left corner. This is for informational purposes only.

Now you’re ready to start. And just in case you need to get up or come back to this, you can also click on Save/Refresh for the system to save your place. This will maintain all items that were checked as checked if you close out of the Bank Recon screen. Upon returning, update the statement balance and go forth and conquer!

First, review your bank statement for deposits. You will notice that deposits will always be called credits. When you see a deposit on the screen that matches one in the statement, check the OK box for the line item in Bank Recon.

You can see the details of the deposit by double-clicking on the deposit number. This will open a new window with a list all the components of the deposit. At this point if you need to dive further to the individual debit and credit, you can double-click on the date of the desired line.

Check off all deposits that cleared in the Bank Recon window, and confirm your total deposit/credits balance with the total deposits on your bank statement. Now review the deposits/credits that are marked as cleared in deposits/credits; this should match the bank statement.

Next up are checks/debits. First, find the Direct Deposit items. You can left-click on the headers to determine how deposits are ordered. In this case, select Check Number, then locate the first date that has a Direct Deposit check number. (Normally a Direct Deposit has a different sequence number to reflect the difference between it and a paycheck.)

Right-click on the Check Number field on a Direct Deposit line, then look in the white box to the right of Summary on the end of the page. The box should equal the total Direct Deposits for the day selected. Upon matching this to the statement, click on Clear DirDep. You will receive a pop-up box with a confirmation for the date. Click OK and all Direct Deposits for the date are checked.

You can then clear an entire range of checks, if you’d like, by selecting Clear Range. Enter in the starting and ending check numbers and click Continue. This will check all the checks in the range. You can also individually select which checks to clear. Once you are done with all checks/debits, you should be able to review the items marked as cleared, and this should match the total debits on your bank statement.

Click Summary and all should be in balance. You can now click Print under Summary to show you are in balance. You may also want to print the deposits/credits and checks/debits. This will show you not only what was marked to be cleared, but also what was outstanding at the time of the reconciliation. Last but not least, click the Post Cleared and Exit ,and you are done! Well, until next month.

If you’d like to get more of this expertise on accounting in COATS, call Andrea at 1-800-888-5894 or email her. We’re so glad she uses her powers for good!

The post Accounting 101: Bank Recon appeared first on COATSsql Staffing Software and Applicant Tracking.

Ever heard someone say, “They call it work for a reason; it’s not supposed to be fun!”?

Food for Thought:  Work is “an activity involving mental or physical effort done in order to achieve a purpose or result.” Who said work couldn’t also be fun?!  After doing some research, “FUN AT WORK” appears to become the new way of work that has not missed COATS.

COATS agrees in “having fun within the parameters of productivity”:

• Forbes says that Fun At Work “helps with motivating. It helps with inspiring. It helps with productivity”, that ” For the next generation entering the workforce, this trend of peculiar yet meaningful values inspires hope that no longer should fun and professionalism be at odds.”
• Fox News agrees, saying “This allows creative ideas to flow more freely.”
• Monster.com says “It would be rare to be one of Fortune’s ’100 Best Companies to Work For’ and not score well on the fun question.” Read more:

There are ways to have FUN at WORK, even if not done as a group, such as wearing two different colored socks and see who notices.  I personally have toe-sock Friday’s around some holidays for Fun.

Behold the majesty of Dip Day!

We have COATS have started “FUN AT WORK” days and some examples are:

• Day 1: St Patrick’s Day
  (March 15th – Wearing/ Decorating Green)
• Day 2: Dip Day
  (March 27th – Dips having Dip)
• Day 3: Celebrating Easter/ Spring
  (March 29th – Easter Egg Hunt)
• Day 4: Administrative Professional Potluck
  (April 24th – Theme: ‘The Last Meal’ – bringing items that begins with the first letter of their last name.)

When I started this post, I found that we already incorporated fun in our work day… Fat Tuesday, Year End Completion, other St. Patrick’s and Halloween’s, the random Donut Friday, etc.

Watch for our random Fun Day photos on Facebook.

Do you have FUN at work?

The post Fun at Work: Yes, It Does Exist! appeared first on COATSsql Staffing Software and Applicant Tracking.

Sometimes it’s easier to understand processes when they’re laid out visually. So Chris has made an infographic of how online applications work. Great job, Chris!

To get this kind of expertise on any other COATS-related subject, contact our Tech Support Specialists at 1-800-888-5894.

The post The Online Application Process: Infographic appeared first on COATSsql Staffing Software and Applicant Tracking.

APDA WALK 2013: “To Ease the burden..To find the cure”

I have gotten involved in the last couple of years in the local chapter of the American Parkinson’s Disease Association. The Hampton Roads Chapter of the American Parkinson Disease Association is a nonprofit that seeks to improve the quality of life of those living with Parkinson’s disease, which can impact every muscle, making it difficult to walk, talk, swallow, sleep and maintain balance. Those are some of 275 symptoms that can affect a person with Parkinson’s. It also helps through public awareness, advocacy, education and supporting research until a cure is found.

Having gone to the 6th annual walk in 2011, I realized we needed to change the venue. I started by discussing this with my mother, who is afflicted with the disease. We discussed changing the location of the walk and adding something beneficial to the walk. We happened to be discussing this when we were at our Sunday traditional brunch at the oceanfront. We were overlooking the ocean and a beautiful 31st Street Park. It was then we knew the perfect place for the walk.

We got involved with the local chapter and changed the location of the walk. We contacted the city, set a date, and started on our journey to the modernization and standardizing the annual walk. What we didn’t realize is the amount of creativity an event can present. We have BBQ restaurants providing food, other stores providing fruits, and water. We knew that people afflicted with Parkinson’s would appreciate tools, educational, and resources for the improvement of their quality of life. We decided to not only have the walk but to add several large covered tents to house all of the resources in an all weather accessible environment. It was an extremely successful walk ,with hundreds of compliments given, and we knew that we had done a good thing.

Here we are now, year 2 of the Walk, Talk, and Rock for Parkinson’s. “Walk” because an exercise trainer, known due to her appearance on Dr. Oz, will get you “revved up” before taking the 9-block (and back) walk on the boardwalk. “Talk,” because the resources can help anyone with a question. We have 20 specialists from attorneys to neurologists to a local campus that specializes in the education of Health Sciences careers. “Rock” because a DJ will provide sounds that will make you want to dance on the large dance floor, with King Neptune’s statue, offering an outstanding panoramic view. We have a good base and are building on last year’s experience. Thus, we have ballooned into an awesome event.

Will t-shirts be available? Oh, yes.

We will have Walk, Talk, and Rock 2013 at the 31 Street Park in Virginia Beach, VA, on April 13, 2013, from 10-1. We encouraged employees to give money to their place of work, totaling $100, or more (so the employer becomes a CORPORATE SPONSOR). This way, all the employees are placed on a VIP list, for no donation required to attend. Individuals now are asked to donate $20 with children 6 and under, free. For more information, check out the brochure here.

We know how much fun folks had last year, so this year we’re excited to offer even more. If you’re in town, we’ll see you there!

To learn more about Andrea’s work with this fantastic organization, email her.

The post COATS in the Community: APDA Walk 2013 appeared first on COATSsql Staffing Software and Applicant Tracking.

Every year COATS has been in business, we’ve added improvements and updates that can not only be cost effective but save time, as well. I want to highlight some of the features that will enhance your work day.

Texting

COATS has free texting via Outlook. Goodbye to the days when you had to call each individual employee; now you can send a group text and COATS will track your communication within each employee’s Master Record under CONT.

• You can send a welcome text to a brand new employee from the Employee Master Record.
• You can also send a group text to all the employees of a particular client using the EMPL button in the Client screen.
• You can even text a group of candidates to let them know of a possible job opportunity from the Job Order screen.

Emails

Not only does COATS offer free texting, but you can also send emails via Outlook.

• You can send an individual email from the Employee Master Record; a double-click on the email address will let you attach documents to the email.
• You can also send a group text to all the employees of a particular client (current or ever) using the EMPL button in the Client screen.
• In Job Orders, not only can send a group email to your employees for a potential job opportunity, but you can also email their resumes to the hiring manager of your client.
• You can send a group email to your employees or/and clients from the Reports module.

Documents

Along with the great texting and emailing enhancements, COATS offers many ways to attach important documents to the system for a virtually paperless process.

• The Contact module in the Employee screen can be used to attach a signed application, an employee’s court garnishment or an office document, to name just a few.
• In the Client screen under SALES, COATS you can include client documentation like contract agreements or a Client Safety Partnership letter.
• Also in the Client screen under AP, and in the Collections module, you can attach letters and correspondence relating specifically to collections.
• In the AP Screen under Payable Accounts, the Contact module can be use to attach vendor agreements, surveys or receipts to a specific vendor.
• In the Banks screen under Bank Accounts, the Contact module can be use to attach documentation having to do with the specific bank.

To attach these documents, first ensure all documents are under a specific file path, and that you attach that file path to COATS under Maintenance/User Preferences/Scanner/Word tab

Appointments

Within COATS, you can set up appointments with your employees, clients, vendors and banks. Thanks to Outlook integration, you can also set appointment reminders to pop up on the user’s Outlook calendar. There are many ways to accomplish this:

• In the Employee screen, use the Contact module. That module also works from the Collection screen, the Client screen under AP, the AP screen under Payable Accounts and the Banks screen under Bank Accounts.
• In the overall Client screen, use the Sales module.

To set up an appointment, just right click on the “ADD Comment” button, which will open an interface with Outlook.

You can also use the Call Back Calendar in the Reports module in COATS. Unlike Outlook, this calendar does not auto-generate a pop-up reminder; however, you can display it daily.

PDF Invoices

Lastly, COATS allows for PDF invoicing to clients. Your clients can receive an invoice automatically via email. Lost, forgotten or missed invoices can be emailed through Outlook as a PDF on the fly through Clients/AR.

To set up emailing invoices, click the Invoices button under Invoicing in the Client screen.

I get so excited sharing the wonderful features COATS has that enhance daily work! Please remember that tech support is available to assist or walk you through anything, Monday thru Friday, 8am-6pm Eastern Standard Time. Also, the above features can be found in our COATS manual by pressing F1 on your keyboard. The manual is a great resource for all clients.

The post COATS’s Top Time-Saving Features (1 of 2) appeared first on COATSsql Staffing Software and Applicant Tracking.

Be sure your emails don’t make people envision this

Most likely, emails will be your first interaction with potential clients, so you want to make a great first impression. It’s been estimated that we spend at least 2 hours reading and responding to emails a day! Emailing has become part of our daily ritual, whether you work in an office or not. The emails we send to friends are not the same as professional emails. So, next time you write an email, keep these tips in mind so your reader will take you seriously:

• ALWAYS check your Spelling and Grammar – If you want to be professional, then sound professional! This part is easy, especially when misspelled words are underlined in red! Take the time to read over your email, before you send it and make sure nothing is misspelled, you have the correct punctuation marks, and the correct words are capitalized.
• NEVER use text-speak – it is never okay to write LOL, PLZ, ROFL, etc. in a professional email – period.  Avoid using slang words, as well.
• ALWAYS set up auto-signature – make sure your clients know how to reach you, especially if replying from a mobile device.
• NEVER forget the subject line – depending on your audience, you may need to put “Reply Requested.” Subject line should relate to email.
• Keep it short and consolidated – Begin the email with your request, “I’m writing to let you know that…” (busy people skim the first line or two and decide its importance). Also, if you have multiple topics to discuss, put them all in one email.
• Respond in a timely manner – you should respond to emails within the same business day. If you don’t have all the answers, send an email explaining your delay.

Professional emails with improper grammar will weaken your clout, because your readers will focus more on the mistakes than the actual message, which may inadvertently send them to a competing company!

The post PLZ B Professional appeared first on COATSsql Staffing Software and Applicant Tracking.

There have been questions pertaining to editing of Custom Skill Screens within COATS. Custom Skill screens are designed to create skills that are not encompassed within the default Clerical and Industrial screens. When clients create a Custom Skill screen, they should look at this screen as though they will not be editing this screen. One should brainstorm thoroughly when designing this screen and prior to using it in the employee master records. Consider the screen as permanent.

However, if a client must edit their custom skill screen that they have been using within COATS, this directly affects all prior employees with the original Custom Skill Screen attached. These employees will NOT come forward to any job searches as COATS ‘remembers’ what the Custom Skill Screen was at the time it was added to the employee. To correct the employees, the client must update each employee master record individually:

• Print each employee’s custom skill screen from their master record
• Delete the Custom Skill Screen
• Add the newly updated Custom Skill Screen
• Reselect the appropriate skills based on the original Custom Skill Screen printout

So, before making any modifications to your Custom Skill Screens, you may want to consider the above steps you will manually have to perform to update your Custom Skill Screen information thoroughly throughout the COATS system. If you have been having problems with job searches on Custom Skill Screens and know that you have modified your Custom Skill Screens, these steps will assist you in fixing your system.

For our clients with Online Web Applications, this would require COATS to create a NEW Custom Skill Screen application to reflect the updated skills. The original Custom Skill Screen Application will be permanently removed. A NEW web link will be provided for the new application to be implemented on your website.

As always, if you have any questions, our technical support staff is here to help you. You can reach us at 757-499-7652 Monday thru Friday from 8:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. EST.

The post How Do I Edit the Custom Skill Screens? appeared first on COATSsql Staffing Software and Applicant Tracking.

Technology allows agencies to become almost paperless. COATS helps our clients in a number of ways, including PDF invoices and by offering an employee portal.

Food for thought: Portal — a doorway, entrance, or gate, a website considered as an entry point to other websites, often by being or providing access to a search engine.

An employee portal can revolutionize your payroll day, payroll questions, year-end, etc.

Imagine how much you can do in the time it takes to stuff envelopes for paychecks. Or even at year-end, when there is already chaos, stopping to stuff and stamp the W-2s can be very time-consuming (not to mention the dreaded paper cuts!).

Employees being able to “call in” online and verify their records without actually calling in will also free up time on the phone, as well as confusion when an employee address is needed.

There are three user types for the employee portal: Employee, Payroll Administrator and Site Administrator. Each user type will allow you to view different pages and have different levels of access.

The Employee will have the ability to:

• Check-in availability
• Update contact information
• Opt into W-2s online
• Update passwords
• View and print paychecks
• View and print W-2s

…all by themselves, with no additional work from you.

The Payroll Administrator will have the ability to add new users, which will send a default email to the user with their login information. The Site Administrator will have the ability to create Payroll Administrators, while having the same access as a Payroll Administrator.

Does that sound like something your employees have been asking for (your associates as well as your full-time staffers!)? We can make it happen for you; just call us!

To learn more about the employee portal, call Jessica at 1-800-888-5894 or email her.

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