Software Superstars: Software tips for 2022

This time last year, we did our first installment of ‘Software Superstars’ and loved it so much we decided to make a tradition of it! So today is our next installment of Software Superstars, where we will take a look at some of our very own superstars that are using our systems to their advantage during what seems to be the ‘endemic’. Many businesses around the world have had to greatly pivot their offerings and how they run every day just to keep their business running. One thing that has been unanimously decided, is that most things aren't changing anytime soon and that some things will never go back to the way they were. That simply means we must adapt and move forward and Ideagen Op Central is here to help your business perform at its best in the modern era. Now, let’s get into how Ideagen Op Central clients can become Software Superstars in 2022:

Setting required reading - but only when necessary

Ideagen Op Central’s required reading feature gives you the assurance you need that all of your policies, procedures and even news articles have been understood and are being complied with. This feature is absolutely crucial when business critical changes occur that everyone needs to know about. So many changes occur so frequently at the moment, which means your policies and procedures are too. Ensuring compliance with these business critical changes is more than just a nice-to-have, it’s absolutely essential. 

One key thing you should be aware of is setting ‘required reading' too often. This is the case with all of your policies and procedures as well as with news articles. When speaking last year with one of our clients, Office Choice, they highlighted a specific concern with users turning on ‘required reading’ too often. When they first launched the platform, “everyone was ticking the mandatory reading on every single post” which in turn would “drive people crazy” said Chris Jones, Communications and Engagement Coordinator at Office Choice. However, after putting in place a policy to reduce the number of required posts (and posts in general), Jones noticed higher engagement with the platform. The ‘required reading’ function is a really great feature, but make sure it’s being used effectively (and not driving your team mad!)

Conduct more staff engagement and culture surveys

In the era of The Great Resignation and staff shortages, anything that can be done to minimise the impact and reduce the occurrence of a lack of staff, should be done. Of course, there are many ways to encourage workers to either come on board with you or stay at your company. You might be tempted to offer higher wages, more benefits and working from home options. All of these are great ways to gain and retain staff, but aren't quite enough in isolation. The best way to attract quality hires and keep them around for the long haul is through building an amazing company culture. Of course, culture doesn’t come overnight and it sure doesn’t come easy. One great initiative to kickstart a better company culture is by implementing staff engagement/culture surveys. These surveys can help you to identify areas of concern, figure out why your employees are happy or unhappy and help you implement well-informed changes and initiatives that can really improve culture and overall employee satisfaction. 

Some really cool Ideagen Op Central features that can help take your surveys to the next level include:

• Welcome videos and thank you messages - add that personal touch!
• Anonymity - your employees may feel more comfortable filling in surveys (particularly ones that may criticise parts of the company) when the survey is anonymous.
• Advanced permission controls - control everything from who can submit the survey to who can view reporting all the way to who gets notified about submissions.

Start implementing self audits

Getting your franchisees/area managers to perform their own location and safety audits might seem daunting. You’re probably thinking about what they might turn a blind eye to that you might need to catch. Fortunately for you, with Ideagen Op Central, those concerns never have to come to mind again! Ideagen Op Central’s advanced auditing functions such as:

• file upload with the option to restrict file uploads to camera;
• geo stamped recorded entry;
• recurring audit frequency; and
• action items

give you confidence in each and every one of your locations. But don’t just take our word for it, here’s what Ken Rosebery, Managing Director of The Cheesecake Shop has had to say about self-auditing: “The whole self-auditing process only takes a few minutes and it allows us to maintain the highest standards in cake presentation, covid-safe practices and anything else that we need to help our franchisees with.” For a sneak peek at how The Cheesecake shop conduct self-audits, check out this post.

Create the best remote onboarding experience

Working from home, at least some of the time, sure isn’t going away any time soon. While some people need to be on site 24/7, others may not need to be. One thing that this pandemic has taught us is that you don’t necessarily have to be in the office to get your work done. For those companies that want to (or may even have to) offer remote work opportunities, one of the most important and often overlooked things is how to effectively hire and onboard those remote workers. Luckily, Ideagen Op Central has some amazing onboarding features that allow you to give every new employee the ‘Rolls-Royce’ treatment every single time, no matter where they are based. With flexible activity types such as forms, welcome videos, policy sign-offs, surveys, etc. you can enroll your new hires in personalised onboarding programs that they will actually want to complete! 

Focus on data security

We now rely far more heavily on systems than ever before, which has brought about more awareness over data security. That fact coupled with recent data breaches and consumers being more aware of how their personal data is shared has led businesses to be far more concerned over how their own data is shared. For businesses, their data is everything and data breaches can spell numerous things such as: loss of consumer trust, competitors potentially getting their hands on sensitive information, potential legal implications, etc. Businesses need to be more vigilant about who they hand their data over to and how that data is used and stored. Fortunately, Ideagen Op Central customers never have to worry about data security risks, as Ideagen Op Central complies with some of the best standards. We keep to some of the highest international standards such as several ISO certifications to ensure that all of our clients sensitive data is safe and handled properly in our system. We pride ourselves on being a company that takes care of our clients and keeping their sensitive information secure is a major part of that.

So that’s what it means to be a Software Superstar in 2022. If you want to learn more about what our software has to offer, schedule a live demo or get in contact with our friendly team!