Last Seen Blogs
only-the-best-art
AI Friendly
lovelylittlestoner
my never ending story.
estiomeno-blog
Estiomeno
gl35000
Sans titre
skincaregenie
Skincare Goals&Makeup Dreams
Link
0 notes
Text
Christmas 2020: Significance, History of Christmas and How to Celebrate Christmas
Christmas 2020: Significance, History of Christmas and How to Celebrate Christmas
The feel-good festival of Christmas is one that always manages to perk you up and is probably what we all need this year.
Significance & History
Celebrated on December 25th every year, Christmas is the birthday of Jesus of Nazareth, whose teachings is the basis for the tenets of Christianity. The festival of Nativity, Christmas is when the community celebrates the birth anniversary of Jesus. Sextus Julius Africanus first identified December 25 as the date of Jesus’ birth in 221. While the Christmas tree is a typical symbol of the festival, Pope John Paul called the Christmas tree a symbol of Christ in 2004. The concept of the tree has its origins in the pagan religious celebrations in Europe and has been adopted as a Christmas symbol.
When Jesus was born, it is said that Three Wise Men came and gave him gifts, a tradition that continues to date when families exchange gifts with each other. Celebrations start with a midnight mass especially in Roman Catholic churches and Christmas candlelight services are usually held in the evening on December 24 at Protestant churches. Christmas carols and scripture readings also happen. ‘Christmas’ the name itself means the Mass of Christ and while no one really knows the real birthday of Jesus, the first recorded date of the festival being celebrated on December 25 was in 336 during the reign of the first Christian Roman Emperor Constantine.
Dear Santa
One of the characters that is an integral part of Christmas is Santa Claus. The legend of Santa Claus goes back to St. Nicholas, a monk. It is believed that the Saint had a practice of giving gifts to children and that is how the tradition of Santa Claus came into being. In fact, if you want to meet Santa Claus you must visit Rovaniemi in Lapland, Finland where Santa lives in Santa Claus Village. Santa and Rudolph, the reindeer with the red nose are an inseparable team as they travel together through fresh snowscapes to distribute gifts and happiness. This is the place where there is the Santa Claus’s post office that regularly receives hundreds of thousand letters from 199 countries.
Good Vibes Only
Christmas is not just the time for festivities but also the time to spread joy and cheer as well more importantly the time of good deeds. In fact, the magic of Christmas is undeniable, and this is the time when family reunions happen. Yuletide pleasures include eating ginger bread biscuits and traditional plum cakes. Children typically sing Christmas carols in this time. Being the end of the year, world over, this is now a holiday period and time for family bonding. Christmas celebrations typically involve decorating the home and gardens with lights, Christmas trees and flowers as well. Many orthodox homes also recreate the nativity scene as well that is done up using miniature idols. Food is an integral part of the celebrations and most families have a special meal that usually has turkey and lots of good food. Special events like decorating the neighborhood, concerts and performances as well as charitable activities like arranging meals and shelter for economically weaker people take place.
Different Vibes
Christmas is widely celebrated across the world and Christmas lights are special in most major cities. In fact, seeing the lights on streets and buildings makes for a great start to the festivities. In Norway, children wait for the Norwegian Santa Claus ‘Julenisse’ while in Iceland there is a tradition where Juletide Lads (Santa Claus) fills shoes that the children keep on the windowsill with little goodies. While most of us associate Christmas with Santa Claus, Christmas trees and gifts, there are several unique traditions across the world that are as unique as they are strange. Whether it is the story of Befana the Christmas witch in Italy, the Caganer in Spain or Ukraine’s Legend of the Christmas Spider, there are many ways that the festival is celebrated across the world. The Swedish Yule Goat, Krampus in Austria, Hiding Brooms in Norway, Throwing Shoes in Czech Republic, Christmas Eve Saunas in Finland and the tradition of eating fried caterpillars in South Africa are all associated with unusual celebrations of the festival. Christmas markets are a big draw in most countries as well and make for great shopping especially for local souvenirs and good eats. As a festival that binds the family and spreads cheer there is little match to the charm of Christmas.
Original content is published on https://lafleur.in/christmas-2020-significance-history-of-christmas-and-how-to-celebrate-christmas/
0 notes
Text
Navratri 2020: Significance and History of Navratri
An auspicious festival celebrated with great religious fervour, Navratri is intrinsically associated with religious reflection, fasting, dance and celebration.
Significance and History
Translating to nine nights in Sanskrit, Navratri is a festival celebrated across India. It is observed twice every year, once during spring called Chaitra Navratri and once during autumn called Sharad Navratri. The latter is more popular and falls during the months of September or October and culminates on the 10th day as Dussehra or Vijayadashami. Sharad Navratri falls this year on 17th Oct and goes on till the 25th of the month. The festival is an ode to the power of Goddess Durga who is worshipped in all her 9 avatars.
Legend has it that Goddess Durga fought hard for nine days to destroy the evil demon Mahishasura and emerged victorious on the 10th day which gave rise to this festival and celebration. The Goddess is considered to be the embodiment of Shakti and all supremacy and people worship the deity for Her blessings to overcome all obstacles in their lives. It is associated with the victory of Lord Rama over Ravana in North India and hence burning effigies of the latter is common during the festival.
Navratri is celebrated in different ways in different parts of India and this includes the display of dolls called Gollu in Tamil Nadu and Karnataka, as Ramaleela in the North and installation of life size idols of Lord Durga in West Bengal.
Diverse rituals and customs
It is interesting to note that each day in Navaratri is associated with a different colour and a different form or avatar of Goddess Durga. All nine days are considered highly auspicious and sacred and is a celebration of Maa Durga as she is called. Devotees also dress up in the colours associated with each day during this period. The celebrations are kicked off on the first day with the installation of the holy “Kalash” which is symbolic of the beginning of the festival. Grey is the colour associated with the first day and Maa Durga is worshipped as “Shailputri”. The second day (Dwitiya) she is worshipped as “Brahmacharini” and orange which is the colour of tranquillity and knowledge is the related colour. The third day (aka Thritiya), the goddess is worshipped in the form of Chandraghanta and white which is symbolic of peace and serenity is the colour associated with the third day.
Goddess Durga is worshipped in the form of Kushmanda and is decked up in Red on Chaturthi. On Panchami, Maa Durga is worshipped as Skanda Mata and the colour of the day is Royal blue. Yellow which represents joy and cheerfulness is the colour of Shasti or the 6th day and the Goddess is worshipped as Katyayani. On the 7th day the deity is worshipped in the form of Kalaratri and green which is the colour of nature is the colour of Saptami. Ashtami sees Maa Durga as Gowri and is decked up in resplendent peacock green. On the final day i.e. Navami or the ninth day Durga takes the form of Siddhidhatri and purple which represents ambition and energy is the colour of the day.
Typically, the festival is an ode to the supremacy of the divine feminine power. In the south and some other parts of India, the first three days are dedicated to Goddess Laxmi, the next three for Goddess Saraswathi and the last 3 for Goddess Durga. While Kanya puja or the worship of young girls is done in some parts, Saraswathi pooja is an important part of the rituals in South India. The initiation of school education or “Aksharabhyasa” is done for many small children on Saptami which is Saraswathi pooja day.
Food and festivities
In many parts of the country, Navratri is a period of fasting and people follow a strict diet which includes consumption of foraged foods like sabudana, millets, buckwheat flour, singhare ka atta and pink salt. The use of non-vegetarian food, onions and garlic is strictly prohibited. Hence sabudana khichdi, singhare atte ka halwa, lauki ka halwa, kuttu puris, kheer etc are some of the delicacies that are prepared.
In states like Gujarat Garba performances and Dandiya Raas are held in honour of Goddess Durga. Kulu in Himachal Pradesh is a town known for its elaborate Dussehra celebrations. The culmination of Navratri is celebrated as Vijaya Dashami on the 10th day which is considered as one of the most auspicious days of the year. It is a perfect occasion to start any new ventures.
Original content is published on https://lafleur.in/navratri-2020-significance-and-history-of-navratri/
0 notes
Link
0 notes
Link
0 notes
Link
Learn. Plan. Act.
Choose from our curated financial courses
#Financial Wellness Platform#Employees Financial Wellness#Financial Stress#Employee Retention Guide#Financial Planning Guide#Financial Wellness Guide
0 notes
Link
Employee retention meaning and definition
The bane of an organization is talented employees leaving it. When an employee decides that their tenure in the company is up and state their decision to move on, it is up to the Human Resource personnel, the line and staff managers, to find out the reasons for the step. This activity, in which the middle to senior management makes efforts to convince the employee in question to continue offering their services to the organization is called employee retention.
For a better understanding of employee retention, read the blog: Employee retention meaning and definition
Employee retention can be defined as the process, including negotiation efforts and resources deployed, to prolong the employee’s association with the organization so that it may progress on its mission.
Does an employee deciding to leave spell doom for a corporation?
In a single word, the answer is no. Employee retention begins with finding out the reasons for the employees turning their backs.
The reasons for leaving could be many. Relocation, personal reasons such as drastic changes in life stages, health concerns, family emergencies or any other. The most common reason is better pay being offered elsewhere, better working conditions, the chance to influence bigger decisions… and the list goes on.
A simple and common example of women leaving the workplace is the incidence of pregnancy. Women with young children might be hesitant about finding their way back into the workplace, especially if the organization does not have new-parent friendly policies for their workforce. When this is the case a clear selling point of a job for such an employee is the child-friendly workplace or one that offers child-care options. Flexible timings, thoughtful managers, and planning can go a long way in convincing new parents to come back to the corporate space.
Another common example is when employees over a certain age come to be regarded as senior employees, and they find it hard to convince employers to value their skills over, say, someone who has entered the workforce more recently and has comparable skills. The resultant disillusionment in which an employed might feel like they have been edged out of the workplace based on ageist factors and replaced by younger employees can cause them to find their way out. As younger people move into managerial echelons, they must find ways to make team members of all ages feel engaged and valued.
Does employee retention have a foregone conclusion?
It helps to carry out employee retention in a kind and mutually beneficial manner even in the event it does not succeed. This is because it is worth going the extra mile to show the employee that their efforts have been valuable to the organization. Employees who separate from the organization on good terms are likely to share their good experiences with their new coworkers and friends. This can attract fresh new talent to the organization and work as a good example of positive word-of-mouth.
Such a state can ensure that the company only has to dip into their reserve of cold-calls, cold-emails, and applicants who come in unsolicited without the HR recruitment cell having to send out messages and recruitment calls. From a man-hour and expense perspective, this is like money in the bank.
This is a prime reason among many others to ensure that employee retention is carried out mandatory and in good faith. However, it helps to remember that the outcome of employee retention itself is not a foregone conclusion. Irrespective of the outcome, it can help in building better awareness of market conditions when employee retention is carried out with active listening. The interviewer must also keep an eye out for what the employee might not be saying, and use knack to draw them out.
Retention is an activity that can go either way. But it is only possible (and recommended) that an employee should be retained only if both the organization and the employee continue to be satisfied by the steps taken. Both parties should benefit from the continued association.
Employee Retention – not as simple as pulling a switch
Retention is not a short-term solution or a ploy to keep a performer from advancing. It is about keeping a value-generating resource inside the organization and showing them that they are valuable participants in the business entity. It can make the employee feel recognized, especially if they had come to doubt the significance of their role in the revenue-making machinery.
#Financial Wellness Platform#Employees Financial Wellness#Financial Stress#Employee Retention Guide#Financial Planning Guide#Financial Wellness Guide
0 notes
Link
Koppr helps you become an employee-first organisation. We help you become a companion in your employee’s financial wellness journey.
Why Plan Your Finances?
So why do we need to have a financial plan? The above-mentioned definition might give the impression that financial planning is only for the rich and wealthy. But in reality, you don’t need to be rich to chart out a good financial plan. On the contrary, chances are if you do plan financially, you’ll likely be richer than you were when you started off. So, whether you are a college student on a monthly allowance, or a salaried individual, or even a home-maker with some few assets tucked away – you need financial planning!
Still not convinced? Here are 10 reasons why everyone needs to plan their finances.
Managing Income: Financial planning helps you manage your income effectively and helps you understand how much money you will require to take care of your expenditure while also end up saving some.
Better cash flow: When you undertake financial planning, you are carefully monitoring your spending pattern and reducing expenses. This in turn helps to increase cash flow as expenses are limited and planned.
Capital: More cash in hand means more capital. Financial planning can pave the way for you to broaden your investments and improve finances.
Investments: A financial plan not only takes care of an individual’s financial objectives, but also helps to avoid unforeseen monetary losses by planning risk tolerance. Your financial advisor will consider your personal circumstances and guide you as to what would be the right type of investment options for your financial needs and goals.
Family Security: Financial planning helps you to provide your family with proper insurance covers and the right policies, giving you a sense of security and peace of mind that your loved ones and you will be taken care of in the case of any mishap.
Increased Standard of Living: Good planning results in better savings, larger investments and increased cash flow, which further improves the way you lead your life by giving you access to better quality of services that you need.
Valuable knowledge: Responsible saving-spending habits, measured goals, effective planning, calculated decisions and regularly reviewed results will help you to gain a far better understanding of your financial situation. This valued knowledge can put your budgeting and planning in perspective and improve control on your overall lifestyle.
Assets: Good financial planning allows for selecting the right type of assets for your portfolio. Not all assets are ideal for everyone, and some even come with a set of liabilities attached. Understanding your financial needs in conjunction with your current situation will help you select assets that don’t become a burden overtime. You’ll learn about concepts like settling liabilities and determining the true value of your assets etc.
Emergency savings: They don’t call it ‘saving for a rainy day’ for no reason. Sudden financial roadblocks may arrive to throw you off your chair. Financial planning will equip you to have investments and savings with a relatively high liquidity. So that you can use the same during emergency or in times of need for instance; intensive health care or higher education or moving to another country.
Continuous/ongoing assistance: A good financial advisor is key to healthy financial planning. What’s even more important is to build a relationship of trust with your advisor and help him/her, help you when you need expert advice in any sticky situation.
Key takeaways
✔ “Financial Planning” is an ongoing process that allows an individual to make measured and sensible decisions about his or her finances.
✔ Financial planning helps you manage your income effectively.
✔ It helps to broaden your income, and avoid risks.
✔ It grants you family security, peace of mind and an increased standard of living among other benefits.
#2 What are financial goals ?
Money matters are never a one-size-fits-all type of deal. Every person has different capabilities, objectives and priorities with regards to his or her finances. If proper care is not taken to plan one’s finances, one stands at the risk of reaching a point where we’re wondering “where did all the money go?”
If you’ve asked yourself that question at least once or perhaps more than once, you probably need to revisit your financial goals. We all have certain financial goals, they are the objectives, or targets that we set for ourselves with regards to how we want to spend our money and where; and also, what we want to do with our savings.
In short, “financial goals are the big-picture objectives of a person or organization that are expressed in monetary terms, often driven by one’s future financial needs”.
How To Set Financial Goals
Setting smart financial goals both short-term, and long-term is key to making your future financially secure. Not only does it put you in charge of your money and hence your future life, it also gives you a better perspective on how best to manage your expenses in order to achieve your set goals well ahead of time. Without any goals, you are likely to go overboard with your budget, so to avoid coming up short of money when you could really use it, the first step is setting realistic goals according to your financial state.
Use the following expert recommended tips to set your personal financial goals and begin your financial planning journey on a firm footing.
1. Start with near-term goals first
Right of the bat, setting long-term goals that are relying on a larger scale of savings can make you intimidated. So, start small. Chart out your short-term easy-to-achieve objectives based on your priorities and figure out the best strategy to meet them with your finance manager. This will give you the boost of confidence that you need to move on to the more substantial ones as you are now well equipped with the foundation knowledge.
You might want to read: How to plan your wedding finance like a pro
2. Make a budget to track your spending better
There are hordes of online tools and mobile applications that let you establish free budgeting programs. Your budget should include all information about your incoming and outgoing monetary transactions, from all of your accounts. There are certain tools and applications that let you label your expenses into categories and determine where you need to cut back. Without a budgeting program in place, it can be pretty confusing to figure out where your money is going and how can you reverse it. For instance, when you make a budget and keep it updated every day, at the end of the month you might recognize that your daily weeknight dinner with your colleagues is costing you way more than what you imagined.
Add to that your weekend spending or shopping spree with your family and you can really figure out the cracks in your plan. Once you have recognized the way you are spending, you can make better decisions about how to manage your expenses in the future.
3. Keep an emergency fund
Start setting aside some money in an emergency fund. It could be in a separate account or even a piggy bank if you’re a student. Start with a realistic amount that you can safely tuck away without feeling too much of a pinch every month and slowly build up as you get used to spending lesser and lesser. Emergency funds are highly useful in times of need; for e.g. unemployment, debts etc.
#Financial Wellness Platform#Employees Financial Wellness#Financial Stress#Employee Retention Guide#Financial Planning Guide#Financial Wellness Guide
0 notes
Link
What is financial wellness?
A financial wellness program is a key element of the standard employee benefits package and is much more than investment information or retirement planning. Through a comprehensive financial wellness program, an employee will develop a precise understanding and utilization of his finances in the right place at the right time. Financial wellness programs are designed to help employees develop a healthy relationship with their finances and develop stable and secure financial plans for the present day and future.
The financial wellness of employees can be increased in several ways by conducting financial counseling sessions, spreading information about tax saving schemes and other platforms that can assist them in managing their money.
Employees who face fewer financial worries and distractions are likely to remain focused and enjoy their work. This also translates into benefits for employers as they have a focused and productive workforce at hand which can achieve the goals of the organization without any hindrances.
As an employer, you can improve the employee satisfaction rate and your overall brand image as financial wellness programs can promote employee wellbeing, increase focus and reduce employee stress and subsequent turnover. A successful financial wellness program can have several elements that can help employees achieve financial success today and secure their future.
Sharing of holistic information, training and guidance for the personal finance concerns of employees should be the key elements of any financial wellness program. Also, regular workshops along with counseling sessions by experts are essential.
The aspects of financial wellness programs can be broad, some of which can be classified as:
Budgeting for personal and household finance
Consumer debt reduction and credit building
Loan repayment management for students
Savings – emergency and short-term
Spending behavior patterns
Financial goal setting and crisis management planning
Once employees develop a clear understanding of the financial wellness program, they can get freedom from unnecessary financial stress and debts, unexpected expenses and total liberty to make informed decisions that are in line with their financial situation. Being still relatively new, the concept of financial wellness programs is still not widespread in a country like India.
#Financial Wellness Platform#Employees Financial Wellness#Financial Stress#Employee Retention Guide#Financial Planning Guide#Financial Wellness Guide
0 notes
Link
What is EPF?
The EPF is an avenue for saving and was introduced under the Employees’ Provident Fund and Miscellaneous Act, 1952. The EPF is managed by a Central Board of Trustees which consists of a representative from the Government, the employers, and the employees. This board of trustees is helped in its work by the Employees Provident Fund Organization (EPFO) which works under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Labor and Employment. The main objective of the EPF or the Employee Provident Fund is to create a corpus that will be helpful after the retirement of your employees.
EPF is known to enjoy EEE status. EEE status is commonly referred to as exempt-exempt-exempt status of EPF. The contributions made by employees are tax-deductible under Section 80C, the interest that they earn via EPF is also interest-free. And lastly, the maturity benefits of EPF is also tax free. EPF is responsible for promoting savings among salaried individuals. The funds deposited into EPF are contributed by both the employer and the employees regularly. These funds can be used in case of the employees being unable to work or after their retirement.
The Employee Provident Fund (EPF) schemes are administered by mainly three Acts i.e.
Employees’ Provident Fund Scheme, 1952
Employees’ Pension Scheme, 1995
Employees’ Deposit Linked Insurance Scheme, 1976
The Employee Provident Fund is an ideal savings tool by which employees can save a considerable amount from their salary every month. This amount would be of great help to the employees in the future either after retirement or due to being unable to work.
Benefits of Employee Provident Fund
Some of the major benefits and advantages of the Employee Provident fund can be mentioned below.
Under Section 80C of the Income Tax Act, 1961 the contributors to the EPF can avail of the benefits of tax deductions.
According to Section 10(11) and Section 10(12) of the Income Tax Act, 1961 the contribution which has been made by the employer is also eligible for tax exemption.
There is no tax levied on the maturity amount.
The interest which is earned on the savings of EPF is also exempted from Income Tax.
EPF also helps its contributors with loans whenever the necessity arises.
EPF Eligibility Criteria
The basic eligibility criteria to become a member of an EPF are mentioned below.
In general, the employees of an organization are directly eligible for obtaining the benefits of Provident Fund, Insurance, and Pension schemes as soon as they join the organization.
As an employer, you must open an EPF account for employees if their basic salary and dearness allowance amounts to less than Rs. 15,000.
For employees who receive a basic salary plus the dearness allowance more than Rs. 15,000, they can also become a member of the EPF. They can do so by getting consent from you and the Assistant Commissioner of PF.
Those organizations which have employee strength of 20 or more than 20 employees are mandated for registration under the EPF scheme. However, those organizations which have employees less than 20 can voluntarily register under the EPF.
The EPF scheme is not applicable for people who are residing in Jammu and Kashmir.
Contributions of employees and employers towards EPF
An employer and employee both make EPF contributions in the form of a particular part of the salary. This contribution is done every month and the contribution rate depends on the basic salary and the dearness allowance of an employee.
We can state the rate of EPF contribution by both employers and employees in the below-mentioned table.
Must know features about EPF Contributions
1. Rate of Contribution:
a) Generally, the rate of contribution by employees is fixed at 12% but for some exceptional cases, the rate of contribution is 10% like:
i. Those organizations which have employee strength of a maximum of 19 persons have a contribution rate of 10%
ii. Those organizations which have an annual loss which is much more as compared to that of the net value of the organization has a contribution rate of 10%
iii. Industries such as coir, guar, beedi, brick, gum, jute, etc. have been allowed for an employee contribution of 10% towards the EPF
iv. Some industries which have been declared as sick industries by the BIFR have their rate of employee contribution towards EPF as 10%
v. Certain organizations operate under a wage limit of Rs. 6500 and the employees of these organizations can contribute 10% of their salary towards EPF.
b) As said earlier, employers will contribute 12% of the salary into EPF i.e. 12% of Rs. 15,000 which is Rs. 1800. So, both employers and employees will contribute Rs. 1800 in a month towards EPF.
2. Contribution distributiona) For the Employee
The total percentage of salary which is contributed by the employee goes completely into the employee’s provident fund.
b) For the Employer
The 12% contribution which is being made by the employer includes a contribution of 3.67% towards EPF (Employee Provident Fund) and 8.33% towards the EPS (Employee Pension Scheme).
3. Total Employer Contribution
Some contributions are made towards the administration cost to the EDLI and the EPF at the rate of 1.1% and 0.01%. These contributions are also made by the employer. So, the employer contributes to a total of 13.61% of the salary towards the EPF scheme.
We can illustrate the entire procedure of EPF contribution by both employer and employee by an example.
For example, the monthly salary of Mr. Kumar is Rs. 40,000 in a month. Then, the contributions which are made into the EPF can be summarized as below.
1.Contribution by employee=12% of Rs. 40,000=Rs. 4,800
2.Contribution made by employer towards EPF=3.67% of Rs. 40,000=Rs. 1,468
3.Contribution made by employer towards EPS=8.33% of Rs. 40,000=Rs. 3,332
4.Total contribution=Rs. 9600
Hence, a contribution of Rs. 9600 is made from the salary of Mr. Kumar towards EPF.
EPF Applicability
As an employer, you would have to contribute to EPF on the Basic salary along with the DA component. An organization much match the contribution of an employee and an extra 1% contribution towards EDLI (0.5%) and EPF plus EDLI administrative charges (0.5%). Your contribution towards EPF changes slightly depending on the number of employees that you have.
More than 20 employees
The employee’s share in such conditions is 12% and as an employer, you must contribute 3.67% as EPF, 8.33% as EPS, 0.5% as EDLI and 0.5% as EPF+EDLI administrative charges.
Less than 20 employees
The employee’s share in such cases is 10% and as an employer, you must contribute 1.67% as EPF, 8.33% as EPS, 0.5% as EDLI and 0.5% as EPF+EDLI administrative charges.
How to disburse EPF online?
The procedure involved in the disbursal of the Employee Provident Fund payment by online means consists of the below-mentioned steps.
Employees can file for a pay EPF online claim by visiting the EPFO portal. For a pay EPF online claim, employee’s UAN (Universal Account Number) must be activated. Also, their bank details and the KYC details must be present in the EPFO portal.
It is your responsibility to provide employees with UAN and mention the same in the salary slip. If employees have not received their UAN, they can obtain it from the EPFO portal itself. They can select the tab Know your UAN status. Then they will have to fill in their details and a PIN obtained by employees on their phone number. With this, they can easily obtain their UAN. Even after they have received their UAN, the UAN needs to be activated.
For making their UAN active, employees must visit the ‘For Employees’ in the EPFO portal. Next, they will have to select the option ‘Our Services’ and under ‘Our Services’ and they will have the option of ‘Member UAN/Online Services’. Then, they will be directed towards the UAN portal where they will have to select ‘Activate your UAN’ option. Employees will obtain a PIN on their mobile number and they can use that PIN for the final step. With this, their UAN would be activated and they can apply for the disbursal of EPF online.
The steps that are involved in filing an online claim for the withdrawal of the EPF online are listed below.
First, your employees would have to log in to the EPFO portal with the help of their activated UAN and password.
In the next step, they will have to select the ‘Manage’ tab and verify the KYC details.
Now, they can visit the tab titled ‘Our Services’ and then select the option ‘Claim’.
Then, they will be directed to a section which is titled as ‘I want to apply for’ and choose their required type of approval i.e. full or partial or pension withdrawal.
After the selection of the type of withdrawal, your PF disbursal request will be forwarded to you for approval.
After your approval, employees will obtain their money within 10 days of raising the claim.
EPF withdrawal rules
Your employees can choose to withdraw their EPF contributions under certain conditions while adhering to some rules. Here are some of them.
1. Home Loan
Employees can choose to withdraw up to 90% of their contributions to pay off home loans. They must complete at least three years of service to avail the same.
2. Unemployment
If an employee remains unemployed for more than a month, they can withdraw up to 75% of their EPF.
3. Wedding
Employees can withdraw up to 50% of their EPF funds for their marriage, provided they have completed 7 years of service.
The current rules allow employees to withdraw their EPF if they do not have a job after two months of the completion of the previous job. And to avail of this benefit, the subscriber must have worked for at least 10 years.
A recent modification of the rules offers more flexibility for employees. Employees can now withdraw up to 75% of their EPF fund value if they do not have a job for more than a month. This change was introduced to help employees take care of their financial needs at such times.
You may also read: Employee loans – The complete guide
Interest rates on EPF
The interest rate on EPF for the financial year 2018-19 is 8.65%. It has been raised from 8.55% which was the interest rate in the year 2017-18. The fund which is accumulated in the Provident Fund Account is capable of attracting some interest which is completely exempted from tax.
The entire interest which is earned is transferred to EPF Account of employees and this is calculated based on the rate of interest that has been determined by the Government of India along with the Central Board of Trustees.
Let us understand some important aspects related to the interest rate on EPF.
The rate of interest i.e. 8.65 is valid for those EPF deposits which are being made in the financial year of April 2018 to March 2019.
The interest is transferred to the employee’s EPF account once in a year i.e. on 31st March of the current financial year.
For further calculation of interest, the interest which has been transferred to the employee’s EPF Account is summed up with the next month’s balance i.e. the balance of April.
For the inoperative accounts of non-retired employees, interest is offered.
For the inoperative accounts of retired employees, interest is not being offered.
The inoperative accounts earn interest and this interest is taxable under the current income tax slab.
When you contribute to the Employee Pension Scheme (EPS), employees will not be obtaining any interest. But they are eligible to obtain a pension of that specified amount after the age of 58 years.
For EPF, the interest is calculated monthly whereas the interest rate is announced every year. The interest rate can be calculated by division of the interest rate in a year by 12. By this, the interest amount which has to be given to you in a month is derived.
Understand with an example:
Let us consider an example to illustrate the entire concept of interest rates on the Employee Provident Fund.
For example, an employee has started making their contribution to EPF by November 2018. Now, let us note down some of the important points related to the interest on EPF.
The interest rate which applies to the EPF is 8.65%
Now, the monthly rate of interest can be calculated as 8.65/12=0.7208%
Every month, they are transferring 12% of Rs. 15000= Rs. 1800 towards the Employee Provident Fund Account.
This amount of Rs. 1800 will be transferred into their Employee Provident Fund Account at the end of every month.
#Financial Wellness Platform#Employees Financial Wellness#Financial Stress#Employee Retention Guide#Financial Planning Guide#Financial Wellness Guide
0 notes
Link
What is employee expense reimbursement?
Employee expense reimbursement refers to the method in which a company repays its employees who spend money to complete official tasks. The reimbursement can happen in many ways. It is a very important process and every employee must reimburse the employee who pays money on the former’s behalf to get a job done.
Different companies have different categories for employee reimbursement. Some companies pay the expenses on behalf of the employees directly while others reimburse the expenses. It might also vary on the type of expense and the grade of the employee. All reasonable expenses are reimbursed after approval, either in part or in totality.
Types of employee expense reimbursements
There are three types of employee expense reimbursement commonly
Travel and Mileage Reimbursement
Medical Expense Reimbursement
Business Expense Reimbursement
Lets have a look at each of these employee expense reimbursement categories.
1. Travel and mileage reimbursement
Both Travel and Mileage reimbursement pertains to the expenses incurred while travelling but is calculated separately, which can be categorized as follows:
a) Travel Reimbursement
If an employee travels on work, he or she can get her air tickets or cab fares reimbursed. Also, if an employee needs to travel within the city for meetings, etc he can choose to use his own vehicle and then get his fuel costs reimbursed.
Travel expenses that are reimbursed include expenses like accommodation, visa, flight or train tickets or any other form of transport via bills and receipts like a rental car, etc., local transportation like car hire as well as day-to-day minor expenses like food and other business expenses, as approved by the company. It also includes emergency health concerns while on a business trip.
Personal expenses like unauthorized upgrades, shopping, loss of personal property, unapproved expenses of family members, etc. are usually not included.
b) Mileage reimbursements
These are categorized as Per Diem Travel and Standard Mileage.
i) Per Diem Travel
Per Diem method of travel reimbursement is a method wherein a fixed daily allowance is paid to the employees for the expenses occurring for the business. The employee is paid a fixed amount for the business travel, meals, etc.
ii) Standard Mileage Rates
This method includes reimbursing the employees for using their own vehicle for travelling. There are standard rates decided by the IRS. The standard mileage rate is deducted for tax calculation and is the rate that is reimbursed for per miles driven, to the employees.
Frequently asked questions related to travel & mileage reimbursements is the commuting time reimbursed in India?
Let’s first understand what is commuting time. In simple words, commuting time is the time spent by the employees to reach the office and return back home. Traffic has made commuting to the office a task and thus commuting time is considered an important part of the daily struggle. There are no legal provisions for paying or reimbursing for commuting time in India. Even though Central government and railway employees are paid conveyance allowance but there is no mileage given to the commuting time of the employees. Similarly, with the private sector, commuting time hasn’t yet been implied. Irrespective of the huge time taken to reach office, reimbursements, and allowances are paid as fuel expenses and no commuting time is taken into consideration.
What are the strategies or benefits provided to the employees to avoid time loss of commuting time?
Many companies have started acknowledging their employee’s efforts and have begun to provide their employees with benefits like work from home options, flexible timings, part-time working options, telecommuting, etc. if you are an employee-friendly company then these options work wonder to keep your employees happy at work. These options also help in achieving organizational goals and individual goals as well. Though work from home and other options took some time to be accepted in India, the idea gained acceptance after it improved the work expectation and employee retention.
2. Medical expense reimbursement
Companies these days provide various facilities to their employees. Due to the long working hours, stress, the employees expect you to take care of their basic needs including health care. Medical reimbursement is one such way, wherein you reimburse a part of the medical expenses incurred by the employee on the treatment of self, spouse, and children. There is an exemption of INR 15000 on the Income Tax as well on the medical reimbursements for the employees.
There are some specifications under the Income Tax Act for reimbursements, which are:
The expenses should specifically be of and for the medical treatments
The amount should be spent only on family members which include spouse, children, dependent parents, and siblings
The amount should be reimbursed by the company
The maximum amount reimbursed by the company should not exceed INR 15,000 in the current financial year
Frequently asked questions about healthcare and medical reimbursements.What is the total amount that can be claimed as a medical reimbursement?
If an employee fulfills the above-mentioned eligibility conditions, the employee can claim an exemption on the reimbursement up to the total limit of INR 15,000 per annum. The exemption is given on the amount reimbursed by the company upon producing the medical bills.
What is the process to claim medical reimbursements?
The medical expenses can be claimed by the employee by submitting all the original bills to the organization. The company would verify and then then will reimburse the amount up to the limit of INR 15,000 without any tax deducted on the same, as this is reimbursement of the expenses already made and is not an income.
What is the difference between medical reimbursement vis-a-vis medical allowance
There is a stark difference between medical reimbursements and medical allowance.
a. Medical allowance is a part of the salary paid to the employees, irrespective of any bills submitted.
Medical reimbursements are paid to the employees upon submission of the original bills of the medical expenses, only if the expenses have occurred.
b. Medical allowances are the fixed part of the salary which is paid to the employees and is taxable. There is no requirement for the employees to submit any original bills for receiving the allowances.
On the other hand, medical reimbursements, are tax-free up to a limit of INR 15,000 and are paid to the employees when they produce the original bills of the medical expenses.
Let us understand with an example:
Medical reimbursement
For example, an employee incurs INR 10,000 on the medical expenses of his/her children. Upon submission of the bills, the employee will get full reimbursement of INR 10,000 for this financial year and this reimbursement will not be taxable in the hands of the employee.
However, if, an employee incurs, INR 18,000 on the medical expenses on the treatment of his/her children. Upon submission of the original bills, the employee will get reimbursement of INR 18,000 but at the time of tax calculation, exemption on INR 15,000 can be claimed by the employee.
Medical allowance
To receive an allowance of INR 20,000 for a year, the employee does not need to submit any original bills and he would receive the entire amount, even if he doesn’t submit any bills. However, for income tax calculation, if he submits medical bills towards the allowance received, the same would be deducted from his taxable income, else an income tax, as per slab, needs to be paid for the same.
Can medical expenses for the previous year be claimed by an employee?
No, the company will only reimburse the expenses incurred during the current financial year and not for any of the previous years.
Does mediclaim expenditure qualify for medical reimbursement?
Health Insurance premium or mediclaim premiums are not considered as medical expenses and do not qualify for medical reimbursements. These can only be claimed under section 80D separately which has a different set of provisions.
Is there any limit for the medical expenditure incurred under certain specific circumstances?
No upper limit for employee reimbursement process has been set for medical expenses, hospital bills, and medicines by the Employer Company, government organizations, etc. However, the upper limit for claiming exemption has been limited to INR 15000 according to the Income Tax Act.
You might want to read: Employee allowances – Taxable & non-taxable allowances for salaried employees in India
3. Business expense reimbursement
Like all other reimbursements, business expense reimbursement is paying back the employees for the business expenses they have paid for. The expenses that occur during travelling for work, or for the purchase of business-related materials, or entertaining the clients, for their food and drinks, etc. This also includes education and training, business supplies and tools, and other miscellaneous expenses.
Amount of Business Expense that can be claimed:
The business expenses reimbursed by you are not a part of the wage that you pay to your employee and is thus not taxed when the employee files income tax returns.
Though for businesses, many business expenses can be claimed while filing tax returns. Good companies have efficient tax liabilities management systems which maximize the allowable deductions. Thus, taking advantage of these deductions is beneficial for professionals and small business owners.
Process to claim for Business Expenses
To claim any business expenses, a business must fall under an accountable plan and fulfill these requirements
The expenses should be paid actually by the employee for adding value to the business and the expense should be connected to business only.
The employee should bring the expenses into account within the given time period as the receipts provided will be verified for the time, date, amount and expense made for.
The employees must return any access amount reimbursed by the company.
According to a survey by PeopleMatters, 65% of companies record employee expenses manually.
If you are an employer, you can process employee claims and reimbursements with Koppr
How can employers limit business expenses?
Small businesses need to control their expenses and reimbursed expenses. Proper identification and classifying the employee’s expenses is very important to make sure that reimbursements benefit the business for tax. Thus, limiting the business expenses is very important.
Any company who reimburses the business expenses must clearly identify which expense to reimburse. Jobs that need the employee to pay for completing the job should always be reimbursed. However, below mentioned ways might help you in capping business expenses.
a) Setting per diem rate for out of town meals which will set a limit for the employees as to how much they can spend on their meals. The extra cost above the per diem rate will not be reimbursed by the company
b) Tuition or course fee reimbursement should also be limited to a certain limit by the company
c) Capping the cell phone expenses can be done in two ways. One by providing the employees, who require to make calls on behalf of the company, with a company phone and two, by reimbursing a set amount to the employees for the phone bill they pay every month.
How to handle employee expense reimbursements?
Here are the steps that a company should follow for handling employee reimbursements and business expenses:
a) Form a policy for reimbursement
Always frame an easy reimbursement process that clearly explains the reimbursements to your employees. A policy will help in disseminating the details and define what expenses can be reimbursed and what cannot. The policy should specify if the employees need to take approval for any expense they make on behalf of the company. A policy will maintain a clarity among employees about what qualifies for reimbursement and also will set their expectations right.
b) Clearly determine the expenses for reimbursement
Clearly specify what falls under reimbursed expenses and whatnot. For example, business travels and trips, entertainment costs spent on clients, office supplies, cell phones, the amount spent on skill enhancement, etc. qualify for reimbursement. Communicating the list beforehand to the employees is always advised.
c) Create a robust system for claims
Create a system that allows the employees to file the reimbursements for approval after incurring the expenses. Clearly specify what information is required by your company while submitting the reimbursement claims. For example, date, place, descriptions of the expense, product or services, etc. Another important thing to mention for reimbursement claim is to make proof of payment mandatory for a record like receipts, invoices, bank statements, etc. of the expense made by the employee.
Always maintain a digitized or online system for reimbursement to keep the process transparent.
If you are a business owner, you can manage employee claims and reimbursements with Koppr
d) Verify the expenses
Always set deadlines for submitting the reimbursement claims. This will help you to verify the expenses before the payday. Setting the deadline and verifying will also help you to review and discuss with employees in case of any confusion, any missing information regarding the expenses and for explaining the rejection of the reimbursement claim made by the employees.
e) Pay reimbursement in a set time
Keep the system of employee claim processing transparent and inform the employees when and how they will receive the reimbursement. Since the employees paid on behalf of the company and for the benefit of the company, delay in payment of reimbursement can cause frustration among the employees.
You can create a positive impact on your employees by making the reimbursement process easy and fast for your employees as this will reflect that you care for your employees as equally as your employees care for the benefit of the company.
#Financial Wellness Platform#Employees Financial Wellness#Financial Stress#Employee Retention Guide#Financial Planning Guide#Financial Wellness Guide
0 notes
Link
Investing your hard-earned money is an important step towards wealth creation. However, you need to invest properly and through the correct instruments to ensure you get the returns you desire in a time that suits you well. There are many financial instruments that you can choose from, but not every one of them is suitable for you. You need to invest as per your financial capacities as well as according to your risk profile. Take a look at this article to know more about the financial instruments available for investing your hard-earned money and how you can choose the best option for yourself.
Different types of financial instruments
What is your risk profile?
Choosing the right financial instruments to invest based on your life stage and risk appetite
Why you should take help of personal finance managers to plan your finances?
What are the different types of financial instruments?
There are primarily two categories of financial instruments, namely, the fixed income instruments and the equities. While the former offers fixed returns, the latter is more risky but better suited for achieving long-term financial goals. Here is a detailed look at the various investment instruments available in India:
1. Cash instruments
As the name suggests, a cash instrument is a type of investment that includes cash savings and instruments. The cash instruments include bank savings accounts, cash bonds, etc. These are highly liquid investments that help you to meet your short-term financial goals. It is very safe to invest in the cash instruments as practically no risk is involved here. However, the returns are also lower as compared to the other financial instruments.
2. Company and government bonds
Many corporate funds, as well as the government enterprises, require additional funds from time to time. This is why they issue bonds that are given to the investors. As an investor, you need to buy the bonds by paying a sum of money. This money is used by the company or the government towards their operation expenses. In return, you get a fixed return at regular intervals. When the bond matures, you receive the entire amount you paid, back. A company or a government bond is also a very secure form of investment that helps you to earn steady dividends in a low-risk manner.
3. Stocks and equity investments
Businesses raise money by selling their stocks and equities to the general public. The equities are sold at registered places such as the stock markets of the country. As an investor, you can invest your hard-earned money in stocks and equities and see your wealth grow. However, these investments are a bit risky. When the company performs well, you get to make profits on your investments as the stock prices consistently rise. However, if the company begins to perform poorly, its value drops and the stock prices begin to fall as well. At such a time, you stand to get very low and unprofitable returns from the stocks and equities. Similarly, when the economic condition of the country is poor, the stock markets crash and all the stock and equity investments begin to suffer. It is therefore wise for you to spread your investments over a number of stocks and equities and not invest all your money in a single stock. This is a factor you must remember before you invest in this financial instrument.
4. Mutual funds
Mutual funds are a type of financial instrument where the money of various investors are pooled in together and invested. As an individual investor, your money may not be sufficient to buy the stocks, shares or bonds. This is why you invest in a mutual fund to get higher returns. The yields and profits earned on the investments are evenly distributed to all the joint investors. The risk is lower and the chances of earning profits are higher as well. You can choose between three types of funds in a mutual fund investment – the equity funds, the fixed income funds and the money market funds. As is obvious, the equity funds carry the highest levels of risk, followed by the fixed income funds and the money market funds that carry the least amount of risk. You need to choose the fund carefully, after analyzing your risk appetite.
5. ETF
An exchange traded fund, or an ETF as it is popularly known, is another financial instrument that is very well-suited for investments. Here, the benefits of mutual funds and equities are combined. You get to invest your money in diversified funds as you can do in a mutual fund. Then, as the name suggests, you can buy and sell the ETFs easily in the stock markets much like the equities. These features make the ETFs very popular and a common type of financial instrument among the investors.
6. Precious metals
Precious metals such as silver, platinum and gold act as excellent investment instruments. Gold, for example, proves to be a good investment platform. The price of gold rises continuously and consistently. If you buy gold worth Rs 10,000 today, you can sell it at a much higher price after a few years. Investing in precious metals is therefore a very common thing to do and is definitely something you must consider doing as well.
7. Property
Apart from precious metals, you can also consider investing a portion of your money in property. It is always a good idea to buy some property in your own name. Apart from becoming a lifelong asset, a property also offers high returns on investments. Property prices appreciate regularly and so if you ever need to sell your property, you are quite guaranteed of making a profit.
8. Investing in businesses
Many small businesses look out for private investors who can support them with financial investments. If you have the kind of money they need nu are willing to take a risk, you can consider using a small business as an effective investment instrument. You can get the stocks of the company or you can agree to a profit-sharing arrangement. In either case, you can stand to earn huge profits against your investment, provided the business does well. You need to assess the business model and see the potential of the firm before you put in your hard-earned money into it.
These are some of the best investment instruments available to you. Choose the option that appeals to you the most and get the best returns out of your investments.
Insurance is often mistaken as a financial instrument. However, insurance is a very important product which needs to be taken but for the purpose of protection only and not as an investment.
What is a financial risk profile?
You may have heard the term “risk” quite often when you discuss your financial matters with others. But what exactly is risk and how does it affect your investments? Well, there is a very strong correlation between risk and investments. Most of the financial instruments used for investments carry certain degrees of risk. Simultaneously, every investor has a risk profile of his own. A risk profile is the amount of risk an individual investor is willing to take.
The risk profile of a person majorly depends on the three following factors:
1. Willingness to take a risk – Risk Tolerance. This is a psychological factor.
The first and the most important factor associated with risk-taking is the willingness to do so. You cannot possibly have a high risk-appetite if you are not willing to take a risk with your investments. Many people are conservative investors who do not like taking any kind of risk with the investments they make with their hard-earned money.
On the other hand, some investors believe in taking risks as they feel the more risks they take, the higher their chances get of making greater profits. This is a personal trait and differs from person to person. There is no fixed level or degree against which the risk-taking willingness of an investor can be measured.
2. Ability to take a risk – Risk Capacity. This is a financial factor.
The other factor that plays an important role here is the investor’s ability to take a risk when choosing the financial instruments. Not everyone is financially stable enough to risk all their money. If an investor has limited resources and banks heavily on the returns for his financial requirements, he cannot possibly afford to take a huge risk. In that case, he will have to settle for low-risk investment instruments. This is a factor that needs to be calculated before any investment is made. If in a worst-case-scenario, the investor loses his entire corpus, how would he cope with the situation? Once an answer is found to this question, the risk-taking ability can be clearly understood.
3. Need to take risk – Risk Requirement. This is also a financial factor.
You may not want to take too much of risk but in order to fulfill your financial goals, you might be required to do so. This is a pure financial planning oriented informed decision.
While the risk-taking willingness, as well as the risk-taking ability, need to be kept in mind, as an investor you have to take a few risks when investing your money. You surely do not invest for fun, do you? All your investments are done keeping your financial goals in mind. You need your wealth to grow so that you can have enough funds to meet your life-goals. So to achieve these, you need to take risks. If you invest all your money in fixed deposits, you will earn a much lower yield, as compared to the yield you can earn when you invest in stocks and equities. Of course, the risk will be lower in a fixed deposit, but will the investment be really fruitful for you? This is where the concept of risk requirement proves to be crucial and extremely important for serious investors who look to build up their wealth.
The risk profile of an investor is thus very crucial and determines the kind of returns he earns from his investments.
The key is to find a balance between the types of investment instruments. Rather than fixing all your money in a single financial instrument, spread it out and have a diverse portfolio. You should have a balance between the risky investments and the safe investments. This will help you to earn steady returns, irrespective of the market conditions.
How to choose the right financial instruments to invest based on your life stage and risk appetite?
Keeping all the points mentioned above in mind, you can understand the importance of choosing the best financial instrument to invest your hard-earned money. But how exactly does one choose the right and most suitable investment option? Here are some pointers:
Step#1: List down your financial goals
The financial goals determine your need to invest. Every individual has separate financial goals related to their life-situations. You need to first understand why you are investing. Are you investing to meet a short-term goal like clearing your outstanding student loan? Or are you investing to create a retirement fund? The choice of financial instruments will greatly depend on this as you need to find instruments that will drive in returns at a pace that suits you.
Here’s a complete guide to financial planning
Step#2: Make a true analysis of your risk profile
You need to be completely honest when assessing your own risk-profile. As mentioned above, the risk profile consists of two components – willingness and ability. Analyse both these factors about yourself and see just how much risk you can take with your investments. This is another way in which you can find the most suitable financial instrument to invest in.
Step#3: Factor in your age and dependents and financial liability
A young person has fewer financial responsibilities and has a higher disposable income. An older person may have a family to support, loans to clear off and an upcoming retirement to save for. This is why the investment patterns of people change as they age. A young person can definitely take higher risks with his money. However, he may not have a corpus as high as an older person who has been working for decades. Age is a crucial factor and your investments will majorly depend on your age. Choose an investment option that matches your age and life situation as this will bring in the best yields for you. Then you need to factor in your dependents and your existing financial liability.
Step#4: Understand the financial instrument
Each instrument has some pros and cons. You need to know the investment objective, the time horizon and then make an informed decision.
An extremely vital tip for you is to understand the financial instrument before investing. You cannot make the proper and correct choice unless you understand how the different financial instruments work. You should never follow someone’s footsteps and invest in a particular instrument unless you know how it works. For instance, if your brother makes money by investing in mutual funds, the same model may not work for you. You cannot invest your money in a mutual fund and expect to get the same returns unless you know what the procedure to earn the best returns are.
Step#5: Take the help of an expert
If you are in any doubt regarding the various financial instruments, you should take the help of a financial expert. an expert can guide you and help you to make the correct choices. Discuss your financial goals, risk profile and financial health with the expert and he will make the best plan for your investments.
Do you need a personal financial adviser?
Once you take care of the above-stated pointers, you will be assured of finding the most suitable financial instrument to invest in.
In a nutshell
The financial world is vast and as an investor, you find many good options to invest your money in. However, in the financial world, there is no instrument that offers the one-size-fits-all benefit. Every investor is different and has a different risk profile and financial capability. This is why you need to understand your own profile and capacities and choose the best investment instruments for yourself. Keep all the tips and guidelines mentioned above and choose your options very carefully, always try to maintain a mix and have a diverse portfolio. Along with this, keep your eyes firmly on your financial life goals and you will surely find the best instrument to invest your hard-earned money in.
#Financial Wellness Guide#Financial Wellness Platform#Employees Financial Wellness#Financial Stress#Employee Retention Guide#Financial Planning Guide
0 notes
Link
Once considered as the new fad, social media has gone to garner massive growth and popularity over the years. Such has been its prevalence that it has managed to change almost every facet of how we communicate, socialize, and engage for both professional and personal activities. However, the usage of social media platforms in the workplace toes a fine line. While it can have a highly positive impact on the marketing efforts of a company, it can also drain employee productivity.
A recent study published by TeamLease World of Work Report
provides detailed insight into how unlimited social media usage allowance by employers is affecting workforce productivity comprehensively. The report has clearly stated that organizations that allow unrestricted usage of social media are risking somewhere between 15% to a whopping 45% drop in productivity of their employees.
According to the same study, Facebook is the most visited social media platform during work hours. With a whopping 83% of employees spending significant time on the platform, restricting access to the platform may seem as quite the quick fix organizations are looking for.
The Issue at Hand
Let’s Not Blame Social Media…YET
Work Around It, Not Against It
Bonding, Over Binding, is Key
Meeting in the Middle
Let Them Make Your Brand
Tackling Other Social Media Hazards
Key Takeaway
The Issue at Hand
With a rise in digitization, it has become imperative for companies to maintain an online presence. These social media platforms, hence, enable organizations to build a loyal following online and provide necessary updates quickly, reaching thousands with a single post.
Given this premise, social media usage can be included in the definition of ‘work,’ making it quite necessary for organizations to allow unrestricted access to their employees. However, it has a considerable downside.
While employees are using social media for business/work-related purposes, it is easy to get distracted by notifications and go down the rabbit hole of social media. The report has stated that around 32% of the total time spent on social media is used for indulging in personal work.
This personal work may range from employees trying to strengthen their own private networks or keeping up with the lives of their families and friends. These statistics prove to be a massive loss in terms of both productivity and revenue to the organization.
Apart from this, the indulgence of employees in various social media platforms also leads to the loss of confidential information, misinformation, defamation, and employee solicitation, the report adds.
Even though all the information mentioned above points fingers towards social media as the culprit, organizations can’t merely restrict access to social media as it breeds a whole lot of problems by itself.
Let’s Not Blame Social Media…YET
Organizations that are trying to ban the usage of social media may face massive dents in brand value, in the eyes of its employees. Further, how must one manage business-related social media endeavors if the access is entirely restricted?
Just because there are drunken driving cases, we don’t necessarily blame the cars, right? Similarly, even though, at first, social media may seem like the culprit, we need to look again in a much deeper manner.
As we all know, just like there are cons for everything, there is always a positive side to it too. Social media is a new-age version of emails; it helps employees collaborate easily.
Along with that, social media also aids in time effectivity, primarily if the operations are carried out of a largely dispersed environment. This fact sure earns some brownie points for unrestricted access to social media in the workplace.
However, as deemed necessary in every scenario with contradictory pros and cons, maintaining a balance is key.
Organizations cannot leverage on high productivity only by refuting access to all social media in office premises. On the other extreme end, allowing unrestricted access to all platforms may prove incredibly jarring upon the organization’s productivity and revenue.
One cannot look past the fact that social media has become a part of life for not just the millennial generation, but for most people. More people wake up to a post by Selena Gomez (the most followed person on Instagram), than they do to another person.
Work Around It, Not Against It
Organizations are expected to embrace this change and modify their working process in a manner that allows them to leverage on all the positives of both extremes.
One way that organizations are trying to improve the relationship between the usage of social media and employee productivity is through the channelization of essential conversations and communications, even if this is limited within the premises.
Just like emails made fax and other offline communications seem outdated, the new generation of employees finds the usage of social media easier for internal as well as external communications. Hence, the adaptation of organizations to the usage of social media not only enables employees to work liberally, but it also allows maintenance of goodwill among the workforce.
As the famous phrase, ‘change is the only constant,’ organizations that have failed to adapt to this are bound to be considered outdated and orthodox, which could bruise the reputation, and in turn, its overall business operations.
The report also sheds light on how such adaptation, in combination with the availability of high-speed internet with better bandwidth capacity, is shaping innovation in the usage of social media within workplaces.
Bonding, Over Binding, is Key
Studies further showcase that improving employee relationships and connecting to them may result in a minimization of misuse of social media and loss of productive time. As mentioned before, while social media may seem like the culprit, organizations must tackle more critical issues, whose side-effect may be loss of productivity and overuse of social media.
Furthermore, the study has also emphasized on how motivation can lead to a much higher level of productivity. Motivated employee force can channelize social media capabilities aiding better collaboration and higher innovation.
Other research has suggested that social media, along with improving collaboration, also aids in problem-solving and brainstorming on ideas. While more than 80% of employees believe that social media has helped them improve their work relationships, approximately 60% have also stressed on how social media has aided in decision-making processes.
This research also suggested that more than 50% of employers have restricted social media access in the workplace. In a support study concerning 277 employees of a healthcare organization, the notion that social media harms employee productivity proved wrong. On the contrary, it suggested that a complete restriction of social media access impacted employee retention to a much greater extent.
The importance of social media is as visible as a flashy neon sign on a dark road. One simply cannot deny it anymore. The most used social media platforms, such as Facebook and WhatsApp, have already started working on the launch of their enterprise versions, strengthening this fact’s credibility.
Meeting in the Middle
However, as pointed out above, balance is key. How much is indeed too much? Where must organizations draw a line? These questions can only be answered through designing of social media policies and revising them at regular intervals to fit their organization’s operations entirely.
Rather than imposing a social media policy upon their employees, it is better suggested to involve them in the designing process of such systems. This will not only enable finding middle ground, keeping both parties happy but also aid in minimization loss of productivity and heightened pro-activity among the employee force.
Moreover, co-creation will lead to higher acceptance of the policy, with employees behaving more responsibly towards the usage of social media. Such initiatives will also allow employers to build stronger bonds with their workforce, and hence, retain them for more extended periods.
Let Them Make Your Brand
Enabling social media access for your employees in a balanced manner will also allow you to turn your employee force as your brand ambassadors. By inspiring your employees to promote your brand, you can hit more than 1 bird with 1 stone.
Firstly, social media and employee productivity start working together positively, instead of against each other owing to a shift in how the employees engage with these platforms.
Secondly, your brand value will start surging as employees speak more positively.
Thirdly, you instill a sense of responsibility within your employees, enabling better usage of social media.
While there are several downsides to this idea, if executed properly, it can uplift the comprehensive positives to a new level.
Tackling Other Social Media Hazards
All the sweet talk apart, one potential disadvantage of allowing social media usage on-premises is the challenge of employee retention. As we discussed earlier, the complete elimination of social media access could also lead to lower employee retention. How to tackle this issue then?
Studies have shown than more than 76% of employees were engaging more with potential new employers they found on social media. Alternatively, around 60% simply used social media for the purpose of refreshment.
Fret not. The primary key to employee retention is maintaining healthy relationships with your workforce. Many organizations fail to recognize this fact and end up enforcing policies that fuel the downward spiral towards doom.
It is incredibly essential to realize that whether or not such access to social media is provided within premises if employees are not satisfied with the work they do or whomever they work for, they are bound to try and connect with new potential workplaces actively; just outside of office premises.
Hence, it again boils down to the simple fact that employee relationships are vital to maintaining a high retention rate. And the first step towards bettering the same is the inclusion of opinions and suggestions while drafting enforceable policies.
Another solution that can aid in minimizing the risk towards retention is including training programs on how to efficiently use social media and focus on the positives such as collaboration, creation, and innovation. Achieving these goals shall heighten the satisfaction of employees, enabling higher attachment to the organization. This could potentially neutralize the impending risk of retention social media has created.
Furthermore, recognizing employees’ achievements on these social media platforms will additionally allow better relationships among managers and subordinates. Providing visibility to employee achievements on company social media also leads to your company’s goodwill to spike, undoubtedly impacting your business. It gives more insight into the organization’s core values, elevating positive outlook.
Another positive side effect of recognizing employees is the ability to leverage your social media platforms as a strong recruitment basis. The advent of social media has enabled potential employees to scrutinize organizations’ profiles and to get a sneak peek into the work culture before considering an application.
Recognizing your employees not only lifts the spirits of your workforce but also attracts motivated and talented people to join it and help you expand quicker. This approach helps you in turning the threat of social media towards retention into an opportunity of not only better retention but also better recruitment.
Key Takeaway
The relationship between social media and employee productivity will undoubtedly be negative if enabled haphazardly. It is also prominent that trying to ‘control’ or ‘limit’ social media usage within the organization, through the imposition of stringent policies also might hurt your organization.
However, this impact of social media can definitely be derived more positively by freeing the hand a little bit and allowing your employees the room of expression, leisure, and responsibility. When an organization is adapting to changes, they must include employees to have a say in the policies being imposed. Organizations not only understand the comfort zones of their workforce but also are better informed of the work culture present in the organization.
The key takeaway of this study would be that while it may be uncomfortable to adapt to a shift towards social media, there is more than one way to make the tables turn in your favor. Finding the right balance between usage of these platforms for achieving organizational goals and that for personal benefits is all it truly boils down to.
Employers must engage in real-time efforts to motivate their workforce to use social media responsibly and effectively. Depending upon the path taken by organizations, the relationship established between social media and employee productivity remains rather highly volatile.
#Financial Wellness Platform#Employees Financial Wellness#Financial Stress#Employee Retention Guide#Financial Planning Guide#Financial Wellness Guide
0 notes
Link
Who are personal finance managers or personal financial advisers?
Personal finance advisors are trained and experienced professionals who offer customized financial guidance to their clients. A personal finance advisor understands your financial goals and allows you to make investments that would help you achieve those goals.
Here is a lowdown on the exact profile of a personal finance advisor:
1. Advisors are experienced in personal finance
The biggest attribute of a financial adviser is that he is experienced. With experience, one can understand how the markets work, how investments yield returns and what makes your wealth grow. A personal financial manager, with the help of his vast experience, can guide you properly and tell you exactly what you need to do with your finances. You may have some bookish knowledge yourself, but without experience, you cannot tread safely. This is why hiring a manager helps you.
2. Highly trained
The personal financial advisers are highly trained individuals who have the best degrees from the best institutes around the world. This makes a manager very skilled in his work as he understands the basics of financial management in a wholesome manner.
A personal finance adviser is a highly-helpful resource that you must consider getting when you need help with financial planning and investments.
What do personal finance managers do?
A wealth manager’s primary duty is to ensure your wealth grows, while you meet all your financial goals. A personal financial manager helps you to streamline your expenses and encourages you to save and then helps you to invest the saved money. Take a detailed look at the main responsibilities of a financial manager:
A. Analyzing your financial condition
The first and foremost job that the adviser undertakes is that of analyzing your current financial situation. It is the adviser’s job to assess the situation, understand the concerns, make a plan and then offer his advice to the client. This is why you need a personal finance adviser who can work with you on a one-on-one basis and help you sort out your monetary challenges.
B. To help you make your cash flow analysis
The next, and one of the most important duties of a personal finance adviser is to make a tailor-made cash flow analysis for you. The plan must primarily include your income, expenses and savings. The plan must be designed in such a way that you know how much to spend and how much to save. This is crucial, as only when you save can you start investing.
C. Help you choose your investments
Perhaps the most important role of your financial adviser is to help you choose your investments. Many people do not properly understand the basics and scopes of the various investment tools such as fixed deposits, mutual funds, etc. Everyone needs to invest as it is only through investments that one can accumulate greater funds, save tax, plan for the future and achieve their financial goals. A good personal finance adviser understands your finances and your risk-taking capacities and then tells you exactly where you need to invest to get the best results.
Know how to plan your finances in 2020
D. Plan your taxes
The very mention of the word ‘tax’ causes fear and confusion in the minds of many people! Tax is a severely challenging topic and though you may think you know all about it, you may actually just be aware of the tip of the iceberg. Tax management and payment need to be done with complete precision. You should also look for ways in which you can save tax in a legal and effective manner. But do you know how to go about it? If not, your personal finance adviser will help you out, as tax planning constitutes one of his main duties.
How to file your taxes
E. Debt management
Debt management is crucial. Most people these days have various loans such as home loans, personal loans, car loans, etc that they struggle to pay off. On top of this, the outstanding credit card bills also add further pressure. A personal finance adviser can guide you properly and help you to manage your debt in the most effective way.
Learn how to manage your debt wisely
F. Retirement planning
You have to plan ahead and build you a good corpus for your post-retirement years. This needs a lot of planning and precision. Your financial advise helps you to make a productive plan through which you can save more for the years to come.
G. Legacy planning
Death is the greatest eventuality of life and we all must prepare for you. You would not want your family members getting into disputes over your wealth after you are gone, so you need to ensure your legacy planning happens and everyone knows about your plans. Your financial adviser can help you make a will and distribute your wealth in a way that you find suitable.
A personal finance adviser, therefore, assists you in making the correct financial decisions. You can do it all by yourself, but you may not know the right mechanisms and tools. Your financial adviser puts you on the right path
#Financial Wellness Platform#Employees Financial Wellness#Financial Stress#Employee Retention Guide#Financial Planning Guide
0 notes
Link
Financial management apps are extremely useful. From offering reminders about your upcoming EMIs to offering a comprehensive budget plan related to your expenses, these apps help you to manage all aspects of your financial well-being on a day-to-day basis. Whether you use an Android or an iOs platform, you can find many interesting money-management apps. Download any one of them and you will be able to smoothly sort out your finances. Take a look at this article to know more about the top personal finance management apps in India and how they can be of help to you.
WALNUT
GOODBUDGET
EZ FINANCIAL CALCULATORS
CHILLR
MONEY MANAGER EXPENSE & BUDGET
MONEFY – MONEY MANAGER
MTRAKR MONEY MANAGER
EXPENSE MANAGER
QYKLY
SMART SPENDS
Conclusion
1.
WALNUT
Walnut is considered to be one of the most useful money -management apps that are available on both Android as well as iOs devices. Some of the features offered by Walnut include:
Tab on expenses – The app allows you to keep a tab on your monthly expenses. It gives you regular updates about the amount of money you have spent in the month, it intimates you about the accumulated credit card bill, etc. This helps you to keep a tab on your expenses quite effectively.
Auto payment of bills – The app pays your due bills automatically. The auto=payment feature on the app is of great help, especially to those who tend to miss the due dates and end up defaulting on their bills.
Categorizes expenses – The app categorizes all the expenses and tells you how much you spent on travel, dining, groceries, entertainment and so on. This helps you to understand your own spending patterns and make alterations if needed.
SMS scanning – The app regularly scans the SMSes received on your mobile device. It alerts you about the spends and informs you about any fraudulent transactions that may have taken place.
With these interesting features on offer, Walnut proves to be very handy for anyone who needs some digital assistance to manage their money.
2.
GOODBUDGET
The next app on the list is the highly-rated GoodBudget app. Another one of the personal finance management apps that is available both to the Android as well as the iOs users, it helps you to plan out your monthly expenses. It also helps you to save by telling you about your various overheads and pointing out spending patterns. Here are the top features of this app:
Online envelopes – The most unique feature of this app is online envelopes. You can create separate envelopes for all your expenses such as groceries, utilities, fuel, savings, etc. You can allocate funds to each envelope and stick to your monthly budget accordingly.
Option to share budget – Not only does the app help you to make and use your own budget, but it also gives you the option to share the budget with your family members. This helps you to stay on the same page with close family members such as your spouse or parents with whom you share the familial financial load.
Payment of dues – The app offers the autopay option with which you can clear your monthly dues on time without having to worry about forgotten due dates.
Debt payoff plans – The app helps you to create specific debt-payoff plans. With the help of these, you can adjust your EMIs and clear off all your dues in a comfortable manner.
These features make the GoodBudget app so popular among users not just in India, but all around the world.
3.
EZ FINANCIAL CALCULATORS
The EZ Financial Calculators app is one of the well-received personal finance management apps that helps thousands of people to keep a check on their finances. Here are the top features of this money-management app:
Complete set of financial calculators – You will find a whole lot of calculators on this app. With the help of these, you can calculate everything including your tax liabilities, your home loan interest rate, your retirement fund requirements, your insurance premium rates, the returns on various investments and so on.
Easy transfer of results – Not only does this app help you to calculate the various figures and amounts, but it also makes it easy for you to share the results with anyone you wish to. You can email the results to your family or friends as and when you want to do so.
Error-free calculations – Most of the financial calculations undertaken by this app are very complex and comprise of various layers. Manual calculations can lead to several errors, but the app offers completely error-free results. This is a major advantage of using the EZ Financial Calculators app.
Expert advice – The app has provisions for its users to get expert advice. You can speak to a financial expert on the app and get specific answers to your money related queries.
With these features, the EZ Financial Calculators are among the most popular expense manager apps in use presently.
4.
CHILLR
One of the handiest expense manager apps, Chillr is a very popular and widely used app in India. The features of this app include:
Mobile banking – The app allows you to transfer money, receive money and make quick recharges. These features allow you to use the app as a mobile banking app. It makes it easy for you to manage all your financial transactions from one source.
Utility bill payments – The app also allows you to make your utility bill payments such as paying your electricity bill, telephone bill, gas bill and so on. You also get attractive discounts and cashback when you pay your bills from the app.
Remind friends about payments – The app has a very novel feature through which you can send reminders to your friends who owe you money. The app will directly remind them of the amount they owe you. They can pay you the money directly on the app itself.
As you can see, the features are quite interesting and make money management quite a simple task for you.
#Financial Wellness Platform#Employees Financial Wellness#Financial Stress#Employee Retention Guide#Financial Planning Guide#Financial Wellness Guide
0 notes
Link
What is emotional intelligence or emotional quotient?
Simply put, EQ is the ability of understanding and managing emotions, both your own as well as of the people around you. This term came into being in 1990 and was first used by researchers Peter Salovey and John Mayer though it was made popular by psychologist Daniel Goleman.
Goleman had this to say to the Harvard Business Review about emotional intelligence’s importance in leadership, “The most effective leaders are all alike in one crucial way: They all have a high degree of what has come to be known as emotional intelligence. It’s not that IQ and technical skills are irrelevant. They do matter, but they are the entry-level requirements for executive positions.”
Goleman was right. EQ has emerged as a must-have quality that separates great leaders from ordinary ones. In research done by TalentSmart, it was found that EQ is the aptest indicator to gauge performance. A survey conducted by CareerBuilder to study the impact of EQ provided us with some interesting insights into the minds of hiring managers. Of all the employers who participated in this survey, 71 percent said that for them EQ is more important than IQ as people with a higher EQ are more likely to show empathy while responding to colleagues, stay calm under pressure, and resolve the worst of conflicts more effectively.
What is EQ in leadership?
To begin with, leaders with high EQ are considered better change agents – they are better at connecting not only with their team but anyone who has anything to do with their company. There is a huge misconception that only emotionless and ruthless leaders can get their teams to work and drive businesses forward. Everyone has a different personality and qualities. You don’t just have to portray yourself as a leader to the world; you need to be a leader from the inside. That’s how it works.
A business isn’t just about revenue generation and investments; it’s more about relationships. If you have a leader who shares a great relationship with the team, you won’t have any trouble. When you have a leader who knows how important it is to be emotionally involved with the employees, you will have more loyal employees who will happily stick with you for years on a stretch without complaining.
Leaders with high EQ see business as a love affair with their team members and other people involved. These leaders love what their work and the people they work with. These leaders lead by example, respect the values of everyone involved, build trust, are determined, are motivators, are optimistic, and are empathetic. They address the needs of their people and ensure that they do everything in their power to fulfill those needs. When you invest in leaders with a high EQ, you can expect great success in the long run.
Emotional intelligence allows leaders the power to make employees aggressively and collectively perform towards achieving a common goal. When the employees believe that their leader is on their side, they would listen to everything he says and do everything he asks them to. A great example of arguably the greatest leader in sporting history is Sir Alex Ferguson. He managed to stay at the helm at Manchester United for as long as 26 years and won everything there was to win in this period. How did he manage to do that? He was emotionally involved with every player. He managed some of the biggest egos in the sport and made them all believe that winning is a habit. No wonder he and his Manchester United teams were so successful.
#Financial Wellness Guide#Financial Planning Guide#Employee Retention Guide#Financial Stress#Employees Financial Wellness#Financial Wellness Platform
0 notes