Tracking Employees' Time and Attendance

Whether you are a small business, kiosk, or corporation, tracking employee time and attendance is essential. Employers want to be sure that they're keeping accurate records, staying within budget, and remaining compliant with labor laws. Generally, employee absenteeism affects productivity, morale, and performance. 

On the other hand, a comprehensive attendance policy and the right time tracking and attendance system boost staff morale and increase business performance. Even though employee time tracking and attendance monitoring are important, it can be overwhelming to figure out the best option for your business. 

What Is Employee Time and Attendance Tracking?

Time and attendance tracking refer to the practice of keeping track of the number of hours every employee in your company works. This entails recording the time every employee starts working and clock out. For employee time and attendance tracking to be accurate and reliable, you must consider all the breaks your employees take throughout the day. 

Before, employers would track employee time and attendance by having them sign when reporting and leaving work. Some would have employees clock in and out using a time card. These methods are outdated because of automation. There are more efficient methods of tracking employee time and attendance. 

Ways to Track Employee Time & Attendance

The following are some of the best ways to track and record employees’ time clock in and out in your company:

Time and attendance software 

Tracking employee time and attendance in one centralized system offers great value to companies. This explains why time and attendance software is one of the most effective ways to track employees’ time and attendance. Time and attendance software is a one-stop shop for all things attendance tracking and employee scheduling. 

With this software, employees can clock in when they start working and clock out when they’re leaving with a web-based attendance solution that incorporates GPS and photo verification. Since all the time data is stored in the cloud, employees can review the hours they’ve worked, accruals, and available time-offs. 

Your employees can sign in from any device, and you can also configure real-time alerts to stay updated about what is going on with your company. Additionally, employers have access to detailed reports that they can use to streamline workforce management. 

You can quickly approve shift swaps, PTO requests, and timesheets using the time and attendance data. Such features make the software the best option for companies with employees who travel a lot, work remotely, and have different pay periods. Approvals happen faster. 

Geofencing technology 

Another effective way of tracking employee time and attendance is by pairing GPS location tracking with geofencing technology. This makes it more convenient for employees to track time upon clocking in and leaving the workplace. Pairing time tracking software and geofencing enable employers to set virtual geofences around workplaces. 

Therefore, when employees enter and exit the geofence, the time tracking software prompts them to sign in and out again. This technology leads to fewer timesheet edits and discourages buddy punching (using your employee’s time card to clock them in) at the workplace. In the long run, this contributes to a much better time and attendance tracking experience for everyone involved. 

Time tracking mobile apps 

Using mobile time tracking apps is a great solution, especially for employees who work remotely and visit multiple workplaces in a day. With these online time-keeping apps, employees can clock in and out from anywhere using their mobile android and iOS devices. Time tracking becomes a self-service activity.

The best part is that when employers pair these mobile apps with GPS location technology, it can help them curb buddy punching and time theft. This also lets employers know who is on the clock and where they're working. This ensures that employees are at the workplace when they're supposed to be. 

Employees can simply submit their timesheets from the mobile tracking app when running payroll systems. It is a simple process that does not require data entry.

This guarantees that payroll records are always accurate. It also makes payroll processing faster, so employees are paid on time. However, since employees can sign in and out from anywhere, you want to ensure that you offer this feature only to trustworthy employees. 

Biometric systems 

In recent years, biometric systems have emerged with new technologies that make tracking employee attendance and time easier and more convenient. The new time and attendance systems work by facial recognition, reading the iris or pupil, and fingerprint to verify an employee’s identity. 

The biggest advantage about these systems is that they offer security which explains why tech companies widely use them. However, they tend to be more expensive than other alternatives used for tracking employees’ time & attendance. 

Benefits of Tracking Employee Time and Attendance to Businesses 

• It prevents buddy punching and tardiness.
• It helps human resources with employee scheduling and attendance management.
• Using GPS ensures location accuracy.
• It helps employers stay compliant with agreed pay rules and documents such as the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).
• It helps employers understand employee productivity and demand to adjust HMC practices. 
• It helps businesses control labor costs.
• It helps employers monitor unauthorized breaks during employee hours.

Summing Up 

As an employer, you hire your employees intentionally. You want to ensure that your workplace has people who can get the job done and help your business grow. If there is no proper time-keeping method at your workplace, it will affect your company’s productivity and operational costs. However, when you implement the right employee time and attendance tracking technology (at an affordable price), you’ll enhance teamwork, eliminate unusual absences, increase productivity and boost morale at the workplace.