A crucial function for any company that uses hourly workers is timekeeping. If you don’t, it will be challenging to determine appropriate wages for your staff. Time tracking benefits any company, not just those who pay their workers a salary. Better hiring and scheduling decisions, more precise monitoring of labor expenses, and increased employee productivity can all result from having a clearer picture of how salaried and hourly employees spend their time. Additionally, I’ll talk about a few useful features below.
Writing Implements
Timekeeping can begin the old-fashioned way, with pen and paper, if you prefer, or if you work in a location with spotty or no internet access. Record the date and time that employees begin and end their shifts. This analog device is simple and requires little training for employees, but it may not be the preferred method of timekeeping in every workplace.
Attendance Recorders on a Desktop or in a Kiosk
Various time clock programs provide multiple options for employees to punch in and out. A desktop or kiosk application is one example. With the help of this kind of program, you may designate a specific location where workers can clock in and out. One way to make time tracking more efficient is to provide designated spots where workers may clock in and out. Typically, all required to get this time clock up and running is to download an app and give each employee a unique ID number or PIN. Most of these tools also let you export worker hours for use with a different payroll system for streamlined payroll processing.
Programs for Use on Mobile Devices
Timesheets for hourly workers can be monitored in real-time via mobile apps, while those for waged or contract workers can be observed based on individual tasks. Most scheduling tools also provide access to their services via a mobile app. Thanks to mobile apps, employees can use their smartphones as a time clock or timer. Time and attendance software can allow workers to record or view their timecards on demand. Some can even remind workers to log in and out or even to take a break throughout their shift if they are on a shift schedule. It is possible to assign hours spent to specific revenue streams on the go if your staff members log their time based on particular projects or clients.
GPS Monitoring and Geofencing
Your mobile workers or those who must commute between several employment sites may only need a basic mobile app. However, options like GPS tracking and geofencing are available if pinpoint precision is required. A geofence can be established anywhere around your work areas using GPS tracking. The employee’s mobile time clock software will prompt them to clock in when they arrive on-site. Furthermore, they will be required to punch out of their shift if they leave the premises. GPS monitoring also allows you to verify employees’ time at the office and in transit.
Check-In via Biometrics
Identity can be confirmed by using a person’s biometrics, including fingerprints or a facial photograph. Biometric timekeeping eliminates the possibility of “buddy punching,” in which one worker clocks in for another. Employee time is automatically recorded by your time clock system from the moment they punch in utilizing a biometric feature until they punch out.
Tracking URLs and Additional Browser Add-Ons
A time clock application that tracks worker URLs or a timer as a browser plug-in is helpful if most of your workers’ work is done on computers and you want to learn more about how they spend their time. Timers are useful if your staff needs to keep track of time spent on various projects or for several clients. Employees may start and stop a timer with the click of a button, keeping track of their time spent on multiple tasks and automatically updating their timesheets. A time clock tool can also record the websites visited by employees as another means of verifying their time spent on the job. This will show how much time is spent on business tools versus social media sites. Understanding how workers spend their time allows you to spot inefficiencies in the workplace and implement fixes.
Conclusion
Gaining insight into paid and hourly employees’ time helps improve hiring and scheduling, labor expense tracking, and employee productivity. You can switch between revenue streams on the fly. GPS tracking can monitor employees’ time at work and in transit. You can put up a geofence at work with GPS tracking. If most of your workers’ work is done on a computer, a time clock tool that tracks URLs or delivers a browser timer may be helpful. Understanding how people spend their time can increase workplace productivity.