Employee time tracking: the golden rules

Employee time tracking is vital to every business. Accurate and timely data regarding this matter help business owners to process payrolls on time, calculate savings, to create employee attendance and time-off policies, and, finally, run their business in accordance with various regulatory requirements.  Besides choosing the appropriate time tracking and work management software, it is essential to apply certain strategies to ensure a smooth and effortless employee time tracking process. Here are the golden rules each employer needs to know.

Use a simple time-tracking formula

Undeniably, time trackers increase workplace productivity. However, using complicated, difficult to understand tracking formulas does not guarantee the desired effect and can only lead to doing more harm than good. If you need to decipher complex schemes and equations to receive the information on how effective your employees are with completing their tasks, you might lose a considerable amount of your precious time and get major confusion as the final result.

Hence, explore all your options in detail prior to making any final decisions on which employee time tracking tools to use. To check whether you need to introduce some changes in managing employee attendance, something as simple as mounted card swipes will serve the purpose. By making your employees clock in and out with their ID cards, you gain an insight into how many hours they work on a daily basis. Then, you can do research on the tools that can generate more detailed information concerning specific tasks.

Track remote employees as well

The development of technology has enabled an immense number of employees to work from the comfort of their homes. Tracking these employees’ hours is also necessary and can be achieved with a mobile attendance system. The information received in this manner is integrated with the payroll system to reveal the accurate working hours of remote employees. Employers then confirm these hours by inspecting the data generated through a GPS-enabled company phone so movements are tracked legally.

Make sure the hours worked are complete and accurate

Employee time tracking requires an advanced system that streamlines the entire time-tracking process. Only this type of a system that is followed consistently can provide the employers with accurate, most relevant information for payroll and other reporting mechanisms.

Automate the documentation process

To avoid unnecessary delays in the process of organizing all employee time tracking data, employers need a proper time tracking tool that automates the documentation process. All critical data will be available almost instantly, the chances to lose them are minimal, and, finally, this practice considerably saves employers’ time and energy.

Using an automated system is also important to ensure adequate and accurate recordkeeping. Any noncompliance with government regulations and internal policies can cause lengthy and highly expensive litigations all employers wish to avoid. Thus, accurate employee time tracking is imperative.

Use attendance software your employees can understand

Keeping the trust of the employees is one of the main concerns of every employer. Employees who feel safe, less pressured, and communicate openly with their employers are motivated to work hard and more likely to conduct the tasks properly and efficiently. Hence, a centralized system that enables both employers and employees to easily view and understand time tracking data is of great value to every company.

Making the critical information available to everybody is beneficial since the employees themselves can check their hours worked, accrued time, and sick leave completely problem-free. Also, the data are indicative to employees whether any changes to manage their time at work better are necessary and how exactly efficient and productive they are.

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Keep your employee time tracking data safe

Time and attendance software can be a highly expensive investment. Recently, an increasing number of employers have been involved in a continuous search for less costly alternatives. One of the viable solutions is to host a time tracking system in the Cloud. Namely, cloud-based systems are easy to navigate and yet they cover every aspect of employee hours in accordance with the relevant regulations.

If employers use timesheets and reports for time tracking, it is an intelligent decision to add their copies to Dropbox so as not to lose these important business documents. Locking the documents and making them editable or deletable for specific users only is also a reasonable strategy.

Keeping all the data safe is particularly critical during a commercial relocation. Finding relocation consultants for your company that are reliable, experienced, and knowledgeable enough to provide you with exceptional service is an overwhelming task. Knowing that all your documents are safe and cannot be affected by the process of relocation is immensely helpful.

Utilize the employee time tracking data smartly

Regular analysis of the employee time tracking data enables employers to optimize the work of a company and gain some new, unexpected insights. For example, time tracking data can show that the company spends a lot of time at client meetings. If this initially wasn’t on the company’s pricing list, the employer may realize that a change in this matter is logical and reasonable and add client meetings to the billable services. Eventually, this will pay off in the long run as the company will earn a higher profit.

Even analyzing timesheet data can provide a genuinely huge revelation. Some project managers find this task very exciting as they can clearly see the productivity of their team and make some necessary changes. Most often, the first step involves eliminating those time-consuming tasks that do not bring significant results and maximizing those that are profitable.

Final words

Employee time tracking practice has numerous benefits employers are still discovering. Practices are constantly evolving and improving so as to provide companies with maximal results. Generally, it is vital to follow the latest trends, frequently analyze the available options, and introduce any changes when necessary to be able to test the productivity of your employees at all times. Also, remember that employers and all the employees make a team, so utilizing a centralized, easy-to-navigate, and use time tracking system is always the best choice. Our suggestion: signup with 14Dayz to create your time tracking account (with a first month free of charge).