Employees are undoubtedly the most valuable asset for any company and employers must do everything possible to make sure that their work environment is taken care of. The hard work they put in must be appreciated and reflected in business operations. Hence, management and HR personnel must track their time and attendance meticulously to add more to their overall productivity and efficiency. Unfortunately, manual timekeeping systems and paper time cards are hardly effective. They are prone to duplicate entries, payroll errors, and inaccuracies. Also, these outdated methods consume hours to produce monthly or annual reports for payroll purposes.
Therefore, modern companies are replacing traditional systems with sophisticated time and attendance software that streamlines workforce management. This employee self service software allows people to update and edit their information and tracks their working hours automatically. It addresses all the challenges faced by employers, management, and employees by creating a trusting and organized environment. Managers are assured of their team productivity while employees have a centralized system to mark their attendance and show their work. This fully integrated system also ensures compliance when it comes to payroll, benefits administration, and more.
Why Is Time & Attendance Software Important?
In simple terms, time and attendance system is cloud-based enterprise software development to collect employee information, such as:
- Total work time and days, including starting and ending time of shifts
- Time-offs and leaves
- Break and meal time
- Tasks and productivity for every department
Depending on the capacity and potential of the software implemented in your organization, it automatically records the data. Apart from managing basic information and work hours for employees, these project management tools can also help managers improve:
- Payroll accuracies
- Workforce management
- Scheduling and reporting
- Cost control
- Future hours projection and budgeting
With easy access to a centralized time and attendance system, managers have more control over each team member, their work hours, assignments they need to work on, deadlines to meet, and schedules.
Let’s understand the benefits of using time and attendance management software in your organization and what you can earn in return after implementing the system:
Accurate Tracking of Time and Work
This is the most vital and obvious benefit of advanced time tracking software as it minimizes the risk of human errors and conflicts that often lead to financial losses. It is a cloud-based system that collects the data in real-time and is capable of handling complex scheduling. Moreover, HR professionals no longer have to manage disputes regarding overtime and time-offs as it records the total hours of each employee. It also accommodates labor law constraints, shift changes, and employee preferences so workers are paid accurately for their time on the job while eliminating inaccuracies.
Also used as HRIS software for small business, it helps employers find the progress of each project and the duties that employees carry out. If a particular task takes longer than required, it is reported directly to the manager, indicating a problem. One can use it to identify the reason for the delay or material necessary to accomplish the task. Regular reports alert employers about setbacks that must be resolved at the initial stages, thus contributing to attaining a company’s goals.
Legal Compliance
Adhering to federal laws is primary for any business to run smoothly. However, staying compliant amidst all the workload can be difficult for employers and HR managers. Time and attendance tracking software use electronic and accurate records of employees to ensure that they are properly and correctly paid. It integrates with the payroll system to reduce potential slip-ups in tax filing and comply with all the government regulations while processing payroll across the organization.
It provides authentic evidence of the total hours worked by employees, considering all the leaves, time-offs, and overtime for increased HR management and administrative efficiency. With its easily available reports, you can verify compliance with labor laws and it also assists in internal and external audits. Taking care of safety audits, employers can prove that they can the right and enough employees on-site at the right time to get the work done.
Increased Accountability & Productivity
Paper-based attendance methods can work in small companies but as the business grows and so does the workforce, tracking information becomes chaotic. The right software for time and attendance tracking provides effective tools to managers, helping them to:
- Address and overcome workflow bottlenecks
- Review and improve remote working
- Bridge security gaps to keep away cyber attacks and breaches
- Understand the reason for reduced employee engagement and find solutions to resolve issues
- Reduce human errors
- Ensure employee access and authentication based on their roles
- Create accountability across various departments for improved supervision
Using an easy-to-use dashboard, companies can save time and effort to track employees. They can schedule work based on job requirements, eligibility, availability, etc., and duplicate it as well. Furthermore, employees can have a look at their data to find how they utilized their work hours which instills a sense of accountability in them.
Payroll SImplification and Accuracy
Today, most organizations employ a dynamic workforce that uses multiple clocking systems with remote logins, flexible time, work from home, and paid leaves options. Tracking employee time and processing payroll via manual methods can take weeks. This is made simple with a unified attendance tracking software that helps employers keep a check on the total time spent by employees on a specific task.
The system imports all the data and makes it easier for HR teams to create accurate and timely payroll. This reduces the burden to deal with the lengthy payroll preparation process and allows HR managers and administrators to focus on core and more productive tasks.
Easy Employee Access
Whether your employees are working remotely or in the office, lack of access to their records can cause frustration. A modern time and attendance software allows them to view their records, data, and progress on a single dashboard. They can check the total leaves left, medical treatment covered by their benefits, and make edits or updates to their personal data anytime.
The software comes with a self-service platform for employees to enable them to view schedules, access shift trade boards, and get reminders for upcoming events. From time-off requests to time cards and paid time offs (PTO) balances, they can check anything using a web-based portal or mobile app and can also report any discrepancy immediately to resolve the issue.
Reduced Costs to Manage Employees
Another appealing benefit of implementing time tracking software in your company is that it saves labor costs to a great extent. By customizing the software, you can control expenses associated with different projects and eliminate excessive overtime. Limit hours and allocate the time more effectively to stay aligned with the budgeted costs. It will automatically adjust time and inform employees when they run out of the deadline. It also proves beneficial as it reduces employee absenteeism and tardiness.
Moreover, it eliminated inaccurate data that often results in additional costs. So, when employees work overtime, it notifies the same so they are paid accordingly which boosts their morale. It correctly calculates the pay using exact data and hours spent by each employee at work and reduces late arrivals and time thefts, thereby saving a huge cost for employers.
Improved Employee Satisfaction
Yes, there can be a bit of resistance and confusion initially while trying to adopt a new software but soon employees will witness a positive change in the work culture which will lead to increased satisfaction. Make sure that the software is easy to use, quick, and responsive so workers are reassured of an efficient system.
Your workers work hard all day long and put in a lot of effort to reach the company’s goals. So, when it’s time to reward them for their exceptional work, this software will help you encourage them by removing inequalities.
Conclusion
By now you must have realized that employee time and attendance software is an integral part of effective workforce management. Irrespective of the size of your company, the system will ensure a smooth and successful business. It will track your employees, their progress, and work with utmost efficiency, thereby making it one of the best and most profitable investments. So, if you still haven’t adopted time tracking software, it’s time to make the change.
