Electronic Attendance System

Keeping track of the attendance time for employees is a time consuming task. Not only does this involve knowing how many hours each employee works, but it also requires allocating that time appropriately. It is extremely tedious when companies perform this essential duty manually.

The use of an electronic attendance management system can save time and money. Supervisors manage scheduling to ensure department duties are covered with the system. Additionally, it reduces errors made from manual calculations.

Why an Electronic System is Important for Companies

The workforce is one of the most expensive line items that impacts growth and productivity. As a result, there are two paramount reasons companies should install a system to manage employee time.

First, an electronic system increases the chance for accurate and reliable information regarding employees’ work schedules. An accurate system tracks employee attendance easily. The alternative is costly missteps in regulatory compliance, among other things.

Second, tracking attendance electronically makes labor supervision more manageable. Many of the negative aspects that follow unreliable and inaccurate timekeeping are eliminated. Below are three benefits that detail the positive sides to having a system to manage employee attendance.

Benefit #1: Reliable and Accurate Data

Manual timesheets were fraught with the potential of costly errors. Avoiding mistakes usually cost more in productivity when one employee was usually responsible for time keeping. Calculating and allocating hours worked for an entire workforce required sacrificing productivity.

An electronic system addresses these issues. The importance of reliable and accurate data cannot be overemphasized. Not only are employees no longer manually recording their time, but an attendance management system helps eliminate time theft.

Supervisors make an accurate assessment of employee work hours. They have the ability to address any issues before the problem worsens. Each time an employee punches in or out, data is collected electronically. Whether a company uses a biometric electronic time clock, mobile device or web browser, attendance information transfers in real-time.

Supervisors and managers can gather insights about the true cost of labor. This gives them a clear view on the health of the business.

Benefit #2: Increased Productivity among Employees

One thing that can quickly absorb company profits is low productivity. No one disputes manually entering hours worked each pay cycle is a laborious and tedious task. However, many companies continue to use this familiar process. On average, five hours per day is spent processing payroll in this manner.

Not only is this process prone to more errors, but a company experiences fewer financial successes. However, automating employee time with an effective system ensures time records are error-free.

An electronic format transfers data to outside payroll vendors. This gives employees more time to concentrate on their roles and responsibilities that produce results for the company. Manual reentry is eliminated. Time devoted to payroll decreases from five hours per day to less than 20 minutes per pay cycle.

Benefit #3: Improve Performance Management and Job Costing

Companies that remain competitive are the ones actively pursuing growth strategies while balancing costs. Time tracking systems designed with job costing and performance management features make these goals easier.

Money coming into companies should cover total costs for processing products and services. This requires a system that tracks:

• Quantity
  • Cost
  • Projects
  Performance management features enable managers to compare:
• Planned jobs
  • Budgets
  • Employee performance

Accessing this data in real-time gives managers the information they need to reduce costs, make improvements to budgets and boost employee performance.

Benefit #4: Develop a Strong Company Culture

Usually, culture is not the first consideration when deciding to implement an attendance management system. Yet, employees appreciate having access to their own information. Time tracking software that includes an employee self-service feature does contribute to morale.

Self-service tools empower employees when they feel a shared control of their information with the employer. This level of engagement helps to prove employees are valuable assets. The positive reflection on the company’s culture presents it as a great place to work. The energy of employees cannot be denied and is reflected in productivity metrics.

Features of a time and attendance system with a self-service module allow employees to take control of their schedules. Additionally they can view hours from previous pay periods. Available vacation and sick time is also visible for them to submit time off requests. Managers can easily approve time off, shift swaps and hours worked.

In conclusion, an electronic system improves the entire payroll and management of attendance for many reasons. It reduces time and effort for tracking hours worked. This system significantly reduces how much time is spent on processing payroll. A simple click on a few buttons sends data to managers and payroll processing systems.

Shuffling spreadsheets and paper timecards are no longer an issue. Cost-savings occur without payroll errors associated with underpayments and overpayments. One department is not burdened with tedious, but necessary, payroll tasks. Instead, companies see a greater return on investing in an attendance system that improves overall business results.