While some businesses live and die by the time clock, others aren’t sold on them. Employee time clock systems should reduce manual paperwork, but often create more problems, according to their critics. In a time when management specialists are urging employers to focus on goals, instead of time served, time clocks are getting a bad rap. If you’ve been wondering how to track time at your business while maintaining an eye on production levels, here’s the lowdown on how they operate.
Online Employee Time Clock Systems Are Convenient
In the early days of computer time clocks, employees queued up at central location to swipe in or out. While the times were accurately recorded, long wait times resulted in lowered productivity and coworkers commonly punched tardy or absent employees in and out. When problems did occur, the correction process was often overwhelming and wasteful.
However, improvements in computer software have changed the way that employee time clock systems work. They are scalable. Each employee can pull their own time clock up at their computer screen after they login, reducing the potential for unauthorized punches by friends. In addition, software available from Time Clock Wizard, for example, restricts the number of locations that your employees can login from making it difficult for employees to collect pay for days spent away from work.
Online Time Systems Drastically Simplify The Workload When Payroll Is Due
Employee time systems are increasingly flexible when it comes to generating payroll and reports. Clock in times can be rounded to six or fifteen minutes, and overtime time pay rates are matched to comply with state laws. Should an individual employee be paid at a variety of rates depending upon which job they are currently doing, it’s a simple matter to switch for accurate results.
This flexibility extends to reports. With programmable fields, custom reports tracking inefficiencies, tardy rates, or average hours worked per week on a company-wide basis are easily calculated at a touch of a button. In a competitive business environment, it is important to have ready access to real-time data.
Time Systems And Business Goals Don’t Have To Be At Odds
Management gurus urge employers to focus more on whether or not employees are attaining their goals rather than on how many absences or tardy times they are accumulating. But, a focus on goals doesn’t mean that time tracking isn’t important. In fact, when considering goals, it’s important to pay attention to multiple factors to uncover problem spots when an employee is under-achieving.
In fact, the ability to log-in from multiple locations increases job flexibility and engenders the kind of job satisfaction that pushes personnel to excel. Knowing that it is possible to clock out to run important errands and clock back in later in the day, while working from home, actually creates conditions where goals are easier to achieve. Companies that help their employees achieve a work/life balance experience a higher rate of employee retention.
Online employee time clock systems are technology’s answer for accurately and efficiently creating payroll in a scalable system that generates real time reports for flexible business operation.
