Time and Attendance Systems

time and attendance systems

Using workforce management software in a supply chain company

11 months ago
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Supply chain is defined as a coordinated system of individuals or businesses that are involved in all stages of product or service delivery from one end (supplier) to the other (customers). Workforce management in supply chain means dealing with the process of planning, implementing, and controlling the operations in a way to satisfy and meet the needs of the customer as efficiently as possible. Is a time and attendance software really applicable to a supply chain company?time and attendance systems

Workforce management is crucial to every industry, particularly for those software and consulting firms, where much of their revenue is generated from the assignment of highly-skilled professionals.  But it is even more crucial in the outsourcing environment.  Therefore, it is important to ensure hiring and assigning right people at the right time for the right project with the right cost, and then comes the job of keeping tabs on them. However, we have technology to thank; the developers now allow the time and attendance systems to be tailored to such an extent, that now employee attendance tracking are even possible for supply chain companies.

Before switching my job, I was the HR head at a supply chain company, and the workforce management software we used was phenomenal. It did all the tasks accurately; well, no wonder, it did cost a fortune to be installed. From purchasing and purchasers to the delivery of the manufactured products it kept records of everything. The time and attendance of the office workers, the amount they spent on raw materials, the hours the assembly line workers spent in the factory, the time and cost of delivery etc.

The biometric time and attendance system we had eliminated any possibility of buddy punching. Everyone had to sign in on time, or be penalized. The company phones gave GPS locations, plus GPS tracking devices were also installed in the vehicles. Knowing the location of any individual was not a big deal. Managing a supply chain workforce is much harder than organizing any other, there are hundreds of people whose time and attendance records have to kept, payments made accurately, and all this has to be done while keeping in mind the company savings.  The workforce management software was integrated with the payroll system, making the job a lot easier. All the data was updated and calculated automatically, including the important figures, such as company benefits etc.

You see, in today’s world of computers, you can have a time and attendance system designed to do everything. But still, God created man with an edge over computers. People can still find their way around them. Therefore, you can rely on the time and attendance system till a certain extent, but after that you have to build the trust relationship with your employees.

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Time and Attendance Systems

Time and attendance systems within HR systems

12 months ago
by admin in

Time and Attendance Systems

The basic purpose of the time and attendance system is to assist organizations in effectively managing the working hours of the employees. An efficient time tracking software can help you monitor your workforce and utilize it to its full potential. These programs play a crucial role for all businesses today.  The time tracking software automates and simplifies timekeeping and human resource management.

Companies can benefit significantly from web based time and attendance programs. In this age every company aims to reach more and more customers every day, which leads to many companies reporting from field. There are also many home-based employees that work and report from home. Although these ways are very convenient, they certainly complicate recording time and payroll processing. The web-based time and attendance programs allow employees to log in and record their hours from anywhere in the world, where an internet connection is available. Because it is a computer program, it has many advantages; for instance, it automatically calculates the number of hours worked and the amount to be paid. Besides, recording data using the employee attendance tracking software is faster, and more reliable. The program controls the data that is being entered and cross checks for accuracy.

Perhaps, the best way that a time and attendance software helps any organization is reducing buddy punching. Biometric time clocks verify the person by scanning their body parts; this means no one can sign in for anyone else. Moreover, these systems can be installed anywhere, such a s construction sites, factories etc. The software keeps perfect records of timings; you can easily know when someone is late, and have them penalized. This way you only pay the staff for the time they work, and increase your savings. The time and attendance program also help you in scheduling. It assigns the tasks to the employees robotically, and keeps track of their progress. Everyone then knows they have to complete their tasks on time, and saves you the additional cost of overtime.

Furthermore, you can have your time tracking software customized to suit your needs. There are number of features that the vendors offer now. Through GPS navigation you can know their locations at any time. It allows you to have complete access to the staff’s computers, as well as their cell phone; their emails, contacts, messages. Nevertheless, I think that is invasion of privacy. You should trust your employees enough not to spy on them.

The modern time and attendance systems have completely taken over the paper time sheets and mechanical punch clocks. The swipe cards are now becoming rare as well, as all the employers are trying to have the biometric time and attendance systems.  Finding the correct time and attendance software can be a pain and learning to operate it is a bigger frustration. This is why most companies now give you a free trial version and also provide training sessions to help your administration learn to use the system.

 

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How employers like using hand scanners with time and attendance systems

1 year ago
by admin in
Time and attendance systems

time and attendance systems

Initially time and attendance systems were mechanical punch clocks. These were crude machines that printed or punched, dates and times on a card given to the employees. However, overtime the needs of the employers changed, and mechanical time clocks were replaced by electronic ones, that used magnetic stripe cards. After that came the proximity and swipe cards. However, a common problem with these machines was buddy punching. Buddy punching is every employer’s headache these days; it is when employees have their colleagues sign in or put in attendance on their behalf. These workers are then not penalized for being late, leaving early, having long lunch breaks etc. This costs both small and big businesses thousands of dollars. Nevertheless, developers have come up with the perfect solution- the biometric time and attendance systems.

Hence, employers now have the biometric time clocks installed along with their time and attendance software. These types of clocks use the person’s unique physical attributes for verification and recognition; the touch based biometric devices are the most user-friendly. Most commonly used are the fingerprint, hand and retina scanning clocks. The hand punching biometric time clocks uses scanner to verify the employees on the basis of each individuals hand’s size, shape etc. Biometric scanning devices are becoming very popular today and are largely favored by all business owners. Even though the installation cost might be too much, they have a number of advantages.

Most importantly, as I have mentioned before, they eradicate buddy punching, as no two individuals have the same hand print impressions. Moreover, the data saved by this type of time and attendance programs cannot be lost. Earlier, when time sheets were used, and a single piece of paper got lost, it was a major problem. Now, the data is stored electronically in the computer’s database, and chances of losing it are minimized. Also, a large number of data can be stored. Other than this, the biometric hand scanner uses a digital clock to record the employee’s timings, so there is no way to tamper with the data. The workers cannot argue that they were on time, and the records are flawed.

The biometric time and attendance programs reduce the administrative and overhead costs associated with time cards. These are also faster and make further processing easier. The time and attendance systems are programmed in such a way, that when the employee logs in and out, the information is sent directly to the main database. The software then automatically updates the employee information and calculates relevant figures like hours worked or the times they were late. The data will then help the management when over viewing the person’s profile or processing the payroll. The hand scanners and other biometric devices are most beneficial for the companies with several different locations, even remote ones, as these time tracking software can be installed anywhere.

 

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Some employees don’t like time and attendance system

1 year ago
by admin in
Time and Attendance Systems

Time and Attendance Systems

The basic concept behind time and attendance systems was to make the employers’ job easier and make timekeeping easier. They are paperless systems that automatically collect and evaluate the working hours and other important employee and company related information. The time tracking software automates and simplifies the human resource management. Besides this, the scheduling software can also interact effectively with the payroll system. In a very short period of time these programs have gained a lot of popularity and are now employed in sectors including healthcare, transportation, government, manufacturing, financial services and even in some schools!

At first time tracking systems were only associated with the blue collar workers, such as those working in the assembly lines, or the manual labor for tedious jobs. However, over time due to the impact of legislation and the vast advancements in technology they are now used for a number of jobs. For instance, employee scheduling, job pricing, project tracking, limiting access all are done with the help of time tracking software. The employee attendance tracking software record the data accurately, leaving no room for loopholes; the biometric time and attendance system does the job best. The system records the exact number of hours the employees work. Besides this, they also make deductions for the late comings and the lunch hours. It is then easy to catch any employee who is not punctual, or people who have friends signing in for them. Because of such practices I have started penalizing my staff, and even fired a few whose practices were getting out of hand. No wonder, many employees are against the time and attendance system.

Most of the time tracking software also allow the employer to know the exact location of the employee any time of the day or night. This has gotten many workers in to trouble. While they say they are sick and at the doctors, they are actually munching away on a burger somewhere, while watching a movie. Furthermore, the employee attendance tracking software allow you to keep track of the projects your employees are working on, while having complete access to the their computer. You can now know if they are working or searching useless things on the internet. Another key feature of the time and attendance software is they allow you to restrict and monitor who has access to what kind of information within the system. They are completely secure and keep company’s confidentiality intact. The possibility of a dishonest employee then leaking the information is then out of question.

The time tracking software have saved many large organizations from the trouble of scams and frauds. Additionally, these programs have also helped them increase the savings. Even though the initial cost of buying the time and attendance software, the required hardware and the training for the employees might be too much, think of it as an investment. Your employees are then going to be more regular, and working harder, knowing of the consequences that their actions can get them in to.

 

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Time and Attendance systems vary widely from one company to the next

1 year ago
by admin in
Time and attendance systems

time and attendance systems

Time and Attendance systems record not only the time and attendance of the employee, but also record other important information; such as the staff’s leaves, holidays, overtime, calculating the accrued profits etc. The time and attendance systems have completely replaced paper time sheets and mechanical punch clocks. Having scheduling software installed is no longer a technical job. There are a number of vendors in the market. You can survey them, review their products and then decide which one will suit your needs. Or the smarter thing to do is to download a free trial form the internet to see which suits you best. Use a few of those first and then purchase. Time and attendance systems vary widely from one company to the next. The kind of software you are using depends on the nature of your business. As time has passed the software developers have learned the need for such programs, and have come up with programs with a number of different technical requirements which will meet each business’s own particular attendance tracking condition.

The smaller businesses usually employ the most basic type of time and attendance software. These sorts of programs only record the times when the workers log in and log out. These can either be time card packages or the swipe card system. These programs allow you to maintain record of all the employees. However, frauds such as buddy punching are very common with these systems. Many employees also do things, such as signing in in the morning and then leaving for the day; they then come back to sign out at the end of the day. These systems are suitable when you have very few employees, say about hundred at max.

The swipe card system is also used by larger organizations, but these companies have their time tracking software customized to fit their needs. The programs then keep track of the different projects the employees are working on, the overtime they are entitled to and also their locations. The employee tracking software keeps accurate records and allows reports to be emailed easily, saving the hassle of printing and then sending them across. They allow employees anywhere across the nation to have their working hours recorded. Moreover, they can be integrated with the intranet, allowing easy exchange of information. Most of the companies have their time tracking software co-ordinate with their payroll system to save them the chaos of entering the data manually. Furthermore, the records kept by these systems are more accurate.
Nevertheless, the biometric time and attendance systems are the newest technology, and perhaps the only one without leaks. They use a person’s biological attributes to identify them rather than a card. Examples of this include the fingerprint clock and the retina scanning clock.

When you are finding the correct the time and attendance system for your company, focus on the features that are your key requirements. If you can provide the vendor a clear picture of what your requirements are them it will be easier for them to produce an employee attendance tracking

software that meets your needs.

 

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How can time and attendance systems be improved?

1 year ago
by admin in

Nowadays, even though most organizations, regardless of their size, are completely dependent on time and attendance systems, they don’t give them the credit and attention they deserve. They are seen merely as the modern replacement for timesheets and mechanical punch clocks. Well, they offer much more than that, given that you have the employee attendance tracking software that suits your needs, and you implement it correctly. The manually processing timesheets have a standard error factor of 3%; the scheduling software is way more accurate. They can help you save up to 7% of your payroll annually. Overview your company thoroughly; are your employees coming on time? Are your clients satisfied with the quality of work? Is your business where you envisioned it? If you answered any of these questions with a no, your time and attendance software needs some improvement.time and attendance systems

Does your time and attendance software allow easy communication within the organization? Most of the systems can be integrated with the intranet that will allow your employees anywhere across the country to access the records easily. No wonder, technology has completely changed the way things are done. Time and attendance tracking program have the ability to display and record in real-time an accurate record of all employee data. The records and reports can be downloaded as well. The reports that had to sent across departments can just simply be emailed. A person is no longer needed to enter and transfer the data manually- manually entered data is usually flawed. All the time that was wasted sending papers from one place to another can now be spent working; and imagine all the paper, and money you are saving. If your time tracking software does not have these options, have it upgraded.

Another thing which I feel is important, the time and attendance program you are using must be easy to use, and it should record all the data you need. If you have to send your employees out of town for business, the program must be able to record the expenses being incurred on the company credit card. Or, have you issued your employees company phones? Then have your time tracking software customized to make sure that the phone bill does not include any personal calls. Furthermore, you can improve your time and attendance software by adding the tracking facility. This can especially be very helpful for the cleaning, security and home care industries, as the majority of their staff are remote workers. Having payroll systems integrated with the time and attendance systems is a fairly common practice now. It ends the chaos every month, and the staff can no longer argue about the hours they worked.

There a number of other improvements that can be made to your time and attendance system. However, you should be also careful at the time of purchasing your time tracking software. There is a wide variety to choose from. Review the vendor’s profile thoroughly; they should provide free upgrades, customer care, technical support, and modify the software as per your requirements.

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I Had Not Used Any Time and Attendance Systems Before

1 year ago
by admin in

There were times when employee time and attendance tracking was done manually on attendance paper sheets in companies, which lead to a lot of errors and frauds and especially “buddy-punching”.   Buddy punching is a concept whereby a person marks their coworker’s attendance, so that the manager doesn’t gets to know about his absence. This concept was highly practiced a couple of years back, just when the time and attendance systems were launched.

 

To give a basic brief, time and attendance systems are designed to monitor the time that the employee spends in their work. That is the time at which an employee has entered the workplace and exits the work place. These time and attendance systems basically helps a company to pay an employee the deserved pay, after analyzing the total work hours and extra time that he has been giving throughout the month. The time and attendance systems record the exit and entry time of employees along with the number of hours that a particular employee has worked and then prepares a summary of it which can be viewed by the managers by the end of a month. Numerous benefits have been achieved by the organizations that have used and are using the time and attendance system.

Our company did not use the time and attendance system till a couple of months back, but there were several hassles which we were facing since the last two years. Employees were found not being punctual, they were not giving the proper quality of work, clients started taking off their projects from us, buddy punching concept was being practiced and deadlines were not being met by the employees. De stabilization was at its peak. Then as a manager, I called a meeting in which I made a team that would find the reason for all this chaos. After investigation, it was been found that all this was happening due to high absenteeism.

I then decided to go for the time and attendance systems, which turned out to be miraculous for my organization. Right after some days of implementing, I found a drastic change in my company. Employees were found coming to work on time, deadlines were being met, and clientele interface started to increase and even the customer satisfaction level rose as never before. I did not have to search the time sheets just to summarize about the work hours of an employee, which took around one to two hours just to find out the working hours that an employee had accomplished in a month. Besides this, I also found my organization earning more than before, which could be due to the factor that employees now knew that the time and attendance systems have been initiated in the company. Thus, they cannot dodge on by telling the extra work hours which lead them to earning more wage than deserved.

Time and attendance systems are undoubtedly beneficial and can give a lot of reimbursements to your company.

 

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Is It Wise To Get Time & Attendance Systems From Payroll Vendors

1 year ago
by admin in

Before going on to the discussion about getting the time and attendance systems, we need to have a basic understanding about what actually a time and attendance system is and how it can benefit your company.

Time and attendance systems are certain systems that help a company to keep track of their employees. Time and attendance systems are considered to be more beneficial than the manual paper time sheets due to the following reasons:

  • Time and attendance software are more precise and accurate. There are fewer chances of errors, whereas there is a much greater possibility of errors in paper time sheets.
  • Time and attendance systems are easy to manage. You don’t have to fill your shelves in just to keep a record of the time and attendance of employees.
  • Time and attendance software require much less effort and exertion and take less time to manage.

Time and attendance systems also give a lot of benefits to your company such as:

  • By observing time and attendance, you will scrutinize and implement a punctuality factor in your corporate life, which would help you to augment your life style as well as lead to a better personality.

 

  • Your organization would be satisfied and happy with your behavior, which can lead you to a lot of benefits such as promotions, incentives and acknowledgment.

 

  • You are most likely to complete your work in time which reduces your stress level a lot. If you don’t observe time and attendance, you will be stressful throughout the day, which will affect the quality of work that you would be delivering.

To manage time and attendance, the first thing that you should do is to prioritize things. Make a schedule for yourself which guides you on what task has to be accomplished at what time. When it is time for you to go to the office, keep yourself free at least half an hour before, fresh yourself up and then leave for the work. This would help you to manage your time and attendance.

 

I think it is wise to take time and attendance software from the payroll vendors, because these payroll vendors have a huge experienced software development team, which has an expertise in these systems. Besides this, the rates that they provide you with are a lot lower than the typical market rates. These payroll vendors also guarantee you free maintenance in case a bug or a disruption happens in the software. These are basically four types of payroll vendors through which the time and attendance systems can be purchased:

 

  1. Manufacturers – these are the companies that basically manufacture time clocks. After this, they form and sell time and attendance systems to balance the hardware.

 

  1. Resellers – these are companies that wholesale the time clocks and systems established by manufacturers and the time and attendance software sellers.

 

Specialized Software vendors – these companies basically emphasis on emerging time and attendance systems solutions

 

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