Employee Attendance Tracking

Last week, I met a few of my friends and while discussing our work conditions I was surprised to know that they do not have the social networking sites blocked at their offices, and their time & attendance software is not as strict as hours. They are often late to work and never get penalized; they also leave early without anyone noticing, not to mention the long lunch breaks. Our employee attendance tracking software gives the supervisors complete access to our computers; they can see all our mails, contacts, work progress etc. The biometric time clocks put buddy punching completely out of the picture. We have them breathing down our necks 24/7. Nevertheless, the question that came to my mind was why don’t companies block social networking sites at work? And should the organization deduct for the time spent on these sites?

Well, if we look closely there are pitfalls as well as advantages of having social networking at work. To begin with, it gives the employees a slight break from the day to day humdrum, and a chance to chat with their friends, family colleagues etc. It will create a light-aired environment in the office, and cheerful employees are guaranteed to give better quality of work. Besides it can also be a PR tool for the business. They can have a company page, such as those on Facebook, and post their recent activities and photos. This will help attract new clients and potential employees as well. It can also give you a closer insight into the lives of your clients or associates, and help you tackle them better.  The social networking sites also act as an information gathering tool. You can have access to information regarding your rivals as well; this will also not be unethical, as it is posted there for everyone.

And if you look at it from the other end, the social networking sites are pretty much a distraction; the teenagers are hooked on them all the time and I think same goes for the adults. They provide games, explicit content etc. For instance, the games on Facebook are addicting. Take Farmville; if you don’t harvest your crops they will wither, so you have to harvest them on time. This means you have to keep checking the time, leave your work and then harvest AND then plant new ones. Time consuming much? Too much time spent on these websites eventually kills the productivity. Furthermore, a negative post from a staff member

can completely destroy the image you have on your clients.

So what should be done about this? Should the time and attendance system penalize them for it?  Honestly, I would say no. A good time tracking software can help you limit the number of hours people spend on these sites, say for thirty minutes during the lunch hour. You can not completely ban it. If you have your employee attendance tracking customized to do so, they still have their phones; and let’s face it; everyone has blackberries or other smart phones. They can access it through those, so isn’t it better they do it under your watchful eye? The company is already monitoring their time and attendance, penalizing them for being late, undue leaves etc. But, then it is also up to the employees to be regular and comply with the rules of the office.

 

time and attendance systems scheduling software

Incoming search terms:

Related posts:

  1. Is the employee’s age a factor in employee attendance tracking?
  2. I Think That Employee Attendance Tracking Is Important For Company Moral
  3. Will the digital generation embrace employee attendance tracking?
  4. Time and attendance tracking is also about absence tracking
  5. Employee Attendance Tracking is the Bain of my Existance