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The Complete Guide to Timekeeping & Attendance
Table of contents
Chapter One: Ease of Use 05
Chapter Two: Mobile Trends 08
Chapter Three: Ease the Pain of HR 11
Chapter Four: Give Management Increased Visibility 14
Chapter Five: Reduce Labor Costs & Time Theft 16
Chapter Six: Reduce Risks for Violating Labor Laws 19
Chapter Seven: Types of Systems 21
Chapter Eight: Why Zip Clock? / Conclusion 24
Introduction: 03
By: Danielle Richards
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Introduction
Keeping track of employees’ schedules and attendance can feel like untangling a ball of rope. When there are so many moving parts to consider, it’s easy to get overwhelmed. Think about it: how do your employees clock in and out? If it is with a physical punch card, it’s time we talk. This traditional system likely isn’t working for you, your managers, or your employees. You want greater tracking and accountability for your workforce, and you know it is a task that really consumes yours’ and your managers’ time. Fortunately, tracking employee time and attendance doesn’t have to be such a hassle. You’ve probably automated most other parts of your business and operations; perhaps it’s time to consider automating workforce management with time tracking software. In today’s business world, it is necessary to invest in a web-based time clock.
“Time clocks - with punch cards and a line of employees waiting to check in or check out of work - are an almost universal signifier of the modern industrial age. Punch cards, the physical paper type, are still in wide use, but as you might expect, a digital time clock may offer more flexibility when it comes to keeping track of employee time,” explains Jeffery Battersby, a regular contributor to Macworld and an Apple Certified Trainer.
Time clock software is revolutionizing the way owners and managers utilize workforce data. Managing your workforce and tracking time and attendance can go far beyond the punch card. Time and attendance software enables employers to keep track of attendance and schedules in real-time, regardless of the size of their operation. This reinvention of timekeeping is crucial, especially in light of the changing nature of employment, labor laws, and routines.
According to the U.S. Government Accountability Office, “In recent years significant changes in work place habits and technological advances have effected the manner in which time and attendance (T&A) reporting is accomplished. For example, more flexible work schedules and places, and the trend in government to streamline operations have provided a major impetus for changes in T&A systems. However, perhaps the most significant influence on these changes is advancing technology and the increased use of automation.”
The emergence of technology and automation in the workplace can have a positive impact of the way you and your managers track employee schedules and attendance, saving you time and money. With time clock software, you can access employees schedules in real time, reduce labor costs, avoid labor law breaches and penalties, reduce time theft, increase visibility and accountability, and streamline human resources practices.
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Chapter One: Ease of Use & Real-time Access
Time tracking software is now commonplace in the business world because of its intuitive contributions to tracking employee schedules and attendance. In addition, with the emergence of mobile devices, employees are used to using applications to streamline most areas of their lives. Many employees today expect their schedules, time, and attendance to be automated as well. Employees also want a fast, intuitive, and efficient way of managing their time, instead of filling out time cards and cumbersome time off requests. In response, many businesses are utilizing mobile-friendly time clock software to ease the difficulties and headaches commonly associated with employee time and attendance.
Because many employees today are already well versed in web-based mobile applications for managing other areas of their lives, many expect to find the same of ease of use when it comes to their work schedule. Time tracking software makes scheduling and attendance simple, personalized, and intuitive, leading to happier, more productive employees. What’s more, because web-based applications are such a large part of their everyday lives, most employees won’t require much training regarding the software to get up to speed.
In the face of the realities of time theft and buddy punching, many businesses are not relying on solutions that incorporate biometric scanners, SSN requirements, handprint readers, and even face recognition software. Unfortunately, buddy punching is a very real threat to your bottom line. This term refers to the scenario that one employee clocks in for another employee who is running late, or just trying to accrue some more hours.
Simply stated, time tracking software gives you increased internal control of your business. With real-time access, it’s all at your fingertips, no matter where you are. You can see who is working and when, who has requested a replacement, who didn’t show up, and who needs to take a mandatory break.
While software alone is helpful, it needs to be usable for employees. What makes an application usable? It should be aesthetically appealing, easy to learn and navigate, and intuitive design. If an application is confusing and difficult to use, employees will dread logging on, and may wish for the old system of time cards and punch clocks.
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If your employees are clocking in and out at a POS terminal at shift changes, you may notice groups of staff members waiting around the terminal for their chance. With a web-based time clock, employees have the ability to clock in and out from a variety of locations: a restaurant workstation, a freestanding time clock, or from their smartphones. If they are using their smartphones, you can be sure they are actually where they need to be with useful geolocation positioning.
In busy restaurants and retail locations, employees clocking in and out can cause long lines of customers at the POS terminal during shift changes. With a web-based clock, employees can clock in and out from a restaurant workstation, standalone clock, or from their mobile phone that uses geolocation positioning to ensure they are onsite.
With a simple solution, you can experience greater usability and ease of use, such as:
• Intuitive, aesthetically appealing dashboard
• Access anytime, anywhere
• Personalization
• Ability to integrate external content
• Information users want to see
Time tracking software empowers businesses to save time recording time and attendance, as well as giving them the ability to manage their workforce in real-time. From any location with Internet access, employers can access critical information about their employees. Time clock software gives employers greater control with access to reliable, accurate, and usable data.
According to the U.S. Government Accountability Office, “The primary objective of a T&A system is to ensure that hours worked, hours in pay status, and hours absent are properly reported. Reliable data are important to accurately compute and account for computed pay, leave, and allowances. To achieve this objective, management should have in place an internal control system. Fully automated systems, for example, may require fewer approvals than manual systems because of automated edits and controls, and the use of automated signatures.
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Chapter Two: Mobile Trends
It’s pretty clear: everyone is addicted to their mobile devices. Today’s workforce is used to smartphones and instant gratification, accessing information whenever they need to. But, without mobile accessibility, applications are useless.
To today’s workforce, outdated software appears cumbersome and irrelevant. Thus, it is critical that time tracking software is accessible on smartphones. Many employees keep their smartphones on them throughout their day, making it easy for them to clock in and out on their smartphones. Leverage this mobile trend and manage your workforce in real time.
Today’s workforce expects:
• Intuitive applications
• Personalized solutions
• Instant access
• Usable software
While accessibility is important, so is accuracy. When employees clock in and out from a mobile device, geolocation is required, meaning employees cannot clock in and out for one another. Employees are required to be located in the building in order to clock in and out. This ensures you that employees are located at work when they are on the clock.
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Time tracking software includes applications for:
• Clocking in and clocking out
• Submission of time-off requests
• Responding to employee requests in real time
• Leveraging smartphone GPS capabilities to track locations
With time tracking software, you can be notified automatically, via text message, if your employees are late. At the same time, employees are sent a text reminding them of their scheduled time. Traditional time and attendance is a thing of the past. Whether you are a start up or running a large corporation, time and attendance software will greatly improve your workforce management.
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Chapter 3: Ease the Pain of HR
HR is in charge of so many workforce management concerns, including time and attendance and processing payroll. With so many facets to consider, it can easily get messy.
HR managers spend a lot of valuable time analyzing data, pouring over time sheets, and following up with employees. Traditional time sheets are far from intuitive and make it difficult to maintain compliance and control.
Clean DataHR managers are in need of one system that integrates all time and attendance data in an organized way. What they really want is clean data representation, something that can only be achieved with time tracking software.
Not only does a web-based system prepare the data for HR, but it also reduces the risk of wasted money and attendance mistakes. These risks also involve inflated time cards and payroll errors. Inflated time cards are when employees add time to their weekly hours by having coworkers clock in for them, or they can say they arrived earlier in the day than they actually did.
With the ability to review and edit punches in real-time, HR can use their administrative credentials to remedy the error. HR is also given an audit trail of time and attendance practices, allowing for the review of employee practices and performance.
With time tracking software, you can pick up on valuable information, such as:
• Real hours versus scheduled hours
• Irresponsible or deceptive behavior
• Employees with habits of arriving late or running into overtime
• Optimal number staff for your restaurant
• Forecasted sales for the month, week, or day
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Review daily scheduled hours for each week ensuring accurate information flows into your payroll system when exporting and importing the report. With unbiased time tracking, you can now ensure accurate payroll.
By taking the guesswork out of the equation, you can empower your HR team to pay workers and bill for time worked with confidence and accuracy.
According to the U.S. Government Accountability Office, “Because most federal civilian employees are paid on an hourly basis (or fractions of an hour) and earn and charge leave on that basis, a complete and accurate record of the time an employee works must be retained as an official agency record available for review or inspection. To provide a basis for pay, leave, and benefits, the records must include aggregate hours of regular time, other time (e.g., overtime, credit hours, or compensatory time), and leave. To help ensure accuracy, the completed records must be reviewed and approved by the supervisor (or other equivalent official). In an automated environment, system edits and other automated tests can assist the supervisor in his or her review and verify that recorded work time is accurate and allowable.”
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Chapter Four: Give Management Increased Visibility
Management needs to know what’s going on, even when they can’t be on-site. By integrating timekeeping software into your business, management is given greater oversight of employee timekeeping and attendance practices. Many solutions, especially those fit for mobile devices, make it possible for managers to view who is on and off the clock in real-time. Timekeeping software keeps track of who has clocked in, who is missing, and who is nearing break or overtime. The real-time visibility allows managers to immediately call employees that may be running late, or to stop employees from breaching overtime. All a manager has to do is open the application on a desktop, POS, or mobile device and he or she can view exactly what the team is up to, boosting efficiencies and saving money on wasted labor.
Managers can have easy, real-time access to employee activities and practices. If a certain employee tends to come in late, or milk the clock, they will have access to the employee’s history to prove the growing trend. By automating and integrating workforce management processes, you can increase visibility and control of labor costs and mitigate compliance risk.
• Where is everybody? Now management has the ability to check the time clock, call employees immediately, and get a quick answer to why employees are missing or late
• Why all this overtime? Management can oversee when employees are nearing overtime, especially those who may be padding their paychecks. Some employees do this by doing side work on overtime: sweeping, wiping down tables, or folding napkins.
Data gathered from time tracking software is a single version of the truth, allowing you to integrate analytical tools to get instant access and visibility to make fast, accurate business decisions.
Knowing what your employees do, where they do it, and when they do it is absolutely essential in order to control your costs and make maximum use of your resources. With an automated time and attendance system, it’s more difficult for anyone to clock in for someone else, tack on hours that weren’t actually worked, or round up a few hours here and there on a manually entered timesheet.
Let’s look at an example of how this could work. Let’s say a team member doesn’t show up for work. It’s the last minute, and management needs to call in a replacement. To simplify the decision process, the Shift Management screen displays everything required to find the right replacement within moments. All available employees are listed with their weekly hours, projected hours to overtime and ACA violations, and their phone numbers. And a click on their name displays their remaining schedule for the week. It doesn’t get much easier than that. With the help of the cloud, you and your management team can quickly and easily look at attendance data.
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As one of a business’s major expenses, everyone in management is looking for ways to reduce labor costs. One of the ways you can reduce labor costs is by reducing time theft. Time theft is when employees gain extra hours and pad their paychecks through several bad habits. Time theft comes in the forms of buddy punching, milking the clock, and taking advantage of overtime.
Buddy PunchingBuddy punching is a common occurrence, especially on a staff with friends. Sometimes, an employee may ask a friend to clock in for them, either by manually entering an employee number or simply clicking their name on the POS terminal. Without biometric scanners or face recognition systems, buddy punching is fairly easy. Without these checks and balances, it is likely that employees will punch a buddy in that is running late, or perhaps just need some extra money in their paycheck. According to the APA, buddy punching accounts for between 2% and 5% of payroll expenses.
Milking the ClockMilking the clock occurs when an employee has been “cut” by management and yet, still remains on the clock. This can happen easily. Sometimes employees will eat a meal, linger and talk, or take a call outside, all while still on the clock. Timekeeping systems make it very obvious who is left on the clock, making it nearly impossible for employees to get away with stealing a tad extra cash.
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Taking Advantage of OvertimeSometimes overtime is necessary, and sometimes it is taken advantage of. Overtime typically means an employee is paid time and a half for their hourly work. Because of this enticing compensation, some employees may look to cash in without the effort, milking their hours in order to stay over time on a regular basis. While HR is often on the lookout for such deception, it can be difficult to spot with outdated methods of timekeeping. With traditional methods, there is no warning for management when someone has breached their weekly 40 hours or daily 8-hour overtime. Time tracking software shows a visible warning and can send a push notification to management when an employee has surpassed their overtime. If the employee has adequate reasons for working past the given hours, management can approve the hours, or if they realize an employee is taking advantage of the overtime rules, they can be properly coached or dismissed.
By further engaging the workforce with self-service time tracking software, you actively empower your employees, increasing employee engagement, improving satisfaction, and significantly reducing the number of manual transactions. The end result allows you to control labor costs, minimize compliance risk, and improve workforce productivity
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Chapter Six: Reduce Risks Associated with Violating Labor Laws
Labor law compliance is a crucial consideration for owners, operators, and managers. Violating labor laws comes with a hefty price tag, in the form of steep fines and penalties. By investing in time and attendance software, you can now eliminate the risk of breaching labor laws. Many time clock software applications have built in capabilities that make it nearly impossible for employees to breach labor laws such as overtime or break violations. Before employees have a chance to breach such laws, employers are notified in a timely manner, saving the company the risk of fines or lawsuits in relation to labor issues.
You can make sure employees are sticking to their schedules by tracking employee time at a glance. A countdown timer lets you know of a possible upcoming labor law breach so you can take action before a violation occurs. With intuitive software, you can now see how many hours your employees have worked and who is approaching labor law boundaries.
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Chapter Seven: Types of Systems
Businesses and organizations use a variety of systems to track time and attendance. Below you will find some common systems, along with their advantages and disadvantages.
Time Card A time card is the least expensive option. Simply put, it is a high-tech version of the old mechanical punch clock. Employees are issued a time card about the size of a credit card that they swipe on a machine similar to a credit card machine. Data is transferred automatically to produce computer-generated timesheets, eliminating all manual paperwork. However, a time card has the same flaw as the old punch clock: it allows for buddy punching. It’s easy for a dishonest employee to swipe a coworker’s card when they are running late or just want to accrue some extra hours.
Proximity Cards, Badges, and Key FobsProximity cards, badges, and key fobs eliminate the need for swiping. The employee only needs to pass the identifying card, badge, or fob in front of the reader, without actually having to insert it. In many cases, proximity cards track an employee’s movements throughout a facility, not just when clocking in or out.
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Biometric ReadersBiometric reader systems are expensive, costing more than time tracking software. While they are expensive, they do eliminate buddy punching because each employee is identified via a unique fingerprint or handprint. Some of these systems use eye-scanning equipment, while others use facial-recognition software.
Web-Based Login Stations Web-based login stations are best suited to situations where employees work mostly from laptops or personal computers. A static IP address is triggered every time employees log in to their computers, thus providing a digital “punch-in.”
Interactive Voice Response (IVR) Interactive voice response is primarily used by companies with employees working in the field or at remote locations. Employees clock in by simply calling in over a landline or cell phone.
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Chapter Eight: Why Zip Clock?
So, now it’s clear by now that you need time tracking software. Let’s take a look at the benefits of Zip Clock.
Zip Clock:
1. Mobile integration for Android or iPhone
2. Scheduled versus real hours
3. Biometric (fingerprint) scanner
4. Monitor shifts against labor laws
5. Enforce schedules
6. Increased visibility: who is on, off, on break, nearing break or OT
7. Intuitive Dashboard
8. Real-time status
9. Quick clock in process
10. Geo-location ability
11. Review, edit and approve punches
12. Add notes
13. Audit employee practices
14. Quickly notice/contact missing employees or break violations
With Zip Clock’s intuitive clock dashboard, you can view the schedule status of all your employees in one place. See who’s shift is upcoming, who is clocked in, about to clock in, currently on break, or about to end their shift.
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With Zip Schedules, you can easily make adjustments to an employee’s schedule right from the clock dashboard. Adjust schedules by reassigning future shifts if an employee is projected to violate weekly overtime and affordable care act laws.
It happens, people forget to clock in and go right to work or they forget to clock out before leaving at the end of the day. Zip Clock lets you decide if you want to allow employees to edit previous punches within the current payroll period. Of course, all edits are subject to manager approval. Be prepared for audits with Zip Clock and track all employee time punches and edits. Know when punches are edited and see a history of all applied changes.
Zip Clock saves money by prompting you before labor law violations occur, allowing you to be proactive rather than reactive to changing conditions. Avoid pesky labor law fines by quickly suggesting breaks or clock outs when an employee approaches a break or daily overtime violation.
With our Employee Performance Report, observe your employee’s performance over a selected time period with respect to labor law and schedule violations while comparing actual versus scheduled hours.
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