When things were normal and people were working from the office, it was easier for managers to track and supervise their employees’ performance. However, remote employee time tracking software has not been used for a long time since employees perceived them to be intrusive.
But, with the work-from-home culture growing in prominence, monitoring and tracking employees’ time through such methods has become crucial for the companies. Using integrated time clocks has many benefits in this scenario. The employee time clock prices vary as per your company’s size and needs.
Some businesses can function without ever tracking their employees’ time, but it is essential in the service industry. Companies that provide a service to their clients mostly charge them an hourly rate and pay their employees hourly rates too. Hence, to accurately generate invoices and payroll, using various time-tracking methods becomes important.
Moreover, managers can better understand their team’s workflow by assessing the time taken to complete a task. This can help them take steps to improve employee efficiency, thereby increasing productivity and profitability.
It also enables you to make hiring decisions as you know how many employees you need to complete a project. It also helps you adhere to labor laws by ensuring that overtime is paid fairly and employees do not work more than the mandated hours.
There are plenty of benefits of tracking and monitoring employee hours, and here are some of the methods you can adopt.
1. Pen and Paper
Not the most advanced method on the list, but it does the job well. It is best to use this method when you do not have internet service and overall less access to technology.
This method can be used by employees who work outdoors, make house visits, etc. They can keep a record of the time taken to complete a specific task or time their shifts. The pen and paper method might not be the most preferred by the businesses, but it does the job, and it is the cheapest and easiest way to track the time.
Moreover, you can always use tools like Microsoft Excel to maintain a comprehensive record of the employees’ time. Using Excel, you can even calculate the number of hours worked and generate payroll accordingly.
2. Time Clocks
These are basic software that enables the employee to clock in and clock out. These time clocks often come in the form of a desktop app or kiosk app. If your company opts for the kiosk, you can set it up in a common area where employees can clock in and out. But using desktop apps is much more convenient for the employees.
Moreover, adapting the desktop app is as easy as simply downloading an application and using it. You then assign login credentials to each employee that they can use to log in and out. In addition, most apps have seamless integration with payroll systems and allow you to access performance reports.
Such tools of monitoring and tracking time also allow you to export the data for internal purposes. Of course, the time clock prices and rates vary as per the number of employees, features included, etc.
In addition, there may be a negligible one-time cost to set up the systems, and most software or applications have easy monthly or yearly subscriptions prices that depend on the number of users.
3. Biometric
Biometric clock-ins are a broadly used method to track clock in and clock out timings. Biometric identification uses fingerprints or facial recognition to identify and mark employee attendance. This is a secure way of punching attendance as it eliminates other people punching for an employee.
Once you punch in, it starts keeping track of the hours spent until the employee punches out. However, using biometrics can prove to be expensive as you require more equipment, such as fingerprint scanners.
Moreover, to further export the data, you need to integrate it with the ERP system, thus requiring you to invest in ERP. However, while the biometric clock-in is a secure and reliable way to punch in, it does not track employees’ time spent on a specific task.
Biometrics can only be used to mark attendance and time spent in the office, but it fails to follow employees’ hourly time on specific tasks. Therefore, in order to do accurate payroll using biometrics, investing in a full-fledged ERP system becomes essential.
These methods effectively keep track of your employees’ time, mark attendance, and assist you in payroll and invoice generation. The pen and paper method and clock-in method are relatively more effective in tracking and monitoring employees’ time spent on a specific task when compared to the Biometric method. Some company also offer staff management software designed to save your time and money
