If you want to track your employee hours, there are several ways. You need to find the best method suitable for your business needs. Companies are emphasizing less on tracking employee hours in this era. Every business needs to manage ways for employee hour tracking. For instance, companies having hourly employees must track the employee hours for appropriate payroll numbers.
For the companies or business that does billing by project or client, the worked hours should be tracked to minutes. Even if the business doesn’t hold their employees to strict timings keeping track of how they spend their work is useful. When they know about the hours they spend on completing a task, employees will help them make smart and efficient decisions. There are many methods available nowadays for tracking employees’ time if you want to know how much time they are spending on their job site. Following are the best ways to track employee hours for your company.
1. Pen/ paper method
Businesses having poor internet connection or following traditional business methods can track employee hours using old-fashioned paper and pen methods. Here employees record their clock in time, shift timing, and clock out time. It is an easy no-fuss solution since it requires no training. It is the only way when there is patchy accessibility to technology.
2. Desktop/ kiosk time clocks
Time clock software comes in many types, such as Time doctor, which provides several ways for employees to track their time. One such way is a kiosk or desktop app. A clock in a designated station can be easily set using such applications where employees can track and record their time. Setting up a kiosk or desktop app makes tracking the employee hours more streamlined. It is easy to use and as simple as assigning PIN or ID numbers to employees for clocking in and out. Exporting time data related to employees to payroll can be done so that you can seamlessly pay employees.
3. Mobile apps
Mobile apps are a great way for tracking clock in and clock out timing for hours worked. It helps in tracking time for salaried employees by hours worked. A mobile app is an effective option provided by many scheduling software. If you set shift hours, the mobile app will tell you details about taking breaks during the shift hours and clock in and out. Employees can know the timing with the mobile app through their smartphone.
4. GPS tracking and Geofencing
Although a mobile app is a good option for mobile employees or those who travel between distinct job sites. However, geofencing Or GPS tracking provides a greater level of accuracy. For instance, clock shark is a time clock software that tracks the location of employees via GPS. You can set around your job site a geofence with the help of GPS tracking. The mobile time clock will send a clock-in notification when an employee arrives on the job site, and when they leave the site, the app sends a notification to clock out.
5. Biometric clock-in
There are biological features present in the system of biometrics, such as facial features or fingerprints, that verify a person’s identity. You can use biometrics for allowing your employees to clock in, and the time clock system tracks their working hours until employees clock out. It is a new technology in the market of time clock software. Fingerprint scanners are required for biometric identification. Biometric data with retina scans and fingerprints hold great value for companies that tracks employee time and controls access to and from buildings as well as department.
6. Browser plug-ins as well as URL tracking
URL tracking and browser plug-ins help know how your employees spend time during their working hours. If you want to track the time your employees spend working on computers, then use time clock software that tracks the URLs of employees. You can enable the time clock software to track your employees’ URLs. This will help break down their time spent on personal sites like Instagram, Facebook, and work tools. Knowing how employees are spending their working time, you can also plan for better ways to enhance efficiency in their work.
7. Get a cloud-based tracking software
Accurate and consistent attendance records lead to reduced labor costs. Companies nowadays look for a cheaper solution instead of purchasing expensive software. So they are hosting a time-tracking system in the cloud. Cloud-based system helps in resolving regulatory issues and offers a quick solution to enter hours. For instance – Buddy Punch is software that offers a cloud-based time clock solution that is suitable for businesses of any size. It comes with features such as – job costing, GPS tracking, time card approval, and PTO accrual. Employees can clock in by sharing their GPS location and using an authorized IP address. It allows employees to clock in with the help of different job locations and codes.
8. Adopting a tracking system that makes administrative and reporting tasks easy
The most challenging thing for most companies regarding time and attendance is the complexity of its use. Many tracking software cones either free trial that helps companies test-drive all the features. It is essential to track the system which offers the best solution related to the daily process. It must offer scalable and comprehensive functions. The best way to track employee working hours is to have a proper system that streamlines the process of time capturing. Accurate tracking is helpful in meeting regulatory requirements as well. Using an automated system to track attendance and time and reduce errors is important.
9. Wall mounted Card Swipes
Many companies use wall-mounted card swipes to track their employee working hours. This method is an updated and modern version of the punch card technique. Employees get to access the clock-in and clock-out times by using their ID instead of using a timecard. The data related to their working hours and attendance are automatically transferred to the computer.
10. Utilize an effective Attendance Software that your employees will embrace
It provides excellent value to a company that maintains a centralized system to track employees’ working hours and attendance data. Employees can know from this system about their hours, sick leave, and accrued time. In this way, employees easily adopt the software.