The Bureau of Labor Statistics recently reported that employee absences are at an all-time low at just 3%. This drop is significant after a brief surge in absenteeism that drove the national average to over 5%. Several factors can account for this past rise, from the pandemic to workplace conditions.
A rise in absenteeism is a call to action. Start by surveying employees about their work experience, wellness, and daily transportation. You may find that employees need a boost in morale, a work-sponsored wellness program, and remote work options.
Updating software with cloud time and attendance tracking is also crucial for lowering absenteeism rates. It can also identify idle time blocks which could use a better productivity strategy.
Discover more benefits of workforce management software for employee engagement and productivity.
Improved Employee Time Tracking With Time Clocks
Are your employees still punching traditional paper time cards? Are managers using paper schedules to keep track of monthly attendance?
Many computer-based time cards are even falling behind the latest software.
Employee tracking software must be updated with the latest integrations for the following reasons:
- Accurate payroll reporting
- Productivity time gaps
- Expense tracking
- Vacation and sick time tracking
- Paid time off (PTO) accounting
- More time-clocking options (web-based, mobile, etc.)
- GPS tracking for field employees
- Cost-effective scheduling
Cloud-based attendance apps integrate all of the above features (and more) into one user-friendly dashboard. This dashboard can be adapted to all workplace environments, from on-site offices to field work for traveling employees.
Optimize Productivity With Cloud Time and Attendance
As you know, time is money. Let’s start with manual employee tracking itself. Think about the time it takes to sift through paper schedules, input hours into the system, and manually write new staff schedules.
Instead, automate the above processes to eliminate wasteful scheduling errors that put too many (or too few) employees on the schedule. Data insights from real-time attendance monitoring can reveal idle time blocks that can be better spent or eliminated.
Integrate your POS (point-of-sales) software with your TimeTrak platform to reveal opportunities for improvement in productivity and sales.
First, generate average sales rates for employees and customers with your POS system. You can do this for a specific time window for easier analysis. Next, generate an employee attendance and scheduling report with your attendance software.
Cross-compare the data to discover opportunities for improvement.
For example, understaffed workplaces risk losing customers (or clients) who don’t receive attentive service. The average sale per employee (for that schedule) may be higher but the average sale per customer will be lower.
An overstaffed schedule will result in a lower average sale per employee. More people on staff may result in a higher average sale per customer due to more attentive service. However, you still have to pay for idle time from an overstaffed schedule.
Data insights from TimeTrak will help you strike the perfect, cost-effective balance necessary for higher average sale rates for employees and customers.
Adapt to a Versatile Workforce
Does your company feature a range of on-site employees, multiple locations, traveling employees, and remote workers? Likewise, do job descriptions run the gamut from office administration to trucking fleets?
Conveniently, cloud-based time clock software features multi-device, web-based time clocks with facial recognition capabilities. This process is even more secure than typical passwords.
Suppose you run an eCommerce, produce, or consumer product company and have a trucking fleet department for deliveries. Drivers can simply log into their work dashboard through a mobile app with facial recognition. Hours are logged instantly.
TimeTrak also features GPS tracking that helps managers align workers’ hours with locations. This feature can help managers optimize productivity for each location or cut down on the time spent at each location to eliminate idle time. Geo-fencing capabilities streamline the automation process to improve accurate reporting for each location.
Like on-site employees, field employees may request paid time off (PTO) through their time card app. Employees may put in these requests through a self-service feature which is ideal for independent employees in the field.
Mitigate Remote Work Productivity Concerns
Remote worker logistics overlap with employees in the field. Some of the biggest concerns with remote work are idle time, productivity, and isolation. Remote employees need digital platforms and web-based work experiences that keep them connected with on-site locations; this includes video conferencing, agile workflow systems, and multi-feature team collaboration apps.
Cloud time and attendance software is instrumental in monitoring and measuring remote work performance. Idle time blocks can be addressed with improved wellness and collaboration strategies to combat isolation. Dashboards may be optimized to integrate more engaging features that empower remote workers in their roles.
Align With Your Payroll Department
Accurate payroll reporting is crucial for a company’s financial health and employee morale. All parties benefit when hours, PTO time, and salary increases are calculated accurately. Your payroll department should have access to the same employee time-tracking software as your management teams.
Payroll integration also helps mitigate human error and delays in payroll processing. If you outsource your payroll service, you can still use TimeTrak to calculate accurate hours and send those records to your servicer.
The self-service features ensure any PTO requests are communicated immediately. Managers are immediately alerted to the requests. Once approved, the PTO is reflected accurately in the employee’s accumulated PTO balance.
Track More Company Metrics
TimeTrak software helps leaders track necessary metrics for performance improvement and resource management.
Start by creating a database of company metrics to track.
Examples include:
- Daily attendance
- Employee retention (and turnover)
- Employee job performance
- Workload balance
- Sick days (absenteeism)
- Employee ROI
- Supply chain efficiency rates
Always look for ways to improve these rates through effective workforce management.
Discover the Benefits of Effective Time-Tracking
Don’t let an opportunity to improve fall through the cracks. Invest in cloud time and attendance software to reveal beneficial data insights into your current management strategy. Think about how this software can integrate with your current systems to improve productivity, payroll, and even innovation.
At TimeTrak, we’re passionate about tapping into the growth potential of new and established companies. Effective time tracking is instrumental to this growth. Founded in 1979, we have decades of proven experience and continue to innovate within the management industry.
Request a demo to learn how our product can help your goals.