Attendance management systems fulfill a vital role in many businesses, especially those who rely on shift work across multiple locations. This type of system enables you, as an operations manager, to maximise productivity, increase operational effectiveness, manage compliance, and enhance the payroll process by tracking and managing employee attendance and time.
Below we examine the different types of attendance management systems on the market, their features, and why EasyRoster is the perfect solution for your cleaning services business.
6 Types of Attendance Management Systems on the market
As mentioned above, attendance management systems allow you to manage your employees’ time and attendance, providing visibility across contract work and employee productivity. This enhanced visibility has the added benefit of alerting you to issues or problems surrounding overstaffing, understaffing, overtime, and absenteeism which could be impacting your business’s profitability. These solutions play a critical role within a business which is why you need to ensure you have the right solution to fit your business needs.
What do we mean by this? Simply put, all businesses are different and have different structures and needs, so you need to choose a solution that speaks to your specific requirements. This is harder said than done especially considering how many different types of attendance management systems are on the market. We take a look at some of the most popular options below:
- Manual System – manual recording has been utilised over the years as a standard for attendance and time tracking, either in the form of a register or excel document.
- Timesheets – timesheets require the employee to track and record the time they take to complete a specific task. This is specifically used for time management purposes.
- Mechanised systems – with this kind of system, inputs are utilised to automatically generate records related to the in and out times clocked by employees.
- Time cards – this is the new digital spin on the traditionally used punch clock. A timecard system automates time tracking using a timecard which employees will need to swipe.
- Biometric systems – are an innovative time and attendance tracking system that utilises facial recognition, fingerprints, eye scanning, and more to ensure that the right person is clocking in to the correct location.
- Proximity card readers – these tracking systems rely on different readers that will scan and identify employees’ cards. These not only track clocking in and out but your employee’s movements in the workplace as well.
From the above, it is clear that there are several different types of systems that are fit and built for specific needs and purposes. So how do you go about choosing the right solution for your needs? The answer lies in the features of the chosen solution.
What are the Key Features of Attendance Management Systems?
The needs of businesses within the cleaning services industry are unique to other industries as they need to track and manage the time and attendance of a large number of employees across various locations. This is just as complex as it sounds and comes with many challenges, which is why finding the right attendance management system should be a top priority. You may be asking what features should this type of solution include? We have put the ideal checklist below:
- Clocking in and out – this is a must have as employees will need to remotely clock in and out as well as register their breaks periods.
- Leave management – employees need to have a way to provide operations managers with their leave days so that when schedules are created, there is little chance of scheduling an employee who is on leave or sick leave. This system should make it easy for an employee to register as on leave or apply for special leave.
- Payroll integration – is critical to the effective management of elements related to employee payments, overtime, leave, paid time off etc. The system should automatically pull this scheduling information into the payroll system.
- Scheduling – this system should allow you to manage and create workforce schedules and rosters efficiently. This system should take into account your business contracts as well as your employee’s personal information.
- Reporting – reports provide essential information related to your business, including employee productivity, attendance data, absenteeism, overtime, work hours, labour costs and more. With this insight, you can make informed business decisions to better the business.
EasyRoster as an attendance management system – why it ticks all the boxes!
Adapt IT’s EasyRoster attendance management system is a superior workforce management software that provides the information you require to make the correct decisions regarding labour efficiency. While most workforce management software help companies manage their internal shift workers, EasyRoster facilitates the management of your shift workers at client locations. This allows you to:
- Maximise client satisfaction by ensuring that all client requirements are met according to the contract – this includes numbers per shift, grades per shift, skills required, allowances as well as rostering and posting per client location.
- Increase productivity – which is made possible by automatic scheduling and attendance, clocking technology integration, payroll systems integration, managing spare/excess personnel usage and more.
- Minimise wage costs – through forecasting, essential elements relating to under and over staffing, overtime hours per person and location based on the roster, non-productive hours, and profitability per location can be identified and managed effectively to improve operations to minimise wage costs. This solution also provides reporting on elements to ensure you are reaching all of your KPI’s based on rosters (future) and attendance (past).
EasyRoster has been developed specifically for use in industries that rely on shift work such as the cleaning services industry, so it is 100 percent fit for this purpose. For more on attendance management systems, like EasyRoster, its features, and how this software can positively impact your business and productivity book a demo.
As a Senior Product Manager at Adapt IT, I lead the division responsible for one of our flagship products, EasyRoster. Our primary focus is to empower organisations with top-tier Workforce Management Software, enabling them to optimise operational efficiency and streamline processes.
With over 12 years of experience in the industry, I have collaborated with clients across 25+ countries, delivering training sessions and offering labor efficiency consultations to diverse groups of professionals.
In my capacity as Senior Product Manager, I oversee a multidisciplinary team that together, strive to create innovative solutions and maintain our commitment to excellence in the realm of workforce management.
