Workforce tracking software: why you need it

Workforce tracking software:

Did you know that while some of your employees are absolute champions while others spend two to three hours a day on texting, gossiping and social media?

How would you know without using workforce tracking software?

Time tracking technology cuts out waste, making it easy for your people to clock in, record their hours and activities, take the right breaks at the right time, and boosts the accuracy of Payroll.

To boot, day-to-day management takes up a lot of time and it’s challenging for managers or business owners to keep tabs on when their employees come to work, when they take lunch breaks and when they leave at the end of the day.

Adopting time tracking software is a good way to improve employee productivity and accountability.

Here are some tangible benefits to using time tracking software for your business:

Increased productivity

Employees who keep track of their hours develop improved time management skills while performing their duties, because they become more conscious of how they spend their time.

Managers are able to see which tasks are consuming too much of an employee’s time so that they can take action, or decide whether that task is of value or not.

Workforce tracking software helps the managing of employees to identify and eliminate activities or projects that aren’t crucial, or are not worth the time.

In addition, managers get insights into their workforce that can help them in their rewards and incentive programs, using these insights to motivate and inspire teams in order to push maximum productivity.

Time tracking software helps employees to feel that because their work is being tracked, their performance is not going unnoticed.

Transparency

Often, managers assign projects or tasks to their staff but do not realise the amount of time they take to complete.

Workforce tracking software allows an intelligent avenue for managers to examine their employee’s workload and either rearrange or redistribute tasks, or provide workers with the resources necessary so they can complete their duties quickly and efficiently.

Workforce time tracking software for companies helps management plan ahead and schedule the right amount of employees on the right projects or events, or during peak and slow days.

There are a plethora of examples that could be used to demonstrate how workforce tracking software helps companies. For example, some departments may think they are carrying the bulk of the workload, while other departments have far less to accomplish, and this tool provides a look at the overall picture; showing in real time which departments are doing what, and how much of it.

The software is a sophisticated way of human capital management, providing a clear and transparent view of employee schedules.

Punch out buddy punching

The traditional time and attendance solution is expensive and impractical in a day and age where we have software that is accurate, boosts productivity, and helps managers manage more effectively.

The accuracy that workforce time tracking software provides to all sizes of companies, adds tremendous value to the bottom line, especially because clocking systems using biometrics is like putting attendance tracking on steroids – it does not allow buddy punching.

In addition, many workforce tracking software is part (or ties into) workforce management software which allows for accurate reporting, alerts and real-time views on what’s up at each location where your staff are situated. If someone fails to clock in at a specified time, the operator’s system alerts management who can then take appropriate action.

For companies who make use of freelancers or contractors, time tracking software provides data on tasks completed and how long it took.

Saves costs

We would like to think that we can trust everyone, but unfortunately, that is not realistic. While each company has it’s champions, it also has it’s bad apples, for which the honour system will just not work.

As a company, your greatest expense is more than likely the cost of human hours, and you need to know that people are in fact doing what you are paying them to do.

The stats show otherwise…

Research from Salary shows that 89% of employees waste at best a little time at work every day. 31% waste on average 30 minutes, but a whopping 10% waste three or more hours every day through texting, gossiping, internet browsing, social media to name a few. What this means is for the business, is hours of unprofitable expense.

Now, it’s important you don’t treat your employees as if they are bad people who need to be micro-managed, because although some may be time wasters, the environment may also be a contributing factor, making it too easy to spend an hour over coffee gossiping with colleagues.

Knowing what’s really happening helps managers manage better, and cuts those unnecessary costs, saving companies thousands every year.

Simpler remote management

Many companies have offices, sell man-hours or have working stations in various places, making it almost impossible for some managers to be on-site with all employees, or spend time with shift staff situated at different locations.

Workforce tracking software gives companies the ability to ensure that operations run as smoothly as possible regardless of location.

One of the greatest benefits of workforce tracking software is that it isn’t necessarily exclusive to any one electronic device; most technologies come with apps to use on mobile devices so that both employee and manager can access the program, as long as they have internet access.

Regardless of location, companies can keep track of their people’s working hours and get detailed reports about time and attendance and leave management, etc.

In summary

The key benefits of workforce tracking software include:

• Transparency between manager and employee
• Obliteration of buddy punching
• Saving unnecessary costs
• Providing a mechanism for simpler remote management