Why is Time and Attendance Important?

Time & Attendance Is Essential To Any Business

Every business owner has a different perspective on what employee management looks like. For some, it’s onboarding and development. For others, it’s the reporting side of hours worked and the amount of output in productivity and sales. For every definition and application though, time and attendance play a huge role in each one.

The importance of employee attendance and reporting

Earlier, we established that every company has two business fronts: the one that is customer-facing and the one that your employees see. Your workforce is ultimately the heartbeat of your business because, without them, there can’t be productivity or sales. That’s why it’s essential that you are able to report on your employees’ attendance records.

Let's Get Started

 

 

While it may seem like a minute detail, employee attendance has a clear correlation and direct impact on your overhead costs. For example, companies with high absenteeism likely spend more on employee onboarding and talent sourcing in search of more dependable workers. Let’s dive into this concept a little further.

Why is time and attendance important?

Time and attendance are important for every business because it’s a tangible number that supports the decisions business leaders make. These numbers are often used to help forecast sales predictions, workforce demand, amount of hours available for your workers, and more.

Furthermore, if there is a large trend of absenteeism, then you could have high turnover and staffing issues. If you micromanage every aspect of your workforce, you may be facing a poor company culture and employee morale concerns.

It is possible to find a happy medium to avoid the two extremes. That’s where a time and attendance system that is compatible with your payroll software comes into play. It’s important to include your HR leaders when looking at time clock systems to ensure everyone is in agreement.

What is a time and attendance system?

At its core, a time and attendance system is essentially a time clock module. It allows you to assign a credential to each employee to empower them with the responsibility of their hours worked. This credential varies per time clock. Take a look:

• Numeric pad entry - This is the most common type of time tracking module for hourly employees. It’s often seen in retail and quick-service restaurants. Each employee is assigned an employee number that they type when clocking in and out at the start and end of their workdays as well as any lunch breaks. It does not track their other breaks that are not federally mandated. It also is not fail-proof for buddy punching.
• Electronic swipe functions - Companies that have more salary employees may elect this type of time clock. It’s where employees each receive a keyfob or electronic card with an RFID element embedded in them. The employee uses this to gain entry into the workspace but may not need to use this to essentially clock in and out. It will, however, track if they were present that day and can provide adequate reports.
• Biometric access - Like a numeric pad entry, this type of time clock grants employees access for general and other designated area entry by the use of voice recognition, fingerprint or handprint scan, or even retinal scan. This is the most accurate way to prevent buddy punching.
• Employee Self Service - Workers that do their jobs offsite or travel for work can download an app to their mobile device. In this kind of app, they can enter a username and password to clock in and out for the day as well as lunch breaks. Managers and HR leaders can keep track of their offsite employees and communicate any missing punches or other important updates through the app.
• Cloud-based software or website - Like the functions of an employee self service app, workers can log into the site or software on their own. They can log time worked on projects, clock in and out when required, review benefits information, and submit time-off requests. This option is often the most compatible with payroll software.

Let's Get Started

 

 

How to track employee time and attendance

Not all the above options track an employees’ entry and departure unless it is required, say for hourly employees. However, there are managerial functions that can help with tracking time and attendance.

For example, you will have access to check for missed punches or data entry and approve daily or weekly punches. Other functions give you the ability to override those who are locked out, checking the number of times lockouts occur and more.

HR leaders are most interested in and out for payroll purposes. For service-based companies, they play a vital tracking role. Along with project managers, they can check the amount of time is spent on projects. This helps verify that the company is charging the right amount for services, based on project completion time.

Reasons to use employee attendance reporting

The biggest reason to use software that helps with attendance reporting is accountability. For almost every business aspect, accountability offers many forms of validation. It helps verify if your workforce size is adequate. It checks productivity output to help better forecast for demand or future goals. It helps provide perspective on employee morale and the need for development. It addresses high turnover and absenteeism. No matter how you want to use the reports to help your company grow, the accountability of weighing the expectation versus reality gives you hard numbers that are infallible.

Time and attendance services from PayTech

Business owners and HR leaders can lean on payroll experts to help them find and put time and attendance solutions into place. For more than 30 years, PayTech has helped many franchisees and small businesses by offering time tracking options that are compatible with leading payroll software.

Let's Get Started

 

 

Don’t waste your time researching and trying something that isn’t the right fit for your company. Let our experts do the analysis for you, which will ultimately save you time and money.

Ready to get started with PayTech’s time and attendance solutions?

It’s never too late to use time and attendance records to help provide the data you need to analyze your overhead costs. It is eye-opening results are a necessary step to take to prepare your business for each new fiscal year. Let PayTech give you support with time and attendance services. Contact us today to learn more!