Time and attendance systems are used in most companies for effective employee management. These help in tracking when staff members come into work, take breaks, and leave for the day. This way, a manager can easily track early departures, late arrivals, absenteeism, and minutes consumed during recess. 

 Benefits Of A Time And Attendance System

Using time and attendance systems offers companies several benefits.  For instance, by recording the hours each person is productive, they can reduce time theft. This way, they help ensure everyone is compensated fairly according to the hours worked.

In addition, most of them allow managers to schedule shifts. Compared to using paperwork or spreadsheets, these systems allow easier planning, which helps to save time. Besides that, they can eliminate buddy punching, whereby employees clock in and out for absent colleagues. As a result, companies can prevent financial losses by ensuring everyone is paid per the hours worked.

Also, these systems can help reduce absenteeism, late arrivals, and early departures in a workplace. They help improve employee productivity. 

 Essential Features Of A Time And Attendance System

There are various kinds of time and attendance systems available in the market today. You’ll find web-based, interactive voice response, time card, and biometric types. The last kind may be more common in most companies today. These identify staff members based on their unique physical or behavioral characteristics. 

Therefore, with a biometric time and attendance system, employers can eliminate buddy punching. As a result, they’ll improve productivity and have more accurate data on attendance. There are several other benefits of using this kind of system. To learn more, consider researching online or benchmarking companies that use it. 

That said, you might want to introduce a time and attendance system in your company. Depending on the needs of your firm, you can go for any type mentioned above. However, there are essential features you should make sure your system has to increase efficiency and productivity in the workplace. These are provided and explained below. They include:

• Clocking In And Out

When selecting a time and attendance system, ensure it allows clocking in and out. It might sound like a basic feature, but it can help you increase your worker’s output by recording and monitoring attendance in your company.

In most cases, you’ll find systems that allow checking in and out using magnetic card readers, biometrics, or personal identification numbers. When choosing between these, consider an efficient one that eliminates time theft and enhances the productivity of your staff. 

• Absence Management

Absence management is also another essential feature you should look for in a time and attendance system. This one will allow you to identify easily who’s not at work.

Staff absenteeism may be due to various factors. A worker may be ill, on a holiday, or on paid time off. Therefore, ensure the system you choose allows your staff to apply for mandatory leave and make special requests like half-day attendance and others. This way, you can easily identify who’s absent and why. As a result, it’ll be easier to plan for salaries, wages, and allowances. 

• Reporting

The time and attendance system you pick should also allow seamless report generation from the data it gathers. In most companies, the human resource (HR) department must document and maintain attendance records. However, doing it on paper or spreadsheets can be energy and time-consuming. 

Therefore, having a system that can provide the HR division tailored reports on hours worked, shift patterns, missed days, and so on can make their work easier. This way, you’ll improve the productivity of the HR department as there’ll be more time to work on other tasks. 

• Missed Punch Alerts

It’s normal for an employee to forget to clock in when they get in, take a break, or leave the office. It then becomes the manager’s job to confirm if the staff member attended work, returned from recess, or left early. 

When choosing a time and attendance system, you’ll find some that provide employees and managers with missed clock in or out reminders. Some do this through mobile or self-service portal alerts. If you find a system that allows this, consider choosing it for your company. It’ll help eliminate missed in and out punches by requesting immediate action. 

• Cloud And Mobile Support

If you have remote or field employees, consider cloud-based time and attendance systems or those accessible via an application. These will allow you to capture data accurately. 

However, for field workers, ensure the software or application you pick has a global positioning system that allows accurate location monitoring. This way, you’ll know when the worker arrived at or left the job site.

• Employee Self-Service

Employee self-service is another feature you should also consider. Today, you’ll find attendance systems that don’t require staff members to clock in and out at the company’s entrance. Instead, these allow employees to check-in and out or take breaks while sitting at their work desks. They can do this via an application or browser. 

Also, consider a system that allows your staff to correct attendance errors and request leaves and days off without a manager’s intervention. Besides that, ensure that the system can do this automatically, without the need for paperwork. This way, workers can access various services easily. As a result, you’ll create a positive workplace for your employees, boosting their job satisfaction.

 Conclusion

With a time and attendance system, staff management becomes easier for you as a manager or employer. You can monitor when workers get in, take breaks and go home for the day. This way, you’ll have accurate data on how many hours each staff member worked. As a result, you eliminate time theft which causes financial losses. 

That being so, there are many types of time and attendance systems available in the market today. However, when choosing any, consider your company’s needs. That being so, there are some key features you should ensure your system has. These are highlighted and briefly explained above. They include: absence management, reporting, clocking in and out capabilities, cloud and mobile support, employee self-service, and missed punches alerts.

With such features, you’ll boost workers’ productivity and job satisfaction. Besides that, you’ll also ensure the HR and payroll departments have accurate data. Accurate attendance information prevents financial losses caused by time theft.

Lucy Mills is a professional blogger based in Alaska.