The Biggest Problem With Employee Time Tracking & How to Fix It

The Biggest Problem With Employee Time Tracking & How to Fix It

For some reason, time management tends to be a problem for today’s workforce. Despite all the time tracking software technology designed to make things easier, it is still a skill that seems to elude many people. 

Managers are challenged to find ways to help manage their staff’s time or, better yet, provide them with the tools and training so that they can succeed on their own. Add to the mix that employees are taking advantage of the business by avoiding proper signing in and out for arrival, departure, and lunch hours, and even more time is wasted. Under or overscheduled shifts can also either reduce productivity or drain your payroll funds. 

If you are a manager faced with time tracking challenges, review these ways to improve employee time tracking and time management. 

Late Morning Arrivals

Those who miss punching the time clock each morning are time stealers. To keep on top of things, you can incorporate time tracking software for real-time, automatic updates when an employee clocks in and out. 

Employee time tracking systems are web-based, keeping data available when it is needed. Because you can track punch ins from anywhere, even if you are not physically on site, you can see who is arriving on time and who isn’t.

Time tracking benefits include:

• Saves time
• Offers a time tracking solution to automatically calculate labor costs
• Improves communication by enabling your HR teams to access your employee time tracking solution
• Simplifies payroll 
• Provides data quickly from anywhere
• Avoids human error
• Reduces costs by limiting unplanned overtime

Poor Staff Schedules

In many workplaces, improper staffing can create a domino effect of issues. When you are unable to efficiently track the number of workers required, your shifts might be unbalanced. In fact, in the case where you have multiple shifts such as retail, healthcare facilities, warehouses, or call centers, being understaffed will have a direct effect on your customers or clients.

Properly managed staff schedules will save you money if you can track time and note where less work is required on certain shifts. Workforce scheduling software can help you address the following: 

• Under-scheduling, which can negatively impact shift work 
• Maintaining happier staff when they are working with enough staff to share the work burden 
• Fewer people being paid to stand around
• Improved profit margins when the right amount of staff is scheduled 
• Optimal labor coverage for happy staff and customers
• Healthier work environment
• Happier customers who can get service when they need it
• A.I. forecasting to help you anticipate and meet your labor coverage needs 

Poor Prioritization

It is not just schedules that suffer from poor time management. When people cannot prioritize, that can lead to far-reaching issues that can often affect not just internal players but clients as well. 

Having production and priority meetings can help keep your team on track. As new projects come up, everyone can look at their workloads, reprioritize their work, and even offload work to those who might be experiencing a lull. You can also make decisions to bring in more people should the workload prove too much for your current team. 

Lack of Soft Skills

For many, basic soft skills can make a simple problem more complex. For example, consider people who fail to recognize the need for meetings to start on time. Although many people will make a point to arrive slightly early to the meeting room, many will aim for the exact start time or worse later. The skill to recognize the nuances of managing even a few minutes can really make a difference. Often, this boils down to common courtesies and respect for fellow team members and management. 

For these people, it’s all about making it clear what you expect from them. Stress a non-negotiable start time so that they begin to focus on being on time, which often means being early.

Time Ambushers

Keep an eye out for time ambushers who often sneak in work from other departments. In today’s collaborative workplaces, cross-department projects can steal time from your team. Often, these departments can sneak new “rush” projects into your department without your knowledge. This can leave you understaffed. 

Depending on the level of the person assigning the work, it might cause stress for your team who feel they have to take on the work. To avoid this issue, have a department policy that all new work, big and small, must come through you. You can then make arrangements to ensure you are properly staffed to manage the additional workload. 

To solve employee time tracking issues, consider a modern, unique software solution such as Paypro, which provides state-of-the-art features such as clocking in with a mobile app and geospatial technology. The time tracking system allows managers to see on a google map where the person was when they punched in. Learn more from Paypro.

About The Author

Kayla is the Marketing Manager at Paypro Corporation overseeing all inbound and outbound marketing and sales efforts. She has 7+ years of experience working within the B2B and SaaS based solutions space and thrives on creating messaging and campaigns that introduce products and services to those who need them most.