It doesn’t matter what size your organisation is as long as there is an attendance tracking software. Time and Attendance Management Software allows employees to clock in and out electronically via time clocks, mobile phones, and other internet-enabled devices. They let the organisation keep track of employee hours and hence manage pay – which is crucial for every business. When an employee clocks in or out, the data is instantly transferred to a software that can seamlessly import it into the payroll solution.
These softwares do more than just track when employees come and go. They also manage remote employees via geolocation and geofencing, manage paid time off, create employee rosters, provide detailed labor reports, and give real-time data on who is working, who isn’t, who is nearing overtime, etc. They offer self-service that allows employees to handle many time-tracking tasks on their own, including reviewing the hours they’ve worked, their current and future schedules, and their paid time off accruals. The biggest benefit of these systems is that these systems manage all the time needs – employee attendance, paid time offs, and scheduling – in one program. This can be both cost-effective and a boost to productivity, as employees won’t waste time toggling between different programs to ask for time off or search for their schedules.
Time and Attendance Management Software is offered as both cloud-based and on-premises solutions. The on-premises systems are stored on servers within the organisation, while the cloud-based systems are hosted by the time and attendance software service provider and can be accessed online.
With so many systems on the market today, selecting a reliable and efficient time and attendance management system is not always easy. But whether you choose an on-premise or cloud-based attendance management system, the following capabilities will form the foundation of employee time-tracking –
- A User-friendly Interface – A great UI is one that’s easy to use, has an uncluttered design, and allows employee self-service. The software should also not be hard to learn and certainly shouldn’t require hours of training to ensure increased employee adoption.
- Flexible time-tracking options – The software should allow employees to record their working hours through different platforms such as the computer, smartphone, biometric, tablets, etc.
Nowadays, Facial recognition with employee temperature screening is becoming an attractive technology to replace biometric fingerprint time clocks that have been used to track employee time and attendance onsite. Contactless technology not only helps control employee work time but also ensures employee health and safety. Some softwares even allow managers to track their team’s work location as well as their planned activities for each day with clock-in features that indicate the employee’s location (Home/Office/Field) and record their planned and completed work.
- Accurate tracking for all-time issues – The software should be able to track all of the employees’ time off needs such as sick leaves, parental leaves, annual leaves, etc. It should also provide self-service functionality so that the employees can easily apply time off, view their time off balance, and more. It should also be able to keep track of the company’s regular and overtime hours, irrespective of pay rates, and the class of work concerned.
- Mobile-first software – The attendance management software should be compatible with mobile devices (preferably a dedicated mobile app) so that it can be accessed from anywhere. This means the solution should not only give remote workers the ability to clock in and out but also track their locations so that the employers know they’re working from where they’re supposed to be. Geofencing can also be extremely valuable for organisations in such cases to either restrict where employees can clock in and out from or to record the exact locations where they start and end their shifts.
- Easy Integrations – The time and attendance management software should easily integrate with the applications that are already used by the organisation, such as the HR and payroll softwares. Sharing the employee attendance data effectively with the payroll module helps process payments much faster and with ease. The entire hassle of capturing data at two different places can be cut with a good HRMS software. An end-to-end HRMS that is the single source of truth for the organization can be of great help in this regard. These are systems that make sure critical employee data captured at one stage is leveraged throughout the employee lifecycle for better management and administration.
- Reporting – Generating and updating employee attendance records is a key HR responsibility in any organisation. Features such as report generation, number of hours worked, overtime, missed days, etc., should be available in an exportable report format. The time and attendance system should serve as a single source of truth for managers who are looking to effectively handle large numbers of employees. The organisation should, therefore, select a software that tracks who is really working, who checked in late, and who is approaching overtime. It should allow your HR professionals to generate a detailed report of each employee’s timing and performance.
Implementing a digital time and attendance management software at your organisation can change how you manage your workforce. The features and functionalities built into these platforms are integral to the employees’ everyday workflow, and these digital platforms help prevent errors that can lead to month-end hassles and compliance challenges. Hence to increase overall business efficiency, it is critical to avoid confusion by leveraging these new-age features that ensure the best employee experience with real-time tracking of leaves and attendance.
Darwinbox’s new age, end-to-end HRMS has helped over 450+ leading brands all over the world do just the same. The platform is agile, mobile-first, and fully configurable to accommodate your organisation’s unique workforce management requirements. Its unique time & attendance module comes with a whole gamut of features required to keep a better track on the way the precious time at work is utilized by the workforce. It empowers them to work with new-age features, allowing a seamless personalization of leaves & attendance.
