Exploring the Best Methods for Time Tracking in Organizations

How does your company currently track employee working hours? Manual time tracking is a time-consuming and error-prone process, but the same is true if you track time via spreadsheets or with cumbersome workarounds.

In this article we would like to explain to you the most common problems when recording time in various ways. And what you should really pay attention to if you want to record your employees' time in the best possible way.

Why you shouldn't track time with manual timesheets

Did you know that many companies still use manual methods such as punch cards and paper timesheets to track time? Although it is obvious that these are not the most modern solutions, many companies still rely on them.

Particularly as workforces evolve, hybrid work is introduced, or remote work in general, manual time tracking has become increasingly complicated - with more potential for human error and inaccuracy.

Even if employees work carefully, there remains a high error rate. Inaccurate timesheets can have a massive impact on payroll, invoicing, project tracking and management, and many other areas.

Best practice: If your business still relies on time tracking in an office, consider how software can connect to an existing time tracking terminal (to facilitate adoption by your employees).

Why you shouldn't use spreadsheets to track time

Spreadsheets are a powerful tool. And accessing them online is easy for employees to use - but are they also suitable for making time tracking accurate and easy? This is far less clear.

It's easy to make mistakes with spreadsheets, and it's even harder to create reports from the data. Additionally, spreadsheets are not inherently a collaboration tool, so they can be difficult to use on a large scale.

If you rely on a collection of spreadsheets to track your employees' time, you're likely spending more time on administrative tasks than necessary. This can take valuable time away from value-added projects for your employees.

Best Practice: Spreadsheets are helpful, but not for time tracking. Companies should consider using a specialized solution that allows employees to track their time easily and securely, especially as they grow.

Benefits of an all-in-one HR time tracking solution

An all-in-one HR solution like IceHrm offers a number of benefits that can make time tracking much easier for your teams:

• Fewer Errors: An all-in-one solution automates many of the manual tasks associated with time tracking, such as calculating overtime and creating timesheets. This helps reduce the risk of human error.
• Improved Accuracy: Because an all-in-one solution is designed for accuracy and reliability, it can also be connected to your payroll preparation to provide accurate results when processing payroll.
• Increased transparency: Teams can get a real-time overview of their employees' time tracking. This allows managers to identify potential problems early and make necessary adjustments to schedules and workloads.
• Deeper insight: Creating comprehensive reports helps managers identify trends and patterns in employee time tracking data. This information can be used to improve productivity, reduce costs and make better business decisions.

Is an all-in-one solution the right choice?

There are companies that may be hesitant to invest in an all-in-one HR solution to meet their time tracking needs. The fact is, a solution like IceHrm's is designed to evolve with the needs of your team.

This means it will help you track time today, hire tomorrow, meet your hiring goals next quarter, and prepare your HR team for executive meetings with reports next month. It's not just about introducing a solution, but about a new way of working.

In conclusion, efficient time tracking is pivotal for organizational success. Manual methods and spreadsheets come with inherent challenges, making an all-in-one HR solution like IceHrm an essential choice for seamless and error-free time management.