Strategies for Ensuring Precision in Employee Attendance Tracking

Attendance registration is used to keep track of employees' time and attendance. It all starts with understanding what employee presence means.

Employee presence means being present at the workplace in accordance with the company's guidelines.

Attendance can be tracked for individuals, teams and organizations as a whole. It involves tracking issues such as absence, compliance with shifts, time discipline, reasons for leave, customer invoicing, timesheets and so on.

The importance of attendance registration

Time and attendance management (T&E) is linked to the employees' attendance registration. Maintaining real-time T&E data increases organizational productivity and efficiency.

• Managers regularly check employee attendance records to see if employees are performing according to expectations.
• Managers allocate tasks to team members in a fair and efficient manner.
• The employees' attendance records are linked to other HR activities. They are used, for example, to enter data into the payroll system and calculate wages.

Attendance registration thus forms the core of a fair, transparent and equal working environment.

Challenges when keeping attendance records

It is a difficult task to keep clear and concise attendance records for the employees because...

• There are many different forms of work, including remote work, hybrid work, freelance work and flexible work.
• The employees are very different.

Office employees use office lists or biometrics. Workers on the move depend on GPS-enabled devices. Freelancers use laptops or website software.

Inaccurate presence data and information can prevent basic activities. This can, for example, lead to incorrect salary registrations and salary payments. Employee morale and productivity can suffer as a result of such mistakes.

The HR department must therefore invest in a high-tech tool or a high-tech platform for attendance management.

Dos and don'ts when creating attendance records

An attendance management system can effectively create, measure, track and report employee time and attendance. Follow the points below when creating attendance records from scratch.

What you should do

• Structure the data sources:

Start by thinking through possible data sources, devices and systems. Check these sources to ensure that the data is clean, organized, reliable and valid. Then think about investing in new devices!

• Integrate analytics and reporting:

The attendance management system should automatically collect, store and analyze various data. Automate the reporting and analysis part and save a lot of time, effort and money!

• Track data in real time:

Use data in real time. In this way, you avoid delays in disciplinary matters or measures.

• Carry out regular audits:

Always ensure that the database is clean, organized and accessible. Carry out regular audits of the data sources.

• Save the data in the cloud:

Give important stakeholders access to the data. Enables employees to view their attendance records anytime, anywhere. Help managers carry out important attendance records, such as regulating time off. Cloud solutions make this possible through modules for multiple platforms across PC, tablet, mobile, etc.

• Integrate data security and privacy:

Information about employees is confidential. Role-based access to cloud-based data ensures that not everyone has access to all data. Based on roles and levels, only those with authority can do so.

• Involve the employees:

The employees should have access to a self-service time and attendance system. Customize it so that employees can see their attendance statistics, such as leave status. They should also be able to carry out procedures such as applying for leave. In this way, the HR department can hold the employees responsible for complying with the time and absence discipline.

• Integrate with HRMS:

Attendance registration cannot be a stand-alone system. It is an important part of other HR processes. HR Operations, Performance Management, Payroll, Total Rewards, Learning Management, etc. rely on T&E records for metrics. Integrate the employee database with the overall HR system to make it work.

What you should not do

Employees' time and attendance affect business results. Therefore, it is not just the HR department's job. It also involves the line managers.

• Don't have a silo mindset:

It is not possible to have sole ownership of the system for employee attendance! Involve the line managers as co-owners. After all, it is the managers who are closest to their employees and have access to relevant information!

• Do not support your employees:

The HR department must cooperate with the employees. Create the attendance module in collaboration with the employees. It will also help to create a culture characterized by good discipline!

Disadvantages of using manual registration of attendance

Today's time and attendance data has several aspects. Take an example.

• A payroll employee spends 5 minutes per employee processing a timesheet.
• The company has 500 employees.
• The hourly wage for the payroll worker is £7.50.
• Time spent on manual payroll run = (500 x 5 minutes x 48 weeks)* = 120,000 minutes / 60 = 2,000 hours.
• Money spent on manual payroll processing = £2,000 x £7.50 = £15,000.

It is a lot of money! So welcome artificial intelligence and stop wasting time and money.

Manual processing has the following disadvantages:

• Possibility of human error:

It increases the chances of human error. Errors of insight can reduce employees' productivity. Thus, the organization's performance will decrease.

• Exposed to manipulation:

Employees can easily manipulate manual attendance systems. Friend stamping and time theft are two well-known methods. For example, an employee may pretend that he or she has a lot to do and deliberately ask for overtime to earn extra money.

• Issues with safety and compliance with laws and regulations:

Manual attendance records are associated with security and compliance issues. A large cost for the company, both legally and in terms of branding.

• Time consuming approach:

HR staff must spend a lot of time maintaining data and dashboards, reporting insights and resolving errors. Manual interventions can lead to loss of performance and productivity.

• Affects employee morale:

Most people get tired of repetitive and routine manual work. Instead, employees can concentrate on tasks that provide greater value. It will help to improve the sense of contribution. Another problem is when errors in salary payments can lead to unfair and uneven salary payments. This can damage the employees' trust in the employer.

• Lacking a larger perspective:

Manual tracking follows a piecemeal and piecemeal approach. It does not give an overall picture of productivity. The HR department will not be able to adapt the employees' behavior to the organization's goals.

• Lack of communication channels:

Manual systems lack communication. For example, it is not possible to send automatic push notifications if the information about the employees is stored in an Excel spreadsheet. Managers and employees may miss important T&E updates. They are not given the opportunity to improve their attendance routines. This can lead to a crisis of confidence.

How do you create attendance records?

Follow the step-by-step procedure below to create attendance records:

• Build an infrastructure for data and devices:

First, evaluate the existing systems and devices in use. It could be bookkeeping, biometrics, card machines, timesheet software, website platforms, mobile tracking systems, GPS tracking systems, etc.

Then find out what is best for both the employee and the company. And invest in new tools. Build robust and relevant data sources. It will form the basis for the employees' registrations.

• Build the right functions:

The best data sources are of no use if managers don't know how to use them. The HR department must build up data skills to understand how employee data affects employee productivity. Train existing HR staff and/or hire new staff who understand attendance management data and systems.

Help create the design: Choose between a buy, build or combination approach to designing your attendance management system.

1. It is faster, easier and more cost-effective to buy a ready-made T&E solution. But it may lack customization options.

2. Building a solution from scratch can take longer and require more money. On the other hand, it may be better suited to achieving the desired business results.

3. Blended offers a ready-made solution with customizable elements. This combines the best of both worlds.

4. Create the system design in close collaboration with the business's stakeholders. This ensures active participation and ownership from everyone.

• Implementation:

Configure the system for a specific group of employees. Conduct a pilot with a small workforce. Adopt flexible methods. This will reduce the number of iterations and keep costs in check.

• Communicate:

Give employees training on how to use the system. To ensure system compliance, you should develop a comprehensive T&E policy and a training and communication program. If the communication is good, the employees will accept the change. This will contribute to the system being adopted.

• Institutionalize:

The HR department must include time and attendance registration in the workflow. We cannot expect employees to take the time to go to a website and check their leave balance. "Can we make a push notification that updates on the smartphone screen?" It is this consumer experience that the HR department must ensure.

• Measure the results:

Define important target figures and follow them up regularly. Inform HR managers about how the employee computer system achieves the expected results. This will get the CXO to participate and quit the system.

Things to keep in mind when creating attendance records for employees

All HR measures entail a fundamental change in working methods. The same applies to handling employee attendance. Creating and maintaining accurate attendance records can have a long-term impact on employee behavior. This can lead to a rapid increase in efficiency. Registration of employees' attendance records cannot therefore be limited to the HR department.

• Include both the business and the HR department in the process.
• Ask for input from cross-functional POCs in the various phases.
• Maintain the managers' trust and support for the long-term work.

Conclusion

The most important factors affecting a company's efficiency are attendance and discipline. The basis for this is registrations of the employees. A reliable and efficient system for registering employees must be developed. This is only possible if the HR department shows top management how the business affects the organization.

Accurate attendance tracking is pivotal for organizational success. By adopting advanced strategies and leveraging technology, such as IceHrm, companies can enhance efficiency and ensure employee accountability.