Why do you need Attendance Management in Your Business

When employees give their best at work, they help the organization flourish. Companies therefore implement attendance management systems to ensure that employees maximize their potential. It is an excellent way to monitor the punctuality and performance of the employees. In this post, we will take a closer look at what attendance management is. We will also explain how your business can benefit from it.

What is attendance management?

Attendance management is the process of tracking employees' working hours. It's any system you use to record when an employee checks in and out. You can implement attendance management by

• Write down the working hours on paper,
• Enter billable time in a spreadsheet,
• Stamp stamping card or
• Use time tracking software.

Why should you manage attendance?

Under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), companies are required to use an attendance management system for their employees. There are rules for time recording, but companies are free to choose which method they want. For example, you can use attendance management software to ensure accurate calculation of the total number of billable hours. This option is ideal, especially if you pay your employees on an hourly basis. However, whichever method you choose, you need to be able to calculate the wages of your employees. You also need to know whether you need to register too much overtime.

Attendance registration is also useful if you have clerks. Then you can see how often and how much they work. You can let them record the time they work, even when they are physically away from the company. In this way, you have an overview of how long they have worked for you, even if you do not see them.

Punctuality is also an important factor in increasing employee productivity. So if you want to know if your employees are on time, you should also have a system for attendance control. That way, you can find out if an employee tends to leave work early or come in late. In addition, you can also keep track of how many days off an employee has taken. If your company has policies for sick or vacation days, it can be useful to have such a system.

What are the challenges of attendance management?

Typically, HR personnel must collect, compile, collate, and verify employee attendance data on the payroll end date. The data collected for an entire month can be huge. Therefore, there is always a possibility of human error along the way. A faulty system for attendance management can lead to inaccurate recording of working hours. If this happens, the employees will naturally be dissatisfied. Here are some of the most important challenges companies can face in relation to attendance management:

Time-consuming attendance register - It can be time-consuming and burdensome to keep an attendance register or stamp card and then calculate the total working hours, including overtime.

Human error when using spreadsheets - When using Excel sheets to record attendance times, there is always a risk of human error. In addition, it can take a lot of time and effort to maintain and update spreadsheets for each month or each shift.

Expensive to install and maintain biometrics - Let's say you choose to use swipe machines or biometric devices for attendance management. Then you have to buy and maintain third-party hardware devices, internal cabling, servers and IP networks.

A chaotic process with several attendance systems - For companies with several departments and a central HR centre, using different attendance systems can become chaotic. If one branch uses biometrics and another an Excel sheet, payroll processing can become a pain every month. The situation may require several checks and recalculations to ensure that attendance is correct.

Different systems for attendance management

Here are some ways you can set up an attendance management system:

Paper

You can print a timesheet template on a piece of paper or use a simple notebook. The employees write down the dates and hours they have worked. Although you don't need to configure anything to use paper, it does have some drawbacks. The employees may, for example, record the wrong hours, or the paper may be lost or destroyed.

Bundy watch

You can also choose to install a clock that stamps in and out of the workplace. The employees stamp their time when they arrive or leave the office. However, be aware that you will need to invest in setting up and maintaining a stamping clock.

Spreadsheet

Another option is to use a time recording spreadsheet. The employees enter their working hours in the file. At the end of the pay period, the HR department uses formulas to calculate the pay. Keep in mind that this option can also be prone to human error.

Time Tracker

A time recorder is a web-based system for attendance management that makes everything practical and easy.

What characterizes a good attendance management system?

Over the past decade, technology has advanced rapidly and made our lives much easier. When it comes to recording employees' attendance, various tools have become readily available. Today, there are a variety of cloud-based apps and on-premises software that use advanced performance and schedule analytics. Here are some of the most important features of a good attendance registration system:

Clock in and out

It should be easy for the employees to stamp in and out. Therefore, an attendance management program should have a simple login and logout system. It can either be a magnetic card reader that is integrated into the ID card, or an app that is installed on the computer or phone.

Reports on timesheets

Advanced attendance management systems provide the data the HR team needs to simplify payroll processing. The program should generate timesheet reports automatically, and they should be able to be exported to various file formats.

Administration of leaves

Even if an employee does not show up for work, this does not mean that you should mark that person as "absent". If you have guidelines for emergencies or sick calls, the employee should be able to apply for a day off. The absence management program should therefore have a system for handling such incidents.

Manual changes

It happens that employees rush to their desks when they get to the office and forget to stamp in. Such deviations can of course affect the employees' productivity data. A good program for attendance management should therefore make it possible to edit the logged hours manually. The program should of course notify managers or authorities as soon as such an event occurs.

Advanced analysis

Advanced analytics enable managers to observe patterns in employee attendance and performance. If an employee regularly works overtime without permission, the attendance app will show you how they behave. In this way, you can prevent overtime abuse and unnecessary expenses. Advanced analytics also help you find out if there are employees who are often late.

Conclusion

Streamline your business with IceHrm's advanced attendance management system. Overcome challenges, save time, and enhance employee productivity effortlessly.