In the quest for increased revenues, and thus, viability, businesses often look outward, rather than inward. Adapting to modern technology has not only proven effective in handling time but also has the power to transform workplace wellness. According to a survey, the State of Small Business Report presented by Wasp Barcode Technologies, 20% of small businesses will invest in tools to improve employee productivity this year. 57% of companies plan to make a major new HR software purchase in the next 18 months, as per the survey results published by SelectHub.
Workforce dynamics are constantly evolving today and there is a need for the organizations to adapt to these changes quickly. Considering the multi-cultural, multi-located workforce, nature of work, travel, work from home options, shifts, flexible time, overtime, paid time off policies, etc., managing time, cost and productivity can be overwhelming for employers.
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According to an anonymous survey by Kessler International, an incredible 80% of workers admitted to “time theft.” Yet, even as we’re witnessing a technological revolution, small business owners often neglect a critical aspect of their model: an employee monitoring system.
Benefits of using an web based attendance management system
Most organizations have already started riding the automated payroll wave. According to a survey conducted by the American Payroll Association, 65% of the organizations surveyed said they collected time and attendance using an automated system or were in the process of switching to an automated system.
Why are organizations anxious to exit manual/outdated attendance processes? Consider these 10 benefits for making the switch:
1. Accuracy
Humans are prone to error, even if we provide them with supporting computational devices. Automated attendance management systems ensure accurate time records and minimize the inevitable and costly errors with manual data entry. This accurate data thereby helps to provide accurate performance and payroll data.
2. Economics
Have you ever wondered if you could optimize costs with an online attendance system? It saves money by putting an end to inaccurate time reporting, buddy punching, absenteeism, tardiness, time abuse, and overpayment. As a matter of fact, a study done by the Axsium Group found that large organizations save up to $1,600 per employee after implementing automated attendance management systems.
3. Productivity / Efficiency
Monitoring and managing attendance manually can be a time-consuming, laborious, and expensive affair. It takes time to process paper sheets and time cards, create schedules, authorize leave and overtime, and create payroll manually. Free up precious administration time with an automated system that does it all for you, from keeping track of employee hours to automatically importing information into your payroll system. The time and effort saved combined with data accuracy helps in optimizing the use of resources which lead to increased productivity and improves profits.
4. Visibility / Insights
Would you need a quick snapshot of all planned and unplanned absences for an employee or group? With just a few clicks, you can generate accurate reports on hours worked, absences, overtime, get a monthly summary report for any of the data/groups within the organization. Any customized report can be generated with the centralized data which improves visibility and transparency within the organization. Managers can also make use of the graphical views of the report to get a quick and easy understanding of attendance data. With a centralized, accurate attendance data hub, employers can strategically analyze and improve policies on leave, hours, workplace culture, performance, pay, etc., thereby enabling them to mature in the way they operate.
5. Hassle Free Workflow Management
An integrated attendance management system can provide good visibility of all data and can ease the workflow of payrolls, leaves and performance reviews. Notifications/alerts are automated and the manager can approve requests for early departure, overtime, etc., immediately without any specific need for communication. Forget the herculean task of manual scheduling. With just a few clicks, an automated attendance management system can help manage schedules, allocate work, and easily keep track of shift swaps. It can also help you to forecast workloads, resources, and budgets.
6. Flexibility
In today’s global, well-connected environment, you have employees working from office, from home, or at remote locations. An online attendance system allows organizations to track employee time using a variety of clocking options, such as smartphones, internet networks, swiping technologies, biometric terminals or desktop readers easily.
7. Integration / Configuration
You can choose attendance management systems to suit your needs based on the nature of work and policies. There are systems available which can be integrated with any third-party attendance hardware (swipe, biometric), and which can capture GPS-based attendance with mobile applications. You can create customized attendance policies as per your organizational needs with time tracking and attendance monitoring systems. You can have individual configurations for each attendance shift, with options to define attendance cycles, mark-in/out rules, leave deductions, and optional holidays.
8. Real-time tracking
Cloud-based attendance management enables real-time tracking and provides automated inputs for payroll processing. This helps in managing alternative payment schedules and makes all information available in real time. Managers can create “scheduled versus actual” reports to adjust work schedules and direct workforce activities in real time.
9. Security
Most attendance management systems are built around highly secure systems and architecture. Specifically, biometric systems are highly reliable and secure and can help prevent time theft, buddy punching and reduce administrative costs stemming from forgotten PINs and lost ID cards. These systems are of particular utility to organizations where security is a primary concern.
10. Compliance
Inaccurate records can cost your organization a lot of money in overtime payment, and can also violate labor laws, resulting in expensive legal defence and fines. Regulations require that employers track attendance and provide the necessary compensation to their employees for any excess hours worked in the spirit of fairness. An attendance management system that integrates with your payroll simplifies this process while making it seamless.
Given these tremendous benefits, do you now want to choose a comprehensive attendance management system that can make processes hassle-free and provide a seamlessly integrated system for your organization? Countless cloud HR products catering to the diverse needs of small and medium businesses are available in the market today. So, what are you waiting for?
