Tracking employee attendance is something that is recognized by every employer, although not always fully understood. Paramount to time and attendance tracking is ensuring accurate and reliable information collection for business decisions. Likewise, the same information helps to strengthen a workforce, which is a major asset to every organization.
Employee attendance tracking offers benefits to both employers and employees when handled correctly. Here are nine benefits that explains how this valuable tool for collecting data works for everyone within an organization.
Benefit #1: Managers can identify potential attendance issues.
A primary reason an employer tracks attendance is to find out whether there are any issues that should be addressed. Beyond taking scheduled time off, employees’ arrival, leaving and break times are also essential to ensuring work hours are not being abused.
This is important for monitoring planned and unplanned absences, as well as enforcing attendance policies. On the surface, time away might seem like a few minutes here and there. However, that time adds up and if it is related to an illness, it may qualify as FMLA leave.
Benefit #2: Employers and employees can embrace working remotely.
Some employers are reluctant to embrace remote workers. The concern is that, without direct supervision employees will spend their day doing everything that is not connected to the job. It is not unusual for some employees to also question whether their work day would be disciplined and productive away from the office.
Tracking attendance with a remote clocking feature provides accountability without being restrictive. It becomes a win-win for everyone when employees can clock-in just as if they were in the office.
Benefit #3: Attendance tracking ensures employees get paid in full and on time.
Employee attendance tracking is particularly useful for payroll. This ensures nonexempt employees are never over- or underpaid because exact hours are available. Employers can accurately calculate overtime pay, and if necessary, dock pay appropriately.
Keeping accurate records of hours employees work also shows the work levels for different departments. Some might work harder than others and have consistent overtime. Tracking frequency and patterns can improve the decision making process of redistributing workloads.
Benefit #4: Boost employee morale and productivity with prompt time-off requests.
An important aspect of maintaining a satisfied workforce is prompt handling of time-off requests. Employees may find it difficult to fully focus if they are waiting extensively for approval of a vacation or day to take their child to the doctor.
Attendance tracking makes it easier to review and approve planned absences. Employees are relieved without the uncertainty of planning personal time away from the job. The work environment benefits because employees are happier and more productive.
Note: Morale also gets a lift when tracking reveals which employees were not working their scheduled hours. Correcting the behavior creates a sense of fairness, and hopefully prevents the perception of favoritism that may negatively affect productivity.
Benefit #5: Achieve real-time analysis of productivity to make better hiring and scheduling decisions.
Since productivity depends on the availability of real-time attendance data, employers should use effective methods for collecting the information. A realistic view of productivity levels allows better hiring and scheduling in departments. A big picture analysis identifies trends that may reveal payroll savings. When these practices align with goals and objectives, the company stays on target without imbalances in hours worked.
Benefit #6: Better employee attendance tracking helps to reduce absenteeism.
Excessive employee absences can have a huge impact on an organization. Managing and controlling absenteeism determines how much that impact will affect costs. A solution is recording absences so line managers and payroll are aware of this potential problem.
Recorded absences clears up any discrepancies and allows management to use the information. Unusual absenteeism levels are highlighted and addressed quickly. Otherwise, inaccurate or incomplete records makes it difficult to keep track of when, and how often, employees miss work.
Benefit #7: Eliminate the bottleneck of one person entering data for the entire staff.
Streamlining employee attendance tracking within a software system removes the often cumbersome task of one person entering time for an entire company. Even with less than 10 people, a self-service option for time and attendance tracking improves the flow and accuracy of data.
Not only can employees keep track of their daily work hours, but they can also see how much time off they have accrued or used.
Benefit #8: Employee attendance tracking provides proof for a wage and hour audit or lawsuit.
Most employers do not worry about a lawsuit or audit until they receive notification of a pending action. It is best to be prepared for the unexpected. Practicing accurate attendance tracking of employee hours and time off will support the employer’s argument against a claim. Otherwise, courts will defer to the attendance records of the employee.
Benefit #9: Attendance tracking makes it easier to schedule vacations.
Even the most loyal and productive employee enjoys vacation time. Having a centralized place where vacation schedules are posted simplifies the process of ensuring employees get their preferred dates. This also gives managers advanced notice so they can prepare for planned absences.
In addition, tracking attendance makes it easier for managers to monitor the amount of vacation time each employee takes.
Employee attendance tracking is a basic function that provides many benefits to an organization. Managing it properly assists employees with being more accountable for their time and provides essential data for making business decisions.
