7 Astounding Benefits of Time Clock Apps

Many companies today continue to rely on time card punch clocks and the manual recording of employee hours. These methods have proven to be unreliable, time consuming and negative to the bottom line. The use of a time clock app and the implementation of technology to its full capacity are an effective method for managing time and attendance records, enforcing company policies and adhering to labor laws.
The most direct and positive effects of employee time clock apps to a company's bottom line are the elimination of buddy punching and the decrease in administration costs. Although buddy punching and time theft are illegal, businesses continue to lose substantial dollars due to limited enforcement against, and lack of proof of, these acts.
The inclusion of time clock software into a company's standard policies and procedures will improve operations by way of efficient record keeping and reliable metrics to measure the true costs of labor. The content of this article will address seven most significant benefits of time clock software and the integration of biometric fingerprinting scanners.
A time clock app will bolster the focus on employee empowerment and the positive effects upon the company's bottom line and customer experience.

Accuracy

An electronic time clock begins time tracking through the app when the employee punches in for his/her shift. Integration with the human resources and accounting departments will generate reports on time records and payroll, and the need for manual time and attendance recordkeeping is eliminated.
By the reduction in staff needed to manage the records and data, the time expended by management to refute erroneous documented times is also reduced. These efficiencies in time will decrease the costs associated with payroll, thus increasing profits. The return on investment in time clock software, with the integration of bioprinting technology, is measurable.
The value of the confidence of managers and supervisors in the record keeping and processing of the data, and the value of employees knowing their hours and payroll are accurate and secure, are priceless.
Time clock applications can be customized for-

• the approval process for time off requests
• the accrual of personal, vacation and sick time
• the real-time viewing of published schedules
• the applicable rates for Holiday and overtime
• the compliance with labor laws

Accountability

All information from time clock software is generated and stored electronically in the cloud. This reduces the potential of human error in the calculation of hours, pay and the accumulation of personal, sick and vacation time. Another important feature of time clock software is the generation of audit trails. Data and audit trails are presented in real time, which fully eliminates any subjectivity or favoritism in reporting.
The information gathered from this software is really a measurement of the effects of company policies upon its workforce. Company executives and managers need to be as accountable for their execution of policies derived from time and attendance data upon the employees as they are upon company-wide procedures.
Alerts can be customized and pushed into time and pay schedules for possible breaches in the compliance of labor laws, such as policies affecting the accrual of earned time off, the Family Medical Leave Act and the Affordable Care Act.

Security

Often, employees will cover for each other by buddy punching to make it appear as though an employee is working when, in fact, this is not the case. There are time clock systems that incorporate cameras or require the use of badges, FOBs or PINs for access. Zip Clock, the proprietary technology of Hubworks, uses biometric fingerprinting, or bioprinting, to initiate the application and its tracking features.
This innovative feature eliminates buddy punching issues and time theft as it increases the reliability of the tracking system. Bioprinting ensures the employees are compensated for actual work performed during actual hours expended.

Bioprinting Technology

Time tracking apps will improve a company's efficiency, accuracy and confidence in recordkeeping. Personnel and human resource managers will have better oversight of employees and operations. These efficiencies will increase output in talent and product and will optimize performance at both the management and staff levels. The efficiencies in technology affects an employees' opinion and outlook of their work environment.
The integration of this technology into a company's current time and attendance processes is proven to be a secure, accessible and convenient form of employee identification. Biometrics does not require access by a pass code, badge or PIN. Any of these items can be lost, forgotten or used by others.
All biometric data is scannable, permanent and specific to an individual. This technology allows the company to set thresholds that will require an employee to explain, in real time, any deficiencies in the reported work time against the scheduled shift time.
Early in the development of this technology, the cost-vs-benefit analysis did not prove to be a wise investment for start-ups or small businesses. However, this technology has advanced over time and investment dollars into these systems have lowered to a level that prove to be sound investments by companies in the for-profit and non-profit sectors.

Time is Money

Time is an important resource of any business, whether start-up, growing or established. Margins can be razor thin and costs must be carefully managed. The investment in time clock software is prudent with measurable returns. Regardless of the growth cycle of a business, it is important for all employees to have an established schedule to cover all required tasks, objectives and goals.
The real-time data in time tracking and reporting features will aid and support management decisions to either reinforce or change its policies. The more time and energy available at the management level will be an increase in time spent on performing tasks and implementing policies to improve operations.
It is always to the company's advantage when the time and focus of management and human resource personnel are devoted to strategic priorities and long-term goals.
Unlike businesses in the production field where the primary focus is hours at the workplace, businesses in the creative and technology fields can design time clock applications to measure time spent to complete an assignment. The data gathered for time consumed to complete a task will aid in the bidding and pricing aspects of the final product to ensure a target profit margin.
For businesses in the retail and service sectors, or those with multiple locations and varying schedules, time clock software can track employees on break and the availability of any employee to either help a customer or to fill in where needed.
Trends established from this real-time data will aid in the improvement of scheduling time and labor at slow and peak periods of the day, and to streamline and improve the often-awkward experience of a customer during a shift change.
Applications can be customized to send texts and e-mails to push published schedules to employees. Employers will benefit from the overview within the employee dashboard feature, proprietary to Zip Clock, by the tracking of work, vacation, personal time and location coverage.

Data for Business Decisions

The gathering of actual numbers and metrics is a small component of a successful business. Real-time data also extends to schedules, overtime alerts and approvals for the distribution of accumulated days for illness, vacation and personal time. Time clock applications can be designed to track rates applied to Holidays and approved overtime for individuals, departments or for the entire company.
Time clock software can be customized for integration into the company's current systems for points of sale, human resources, accounting, marketing and supply chain logistics. It is the implementation of policies derived from real-time data, and the flexibility of the policies as the data changes over time, that contribute to the success of a company.

Employee Empowerment

Typically, the benefits of bioprinting and time clock application systems are geared toward the employer. However, with effective communication and training, employees can be encouraged to manage their time-related activities. When employees are trained in effective time management in connection with their work schedules, these skills will also extend into productivity.
This shift in focus will lift certain burdens from management as these responsibilities are placed onto the employees. The support and empowerment of employees will also lead to the company's advantage in market share over its competitors.
Workers with easy access to their individual schedules, leave requests and benefit reviews, accompanied with error alerts, will begin to take and accept responsibility for their performance. Time clock applications can also be customized to alert individual employees of potential breaches in break or approved overtime periods.
Accurate pay is the incentive for effective time management. Productivity will increase when the employees know they have the sole control and responsibility for their actions that directly affect their pay.
Bioprinting technology will give the assurance to all employees that their schedule, pay rate, and accumulated time will remain confidential and secure. As counter-intuitive as this may sound, secure and accessible employee records will foster open communication, active participation and transparency that workers will appreciate.
It is important that employees be recognized as a part of the solutions to the typical problems of time management, and an integral part to the improvement of the experience of the customer or client. A company's most important resource to improve customer experience and market share is informed and engaged employees.

Manage Employee Time and Attendance in the Palm of Your HandTime tracking software will improve a company's efficiency, accuracy and its confidence in record keeping. Personnel and human resource managers will have better oversight over employees and operations. These efficiencies will translate into increased productivity and optimal performance at the levels of management, support staff and labor.
Efficiencies at all supervisory and personnel tiers will increase only when there exists the knowledge of accuracy, security and relief of cumbersome tasks that extend from manual record keeping or from time tracking applications not implemented to full capacity.
It must be recognized that data and quantifiable metrics are only measurements of outcome and are of no use if the reporting and tracking features cannot be integrated into a company's current systems and operating procedures.
To assume that time clock software is simply the electronic method of punching the clock is severely underestimating the technology. The proper application of this technology can be a tool used to increase company output, employee accountability and profit. Managers and supervisors are relieved of the daily administrative tasks of time-tracking records when these responsibilities are shifted onto the employees.
Time clock software can be extended to improved employer/employee relations. When employees become aware of the company's attention to compliance, mobile access, real-time accrual of personal, sick and vacation time and transparency, positive results in moral are the byproduct of the importance a company places upon its governance and workforce.
The proper communication and training in connection with time clock software to empower all employees will reflect positively upon the company in productivity, market share and profitability.
If you are ready to reap the seven benefits of using a time clock app as your employee time punch system, head over to Hubworks and try Zip Schedules free for 14 days.