What is an employee time clock machine?
What is the backbone of an enterprise? Whether the business is small, medium, or large, it's the people who matter the most. It's the people associated with an enterprise that keeps it going. And what keeps the people going? In most cases, the return, that is the remuneration or the salary for the work they do, the hours they spend on the work. Employee Time Clock Machine offers a reliable and errorless solution for businesses to track the work hours of their employees. It simplifies time tracking with accurate records of daily clock-in, clock-out, and absences. An employee time clock is used for in-house as well as remote employees. It helps in hassle-free management of payroll by tracking daily, weekly, and monthly attendance. It also makes scheduling jobs seamless with real-time information. For the longest time, the process of payroll has been exhaustive. HR staff had to go through employee timesheets, calculate overtime hours, etc. The method hasn't just been time-consuming, but also unreliable. Time Clock Machines use technology to streamline the attendance process in a seamless manner. The systems allow workers to input and manage work hours, removing the burden off the HR department. In this blog, as we try to understand Time Clock Machines, we discuss the beneficial reasons for using the time clock system.
7 Reasons why You Need an Employee Time Clock Machine
How do the Employee Time Clock Machines work?
The purpose of a time clock is to electronically track and record attendance for payroll accuracy. With an employee time clocking system, a company generates detailed reports with information on employee work hours, time-off, overtime, absence, etc. It helps in automating salary calculations and ensuring the organization's compliance to labor laws. Time clocks record shifts, work hours and overtime to effectively monitor employee activity.
With technological developments and taking the changing work trends into account, a lot of new features are being explored and being added in the employee time clock system. For now, however, some of the most used systems include-
1. Punch Card Time Clock
Workers are provided with a paper time card that is inserted in a time-card machine upon arrival and while leaving from the workplace. The machine records or punches on the time card to indicate a start and end time. This system isn't feasible for workplaces that employ remote workers or have work profiles that require being on the field.
2. Bio-metric Time Clock
A hardware device, usually installed at the entry of an office, uses biometric data like fingerprints, palm prints, facial recognition, etc to confirm a person's identity to record entry and exit.
3. Digital Time Clock
Employees use a card with a magnetic strip to swipe through a machine to register the date and time of exit and entry. Touchpad is also a digital time clock that doesn't require employees to hold onto a card. Instead, unique IDs generated by employers are keyed in to record data.
4. Web-based Time Clock
Web-based time clocks let employees mark their attendance through a web browser on a computer with unique login credentials to record the start, end as well as break-time.
5. Mobile Time Clock
Mobile time clocks are being preferred in a world transformed by the coronavirus pandemic, in which remote work has become a norm. It allows employees to mark attendance through a mobile device like a mobile phone or tablet. The better versions are integrated with a GPS system and allow for location-specific tracking. A mobile time clock is a very good solution for industries like restaurants and retail that involves having a lot of delivery partners. It makes it easier to track the movement of employees.
With technological developments and taking the changing work trends into account, a lot of new features are being explored and being added in the employee time clock system. For now, however, some of the most used systems include-
1. Punch Card Time Clock
Workers are provided with a paper time card that is inserted in a time-card machine upon arrival and while leaving from the workplace. The machine records or punches on the time card to indicate a start and end time. This system isn't feasible for workplaces that employ remote workers or have work profiles that require being on the field.
2. Bio-metric Time Clock
A hardware device, usually installed at the entry of an office, uses biometric data like fingerprints, palm prints, facial recognition, etc to confirm a person's identity to record entry and exit.
3. Digital Time Clock
Employees use a card with a magnetic strip to swipe through a machine to register the date and time of exit and entry. Touchpad is also a digital time clock that doesn't require employees to hold onto a card. Instead, unique IDs generated by employers are keyed in to record data.
4. Web-based Time Clock
Web-based time clocks let employees mark their attendance through a web browser on a computer with unique login credentials to record the start, end as well as break-time.
5. Mobile Time Clock
Mobile time clocks are being preferred in a world transformed by the coronavirus pandemic, in which remote work has become a norm. It allows employees to mark attendance through a mobile device like a mobile phone or tablet. The better versions are integrated with a GPS system and allow for location-specific tracking. A mobile time clock is a very good solution for industries like restaurants and retail that involves having a lot of delivery partners. It makes it easier to track the movement of employees.
Why is having an Employee Time Clock Machine important?
Implementing an Employee Time Clock system helps an organization in multiple ways. With a time clock app the employees' data (including attendance, leave, overtime, etc) is automatically integrated into the payroll system. The automated recording of data reduces the chance of error in payments and makes the process hassle free. An employee time clock tool also makes it easier for an establishment to set up an objective rewards program and helps in fair Employee Scheduling.
7 reasons why you need an Employee Time Clock Machine
The benefits of having time clocks are countless. It doesn't just clocks time accurately for employers, but also keeps the data handy for the HR teams to be used while processing payments. Here, we list seven most significant benefits of using a time clock machine-
Provide workers with a clear pay schedule
For employees, if a time clock system is implemented at a workplace, it means they will have a clear sense of their work day the start time, the end time, and the breaks. If an employer seeks extra hours of work from an employee before punch-in or after punch-out, they should be fairly compensated. These clear demarcations provide workers with a transparent pay schedule that includes data of all the extra hours worked without an error.
Provide employees with the opportunity to take breaks
An optimized Time Tracking system allows employees to record their break hours easily and efficiently. If an establishment relies on manual record-keeping of break time, there is ought to be confusion. But a time clock documents an employee's arrival and exit and also records the length of their breaks for lunches, etc. It reduces unnecessary confusion and lets employees manage their own schedules effectively without the burden of unexpected pay cuts.
You have to keep track of your employees’ hours, but you can only do that by counting the time they spend in their seats.
It’s hard to keep track of how much time your employees are spending at work and what they are doing.
Monitor your employees' time
Similarly, it gives the employers a handy solution to monitor the employees' time without any hassle.Time is one of the best resources for any establishment.The contemporary time clocks integrate well with mobile devices. It collects and tracks punch-in and punch-out data, and notifies management of discrepancies.Most of these softwares have inbuilt features to identify loopholes in employees' attendance. It helps management to reinforce newer policies or change them to suit the company's growth.
Keep track of your employees' activity
In job profiles like retail or restaurant, which require employees to be present during specified hours, keeping accurate track of their times helps an establishment. It ascertains non-working hours and ensures that employers are not paying workers for hours that they have not worked. Over a period of time, it can save considerable money for an establishment.
Track overtime hours
When employees use a system to punch in and out, the time clock generates an automated record, which makes it easier to track regular and overtime hours.It is advantageous for both employees and employers. Employees can fairly ask for the overtime hours they have worked. Employers reduce unauthorized overtime, and ensure compliance with the Affordable Care Act and wage/hour laws.
Help monitor which employees need to be paid more.
One of the most important benefits of the time clock system is that with consistent tracking of time, it allows an employer to fairly decide which employees need to be paid more. At the end, a time clock isn't just about punching, but also about tracking efficiency in employees and understanding who is optimizing their time well. It helps in increasing output and profit. Based on the generated data, managers and supervisors can decide to appreciate hard working employees.
Decrease Fraud
Time theft (recording time even when one isn't working) and buddy punching (when a coworker punches the timecard for an employee who is not present) usually cost organizations a lot of money over a period of time. A system like bio-metric punching, which requires the presence of a person to mark attendance, works as a solution. It helps in eliminating fraudulent practices like time theft and buddy punching while also ensuring compliance with labor laws for organizations.