TECHNOLOGY
Time and attendance systems
Jerome Smail, business journalist, presents the views of several industry experts on why and how these systems are being engaged and used by employers, HR and payroll
T he collection of payroll data is increasingly automated and the lines between the payroll function and human resources (HR) are becoming evermore blurred. One feature of the modern workplace that falls under both those aspects is time and attendance (T&A). So, how are T&A systems impacting the profession? To find out, I asked the following key figures in the field: ● Nicole Bello , group vice president, SMB and channel, EMEA at UKG ● Louise Chandler , payroll manager at FedEx ● Will Jackson , managing director of Zalaris ● Julie Lock , commercial director at Mitrefinch. What are the benefits of a T&A system? Louise Chandler: In an ever-changing business environment, many can find managing workforces a challenge due to aspects such as increased flexibility in working arrangements and hours. However, T&A systems enable the employer to collect and report on accurate data, which, in turn, gives greater insight into their operations as a whole. Additionally, it allows the employer to manage their workforce through the seamless scheduling of increasingly
complex shift patterns and working hours. It also assists with absence tracking which highlights trends and allows for more proactive management, ultimately increasing productivity. Tracking T&A via an automated system removes manual processes which are prone to human error or open to misuse. This results in cost savings for the employer, but also increased employee satisfaction due to heightened levels of payroll accuracy. Accurate reporting also has compliance and audit benefits across the business, whether monitoring working hours or being able to quickly access records to resolve queries. Julie Lock: Organisations that use technology to drive efficiency often look to T&A as a smart way to manage their workforce requirements. The benefits of T&A directly impact an organisation’s profit and loss and the security of their premises and assets. It is estimated that an organisation of 1,000 employees can expect to make a cost saving of £250,000 per year by introducing T&A technology. There are major benefits to payroll teams,
Data gathering can be a challenge for payroll teams, who rely on people managers to accurately document timesheet data in a legible format and submit it to payroll on time. With T&A, there is no data gathering requirement, and payroll are no longer reliant on people managers to accurately record timesheet data. The T&A solution understands the shift plans for each employee and will accurately record their clocking in and out times and calculate payments. Where an employee unexpectedly fails to clock in or out, the solution will flag an exception to the reporting line manager to resolve, thus capturing late starts, early finishes, overtime worked and absences. Absence entitlements are automatically managed by the T&A solution, ensuring that employees never exceed their entitlements. Accurate payments for absences are automatically calculated, removing the administration burden off the payroll team. Gathering payroll data outside of a T&A solution runs the risk of it being lost, missed or arriving too late into payroll to be processed on time. T&A solutions eliminate these risks; as the solution collects, calculates and formats the data, ready to be transferred into the payroll solution automatically, on time. Exceptions to normal shift payments, such as overtime, are flagged to line managers for approval, ensuring that they authorise or reject the additional payments before payroll is processed. Will Jackson: The top three benefits of utilising an efficient T&A system would undoubtedly be the reduction and
people managers and employees. T&A will cater for the automatic,
accurate calculation of very complex and multiple payment rules, up to gross pay, saving valuable time and removing human errors, ultimately improving the accuracy of pay.
...enable the employer to collect and report on accurate data, which, in turn, gives greater insight...
| Professional in Payroll, Pensions and Reward | September 2021 | Issue 73 40
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