FEATURE INSIGHT
As the drive for productivity efficiencies increases, there has been demand for clocking in solutions enabled by time and attendance software. John Ovington, sales and support director at Carval Computing, explores the benefits that new technologies bring to this often overlooked HR tool Why it pays to have T&A software
T ime and attendance (T&A) has had an image change. Often previously referred to as ‘clocking in’, today T&A isn’t just used by companies with a production line or the public services, but has been adopted as a useful human resources (HR) management tool in many different industries. And it’s not just the managers and employers who benefit by seeing where their staff are at all times, as employees are also now enjoying the advantages. With T&A systems staff are assured that their managers know when and where they are working, supporting health and safety and lone-worker duty of care. Waking up to the benefits Increasingly employers are waking up to the benefits that a modern T&A system can bring. State of the art software now means that staff can clock in from their desktops or smartphones, as well as the traditional method using a card or token. There are various biometric options where an employee can sign in using fingerprint or facial recognition. Organisations can capture working hours on site or remotely, and the data can be integrated with payroll software. The result – staff receive full credit for the hours that they work and are paid in a timely and accurate manner. Another great benefit – and this will be music to the ears of HR and payroll staff – is that completing timesheets and inputting data manually, often an Case studies ● The Tool Connection has recently invested in such HR software to support staff working across two sites and has found one of the biggest business benefits has been the elimination of paper-based administration systems. All staff clock in and out using the
administration burden for all, becomes a thing of the past. In fact, for HR teams streamlining paperwork in this way can result in significant time savings (see Case studies for examples). ...often the transparency and a more flexible approach to work that generates the real benefits... Compelling reasons There are other benefits to be gained from a T&A system. It ensures that everyone is treated equally and can reduce poor timekeeping. We have probably all experienced working alongside a colleague who regularly slips into work late in the morning, takes longer lunch hours and cuts the day by leaving earlier than most. Add up those ‘extra’ minutes and this could amount to an hour or more daily that a particular employee is not working. Such behaviour, if unchecked, can result in ill-feeling and resentment and an unsettled workforce, undermining those staff who do work to the company hours. T&A provides managers and HR with the real-time information so that any issues can be dealt with effectively and factually – and the HR team is assured that they T&A system and the working hours automatically populate the data used for the payroll, with the result that the HR team has reduced time spent on admin, and errors are minimised with one set of data.
comply with employment legislation. If you aren’t already sold on the benefits of T&A, then the fact that staff actually like it must be a compelling reason to consider adoption. With staff increasingly requesting a more flexible approach to working hours – for family commitments, personal study, even semi-retirement – a T&A system can support different working patterns, without it becoming an administration burden for the HR team. A self-service facility to manage absence can also be a particular time saver for the HR team. A more engaged, motivated workforce Supporting your HR team and staff with the right tools could make a difference to your business, not just in efficient processes but staff wellbeing. Having T&A data at their fingertips can help your HR and management team to proactively plan staffing. Reports on days off, sickness, payroll reviews and reasons for absence are extremely useful to support ‘Bradford Factor’ calculations, to identify where there may be potential individual staff problems or wellbeing issues, while meeting the needs of the business. The initial impetus to look at T&A may be to boost productivity, but it is often the transparency and a more flexible approach to work that generates the real benefits: namely, a more engaged and motivated workforce. n multiple sites, also uses a T&A system to manage staff hours through normal and peak seasons, for example Christmas. Integrating this with its payroll has resulted in flexibility to meet the business demands – and has reduced HR administration from a total of five days to just ten hours a month.
● Cottage Delight, a UK speciality food provider that employs staff at
| Professional in Payroll, Pensions and Reward | February 2016 | Issue 27 42
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