Time and attendance tracking is an HR practice that many companies use to monitor the hours worked by their employees. This type of tracking has been around for quite some time, but it is becoming increasingly obsolete due to its outdated processes and lack of modern integrated technologies. While it can provide some basic information about employee hours for payroll processing, it does not provide an accurate overview of what tasks are being completed or how well they are being done.
Why time and attendance tracking is HR practice that companies should get rid of?
Time and attendance tracking has become outdated because it often relies on paper documents or manual entries into computer databases. This method not only wastes payroll processing resources but also makes it difficult to spot discrepancies or changes in schedules right away.
Additionally, this type of tracking tends to be inaccurate since employees often fail to record the exact amount of hours they have worked. Furthermore, having a system that tracks employee’s exact start and end times means there may be too much pressure placed on them if an exact timeline must be followed every single day, that is further badly impacting the company culture.
Time and attendance legal implications and employers’ obligations
Businesses must also take certain legal implications into consideration when deciding whether or not to adopt a time and attendance system, or to even get rid of the process.
In many countries, there are laws surrounding minimum wage rates and working hours that require employers to comply with certain standards in order for them to pay their employees properly.
A time sheet cannot always guarantee accurate compliance with these regulations due to its potential inaccuracy. Companies may incur fines if they do not meet legal obligations regarding the timing of paycheck payments, recorded overtime, work on holidays, or other aspects related to managing work schedules effectively.
How to stop tracking time & attendance but still be compliant?
Companies today no longer need systems like physical punch cards, paper timesheets, or other clock-in and monitoring systems as there are smarter ways of achieving compliance while simultaneously ensuring that employees remain productive during their shifts instead of focusing on meeting targets set by management systems using old methods like e.g. clocking in/out at specified times.
Employers can do so through cloud HR software solutions, and even powered by Artificial Intelligence (AI). These platforms are easily customizable with options ranging from automated shift scheduling tools which help anticipate any conflicts arising between different staff members’ preferences; allocating tasks according to each employee’s job skillset; automatizing leave applications & approvals thereby reducing paper and manual work significantly; generating detailed analytics & reports that can help spot patterns in individual performance etc., providing a comprehensive view into organizational dynamics & resource utilization at any given moment.
Employers should trust their employees and measure the work that is being done, not the time spent on work
Tracking the exact number of minutes someone has worked, isn’t going to be beneficial for business nor for employees. Companies should rather focus on measuring productivity through realistic tangible results in the long run.
This wouldn’t mean discarding the idea of office hours required, but rather taking an open approach focused on enabling employees to do their best.
