IS MANUAL ATTENDENCE AND SCHEDULING TIME CONSUMING?

Organisations from around the world are in a race to completely digitalize their workplace. But some companies do not give enough attention to the HR processes involved in an employee’s satisfaction. It is important to consider automatic attendance and time scheduling processes rather than manual ones. According to a report by Deloitte in 2019, 50% of professionals who do not have a software system say manual data input and adjustments are the most time-consuming processes. Manual attendance and scheduling require paperwork for employees and employers. Small businesses usually take up the traditional way of attendance sheets and counting hours. Whereas, in huge companies’ manual systems can be complex and complicated. Even though manual systems are the most simple and cheaper way to track employees working hours, it is time-consuming.  

DISADVANTAGES OF MANUAL TIME & ATTENDANCE SYSTEMS

1. Inaccuracy: Manual data entry can be subject to human errors. Paper timesheets can sometimes have false entries, switched details of employees, lost or damaged. HR departments cannot track every employee’s clock in and clock out time, making the process very challenging. Inaccurate paper timesheets can also cause payroll errors. According to the Aberdeen Group, organizations that go beyond spreadsheets create accurate financial reports 10% more often than people who rely only on spreadsheets. At the same time, another survey shows that 80% of surveyed who use paper systems reported that the correct 80% of timesheets they receive.  

2. Decreased productivity: According to a questionnaire, 46.7% of employees track time (vacation and sick leaves) on paper, and 69.5% of people track overtime work on paper. It is crucial to keep up with the digital changes to increase productivity in the workplace. Companies can eliminate daily lost productivity and recapture a total of $666,400.00 in yearly wages by automating time tracking.

3. Time-taking: According to a study by Robert half International, employees lose about 4.5 hours every week to all different types of time theft. Time tracking software also indicates less time spent processing timecards from 7 minutes to 1 minute per pay period. Therefore, manual systems take too much work time, which diverts the HR from the main goals and matters of the company.  

4. Lack of security: Manual timesheets and absence management can be at risk since there is always a fear of confidential information leakage. Thus, cloud-based HR software must be considered as it protects with locked passwords and fingerprints.

5. Compliance risks: It is necessary to have an accurate working time of employees so that the employees get accurate pay according to their working times. According to the government’s labour laws and regulations, it is necessary to track the overtime hours so that the employees don’t work more hours than stated by the government. It is difficult to store manual documents, timecards of each employee as they get damaged after some time. More than $1.4 billion in the minimum wage and overtime violations were discovered by the US department of labour’s wage and hour division since 2015.

Manual and handwritten reports take up to a massive number of hours at work, indicating that employees are less productive. Senior managers report that 16 days a year are wasted searching for printed documents. A huge amount of mental and physical effort is required for engaging in manual works of time and attendance management. In comparison, automatic time and attendance systems save much time. According to Gartner, in 2013, professionals spent 50% of their time searching for information and 18 minutes on average to locate a document. It is important to increase the productivity of the company and make employees independent and self-efficient.

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ADVANTAGES OF AUTOMATED TIME & ATTENDANCE MANAGEMENT

1. Accurate: The number of errors/ inaccuracies are reduced in automated systems involved with a manual clock in and clock out. Companies also save on overpaying as automated systems eliminate time theft while manual clock-in and clock-out. The timecards are processed on the computer automatically.  

2. Security: Automated systems have protection with locked passwords, and iCloud stores the data for the future. This reduces the need of filing papers again and again after been damaged. Therefore, the confidentiality of the company is maintained.  

3. Compliance: Automated systems maintain the changing labour laws and regulations for employees working times. This helps in securing the rights of employees and giving them pay according to their work hours which includes overtime, leaves and other holidays. According to  Workpuls, Employers overpay up to 200 billable hours per year because they do not have an automated time tracking software.  

4. Greater flexibility and productivity: Automated time and attendance systems allow the employees to be confident, flexible and independent. Employees can access their schedules at any time and according to their shift. For example, automated time and attendance systems enable the company to manage everyone’s busy schedules at peak times more efficiently in the hotel industry.  

5. Reduced costs and time: Automated systems reduce the costs of the company as fewer office lies, printers and manual papers are required, everything is on the system in front of their eyes; the work which took hours can now be done in seconds with one click as manual filing, reviewing and tracking takes an enormous amount of time for HR employees. The software is economical, and companies are financially benefitted from it. A report states that time thefts can cost employers an average of $11 billion per year.  

In conclusion, manual systems for time and attendance management are no doubt time-consuming. The manual process is challenging as not every time you can track the overtime and absences of the employees. The increase in digitalization has brought new changes to the old traditional systems; thereby, switching o automated systems is the best way to save time and engage in more important matters at work. Advancements in technology have also positively impacted employees and employers, making them tech-savvy and self-reliant. These days usage of biometrics has increased, which reduces the risk of fraud by using es fingerprints, facial recognition and other personal identification for attendance authorization. Implementing time tracking and attendance systems can even indicate the hour’s employees were productive at the workplace. Automated systems help to make your business bloom efficiently with quicker and easier services. Moreover, automated systems make your life hassle-free and make the manual complex process easy to monitor activities, saving time in any employee’s daily work life. Therefore, even promoting inclusion and diversity in the workplace.

UBIQHR offers an automated time and attendance system to track employees’ clock-in and out timings with ease. The app even sends missed clock-in alerts, therefore, making the workplace a secure and safe environment for your employees. UBIQHR enables the attendance and time system to sync with calendars making employees aware of their availability. UBIQHR even provides the app with data analytics, statistics and graphs of attendance of employees, making it simple for employers and saving the efforts in making one manually.