Most business owners will agree that there are many benefits to using an online timecard system. Unfortunately, some issues can arise even when using an online time clock that some may not know how to address.
Here we will cover five common issues when using an online employee time clock and how to fix them.
Problem #1: Time Estimates
Some online time clock software relies on user input to estimate the time a particular project or task will take. This can be tricky to manage as not tracking actual time and depending on user input can lead to errors and, much worse, tons of wasted time and productivity, both of which equal lost profits.
The way to fix this is to look for an online employee time clock that tracks employee’s time in real-time rather than having them enter an estimate. Time clocks that track in real-time can track employees down to the minute from the time they clock in until they clock out.
Problem #2: Manual Editing
Another problem that some online time clock solutions have is that they track time automatically. Yet, they also allow the timesheet to be edited manually, to where additional hours can be added. This can make tracking legitimate work hours messy.
The solution is to look for online timesheet software that does not allow for manual editing or has a differentiation between data reported so that time is shown based on how it was recorded, with time tracked being listed and time added being separate. You can pair this with activity tracking integrations to ensure that employees stay on task.
Problem #3: Not Enough Oversight
As we stated earlier, even with automatic time tracking, it can be challenging to determine if an employee was getting work done without the right tools. Some online employee time software will only track essential information like hours and attendance.
The solution to this is to look for online employee time clock software that allows for activity tracking. This will enable managers to see what employees were doing on the web while they were clocked in. This can be fine-tuned to show what projects they were working on and what sites they visited for further detail.
Problem #4: Erroneous Time Tracking
One problem that comes up in particular situations is when tracking blocks of time to complete projects. For instance, an employee can say they spent 8 AM to 12 PM working on a specific task, and the time clock will log those hours. They can then go in and allocate that same block of time to a different project. This can easily lead to falsified timesheets and incorrect data.
Time blocking is available as a feature on many online employee time clock software programs, which can be a detriment to some businesses. The remedy for this is to find time clock software that calculates the time in real-time instead of allocating chunks of time to different projects and recording it that way. This will prevent the effect of “double-dipping” from occurring.
Recording real-time also leads to more accurate time reports rather than time clock software that simply allows large chunks of time to tasks; this can cut into productivity over time as employees can get less done in a day according to the amount of time scheduled for each job.
Problem #5: Lost Time
A problem that can occur when using some timesheet management software is that time is not always recorded as it should be or at all in some cases. Suppose employees are required to log their time on a particular project. In that case, they may choose instead to skip the process and focus on completing the task, particularly for shorter tasks or if the time logging process is complicated.
The simple solution is to use online employee time clock software that constantly tracks time every time a new project is started or sets reminders about tracking time and makes the process easy to turn on and off.
