Attendance Automation ADDS VALUE to Human Resources

What comes to mind when Human Resource (HR) is mentioned? The majority links HR to recruitment, staff administration and payroll, which is not wrong but HR tasks today are no longer limited these roles only. The scope of HR now is larger and crucial in facilitating the strategic development of an organization. Hence, companies need to find ways to figure out the technology that can help with improving the process in this particular area.

Timesheet calculation, payroll and report is just one part of the HR scope, however this task takes up a large chunk of the HR department’s time and priorities due to its intricacy, labor-intensive, time-consuming and time-sensitive nature, which leaves HR with less time and concentration to tackle other issues such as training and development, performance improvement, business sustenance, employee satisfaction, conflict resolution among other various tasks.

With organizations needing to respond to changes (industrial, market, seasonal) impacting scheduling at the highest percentile (34%), followed by managing a culturally diverse workforce with varied  performance and operational traditions (33%) coming in second and the need to manage geographically disperse or mobile workers (31%) coming in last among the top 3 pressures driving time and attendance issues in the workplace, HR is now required to maintain a favorable working environment to achieve strategic development of a company by managing an increasingly diverse workforce and increasingly disperse workers to ensure the continuity of the company’s progress.

The question is, how to reduce the time spent on staff timekeeping without interrupting the monthly process while also ensuring smooth operation?

Automation is the key for HR to start with process improvement. The software needs to handle automation effectively and produce results, analysis and reports whenever required.An easy solution is that each company operates a timekeeper or time clock that ranges from traditional punch card machines to Biometrics or NFC tags. Conventional methods like the punch cards require manual data input, manual calculations and manual interpretations. Not only does this take a lot of time to complete, it also increases the chances of error that could cost the company extra money. Other methods like access cards leaves the possibility of card-switching and dishonest data, while the Biometric method offers convenience and precise data. The technology used by time clocks is just a tool to collect the individual staff’s working hours but more importantly, you have to look at the features and functions offered by the software accompanying those tools.

Checklist of features in attendance software:

• Easily Accessible with Multi Level Permission – The data should be accessible by all levels with different authority levels for effective human resource management.
• Collectively obtains all data from the clocking tools from various locations – No matter how many time clock readers are installed and the location of these readers, the software must be able to collect all the data on time all the time for an uninterrupted flow of data.
• Automatically consolidates and saves all employee data – A good system only requires one time data input and it could be distributed as required without compromising the company’s security.
• Matches all compliance and rules – Each organization has its own employment rules and regulations and simultaneously is required to abide labor law of the land. Hence, the software needs to cater to the rules and compliance effortlessly.
• Administers shifts and scheduling correctly – Shifts and scheduling are the most complex part of managing human resources and to proceed to automation, the software must be able to handle shifts and scheduling correctly and effectively.
• Calculates time and wage correctly – There are different sets of calculations for different working scenarios and schedules, hence the software needs to provide different calculations and produce correct calculations at all times.
• Integrates with payroll software seamlessly – When attendance data is in place and to further automate the system, inclusion of payroll is inevitable.
• Provides reports as and when required – To determine ROI, compliance, and improvements, reports and analysis are crucial.

Automation must tackle all issues of timesheet management, compliance, calculation and payroll to reduce the HR department’s time spent on those areas so HR can contribute positively in other areas for the benefit of the company. A recent study conducted by Harris Interactive Inc. states that with as many as 69% of hourly employees admit to punching in and out earlier or later than scheduled, while 21% of hourly employees admitting to stealing company time and another 10% to putting additional time on their time sheet, investing in a attendance automation software is an invaluable ally that “meets your organization’s needs and integrates with your HR and payroll systems”, leading to a “strong return on employee investment and a positive effect on overall business results”. (Sage HRMS)

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