If you are wondering what are the best time-tracking practices in 2023 then look no further. Time tracking is essential to any business. However, if your company is still doing time tracking manually, you must know how inefficient and arduous the task is for your employees.
Advanced time attendance tracking HR software is a must-have because people usually hate doing it themselves.
All modern companies are switching to automatic time tracking, and doing so has never been easier. But, of course, the process has to be easy for the employees and managers. Especially true if the employees are prone to making mistakes punching in their time. So let's explore some of the best time-tracking practices trending in 2023.
Get rid of physical paper tracking
Even if you don't have that many employees, you can save a ton of time when you get rid of physical paper tracking. Imagine the waste you generate when you have all your employee's sign sheets, having someone verify them, then make triple copies for corporate. Imagine having a company with 500+ employees, the paperwork involved, and the waste it creates. Not only will it cost you a pretty penny to store and maintain it, but you will require extra staff to do all that work. And it goes without mentioning that producing all that paper needed for the job is environmentally impactful.
So the best way to go is to switch to excel based tracking. Not an actual Excell but a system accessible without going physically into a storage area. Depending on your company's needs, that system will still need to go through an approval process.
However, even this will still be more efficient, especially when someone makes an error that has to be changed. It is much simpler to update something in the cloud than on physical paper.
Motivate your employees to keep track of time
One of the best time-tracking practices is to motivate your employees to keep track of time themselves. Usually, that's not too hard to do, especially if their work is by the hour. However, the motivation here is clear: if you don't punch in but do the job, you don't get paid.
The benefits of precise time tracking can extend beyond just calculating someone's wage. You can use AI to determine how much time you will spend on what and see how some things can benefit employee morale. Maybe some people are more efficient with a more extended work day but with a more extensive lunch break. Some people might enjoy a minor lunch break but a shorter workday. It is equally important to explain to people why you are collecting all this data and to assure
them it is for their benefit.
Educate Managers on how to track data easily
When processing all that data, you first need to educate managers on how to track data easily. The other critical time-tracking practice is quickly digesting your collected data. The best way to do that is by having managers, who do all the collecting, check for any irregularities automatically. This is especially important if your employees work on a hybrid work model where these things are not so easy to track.
Avoid making common mistakes
It sounds simple enough, but when you avoid common mistakes, you will compensate for any shortfalls of the system you use. For instance, don't fill out your entire month's worth of work hours all at once at the end of the month. That is usually when you rush things and make mistakes. Not only that, but by the end of the month, you might have forgotten how much you worked anyway. So it is always better to track your time daily while everything is still fresh in your mind.
Another common mistake is using the wrong tools for the job. For instance, don't use spreadsheets. There are times when they are essential but not so good when it comes to tracking your time. Instead, use an HR tool that has that built-in specifically in mind.
Make it a part of your routine. It is the same when you drive a car. For your safety and the safety of others, you have a specific pattern, a ritual you do before you start the engine. Check the lights, click on your seat belt, check the rearview mirror, etc. Now you don't give them a second thought, but it had to take some time to settle in. The same goes for your job, have "punching in your card" a part of your ritual.
Conclusion
Paper trails and manual methods of tracking won't work anymore. Your company needs to process a lot more data to be as efficient as it can be in today's competitive marketplace. Not only that, but all that data requires much more security than a simple padlock. So get with the times and modernize.
For a related topic check out why HR is an essential asset when it comes to warehouse management!