Keeping track of your employees' comings and goings is a vital part of running an efficient, streamlined business. If your time and attendance software can't keep up, you're going to end up losing money. That's why you may want to upgrade if you're still using the same old system that you've had for years. Adjusting to a new time and attendance keeping system can be a chore at first, but if you choose one with features that keep time more accurately, give you more advanced options, and help you ensure compliance with employee timekeeping rules, you won't regret it. Take a look at some tips for implementing a new time and attendance system in your workplace.
Build Up Anticipation
You'll have a much easier time implementing a new system if the people who are going to be using it – usually your hourly employees – are on board with the change. Therefore, it's important to communicate to your employees how the new system will benefit them.
Increased accuracy in your timekeeping software will save you money, because you won't end up paying for time not worked. But the system works both ways – increased accuracy also benefits your employees, who won't have to worry about not being paid for time that they actually have worked. It's important to stress that they will ultimately benefit from a new system as much as you will.
You should also make sure to talk up any features that will help your employees by giving them more options and flexibility. For example, if some of your employees work remotely, or if you've been considering adding the option to work from home, choose a software that allows employees to clock in from a remote network, or that has a mobile option that lets employees clock in and out from a smartphone or tablet. When you're introducing the new system to your employees, make sure to talk up the benefits of those features.
Make it Easy to Use
One major cause of resistance to change in the workplace is that new systems are often more difficult to use, or at least are perceived to be more difficult to use. It's not just your hourly employees that may have trouble – your HR department and payroll staff may resist the idea of change and may struggle to adjust to the new system if it makes their jobs more difficult.
You can cut down on the difficulty level by ensuring you choose a time and attendance software that's easy to use. Your HR and payroll directors should be involved in the choice of new timekeeping software, and you should choose software that integrates with the applications that are already in use in those departments. Look for a clean and intuitive interface that allows for easy use.
Ensure Compliance
Of course, you need a timekeeping system that's going to keep you in compliance with the Fair Labor Standards Act. If your company simply tracks straight time, then an accurate clock and a low error rate are probably enough to ensure compliance. However, if your company is one of the many companies that uses rounding to ensure fair payment, it's important to make sure that your time and attendance software is compatible with the rounding rules that you're using.
The FLSA specifies three different rounding rules. You can either round to the nearest recognized interval, you can round in favor of the employee at punch-in and in your own favor at punch-out, or you can opt to always round in favor of the employee. If you plan to use rounding, or think that you may in the future, it's important that your time and attendance software has settings that support compliance with at least one of these rules – and preferably with all three of them, so that you have the option to change if you want to. Failure to comply with the rounding rules can cost you more than just the money you owe your employees – you'll be subject to expensive fines if you're found to be rounding incorrectly. Therefore, rounding settings are an important part of choosing and implementing a time and attendance system,.
An accurate, easy-to-use system that integrates with your existing software and keeps your company in compliance with labor laws can make a big difference to your company and can save you money. It's worth taking the time to carefully consider several viable options to find the best software for your business. For more information, check out a company like SmartLinx Solutions LLC.
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