Employees are the biggest asset of your business. You rely on them to efficiently run your business and help it grow. Managing them properly can make or break your company’s productivity and bottom line.
One key aspect of employee management is attendance. Employees are expected to arrive at work on time and be productive. Unfortunately, chronic lateness and absenteeism can have significant time and cost implications, impacting your business’s productivity and profitability.
This is where clocking in machines like those from Egress Systems comes in. In this article, you’ll learn the basics of clocking-in machines and tips to successfully integrate one into your workplace.
Understanding Clocking-In Machines
Known as an employee time clock or a clocking system, a clocking machine is any system where employee clocks in and out of the office, recording their attendance. At its most basic level, clocking machines allow you to see which employees reported to work and who doesn’t know when a team member left work earlier or if their lunch is a bit longer than expected.
There are various reasons for businesses to add a clocking-in machine, including accurate time tracking, ensuring payroll accuracy, and providing workplace transparency and fairness.
Tips To Implement Clocking-In Machines
Now that you know what a clocking-in machine is, this section shares four tips and strategies to help you successfully implement one in your office.
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Choose The Right Type
The success of this implementation and transition is only as good as the clocking machine you choose. That said, you have various options when shopping for clocking-in machines. These include:
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Punch Cards
The classic and oldest types of clocking machines are punch cards which still exist in some offices, particularly local governments. With this type, a time card is inserted into the machine to record an employee’s arrival and departure. The machine will punch on the time card, which indicates the time it’s inserted into the clocking-in machine.
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Biometric Time Clocks
A modern upgrade to punch cards, a biometric time clock uses biometric data, including fingerprints, palm prints, and facial recognition, to confirm an employee’s unique identity and record attendance. Biometric time clocks are a preferred solution since it helps prevent buddy punching and time theft.
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Proximity Readers
Popular in larger companies, a proximity time clock uses radio frequency identification (RFID) technology to identify and record employees. Typically, RFID is embedded into an employee’s company ID. When an employee approaches the clocking-in machine, the RFID tag is read, and the machine records their attendance.
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Mobile and Web-Based Time Clocks
With the rise of remote and hybrid working, mobile or web-based time is more suitable. This type allows remote employees to record their attendance by logging in via a mobile app or the web. Employees don’t have to be in your office to record their attendance.
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Create A Policy And Procedure
Once you’ve chosen a clocking-in machine, draft a comprehensive policy for employee clock-ins. Ensure the policy introduces the clocking-in machine, including the reasons for implementing it.
The policy should also discuss your expectations of employees using the clocking-in machine. It should also have a set of strict procedures to handle clock-in issues. For instance, it should indicate when, where, and how an employee can clock in and out. What happens if an employee fails to record their attendance? Add rules about overtime, breaks, and time rounding.
It should also outline what to do in unexpected situations, such as technical issues. If the clock-in machine can’t record attendance, who should an employee notify first? Should they submit documentation to prove their attendance or the reason for their late clock-ins?
After establishing the policy, make sure to communicate it throughout your company. Also, make sure to follow in consistently for all employees. This way, your employees have more respect for the policy and maintain a healthy company culture.
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Organize Training
When implementing a new system into the workplace, you want to organize training sessions to help employees adjust to the changes. The good news is that teaching employees how to use the clocking machine doesn’t take much time and effort. You must show them how it works and constantly remind them about using the system for weeks.
Ideally, you should consider adding a trial period for your clocking machine before you go all in. This helps employees get accustomed to the solution while providing insights on whether it suits your organization.
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Encourage Feedback
As your employees use the clocking-in machine, you want to ask for feedback. This is necessary to know if it’s working well for your employees and satisfy the reasons why you implemented it in the first place.
Consider having a private poll for employees to take their feedback. Then, call for an open meeting to tackle any issues or complaints about the new system.
Takeaway
The best clocking-in machine serves as the gatekeeper between your employees and the payroll system. Without it, you need to spend a lot of time and effort to ensure you’re paying employees correctly for their hours.
Whether this is your first time implementing or you’re upgrading to a new clocking machine, we hope this article has provided you with better insights and valuable tips to add and use clocking machines in your business successfully.