The Benefits of Remote Clocking In

Modern businesses and their staff are learning to become ever more flexible. From night shifts to working hours based around the school day, the old routine of 9 to 5 is no longer the only option. Where people work is also evolving, and the Coronavirus has forced many companies to adapt quickly to the new reality of staff working from home. As the locations for working change, new systems and procedures are required to ensure businesses continue to run smoothly. An easy-to-use remote clocking in system can help businesses manage their teams wherever they are, and ensure essential functions such as payroll and attendance tracking are accurately maintained.

The enforced working from home of 2020 enlightened companies and employees to a new way of living. Instead of facing a stressful, time-wasting and lengthy commutes, employers realised that their staff could be just as productive (if not more so) working at home as they were in an office. Many companies are now investing in systems to enable staff to remain working from home post-Covid as the potential cost-savings of having remote workers become evident.

The Challenges of Remote Working

Remote working may seem like a fantastic solution to both employer and employee; however, it’s not without its challenges.

Remote Working Challenges for Employee’s

From the employee’s perspective, you can often feel stressed and lonely, especially if you’re used to working in a busy office environment.

Motivation can often be an issue. Many people may struggle to focus on their work without management keeping a watchful eye over them.

Working in an office also provides people with a sense of structure to their day. They arrive in the office for 9 am, have a short, mid-morning break, lunch for 1 hour and then finish between 5 pm and 6 pm. The rest of the time, they will be working and know that they need to complete certain tasks before leaving for the night.

When you’re working remotely you don’t have this structure, and so people often start late, have a longer than planned lunch but also work into the evening when they should be relaxing or doing activities they enjoy. Without structure, work-life balance can break down, and you may find staff members working longer, but less productive hours than if they were working in an office.

Remote Working Challenges for Employers

From an employers perspective, the most significant issues are typically around payroll, time management and oversight.

Many businesses still rely on team members self-reporting, which is never a reliable option.

Employers have a duty of care when it comes to staff members working hours, and they need to ensure people are working reasonable hours and not working into the night.

Management needs a clear understanding of what their staff members are doing and when. If teams are struggling to cope with the workload, more resources can be allocated to support them. Conversely, if you have staff putting their feet up watching day time TV, then they can be given more to do.

What is Remote Clocking In?

Remote clocking systems enable employees to ‘clock on’ from wherever they are based, so their worked hours are accurately logged.

The clocking system may be in the form of a biometric device attached to the remote workers desktop or PC, or they may use an Employee Self Service app or portal that workers login into.

Many sophisticated self-service applications also allow employees to make holiday requests and view worked hours and overtime accrued. Supervisors can see who is logged in and working at any given time and check on employee locations using integrated maps features.

How Remote Clocking In Benefits the Employee

Clock In Any Time and Anywhere

Employee self-service platforms enable remote workers to clock in whether they are simply based at home or are working on a project in another country. It provides a transparent platform for both employee and employer and ensures worked hours are correctly recorded and rewarded.

Give Employees the Power to be Flexible

Many employees don’t want a 9 to 5 job. Instead, they want the flexibility to log in and perform tasks at a time that suits their schedules and lifestyles. Remote clocking in systems provide the ideal solution for employers to track these workers accurately.

Save Time and Frustration

An inefficient time and attendance system for remote workers wastes time and money and causes frustration for both workers and management alike. By adopting a user-friendly employee self-service app staff members can report time easily.

Staff Can Manage Their Own Schedules

A big advantage of this type of system is the transparency it provides. Employees can view their time and attendance data and request holidays and time off through the application.

How Can Management Benefit from Remote Clocking In

View Data in Real-Time

Even though your employees may be spread around the country, or even, around the world, management can still see a real-time overview of their team’s situation.

Effectively Manage Costs Centres and Workflow

With instant access to employee schedules, managers can see the history and future schedule of cost centre assignments for their employees. This enables employees and supervisors to identify where an employee has been and will be assigned to work.

Remote Clocking In Provides Transparency and Accountability

With self-reporting removed managers can see an accurate picture of the hours being worked by employees. Those who are underperforming and those that are regularly working past their scheduled hours can be quickly identified.

Payroll in a Breeze

Your employee self-service application should feed data directly into your payroll platform, largely automating the process. This will free up precious time for HR, Accounts and Management, allowing them to focus on important tasks.