Remote Employee time tracking

Remote Employee time tracking

Remote Employee time tracking – do you need it and why is it so important?

While the idea of running a business remotely may evoke an idyllic picture of sitting in a trendy coffee shop sipping a latte with a laptop at your fingertips, we know the reality is far more challenging.

It’s not always easy for the remote manager to know what is going on with their staff and projects.

Many sectors have staff working at dispersed sites – these are employees who work “in the field” whether it’s cleaners moving from site to site, construction workers based on building sites or hospitality staff working at different event venues.

These businesses also often have a high proportion of part-time and flexible workers therefore staff who are not routinely supervised.

Managing all sides of the business remotely – the financial and the people side – will therefore need some thought.

Don’t panic though, with the right Remote Employee time tracking tools to help you there’s nothing to stop you from working wherever while knowing your employees are on track.

Below is our quick guide to remote employee time tracking solutions:

Cloud-based or locally-hosted system?

Time cards, spreadsheets and manual data entry are becoming a thing of the past. When working remotely they are impossible to keep track of and can track hours to collate.

This is why many businesses are adopting automated time tracking systems.

A cloud-based time and attendance system offers flexibility and is cost-effective.

With no software to install, cloud software won’t take up space on company networks and offers the advantage of being accessible from any PC, smartphone or other mobile devices.

It also means that small, as well as large companies, can benefit from the same functionality, all without the IT hassle.

Clocking-in options

The next decision is which employee clocking-in system to choose. Some cloud-based time and attendance systems offer a range of choices from which you can choose one or a combination to suit your business:

  • RFID machines – staff can clock-in using RFID swipe cards or proximity fobs.
  • Biometric machines – these machines use fingerprint or facial recognition for clocking-in so managers can be sure who is clocking-in, useful for remote sites.
  • Phone clocking and smartphone clocking app – Great for companies with employees working on remote or dispersed sites
  • Web clocking – supervisors can choose which staff can access a self-service web-clocking account using any device with access to the internet.

Other issues such as compliance

It can be a sizeable challenge for any employer to ensure that their business complies with all aspects of the huge body of UK employment law regulations. Especially if your workers are not all on-site.

An automated time management system will help you fulfil your employer obligations in areas such as:

  • Contracts of employment and working hours
  • Payroll & Pensions
  • Statutory leave and time off

You can make sure that everyone is getting paid the right amount. Taking the correct holiday entitlement and working safe hours.

So an automated system benefits not just the employer but employees too. Giving them clear expectations about their part in reporting, as well as giving them knowledge about what rewards to expect and when.

For managers on the ground, automated attendance systems can be a vital part of demonstrating effective fire evacuation procedures.

Top-tips for remote management

The internet age has ushered in a whole new way of working. There’s no need to brave the daily commute. Just to pick up your correspondence or have a meeting. You can now do these things remotely and at a click of the mouse. It’s good news for managers and staff everywhere.

However, getting this wrong will not only impact your staff, but your business – it can seriously skew your financial projections and, ultimately, your profits.

To help you make sure you’re on the right side of the profit line, check out our remote working tips for management:

  • Technology is your friend – carefully choose and use the right technology to enable you to manage the business remotely. Reliable internet and hardware goes without saying but your choice of software is crucial too.
  • Recruit the right staff – when hiring try to recruit people who you think will support you and who understand the demands of your business. As a remote manager, you’ll want to be on the lookout for employees who are enthusiastic and honest. Help your business thrive and grow.
  • Choose a good cloud-based time and attendance system – this means that your staff can clock-in and out remotely – you can be sure that hours worked are being logged properly and that the automated system will relay the correct information to payroll.
  • Be a pro-active communicator – be more vigilant and diligent about checking your communications – email, voicemails and alerts. If you’ve got an efficient time and attendance system, then you can see instantly when employees are late or no shows via the software dashboard.

Conclusion:

Remote working is on the increase for office workers and more hands-on staff.

But your managers still need to know that tasks are being completed and your clients’ needs are being met. You also need to have accurate and verifiable information to pay your staff the correct amount.

That is why you need to choose a remote employee time tracking solution you can trust.

uAttend is flexible and scalable and it’s simple to use and is 100% scalable.

uAttend includes:

  • Unlimited UK helpdesk support
  • Online training
  • Software updates & feature releases
  • Lifetime warranty on all uAttend machines.

To book a demo, click here.

To watch a pre-recorded demo, click here.