Time and Attendance trends in 2021

As we head into 2021 and all that it can bring, it’s only right for the uAttend team to use their Time and Attendance system knowledge to predict the upcoming trends.

2020 saw a dramatic change in the Time and Attendance system field, with a push away from biometrics during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Working from home also became the norm, and businesses had to quickly adapt to tracking employee hours in non-traditional ways.

With a vaccine (hopefully) set to help stop COVID from the mass disruption to businesses in 20201, managers still need to think about the strict regulations, logistics and panic triggers that may remain.

Here’s our top Time and Attendance System trends for 2021.

Facial recognition scanners

Even with a vaccine, after a year of washing our hands to the birthday song 15 times a day, it won’t be a surprise that employees may be put off at the thought of sharing biometric touch terminals.

Clocking in via facial recognition technology is contactless, meaning employees can clock in and out without having to touch the device.

They clock workers in under a second on average, and completely eliminate buddy clocking (you can’t borrow your friends face).

Keep an eye out for adapted facial recognition models to be released in 2021 that include tools for temperature reading.

Self-service Apps

Lots of businesses have adapted well to working from home and may decide to do this on a permanent basis.

With office space rent, bills and more irradicated, businesses can invest in employees and tech infrastructure.

One of the key things we see needed is self-service tools via apps.

Employees can no longer ‘pop’ to HR to ask for a holiday sheet, and wasting time on the phone or chasing emails can be frustrating.

With a self-service app (Like uAttend) employees will be able to quickly request holiday, add notes to clocking’s and see their timesheets.

Geolocation tracking

As said above, the reality of working from home will probably run into a lot of 2021, so ensuring you know where your employees are is important.

Invest in a clocking app or system that clearly tracks where your employees are when they clock in or out.

We’re not talking about a device that tracks your employees for the entire day. Just their exact geolocation when they clock, so you know they are where they say they are.

Scheduling

Managers working remotely will have to be more organised than ever, as they are expected to guide their teams from home.

Setting work schedules and tracking that employees are following their hours will be a handy tool to not only boost productivity, but flag any employee who is struggling.

Remember, lateness and absence are tell-tale signs of an issue.

If you want to know more about our time and attendance system click here.