Best time clocks are worker friendly

Because it will make their jobs easier, those on your payroll are likely breathing a huge sigh of relief over your decision to install new mobile time clock systems. Honest staffers may also be relieved it’s no longer possible to abuse your system.

At the same time, even the honest may be grumbling over the improvements. Why?

Factors besides aversion to change may come into play. Salaried workers may feel demoted by the new requirements and/or claim they’re too busy to follow suit, while others may fear being judged for their accrued hours more than their overall contribution.

“Reporting time can threaten status,” notes Curt Finch on hr.com. “Conventional wisdom … is that ‘professional’ people are more trustworthy and less in need of supervision than ‘blue collar’ people. (And) managers may take the easy path of rewarding based on time spent, rather than develop more subtle and appropriate metrics of real productivity.”

How can you best help your employees acclimate?

• Take advantage of company-wide training by vendors. That creates a sense of importance by stressing the system must be used by employees at all levels.
• Stress direct benefits to employees, including accurate pay for hours actually worked, automatically compiled PTO and fewer errors associated with bad handwriting.
• Emphasize the ease and convenience of features like mobile apps and photo check-in, which don’t require removal of work gear.
• Be clear about how automation tightens wasted expense, showing examples of how data can be used to better determine project profitability. “Most people can understand this, and they care about the success of their company,” Finch notes.
• Send automated email reminders to those not complying.
• Consider rewarding compliant employees with bonuses or other benefits.

Ultimately, employees should see how the benefits of your new system outweigh their initial objections.

“In this increasingly competitive world … if you don’t get every hour billed that should be, or if you don’t know which projects are profitable and which ones aren’t, you’re going down hard,” warns Finch. “Your only choices are to follow or fail. Or you could lead — and be the first one to get it right.”

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