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Originally Posted On: https://www.e-days.com/news/8-benefits-of-using-time-tracking-software
If you’re considering implementing time tracking software within your organisation, it’s probably to address a problem or challenge you’re facing. Such as lack of visibility over the workforce or difficulties with payroll accuracy. However, there are actually a wide variety of benefits of using a time tracking software for both employers and employees.
Benefits of using a time tracking software
Among the benefits of using a time tracking software or online timesheet system can be both practical and holistic!
Reduces admin time
Admin time can be a huge time suck for businesses, with almost 1 in 4 citing data input tasks
as their biggest time suck. Naturally, there will always be an admin burden as part of most roles, but admin such as completing timesheets which doesn’t contribute to an employees output is the type of task that businesses will want to automate as much as possible.
Time tracking software such as edays will automatically keep a record of the hours worked, breaks had, and any absence or leave taken, with just a couple of clicks. Employees can clock in and out with the mobile app, with the option to use automatically generated QR codes to assign time to different locations or activities.
The software also reduces admin time for the employer. Line managers or HR personnel are able to easily view, approve or export timesheets for payroll and record keeping.
Accurately keeps track of overtime
It’s important to track overtime accurately for a number of reasons. Firstly, there are labour laws in most countries which prevent employees from working in excess of a certain number of hours. So being able to report on exactly how many they’ve done is key for remaining compliant.
Secondly, overtime in many businesses is paid at a different rate than normal working hours, and lots of contracts specify different tiers of pay based on the hours the overtime is worked at. So being able to see exactly what hours were worked at exactly what time will ensure the business isn’t paying out incorrectly on overtime.
Lastly, employees who are chronically overworked can become less productive, more fatigued, and ultimately burned out. While it’s good to offer overtime to employees who want it, it’s important that organisations can keep on top of the exact hours being worked so they can look after their staff and keep them working at their best.
Eliminates human error
Human error is inevitable to a certain degree. But with manual timesheets or time tracking methods such as clock cards or paper and spreadsheets, there are likely to be a lot more avoidable mistakes.
A time tracking software such as edays keeps everything in one place, automates the process as much as possible, and eliminates the risk of misplaced paper or cards. There are also settings that can be applied to decide whether or not employees have access to edit timesheets, giving you more control over the accuracy of them.
Improves visibility
Visibility in an organisation, especially a large one, is a great way to ensure operations run smoothly. A time tracking software provides visibility over total hours worked, and these can be assigned to different tasks or activities.
This takes visibility to the next level, as it isn’t simply about being able to see what hours have been worked. Being able to see exactly where time is spent within the business can help to illuminate time wasted on hidden tasks (like admin) and allows you to take steps to improve efficiency.
It can also be used to inform the way you and your employees work going forwards. Being able to look back on exactly how long a certain task or project took last time can allow you to provide more accurate time estimates going forwards, and to work it into your working schedule better.
Helps with accuracy for billing and payroll
Visibility and accuracy of time go hand in hand. Once you can be sure that time is being tracked accurately, it means you get the added benefit of more accuracy with billing and payroll. This can reduce the likelihood of any mistakes and cut down time needed to spend on these tasks.
Ensures compliance with working laws
Labour laws vary from country to country but there’s likely to be legislation surrounding how many hours employees can work in most places you operate in. The EU Working Time Directive, for example, dictates that employees must not exceed an overall average weekly working hours of 48 hours. It also has rules around breaks, minimum rest periods, and minimum paid annual leave.
All of these things can be difficult to manage without a time tracking software in place. But edays helps you to stay compliant, by automatically adding in necessary breaks, and flagging instances where an employee has worked more than the maximum number of hours.
Boosts employee engagement
Employee engagement can be a difficult thing to achieve, and time tracking software may at first feel like it might not go down well with employees.
However, by providing visibility to line managers and HR, it can actually help to reduce micromanagement, cut unnecessary internal meetings and empower employees to take more ownership of their tasks.
It’s also better for employee engagement than alternate options. When you compare a time tracking software to other options that employers use to attempt to measure productivity (such as employee monitoring software which track mouse clicks, or take screenshots), employees feel more trusted and empowered to do their job well.
Monitors employee wellbeing
A more holistic benefit of time tracking software that may not have occurred to many people is that it can help with employee wellbeing.
Being able to ensure employees aren’t regularly working too much overtime, and are having absences or sick days logged and flagged, allows you to better look after your workforce.
You can spot early signs of burnout and assist with managing workloads, and if you assign hours to different activities, you can even use the software to help with better employee job satisfaction.
For example, if your organisation has a manufacturing operation and some activities are more strenuous than others, you can use a platform like edays to evenly distribute the amount of time employees in different areas.
To learn more about how edays can help your organisation and how the software can be customised to suit you, book a free personalised demo.
