In workforce management, few systems are as critical as a powerful time clock solution offering real-time data. Whether your business is small or large, the importance of this cannot be understated. However, while implementing a new time tracking solution, both employees and owners have questions and concerns regarding the pros and cons of the solution.
Queries related to the clock in and clock out time for staff members, attendance, and other software features must be answered before deciding on a specific solution. With this in mind, here are some of the most common questions.
Why do you need time clock software?
When you ask yourself why you need the software, you will understand what you want to achieve by using it. One or all of these reasons may be behind your choice of opting for such software.
- Decrease the manual efforts in recording and calculating employee working hours for payroll.
- Make the HR procedure digital.
- Promote maximum productivity for business and manage labor costs.
- Make the attendance process ethical and easily manageable.
- Comply with the federal and state labor laws and optimize the record-maintaining system.
- To replace an outdated time clocking system already in use at the company.
- Determine the skill level of each employee by calculating their task completion speed.
What human resource specifications do you need to cater to?
The number of employees you have to track and their geographic locations must be considered while buying a solution. Is your business present in just one place or multiple locations? If the answer is the latter, decide if you want to track the whole business or each site individually.
You may also want to track the movement of your employees from one location to another. Some companies want to track all their employees, while others want to stick to a selected group or team.
What software you choose will also depend on the reporting times, working hours, shift duration, part-time or full-time work, remote work location, and more aspects of your company. The perfect solution should be flexible to cover any and all requirements.
How does your company collect data?
When it comes to the data collection process, there is no one-size-fits-all solution. How you collect data in your company varies from that of your competitor’s. For example, some companies focus on having on-premise employees while others track their employees on mobile or handheld devices as the staff is always on the go or working from home.
How the employees use the solution should also be considered. For instance, do they use a fingerprint scanner, clock in and clock out with a password, or use a swipe card?
Some businesses prefer to install the software on each employee’s computer, while others need a biometric device or a card reader at a central location.
The manner in which you record breaks and lunches and whether you track salaried or hourly workers or both are also important factors. Your company may have a particular time for lunch and separate rules for unpaid and paid breaks, so you ideally want software that can handle everything.
Does the vendor offer high-quality support?
Try to learn if the vendor offers international or local support. Make sure their customer service team is courteous and prompt in answering questions and addressing concerns.
A good vendor will never put their customers’ calls on hold or take too long to respond to your emails, as they understand the frustration behind waiting to get a query resolved during rush business hours. Apart from calls, they should also provide support on live chat. It is another convenient way to make a query and receive an answer immediately.
Enquire about their technical support procedure. A reliable vendor will definitely offer remote support. Therefore, you should always look for a vendor that provides excellent after-sales support.
How are the reviews about the software solution?
Reading reviews by other users helps you get a realistic idea about the quality of the software. You can learn about both the positive and negative aspects of the solution. Look for reviews in social media sites, Google, and other professional software review portals to get independent insights.
If the product has many reviews, you will get a clear picture. Also, try to compare the points of the positive reviews with the negative ones.
When you answer these questions, you will have a sound idea of which software is the best for you. Take your time and choose a solution carefully because this software will be integrated at your company’s core. While the right software can improve your business, the wrong one could affect your employees and business.