Tracking Employee Time & Attendance For Small Businesses

Tracking employee attendance is not just important

, it is vital to any small business. As far as costs are concerned, the largest cost for most businesses is payroll. And, in an economy where boosting sales cannot be your only strategy, the other option, cost cutting, is apt to be at the top of your list. Before considering the thought of reducing the size of your workforce, consider a different alternative: managing your employees time and attendance.

We all remember the kid who used to show up to class only to sleep through it. Sure, the kid was in attendance, but they were not exactly the most productive member of the class. Tracking employee attendance is no longer just for hourly employees, it's for salaried employees as well. Monitoring when your employees arrive, leave and take breaks is important for effectively managing employee productivity. Attendance alone doesn't monitor productivity, but it can help.

So, how do you track employee attendance? Well, you could do what your teacher did in kindergarten: good ol' fashioned roll call. "Mr. Jonah Johnson?" Here. "Ms. Tricia Gladwell?" Here. Yeah, that would get old real quick for EVERYONE involved.

You could also have everyone sign in and out (how I imagine time sheets were developed.) The practice of using time sheets is a simple process. Employees log when they clock in, when they take lunch, when they take breaks, and when they clock out. If you wanted to make life a little easier for your employees, you could opt for the time clock and time card system. Same concept, an employee just punches in an out instead of writing on the time sheet. Simple.

Yes, the KISS principle does apply with these first two options (and quite beautifully I might add). But that last "S", the "Stupid S" can apply a bit as well. I'm not saying that it is stupid or unwise to use time sheets or time clocks. What I am saying is that it requires a significant amount of time from the attendance manager and that it relies completely on the honor system. If you've got a small tight-knit business, either option is acceptable and probably the best fit for your organization.

However, when your business grows in size and you're managing more than 25 employees, it's time to find another solution. It's time to look for an automated attendance system. Automated attendance systems make life easier for all involved because they are, well, automated. Automation reduces the occurrence of time theft and seamlessly integrates into businesses. For HR or the attendance manager, automation reduces the time needed to calculate attendance and payroll, and makes creating reports a cinch. Moreover, the software in an automated system exports to your payroll for you. Can it get any better?

Well, not yet. But, the industry is certainly working on it. Managing time attendance is simple, but it's also imperative to the bottom line of your company.

by: Terra Pugh

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