Challenges of Current Time Tracking Systems
Time tracking systems allow workplaces to track and record employee work hours by allowing them to clock in and clock out of their work shifts. Some organizations still use tedious manual record-keeping like paper or digital time sheets, while others have moved to various automated systems and devices such as a time clock, once mechanical but now almost exclusively electronic or digital, that provides day and time information (a timestamp) for each employee on a card or in computer software when they identify themselves and activate the system.
Time clocks are vastly superior to manual time tracking, however, like any technological solution, time clocks also present challenges that require careful consideration, as not all time clock solutions are created equally.
Relationship Between Workforce Management, Payroll, and Time Tracking
Efficient, fast payroll systems are crucial for any organization, ensuring employees are paid accurately and on time. One key component that enhances the efficiency and reliability of payroll systems is the integration of time clocks. A time clock offers a range of benefits that streamline payroll processes, improve accuracy, and provide valuable insights into workforce management.
Workforce Management
In today’s fast-paced business world, effective workforce management is essential for organizational success. One critical aspect of this management is tracking and recording employee work hours accurately. Manual processes can be time-consuming, error-prone, and cumbersome, leading to productivity losses and inefficiencies.
Manual vs Time Clock Payroll Accuracy
Recent studies show traditional methods of tracking work hours using manual records can result in an average error rate of up to 8% higher than automated methods like a time clock.
Time Theft
In the world of business, time is money. Every minute an employee is on the clock but not actively working is a minute your company is losing profits. This lost time, known as time theft, can come in many forms, from extended breaks and personal errands during work hours to the more blatant practice of buddy clocking. The U.S. Department of Labor estimates that time theft costs businesses $50 billion per year. A 2020 Connecteam study estimates that over 75% of the businesses in the US are affected by time theft.
Buddy Clocking
Buddy Clocking, where one employee clocks in or out for another who isn’t present, is a particularly harmful form of time theft. According to a study by the American Payroll Association, buddy clocking may be responsible for as much as 7% of business payroll expenditures. Research conducted by the American Payroll Association suggests that buddy clocking costs US companies an estimated $373 million annually. As per Robert Half International, 43% of businesses reported financial losses due to buddy clocking, with an average of 4.5 hours per week per employee being fraudulently documented.
Not only does it directly steal from your company’s payroll, but it also contributes to an environment where dishonesty is tolerated, often leading to additional problems.
The Staggering Cost of Time Theft
The financial impact of time theft is immense. Studies estimate that businesses lose hundreds of billions of dollars annually due to time theft, with buddy clocking being a major contributor. In
Culture of Dishonesty
Buddy clocking doesn’t just hurt your wallet; it can also erode trust and morale within your workforce. When employees see their colleagues getting away with dishonesty, it can create a sense of unfairness and resentment. This can lead to decreased productivity, increased absenteeism, and higher turnover rates.
Impact on Workplace Efficiency
Calculating Time Clock Payroll
According to the American Payroll Association, paper time sheets can cost businesses an average of four hours and five minutes per employee per week. Additionally, each time card takes the company an average of six minutes to process, resulting in significant time expenditure. According to a recent Deloitte study, over 30% of professionals say that manual time entry and data adjustments are two of the most time-consuming processes they engage in.
Time & Productivity Lost Clocking In and Out
Organizational productivity and profitability suffer due to long wait times, long queues, or congestion of employees waiting to authenticate during shift changes. Up to 15 minutes is the average time wasted per shift on authentication processes.
Discover the Power of OLOID Time Clock
The OLOID Time Clock is a contactless time-tracking product that uses facial recognition, access cards, QR codes, and NFC for faster, more secure, more accurate employee authentication. This system integrates with existing time and attendance, payroll, and other HRIS systems. It is software-based and does not require any custom hardware.
Optimize Time Clock Payroll
Achieve Accurate Timekeeping
Biometric time clocks provide precise records of the exact time employees start and finish their shifts, and ensure that the recorded work hours accurately reflect the actual hours worked, which ensures that fast payroll calculations are based on accurate data.
Automated Data Collection
Time clocks automate the collection of work hours, eliminating the need for manual timesheets. This saves valuable time for both employees and HR personnel. Per an Acumen Data Systems 2020 study, automated time tracking can eliminate lost productivity and recapture more than $666,400 in yearly wages.
Streamlined Processes
Integrating time clocks with payroll systems streamlines the entire time clock payroll process. Data flows seamlessly from time tracking to time clock payroll calculation, enabling fast payroll processing and reducing administrative burdens.
Reduced Administrative Burden
Eliminate Manual Errors
Manual entry of work hours is prone to human errors, which can lead to inaccurate payroll processing. Time clocks automatically record employees’ in and out times, reducing the risk of errors.
Easier Reporting
Simplify generating reports on employee work hours and attendance patterns needed for fast payroll calculation, accurate attendance tracking, and other purposes.
Eliminate Buddy Clocking Time Theft
To combat time theft and buddy clocking, businesses need a reliable and secure time-tracking solution. The OLOID Time Clock eliminates buddy clocking and time theft by using facial authentication with liveness detection, making it impossible for one employee to pass for another.
Facial Recognition with Liveness Detection
The facial recognition technology ensures that only the authorized employee can clock in or out. Biometric time clocks, such as those using fingerprint or facial recognition, ensure that only the actual employee can record their work hours. By reducing time theft, businesses can save significant amounts of money on time clock payroll expenses.
Valuable Workforce Insights
Attendance Tracking
Time clocks provide detailed attendance records, allowing HR managers to monitor employee punctuality and attendance patterns. This data can be used to identify and address attendance issues.
Employee time clocks serve as reliable proof of employee attendance, providing tangible records of their presence in the workplace. Employers can easily verify attendance records by referring to the time-clock data. This information is not only useful for monitoring employee punctuality but also valuable for evaluating overall performance, managing scheduling, and addressing attendance-related issues. With accurate attendance data at hand, employers can make informed decisions about workforce management.
Productivity Analysis
By analyzing time clock data, organizations can gain insights into employee productivity. This information can be used to optimize work schedules, allocate resources effectively, and improve overall operational efficiency.
Boost Efficiency: Speed Up Clocking In and Out
OLOID’s solution reduces congestion during shift changes by authenticating each worker in half a second or less. This significantly reduces wait times and long queues, preventing costs associated with overtime payments for non-productive time. It can even work in the offline mode, in the event of internet or power outages.
Conclusion
The OLOID Time Clock optimizes payroll and boosts efficiency, addressing all of the problems with current time tracking systems, improving payroll accuracy, reducing time theft by eliminating buddy clocking, and improving workplace efficiency, including the time employees lose clocking in and out.
If you want to explore in more detail how the OLOID Time Clock has overcome time tracking challenges, resulted in accurate and fast payroll calculations, and boosted efficiency in countless organizations, led to a fast return on investment (ROI) when switching from manual processes or outdated systems, and improved their bottom line in the process, visit our website and Contact Us to speak with a specialist.
FAQs
What is OLOID Time Clock?
The OLOID Time Clock is an accurate and secure time clock for employees that provides a common unified identity for time and attendance systems and uses Face, Access Card, QR Code & NFC (Near Field Communication) Sticker, and Band for employee authentication.
Clocking in and out on-site and at various workstations has been dramatically improved with OLOID Time Clock, providing user authentication in half a second or less. It’s highly accurate with ~0% false positives, using facial recognition biometric data for contactless authentication modes. It captures identities accurately in all light conditions and, with liveness detection, it cannot be spoofed with pictures or video playback.
OLOID Time Clock is a software-based product that integrates seamlessly with existing time and attendance, payroll, and other HRIS systems and works with off-the-shelf iPads that connect to the ethernet and get activated in minutes, requiring no custom hardware, saving thousands of dollars during implementation.
Once running, there’s no need for regular maintenance and installation support, resulting in additional TCO (Total Cost of Ownership) savings.
For added flexibility, the system is portable, compatible with rf IDEAS WAVE ID® badge readers, uses a unique QR Code for each user with temporary access rights, allows for simple and cost-effective integration with most PACS, and works even in offline mode in case of internet or power outages.
It eliminates buddy clocking and other forms of attendance-based time theft, greatly reducing inaccurate time clock payroll calculations and resulting in reduced annual costs.
What are Clock Payroll Services?
Clock Payroll Services are 3rd party providers of time clock and payroll services for US businesses. Some use outdated manual, mechanical, electronic or digital systems, and others use proprietary, computer software-based, SaaS solutions. Monthly, recurring costs are usually calculated on a per-user basis, and these services suffer from the same shortcomings as on-premise, company-owned systems, such as inaccurate entries and buddy clocking. If considering an outside provider, inquire what technology they are using, as well as if and how they address typical time-tracking pitfalls.
