How to Get Forgetful Employees to Remember to Clock In

When the traditional method of keeping up to date with time and attendance of employees at work becomes second nature, it can be difficult to establish new habits, especially when you are making the move from traditional paper timesheets to digital methods of clocking in and out.

Smart clocking is a method being adopted by many companies thanks to the numerous benefits it offers both employer and employee. It is essentially a digital timesheet that has an employee time clock within an app, allowing workers to record their work hours in a simple click.

To enjoy the full benefits of these time clock systems, it is integral that once you have invested in the software, you implement a transition process that allows employees to seamlessly convert from physical paper records to digital records. 

However, it can be difficult for employees to break old habits, making this transition period more difficult than it needs to be. To ensure you do not have any problems, we have created this thorough guide on how to adopt this digital software without the need for disciplinary procedures for employees who are struggling with the change.

Why do employees have to clock in?

Employees have to clock in as it keeps a time record of the number of hours each employee has worked. By clocking in every day, employees have a way of proving to their employer that they have shown up to work when they were scheduled to, and it serves as legal proof that they showed up to work for payroll records.

Digital time tracking solution

Why is it important to clock in and out?

It is extremely important to clock in and out as it is the main form of record-keeping in regards to the time and attendance of employees. It allows management to see what hours you have worked, which in turn allows them to process payroll records and calculate what you are owed based on the time record provided.

In addition to being important to employee hours and payroll records, it is important for employers, the human resource staff, and the management team to prove that they have been abiding by all the necessary laws and regulations surrounding working hours.

There are certain rules that employers have to follow in regards to timetabling and the hours that their employees work. By asking employees to clock in and out, they have an accurate record of when everyone has worked and can prove that they have been working within the parameters of the labor laws that have been set out for them.

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Tips to prevent employees from forgetting to clock in and out

Forgetting to clock in and out can create problems for both employees and employers, so it must be avoided as much as possible. However, if you are transitioning to a digital system from your traditional paper system, it can be disruptive to employees who are resistant to change. To mitigate these difficulties, we have collated this list of tips to help prevent all non-exempt employees from forgetting to clock in and out.

Set a reminder on your phone

This is one of the easiest and quickest fixes to the problem of forgetting to clock in and out. Most people go to work and leave work at a similar time each day, so at the beginning of your employment term, simply set an alarm or a reminder on your phone 5 minutes before your regular clock in time and you will be sure to remember.

What is great about this method is that thanks to the convenience of modern digital technology, you do not need to set this reminder every day. You can simply set it once and have it as a recurring reminder and it will be sent to you every day you need it. This tactic is especially useful if you are using a digital clock-in app as it means people will be on their phones anyway, making the move from the reminder app to the clock-in app surprisingly easy.

Have a sign

You might be moving towards the digital realm for the actual clocking in and out, but trusted traditional methods of reminding employees to clock in might just be the most effective tool at your disposal.

Creating a large sign that cannot be missed is a great way to remind every employee that they need to clock in. We recommend putting this sign in a communal area or an area that everyone has to pass through. For example, if you put the sign at the main door, it ensures everyone sees it when they walk into work. Alternatively, if you know everyone goes to make a coffee before getting started, put the sign above the coffee machine.

Disciplinary policy

A disciplinary policy should always be management’s last resort as it sends a negative and distrusting message to employees. Whilst your first approach should be offering incentives to clocking in and out, if that does not appear to be working, you might want to consider some form of disciplinary action.

The disciplinary practices do not need to be drastic, but they should ensure employees know that not providing a time record is not an option regardless of their job title or position. We recommend having a strike system, so if an employee forgets to clock in or out more than once, they get a verbal warning and if they do it more than 5 times, more severe disciplinary action will be taken against them.

Teach the importance of timesheets

If you ensure your employees are aware of how integral clocking in and out is to the running of a business, you might be able to avoid the disciplinary action outlined above. If employees understand that if they do not clock in and out, management will have incomplete timesheets and therefore no record of their working hours, it will hopefully incentivize them to record their time at work.

Moreover, when informing them of the importance of timesheets and time records, take this opportunity to warn them of the disciplinary action that may be taken against them. A possible employment termination should mitigate any potential timesheet issues.

Invest in a mobile time tracking app

Mobile time tracking apps are a modern solution to clocking in and out. They are a guaranteed way to ensure your employees maintain accurate timesheets and your business can run smoothly. Below are three of the biggest benefits of investing in a time tracking software.

1. Calculate work hours

One of the key benefits of Mobile-Punch is how it automatically calculates work hours for management. Once employees clock in and out, their working time record is in the app’s system and it will calculate their overall working hours, which also allows for the payroll to be instantly calculated.

This is a brilliant feature as it removes any room for error which is all too common with traditional methods of timekeeping. This ensures that workers are not underpaid, but also ensures that employers are not overpaying, hence getting rid of any unfair practices that could occur with alternative time tracking methods.

2. More efficient

As everything is done online and automatically, it means that time is saved and not wasted. Firstly, it is more efficient for employees as everything is at the touch of a button on their phones. Time tracking apps are more efficient for management teams and employers as they do not have to manually collect time records and painstakingly calculate the wages of each individual employee.

Moreover, the geolocation feature that Mobile-Punch offers allows employers to know exactly when and where their employees are working. This is useful as it ensures additional work time is automatically added and things such as lunch breaks are accounted for by the app. This means that employees do not have to do the extra work of informing employers of their whereabouts and working hours as the information is automatically fed to them.

3. Better for the environment

As companies are more and more conscientious about their carbon footprint and the effect companies have on the environment is under increased scrutiny, time-tracking apps offer a perfect solution. By storing everything digitally, time tracking apps remove any need for paper, therefore ensuring you are not wasting resources and can significantly reduce your carbon footprint, a factor that is more important now than ever.

Advantages of Mobile-Punch

Need help to maintain accurate timesheets?

If your business is struggling to maintain accurate timesheets, a digital time tracking solution is the solution you’re looking for. Apps like Mobile-Punch ensure that all your data is instantly recorded so that you have a time record of hours worked and wages owed.

Mobile-Punch will not only save you time but also money as you do not need an extensive team of people sorting through payroll records. In addition, it provides you with legal security and protection as all records are kept in a safe digital place. This is the ultimate contemporary solution to maintaining accurate timesheets as it is user-friendly, efficiently built for companies, and has the added benefit of being good for the environment.

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