How employee clocking systems can improve your business operations

Employee clocking systems are not a new concept in the world of work. From punch cards to more advanced systems like clocking in software. Yet as a small business owner, did you know that both you and your workforce will benefit from rolling out a clocking in and out policy?

Your business will become more efficient, yes. And you could save on payroll and be less likely to lay off staff, make redundancies or face other business challenges.

This creates a happier, more secure working environment as we’ll discover in this article. Be prepared (ahead of time) by exploring how clocking in software can improve your business operations.

Greater oversight of employee time

You want your employees to be punctual and work the hours they have been assigned. After all, it’s you who must foot the bill if they don’t turn up to work.

But with employee time tracking systems you don’t need to be there in person to monitor their working hours. Giving you back the time you need to focus on running your business.

If your employees are concerned about being ‘watched’ at work or worried about their privacy, it’s good idea to explain to them exactly how a clocking in app or device works. By simply taking a record of their working hours, rather than tracking their movements throughout the day.

By explaining the benefits of employee time tracking to your staff and taking the steps to effectively introduce this method of monitoring, with a policy, you can build greater trust and communication amongst your team.

Enhance accountability

Office-based employees

Employee clocking systems, like Blip, let you see who’s attending work on time. This type of clocking in software also makes employees accountable for their work, attendance, and any frequent lateness. Transferring the responsibility to employees means you will no longer have to chase them for their hours worked. Helping to remove the outdate practice of ‘clock watching’.

Time-tracking software can create a fairer, more productive environment for all.

Remote and hybrid employees

Digital time-tracking software also ensures that remote-based employees are working when they should be. According to recent statistics at least 40% of the British population work from home some, If not all the time. Giving employers an additional challenge in people management,

Whether you have remote or hybrid workers, clocking in software will help you keep track of your entire team’s attendance and working hours. 

With thanks to smart geofence technology, your remote workers can record their clocking in times, breaks, and hours worked using a handy app, like Blip, which will also show you where they are clocking in from. Whether they work from home or a beach somewhere warm, this provides an excellent tool to ensure honest and open communication between you and your workers, no matter where they are.

Overall, employee clocking systems encourage increased productivity. Reduced leads, sales and output can be queried with real-time data to support your claim. This can improve the quantity and quality of their work. It also benefits your employees as high performance can be fairly rewarded.

Increased employee satisfaction

One way of rewarding hardworking employees is a company rewards system. By rewarding productivity as a company, you will set an example of what is expected. This motivates your employees who want to do their very best. It also encourages a fairer, more productive team ethos where everyone contributes.

Improved employee satisfaction is shown to reduce stress. This is important as a stressful work setting is recorded as one of the key reasons for why employees in the UK leave their current jobs. According to a study by Unum 78% of workers would leave their job due to high stress.

By using an employee clocking system, your staff will gain peace of mind that their working hours are recorded accurately with full transparency. That way everyone is paid fairly for their time. Plus, with a modern solution like Blip, eve your most forgetful staff will be reminded to record clock-ins with reminder notifications.

A happier workplace is a more productive workplace. This means you’ll reduce high staff turnover due to employee dissatisfaction. Therefore, your business will require less in-house or outsourced recruitment, saving costs and time.

This also avoids your existing employees having to cover the work of those who have left. More established teams build stronger long-term working relationships which also boosts productivity through collaboration.

Enhanced onsite security

A clocking-in and out policy makes for a more secure workplace. By knowing who has been present, workplace incidents can be investigated more quickly. This helps you plan and even prevent similar events from happening in the future. Clocking in software acts as your friendly deterrent because it reports who was on the premises at any specific moment.

Stock loss, theft or negligence can lead to stress, lost work, and increased costs. In 2023/24, there were 6,244 thefts by an employee offence reported in England and Wales. A clock-in system provides accurate data which can be referred to when investigating a serious on-site incident, such as theft. In addition, clock-in systems can also help you in the event of a fire and keeping teams safe in the event of an evacuation. With knowledge of who is in the building, it’s even easier to confirm when everyone is accounted for.

Prevents overworking employees

Employee clocking systems ensure your employees’ welfare by preventing them from working too many hours. Not only are you legally required to log employees’ hours, but this avoids worker resentment. It further helps reduce employee churn among overworked staff members.

As a business leader, you will benefit from monitoring staff working hours. Logging how many hours each member of staff has worked; helps you stay on the right side of the law.

Normally, an employee cannot work more than 48 hours when averaged over 17 weeks. This is due to UK’s Working Time Regulations. The rule does vary by sector, however, with exceptions including security and care industries.

Should workers agree to ‘opting out’ of the 48-hour limit, clocking in software plays a vital role in your business. It helps you or your finance team to accurately calculate payroll—reducing back-and-forth communications.

Choose a modern clocking in system with Blip by BrightHR

All of the benefits mentioned above contribute to your business’s overall productivity. That’s efficiency which means a healthier, more sustainable business that can continue to grow, reward employees, and provide stability for your workforce.

Providing many reasons for why a clock-in system is a smart investment, and BrightHR can help with that, with our clock-in and out system Blip. Everything is visible on Blip, with no time needed to interpret handwriting or manually enter hours. This includes breaks and overtime.

Make gathering missing or inaccurate paperwork a thing of the past. It’s time to forget the frustration of chasing timesheets!

Discover how your business can boost productivity by booking a free demo today.