How Digital Time Tracking Can Bolster Employee Trust and The Bottom Line 

Introduction

In 2016, many U.S. employers were scrambling to prepare for a Department of Labor ruling that would change which employees were eligible for overtime. When a federal judge in Texas blocked the rule from going into effect, many companies breathed a sigh of relief. The pressure was off. Or is it?

What that impending law showed was that small businesses have a problem to solve.

Though paper processes are still prevalent in many small businesses, studies show that employees don’t like or trust those paper-based time-tracking systems. In fact, 37 percent of employees are worried that inaccurate record-keeping will mean they won’t get their full pay. Inaccurate processes also cost employers time and money — time because dealing with paper time cards is less efficient than digital processes, and money because mistakes in logging and rekeying can result in overpaying employees for hours worked.

37% of employees are worried that inaccurate record keeping will mean they won’t get their full pay.

Whether or not a looming federal law is forcing you to do it, take this opportunity to update your time-tracking processes to digital to not only improve your bottom line but to grow employee trust as well.

Here are four tips to help you make the switch.

Chapter 1: If you’re still using paper, you’re not alone (but you will be soon)

In a recent survey of American workers conducted by YouGov and commissioned by Canvas, almost half (49 percent) of workers said their employers still used paper to track time. But hundreds of companies every week are making the switch away from paper-based processes, recognizing that paper is slower, less efficient, and less accurate than digital and mobile apps. You don’t want to be the laggard here!

Switching away from paper reduces pressure on the back office to make sure employees are paid on time, which also makes for happier employees. One company that switched to Canvas for payroll saved two hours a day in processing time compared to using paper. But there’s another reason to switch from paper-based processes, and that’s trust.

Chapter 2: Employees don’t trust paper time cards/time sheets.

Of those workers who said their employers were still using paper-based time cards, half weren’t convinced their employer was capable of tracking their time accurately. Eight percent even said that their employers were “not at all” capable of managing this.

However, most workers said they do trust a digital system to keep track of hours: 59 percent said they trusted such systems, jumping to 68 percent among millennials.

Almost half (48 percent) said the ability to use their smartphone to input and access payroll and timecard data would make them feel more confident in the system.

50% of employees aren’t convinced that employers are tracking time accurately using paper-based time cards.

Chapter 3: Take this opportunity to further grow employee trust.

The biggest change employers can make is to do a better job tracking employees’ hours. If you are already making progress toward modernizing your time-tracking system, with the assumption you would be forced to track time accurately by federal law, don’t stop now.

This is still a great opportunity to modernize your old time tracking system. Digital and mobile timecards offer speed and flexibility (no need to drive time cards from the job site to the office for processing), accuracy, and protection in case of an audit.

59% of employees said they trusted a digital system to keep track of their hours.

Mobile timecards put workers in control; they can fill out and submit their hours worked from anywhere, and they can instantly be approved by their manager, the back office, etc., and sent to payroll without having to re-type anything. Mobile time cards also make it easy to differentiate between projects, what percentage of an employee’s time is billable, and more.

Because employees often fill in paper time cards after a shift or at the end of the week, you’re relying on their memory for how many hours they worked, which projects they worked on, when they took breaks, etc.

Mobile timecards eliminate the memory problem and improve accuracy — so you only pay for the actual overtime worked.

Chapter 4: Accurate time tracking helps you, too.

In addition to cutting down on timecard processing time and eliminating errors, accurate timecards can ensure you’re not overpaying any employees either, by helping to reduce unplanned overtime.

According to The Aberdeen Group, companies that used an automated leave management system — where employees can request days off without having to check in with a central gatekeeper — saw a 32% reduction in unplanned overtime.

Moving to digital also allows you to use business intelligence to analyze the data you collect with your digital time tracking, giving you crucial insights on employee productivity, overtime costs per job, and more. You will now be able to answer questions such as which employees work the most overtime. Which seasons or time periods are most likely to require overtime? With some careful planning, you can reduce overtime to only what’s needed, saving resources for when you need them most and better managing your payroll expenses.

Get More Out of Your Data

Once you start capturing your employees’ timesheets via a mobile app, put that data to good use. Analyzing your data over time offer insights you can use for decision-making and to gain a better understanding of how to improve the way you schedule, hire, and promote staff.

For more on getting the most out of your data, download: 

• See the Moving Parts in Your Business: Canvas Business Insights

Ready to Rethink How You Work?

GoCanvas has helped a variety of businesses across multiple industries transform their safety processes and rethink their efficiency, ultimately saving them money. Why not do the same? Reach out to one of our experts today to kickstart your process revolution.