If you’re managing mobile employees, you know firsthand that they’re the toughest to track, time and attendance wise. You’ve probably been waiting for a ‘pocket-size time clock’…well, forever.
Now that mobile time and labor management mobile applications have arrived, your wish has come true. But not all mobile time tracking apps are created equal. If this technology is new to you, what do you look for?
Here are five key questions to ask when evaluating how well an app will work for you.
How easy is it to use?
Smartphones are already a major distraction at work, and you don’t want employees fiddling around with their smartphones on-site. You’ll want to avoid employees wasting valuable time clocking in and out. The best mobile time and attendance apps allow workers to punch in and out in a few, fool-proof steps. For peace of mind, ensure that the mobile app you are evaluating app also confirms that the punch has registered. This way, employees can be certain their punch was captured.
Can you configure and customize the mobile time and attendance app?
Your time-tracking app should adapt to fit your unique workforce. It should allow you to choose various users (say, individual, work crew, or manager) and classify workers in various ways (say, location, task, or work ticket), in order to mirror your business. Additionally, the app should let you track tips, mileage, and other fields.
Does the mobile time tracking app capture GPS coordinates?
In addition to time and date, you want your time and attendance app to accurately capture GPS coordinates. Time theft costs employers billions each year, and you don’t want employees clocking in at Starbucks. With a mobile app with GPS, you can verify that your employees are really where they should be.
How does the GPS time-tracking work?
The most effective mobile time-tracking apps not only let you define authorized GPS locations, but flag any punches made outside those areas. Basically, it does the checking up for you.
Does the mobile app have geo-tracking and geo-fencing features?
Mobile technology has come a long way and you can go beyond just checking an employee’s GPS location at clock in and clock out. Geo-tracking and geo-fencing are two features you will want your time and attendance app to have.
Geo-tracking collects GPS coordinates throughout an employee’s shift to increase employee accountability and guarantee employees are working where they say they are. Geo-fencing provides the option to automatically clock out employees who leave their designated worksite.
Does it have a back-up system?
It’s a fact of life: mobile service sometimes goes down, taking GPS along with it. You’ll want to ensure that the mobile time and attendance app has a good mobile back-up plan to ensure that no punches are lost during such down time and forwards them to your data center as soon as service is back online.
Needless to say, in developing our mobile time-tracking app, EPAY took all these factors into consideration. We designed it to work the way you do, however that may be. Learn more here or contact us . Or contact us if you are interested in our human capital management systems.