Time Management at the Office

Every business is looking for a way to become more efficient while using less manpower. Each CEO wants to spend less money on manpower while increasing productivity. If you are in one of these situations, where the boss is making you take on more work in less time then you may want to continue reading.

Here are 9 tips on how you can increase your time management at work:

1.     Finding out which system works best. You should start out your week by writing down everything you should do that week followed by a daily calendar.

2.     Take back your calendar and what’s left of your life. Make sure you live with a purpose and ensure that technology is your slave, not letting technology enslave you. Be sure to remember that “neat” is not the same thing as “organized”.

3.     Project planning. Having the right software for planning projects is ideal. Microsoft Outlook is perfect for planning. You should also learn how to micromanage.

4.     Learn how to manage interruptions. This step will save you plenty of time. You will be interrupted every single day but how you react to it will define you as a time-saver.

5.     Get your calendar back. Taming a calendar is hard work, but it can be done. The first step is keeping the most important objectives first.

6.     Delegate a “must do” list. Every person will have things that they must do so keep these things separate so you do not forget them. Sometimes you will not be able to get around to the task and therefore you must choose someone else to do the work.

7.     Perform productive meetings. Meetings are important parts to a business. It all starts with people getting to work on time. Ensure that your time clock is up-to-date.

8.     Manage your projects, not the time. Know what is due and what can be put off in favor of something that is more critical.

9.     Create meeting templates. That way you know what to say and in what order, reducing time spent in the meeting.

The Uses of a Punch Time Clock

The time clock has become a very important tool in the business. Time clocks can not only help monitor work places but can also establish a clear vision of the working time in the company. A punch clock has many benefits for all parts of an enterprise, as well as for management employees.

Punch clocks help record time in and out by employees and workers. Not only are these time cards used for payroll, but they can also be used to help monitor how much time is spent on specific projects as well as on working schedules of specific departments. In addition, punch time clocks can help provide a clearer image of what the bottom line of the company is, and is not, completing.

More modern time clocks offer other features. Building security, including management of time management, secure entry and management of movements in different spaces are just a couple of things that a time clock can do for a small business. User management with access controls for visitors whether they are customers or suppliers and parking management. A time clock can intervene to control access or entry point in a building to identify, authenticate, authorize or prohibit the attendance areas for which it is programmed.

The advantage of the time clock for various stakeholders of the company, department heads, and administrators lies in the ability of terminals to record and make available comprehensive information. Information from the time clock is pulled off as easy as it is put on. Employees will time stamp their hours simply by “clocking in”. Payroll will then break down the hours and then count log the time they clocked in and clocked out, totaling the hours up and then cutting a check.

In the end, while a punch time clock is not for everyone, there are numerous other options on the market that offer a variety of features. Do your homework and decide whether a punch clock is for your or if a different model would better suit your needs.

Implement a Time Clock System Effectively

Implementing a time clock system for your company involves a bit of thought. Depending how many employees you have, how large your facility is, and what level of security you need, you will want to invest in a time clock system that is just right. There are currently so many different systems on the market you might be confused by the selection. Keep in mind that a simple time clock can meet most of your needs if you use it correctly. Larger, more elaborate systems typically involve computer software that monitors hours worked, employees names, and dozens of other parameters.

Be sure to put the time clock in a place where every worker will see it. This is crucial. If you put the device in an out-of-the-way location, you risk losing valuable data, as some workers will not see the clock and will begin work without logging in.

It is wise to put a large, company bulletin board near the time clock in order to make it a gathering place for your personnel. When the clock is in an open location, which gets a lot of traffic, there is less chance for fraudulent behavior.

Perhaps the most vital aspect of time clock management is making sure that every employee knows how to operate the device. Most companies hold training sessions when a new clock system is purchased. After that, try to make time clock training a standard part of each new hire’s orientation.

Some of the newer, biometric time systems are quite expensive, but are perfect for organizations that need high security. A biometric time clock uses fingerprints, iris scans, or other physical characteristics to track employee access to the building and to log the proper number of hours worked. Usually, the more expensive the time clock, the less chance there is for fraud.

How Fingerprint Time Clocks Help The Bottom Line

When an employer looks at their bottom line, they almost always see that payroll eats the biggest chunk of the money. It is the biggest expense business owners face. Add to that, whether white or blue collar, employees have long been involved in payroll fraud. Fortunately, the implementation of fingerprint time clocks can help steer away from fraud.

Fingerprint time clocks capture the unique fingerprint of each employee for use when he or she comes to work every day, whether on site or off site. Removing theft of time from the equation may help employers get a handle on payroll costs, as well as curtail time theft.

With this new technology, employees will no longer be able to punch the time card of a co-worker, reducing time theft. A time clock will also eliminate the time consuming task for the human resources department of having to manually calculate payroll. Additionally, there is no storage space needed like there is if you have to store time cards for tax record purposes.

To set an employee up in the fingerprint scanning system, an employer need only have the employee put his or her finger on the scanner and his or her unique fingerprint is scanned. The fingerprint scanners are easy to use and are portable and easily tied into a company’s computer system.

Streamlining the preparation of payroll, as well as taking the idea of employee theft of hours out of the equation of running a business, allows employers and their employees to focus on the job at hand – running the business. Electronic payroll systems integrate well with fingerprint time clock and can help streamline a business to an even finer degree.

How Fingerprint Time Clocks Help The Bottom Line

When an employer looks at their bottom line, they almost always sees that payroll eats the biggest chunk of the money. It is the biggest expense business owners face. Add to that, the idea that whether white or blue collar, employees have long been involved in payroll fraud. To steer away from this, the implementation of fingerprint time clocks can help.  

Fingerprint time clocks capture the unique fingerprint of each employee for use when he or she comes to work every day. A fingerprint time clock can be used with employees that work either on site or off site. Removing theft of time from the equation may help employers get a handle on payroll costs. 

With this new technology, employees will no longer be able to punch the time card of a co worker and it also eliminates the time consuming task for the human resources department of having to manually calculate payroll. Additionally, there is no storage space needed like there is if you have to store time cards for tax record purposes.

To set an employee up in the fingerprint time clock system, an employer need only have the employee put his or her finger on the scanner and their unique fingerprint is scanned. The fingerprint scanners are easy to use and are portable and easily tied into a company’s computer system.

Streamlining the preparation of payroll as well as taking the idea of employee theft of hours out of the equation of running a business, employers and their employees can focus on the job at hand – running the business. Electronic payroll systems integrate well with fingerprint scanners.

Why Integrate Time Clocks With Payroll

When you’re in the midst of calculating your employee payroll do you ever step back and take the time to determine just how much it is costing you to have your human resources department calculate the payroll? If you’re looking for a way to save money on payroll and enhance not only your efficiency but accuracy of the payroll calculations you should look to integrate time clocks with your payroll department. Time clocks make payroll calculations quick and easy for all involved and make the payroll process more systematic. Consider an automated payroll system with time clocks to take the guesswork and errors out of payroll duties.

Integrating your time tracking software into your payroll processing system frees up valuable employee time on payroll duties. When you decide to use an integrated time clock and payroll system you also allow your employees the peace of mind of knowing that there will not be errors in the paychecks. Automated time clocks also offer employees access to their time sheets so they can not only look and see the number of hours they’ve worked but they can also track their accumulated days off and vacation time used.

Another time and money saver with an integrated time clock is the idea that you will not only save the time and money on having to buy and maintain the time clock but you will also save money on purchasing the physical time cards themselves. Keep in mind that a company has to store all time records for up to seven years and you can see that if you have a lot of employees, the storage of time cards could be an issue as well.

Here are other reasons for using an integrated time clock system is that you no longer need to manually input time cards and time worked – this is also problematic for companies that have off site employees and work from home staff. No longer will you have to worry about inaccuracies in your employees “clocking in or clocking out” for other employees. With integrated time clocks your employees have a unique log in and this prevents inaccuracies in employees punching someone elses time card.

When it comes time to performing the payroll task it is almost as simple as punching a few numbers and pulling all of the employee information into the integrated time clock system and running the payroll for the time period specified.

Types Of Time Clocks and Time and Attendance Software

In today’s complicated business environment, every owner is looking for a way to track employee hours and other payroll data in a fast and efficient way. Some firms use a time clock system, while others prefer a computerized logging application. Regardless, the system should be intuitive for all users, and should be easy to operate. The key thing to remember is that time clock software is supposed to reduce your processing time for the relevant data. If it does not do that, then the system is not effective. Make sure any system you purchase is able to handle hours worked, as well as accrued vacation time, days off, sick days, holidays, and bonus hours. There are dozens of reputable firms that sell various kinds of time clock software at all price levels. Carefully assess your own situation before committing to a specific brand of time clock software.

One reason for having time clock software is to prevent time theft by employees. Comprehensive, mechanized time and attendance software systems can eliminate almost all cases of time theft. Recent studies have pointed out that in the U.S. alone, each worker wastes five minutes of company time per day, on average. At first sight, that does not seem like a terribly significant number. However, for large firms, the time loss comes out to millions of dollars in expense per year.

A quality time clock software program is the best way to face the current national crisis of time theft. Even though much time theft is intentional, a proper system can prevent it. One way the automated systems deter theft is by cracking down on bogus overtime figures. Nearly every time clock software product can go a long way toward eradicating employee time theft. If for no other reason, every business should have some type of automated time clock method up and running. Otherwise, a firm risks losing several millions of dollars per year in earned revenue.

The time clock software rounds data in such a way as to preclude theft. It also sets specific limits on the amount of overtime that can be posted to any account. On top of that, the systems prevent buddy-punching, which is a major source of employee theft.

Finally, every worthwhile time clock program should have a simple interface, so that your company can easily exchange data with your payroll provider. By implementing an effective time clock software protocol, your company will be well on its way to accurate information management.

Advantages of Biometric Time Clocks

Biometric time clocks are becoming the latest and greatest technology for tracking employee time and attendance. Not only does a biometric system allow companies to streamline the payroll process, but it also frees up the human resources department from tracking and correcting work hours logged.

Before deciding biometric is for you, however, there are several decisions you will need to make. The first is, how many employees will be using the block? Some models will be less expensive than others but you need to make certain that the time clock you’re getting can handle the number of employees you have.

What options do these time clocks offer for accessing and downloading the information for payroll processing? The biometric time clocks come with Ethernet, wireless or USB connections for use in downloading the data, but know there are several options available. Your IT department will be able to help you decide which is best.

Are you married to the current payroll processing software that your company currently uses or are you willing to learn a new application and software? Some biometric time clocks use software that is compatible with many other payroll processing applications such as those used by ADP, Paychex and other payroll service providers. If you don’t want to change, make certain you choose a time clock that is compatible. Keep in mind though that many of the biometric time clocks come with robust and very intuitive software so if you’re making a change, why not go all the way?

Many biometric time clocks use a fingerprint scanner but there are other versions that use a palm or vein scanner. You will need to decide which is best for your industry.

After you’ve talked with your IT department and the human resources staff you will have a better idea of what kind of time clock will be best for your company’s use.

A History of Time Clocks

Modern time clock.

Time clocks have a beginning back in 1888, where a jeweler invented the world's very first time clock. It would be until later that time clocks took off, however, when the jeweler's brother, Harlow Bundy, marketed and sold the time clock via the Bundy Manufacturing Company.

The company soon became the International Time Recording Company, due to a high demand for time clocks. Much later, however, it would take on its final name, and well-known modern name, International Business Machines (IBM).

While time clocks from these olden times could vary in design they all shared one thing in common: they provided a means for businesses to track employee attendance and tardiness by providing them with a card that checked their arrival and departure times at the workplace.

Some older models of time clocks used dials or wheels, where an employee would have to dial their employee number and then punch their card. This method was easy for employees to abuse, however, which led to the next innovation: a sheet fed time clock. From the 50s to the 70s time clocks had employee time sheets that were used, eliminating wheels and dials and allowing for the rise of mechanical punch time clocks.

Though mechanical time clocks are still used today, during the 70s cards with magnetic strips that identified employees were invented and implemented in many different workplaces.

In the present day, the most advanced time clocks are called biometric time clocks and can actually scan a body part to clock an employee in or out. One of the more popular of these types of biometric time clocks are ones that are outfitted with fingerprint scanners, where the employee merely scans their fingerprint to clock in and out of work.