Employee Time Clock: The Pros & Cons of Time Tracking

Each of your employees is probably juggling multiple responsibilities, and managing time optimally is important to make sure they remain productive. Time tracking is one strategy that you can use for this. It has its pluses and minuses, just like every tool. This post will go into those and inform you of how it can affect your company. 

Pros of Time Tracking

Some employees might take longer to finish assignments than others because they have too much on their plate, they are perfectionists, or for another reason. A manager or supervisor can achieve a lot by measuring how much time people spend on activities at work. They can see which team members are causing bottlenecks, put together effective teams for specific projects, and distribute pressing responsibilities to the most efficient employees to improve team performance overall.

Automatic payroll 

A timesheet calculator is a useful tool that automates the procedure of calculating total hours worked and payment depending on the hourly wage. Typically, the calculators require entry of when work starts and ends along with any breaks taken. Some more advanced tools can also account for shift differentials, overtime, and other aspects that affect payroll calculations. 

Alleviated project management

Time tracking makes project management easier by keeping track of each task and all the hours spent on a project. It makes evaluating job performance easier by providing transparency. Time tracking is crucial for businesses that employ freelancers or hourly workers, offer professional services, and charge above-average rates. The program should make it simple for employees to enter hours worked and generate reports for measuring workload and communicating with stakeholders and clients. 

Improved productivity

By giving staff deadlines and responsibilities, time tracking makes people more productive. It ensures that everyone is focused and motivated. It helps people make the most of business hours by pinpointing when they are most productive. If someone is more productive in the evening, they can adjust their schedule accordingly. 

Managers can use data from the time tracker to check if people are wasting time on social media sites or writing pointless emails and direct that time to more crucial projects.

Time clocks simplify billing 

Time clocks simplify billing by accurately quantifying the hours worked for both employees and clients. They do this with billable hour marking and stopwatches. They make sure any extra hours worked are added to the respective employee’s bills. Moreover, time clocks do away with the need to track time manually. You simply log the hours worked, and this reduces the total number of timesheets. Invoices are generated automatically, which also saves time.

They save money

Time clocks can help build a productive team with the help of scheduled modifications and informed workflow. They can help managers identify jobs that fewer staff members can complete and optimize staffing to reduce overtime expenses. 

Cons of Time Tracking

Time clocks do not track how much time is spent on non-work-related activities. They can encourage a burnout culture by pressuring people to look productive and disregard the need to take breaks. 

Privacy issues

Many time tracking programs require access to sensitive data and private devices, raising concerns about privacy and security. Employees can get anxious about the risk of watching and recording all activities, which can harm trust in the workplace. 

Inflexibility

Employees will feel restricted when they know someone is constantly watching and recording what they do. This could lead to an overly stringent approach to time management that stifles innovation and creativity.  

Potential abuse 

Finally, some staff members might try to find ways to cheat the system. They might falsify their timesheets by hacking the time clock, using proxies, or stopping the software. Even if their efforts are unsuccessful, enforcing the time clocks will end up being a hassle.