Many businesses have employees who work away from the office, whether that is engineers, sales representatives or transporters. It can be difficult to get an accurate record of these employees’ clocking times and their day to day activities. Fortunately, there are mobile clocking systems out there that can help with this. So, what are the pros and cons of going mobile for clocking in.
Clocking options
A decent mobile clocking system will give users the capability to make various clockings beyond simply “clocking on and clocking off”. Most operate as an app of some sort or via a web browser, and have a clear user interface where the employee inputs their details and then makes the clocking. However, as mobile clocking is often used for employees who are out on the road, some systems offer other options such as travelling, onsite and on lunch to name a few. This enables you to get a breakdown of each employee’s day and since this information is being received in real time, it also means you know the current status of employees throughout the day. One big advantage for employees is that they no longer have to complete and submit manual timesheets.
Internet access
This can be a bit of an issue with some mobile clocking systems if your employees tend to be frequently in areas with no internet coverage. As a mobile clocking system needs to be able to communicate with the main software back in HQ, the employee needs to have internet access at the time of making a clocking. If they do not have an internet signal then they cannot make a clocking and will not be able to do so until one becomes available. For the vast majority, this is not an issue, particularly for those working in urban environments. Mobile signal coverage is available almost everywhere and where you can get a mobile signal you tend to be able to get internet access. Even so, if you have employees working somewhere deep in the countryside, then a mobile clocking solution might not be the right solution for you.
Buddy Clocking
Another thing we get asked is, “Okay, so what if a late employee phones ahead and asks someone onsite to clock in for them?”. This question often comes up when teams of engineers or installers are working onsite. Again, this is something we have thought about for mobile clocking systems. A mobile clocking system knows which mobile phone each employee should be using for making a clocking. If an employee clocks using a different mobile device, the system will flag this as something to investigate. The system can even email you with an immediate alert that this has happened for swift investigation. The safeguard described here does not avoid well planned deception where employees collude by one employee carrying the phones of multiple colleagues, but this should be rare and perhaps raises an altogether bigger issue for management.
So, now you know more information about some of the pros and cons of mobile clocking. If you are interested in getting a mobile clocking in system of your own then why not get in touch with Computime Systems today at 0113 868 0124.