518-373-4111
According to Global Workplace Analytics, the percentage of employees (non-self-employed) who work at home has grown by 115% since 2005, nearly ten times faster than office-based labor force. While companies who allow telecommuting often benefit from decreased overhead, increased productivity, an expanded hiring pool, and happier employees, virtual offices can pose workforce issues when it comes to the challenges of managing telecommuters.
Workforce Management Challenges for Organizations With Remote Workers
- Tracking time and attendance accurately
- Employee schedule confusion
- Time card submission
- Shift trading
- Overtime management
- Incompatible technology
Telecommuting is made possible by technology that allows organizations to provide their products or services to clients using a remote workforce. In addition, employees use technology to communicate, collaborate on projects, and interact with customers. This is why using an automated timekeeping system makes workforce management easy for both employers and employees.
Let’s look at the tools that address the pain points above.
Tracking Time and Attendance for Remote Employees
Remote employees can clock into a virtual time clock from their laptop, tablet, or mobile phone. Supervisors have 24/7 oversight of who is working when and where.
What About Salaried Employees?
Contrary to a common misconception, tracking time and attendance is just as important for salaried workers as it is for hourly associates. Most labor laws apply to both hourly and salaried employees. Employers must have accurate records of clock in/out times, breaks, and meals. Accruals calculation, overtime pay compliance for non-exempt employees, and ACA work hours regulations are just a few of the reasons that employers must track employee time and attendance accurately for all workers, regardless of how they are compensated. In addition, they need a paper trail to verify the records in case of an audit or labor dispute.
Sharing Scheduling Information
TimeSimplicity is the simplest way to effectively schedule offsite workers. One of the most valued employee perks of telecommuting is flexible work hours (when allowed by management). For most businesses, however, it is usually necessary for team members to be online at the same time for at least a few hours during the day. This can be challenging if team members are spread among different time zones. TimeSimplicity has tools to manage all the complex logistics of remote team scheduling. With centralized cloud-based schedule management, hours threshold SMS warnings, and automatic schedule notifications, TimeSimplicity has the tools to manage your workforce with ease.
Clear Up Scheduling Confusion
When schedules are centrally managed in a cloud-based system, managers and offsite employees are all on the same page and can access the information at any time. Automatic messages inform all team members of vital scheduling and time card information.
Submitting Time Cards
Automated timekeeping solutions provide self-service time cards that employees can access 24/7 from any internet-enabled device. Remote staff members can record time and verify time cards under customizable company rules. When they clock in or out, the time is captured immediately on their virtual time card. This eliminates the end-of-pay-period scramble that often results from outdated and non-automated paper timesheets.
Easy Shift Trading
TimeSimplicity has a Virtual Trade board that allows telecommuters to bid on open shifts, request shift trades, and view approvals without having to communicate with a supervisor. Employees and supervisors don’t have to exchange endless texts and emails to work out schedule changes. All stakeholders can see the schedule and updates at any time, night or day.
Managing Overtime
“Out of sight, out of mind” is expensive when it comes to unneeded overtime and can also result in employee burnout, higher attrition, and reduced productivity—all of which are expensive in their own right. Overtime warnings allow companies with a virtual office to meet their scheduling, workflow, and cost of labor objectives with smart automation that allows supervisors to concentrate on other things besides managing overtime.
Compatibility Problems Solved
Employees who work from home don’t always use the same hardware and software that is used at the corporate office. Because our automated timekeeping system is cloud-based, it functions seamlessly on desktops, laptops, iOS and Android devices. It also eliminates the need for costly software upgrades.
Learn more about GTM’s timekeeping solutions to ensure you have the simplest and most efficient way to manage your workforce, whether they telecommute or not. Contact us at (518) 373-4111 for more information.
