Employee attendance management in a shift-based business is already difficult enough. When you have multiple locations, doing it accurately becomes close to impossible. There are too many variables to track between staff, shifts, and locations.
If you’re searching for “how to improve attendance at work,” we have the answers. Learn how to make the most out of your employee attendance tracking system for your multi-location business.
Why accurate employee attendance matters
Did you know the cost of unplanned employee absenteeism is estimated to rise past $600 billion a year? A full-time employee’s absences can cost their company $4,080 annually, and a part-time employee’s can cost $2,040.
In shift work, one employee’s absence creates a ripple effect on all aspects of business operations:
It stresses other staff members out.
It slows productivity.
It negatively influences customer service.
It can mess up payroll.
It affects employee and resource data.
Additionally, an employee’s absence could cause legal problems if incorrectly handled. Labour laws state you must provide employee breaks and pay for any overtime. If someone doesn’t show up for work, it often falls on other employees to make up for their absence.
This will affect how long others’ shifts are and, therefore, how many breaks they must have. If you can’t provide the proper number of breaks or can’t afford overtime pay, you are breaking the law.
Recommended:Absence Management – Your Guide for How to Properly Handle It
Common problems with attendance systems in multi-location businesses
Typical issues caused by poorly designed attendance trackers for employees include:
Marking the wrong location: If a staff member works at more than one location, they may mark the wrong place when they clock in. Their hours won’t properly reflect where they worked. It will take time for HR to understand what went wrong and why one location has gone over hours.
Payroll errors due to manual tracking: Human error is common when businesses use a manual attendance and payroll system. If there are mistakes in attendance tracking, it affects payroll. Staff will grow frustrated if there are consistent errors.
Miscommunication: Employees may misunderstand your schedule and not realise where and when they are supposed to work. This creates unexpected absences, especially if an employee can’t make it after discovering their mistake.
Matching needs with staff numbers: When operational needs aren’t met properly, your business is over- or understaffed. When a team is already understaffed, one person’s absence can exacerbate problems during busy shifts.
Forgetting to clock in or out: Occasionally, employees will forget to clock in or out, leading to hours lost from records. Then you must rely on the employee’s memory for the accurate shift hours.
Not mentioning breaks: If staff forgets to indicate whether they took a break or not, you could be failing to comply with labour laws. It doesn’t matter if the employee is okay with missing a break; by law, they must take it.
Taking too long: Any form of manual attendance tracking takes away time that could be used more productively.
Data inaccuracies: All the issues already mentioned create incorrect data, which leads to difficulty in making informed business decisions.
Key strategies for optimising your employee attendance tracking system
If you’re struggling with your current employee attendance tracking system, there are various ways to improve it for you and your employees.
Upgrade your system tracker
Sometimes, the best way to optimise your attendance tracker for employees is to throw it away and get a new one. If you are still using a system that requires a lot of manual input, it’s time to upgrade your system.
For a multi-location business, there are just too many factors to track on your own. Do you have the budget or the resources to pay a dedicated attendance tracking manager? That’s just not feasible.
Take advantage of state-of-the-art HR software to bring your business into the present and equip it for the future.
Case Study:Since using Deputy, NewVine Employment Group has saved 10 hours a Week and $10,400 a year
Use automation
Automation is extremely helpful when you have multiple locations. It automatically tracks when employees clock in and out, sorts employees based on location, and makes it easier to pull accurate data when needed. All of this greatly reduces human error from data entry.
Automation can even help you look into the future. Once it has enough data, automation can forecast labour needs so you can better staff your business and cut down on labour costs.
Utilise software that integrates with other software
The best employee attendance management software easily integrates with other software. For example, it could connect to your scheduling and payroll programs (if they aren’t already part of the same program). Having all your programs talk to each other will reduce errors and improve employee satisfaction across all your business locations.
Have built-in compliance trackers
You can worry so much less about compliance when you use software that tracks and considers compliance. For example, Deputy has an entire US compliance hub that stays up to date with compliance laws, both state and federal. It will send alerts when breaks aren’t taken and consider the need for breaks when creating schedules.
Provide a mobile app that employees can use
Put more power into your employees’ hands by having a mobile app in which they can see their schedule, request time off, and clock in and out from their phone. This will reduce confusion, unexpected absences, and miscommunication.
Case study: The Spanish Table saves up to 312 hours a year on employee scheduling
Make communication easier
A mobile app will also make communication easier for everyone. Sending a quick text when you need a shift filled is faster than making a dozen phone calls. The ability for staff to message each other or their managers will streamline communication — which is crucial for multi-location businesses.
Even better, an app that allows employees to swap shifts with each other reduces your managers’ workloads.
An action plan to improve attendance at work after implementing a new strategy
Whether you’re implementing a new attendance tracking system or updating your attendance policy, there are two crucial practices you have to implement.
Training
When you introduce new technology to your employees, you must provide training. It’s not fair to assume that every staff member will know how to use the new technology intuitively.
While it may take time to get to all employees in every location, you must train them all. Doing so will ensure the technology is used properly.
Communication
Clearly communicate the attendance policy and expectations to your employees. Any confusion will only grow until a critical incident occurs. Define the consequences of consistently calling out, describe different ways staff can cover their shifts, and refer them to their employee handbook.
Recommended:Policy Guidelines for Avoiding a No Call, No Show
Try Deputy today
Make running your multi-location business easier by using an all-in-one time and attendance software like Deputy. Our platform covers scheduling, compliance, attendance, and so much more. We also integrate with a suite of other programs to minimise data silos and enable smart decision-making.
Focus on ensuring top-quality service instead of mundane time-tracking tasks.
