It can be difficult finding the right Time & Attendance system for your needs. Here’s some help finding the right solution for you.
There are a lot of Time & Attendance systems out there, catering to a wide array of requirements. It can be a bit daunting trying to find the right system for your needs, and being sure that you’re purchasing a high quality product that is going to continue to serve you for years to come can be like walking a tightrope in the dark.
We have put together 5 tips for purchasing a Time & Attendance system that will hopefully help to ensure you get a perfect match for your requirements.
The Bottleneck Issue
A consideration that often gets missed is the Bottleneck issue when it comes to clocking in/out employees. If you have a high volume of employees all trying to use the clocking machine at the same time (ie: A lunch break, or clocking out at the end of the day) then you are going to need a very speedy clocking machine. Consider that it takes about 6 – 8 seconds for an individual to make a clocking on a Biometric Finger-Scanner or Hand-Scanner. If you have 50 employees all trying to use the terminal at the same time, that’s going to take 5 – 7 minutes to clock everyone out. With 100 employees, that’s ten minutes or more! This results in employees possibly getting paid more than they should and growing increasingly more impatient and stressed. Now consider that a proximity terminal takes a mere second or two to make a clocking. You can have a whole workforce clock out in a matter of minutes. Do you need to consider the Bottleneck problem?
Easy as A.B.C?
The terminal is robust, high quality and made to last, and the software is expansive and has lots of features. Great! However, it all doesn’t mean a thing if the system is not easy to use. A Time & Attendance system is only as good as its software and more importantly, its user interface. You need a system that is intuitive and easy-to-use. If you have to navigate several menus, make lots of odd clicks and changes everywhere and all the information is not within easy, obvious reach, then you are going to struggle to use all the features of the Time & Attendance system. Get a demonstration of the system, ask lots of questions and make sure you get a system which you find easy to understand.
Adaptability & Flexibility
The system is easy to use, you’ve got a terminal that’s not going to cause any bottleneck problems, things are going well. However, a clocking system is not just a one-off purchase. This is an investment, and you want the system to last you several years at least. It is highly probable that during that time that things will change at your company. More employees get hired, hours get changed, a whole new policy may get introduced (implementation of Flexitime or T.O.I.L for example) or perhaps something like Access Control becomes a priority. A Time & Attendance system should be adaptable and flexible enough to cater to any changes you perceive for the future. If you need to implement a new terminal, or increase the number of employees on the system, then you want a system with good support. A decent Time & Attendance supplier should be able to cater to these changes without stress and difficulty. Make sure to ask questions about support and the future. Here’s a thought for you; should you require lowering the number of employees on your system, is that possible with your chosen Time & Attendance system?
A Trusty, Reliable System
A time & Attendance system, ideally, is going to be holding all your T&A records and data for many years. This can include, but is not limited to, in and out times, sicknesses, absences, latenesses, accrued time-off, holiday entitlements, records of return-to-work interviews, exception alerts, recording deviations from normal hours, and so on. This is not the kind of data you want to lose! Make sure the Time & Attendance system makes regular back-ups and is reliable enough that one powercut at the wrong moment isn’t going to destroy years of data! If things do go wrong, can you get support quickly, whether that’s a technician visit, remote support, or extra parts for broken terminals? Hope for the best, plan for the worst!
Cost Effective Solutions
In the end, it all comes down to cost! However, do not fall into the trap of thinking cheap = best. As mentioned previously, a Time & Attendance system is an investment; you’re looking for a system that’ll last you many years. If you decide to pay for a system on the cheaper end of the scale, and you later find it doesn’t provide you with everything you require, or it breaks down within a year or two, then you’re looking at a future of stress, headaches, and money lost on a system that’s not right for you. Obviously, you want to get it right the first time. A quality system is going to last you many years, often ten or more. That big number doesn’t look so scary when you realise that a system costing, say, £8,000 will, over ten years of ownership, only cost £800 a year, or £15.39 per week! Remember, it’s an investment, so make sure you’re getting a suitable, easy-to-use, adaptable, flexible, trusty, reliable and cost effective solution! You’ll thank yourself for it later.
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