Should I Use My Web Clock for Time and Attendance?

Cloud based solutions, including time and attendance systems and workforce management solutions like Oracle Cloud Time and Labor, are expanding their integration with mobile apps and web-based tools.  

Companies, even small businesses, see the advantages of constant employee accessibility. Yet there are significant challenges to relying on mobile apps and web clocks to complete vital tasks like tracking employee time. 

Sticky Legal Issues 

Each state has its own laws on whether a company can mandate employees to download work apps on their personal devices. Many labor contracts also include specific restrictions. Nor does compliance with these legal obligations solve the other challenges of using mobile devices for time recording and management. 

Protecting Integrity of Time and Attendance Data  

Automated time and attendance systems aim to cut labor costs by accurately recording work hours. Mobile devices and web-based clocks compromise data accuracy. While the software records timestamps, these options make time theft easy. 

For example, employers don’t know whether the employee was at work when clocking in or out. With a mobile device, the employee can clock in or out from anywhere. If they can log into the web-based clock from offsite, they can also increase their total hours worked. 

Both options also make it easy for employees to engage in “buddy punching,” which costs companies millions yearly. Employees willing to share their devices or logins with colleagues can clock in or out for each other.  

The purpose of bringing on an automated time and attendance system is to reduce labor costs and improve productivity. Time theft's direct and indirect costs exceed any temporary savings from not buying time clocks. 

Mobile Devices Aren’t Reliable 

Everyone with a mobile device finds themselves with no battery power or unable to connect to the network. People also seem to misplace or forget their phones often. 

Companies can’t always rely on employees to use their mobile devices to submit time in real-time. Not having real-time data collection options undermines the potential ROI the company can realize from its time and attendance solution and Oracle Time and Labor integration. 

It also forces companies to spend money and time collecting data and updating systems to fix missed punches. 

In contrast, a high-performance time clock continues to work when it’s lost power or connection to the internet. When power and connectivity is restored, the time clock delivers the data to your Oracle Cloud Time and Labor system. It provides a trustworthy alternative that surpasses the limitations of mobile and web-based alternatives. 

Physical Time Clocks Maximize Your Time and Attendance Solution ROI 

To ensure maximum data accuracy and improve productivity, a company must provide its workers with reliable, physical time clocks.  

By installing the right time clock in your workplace, whether office, industrial or outdoor site, your company ensures that all workers can easily reliably clock and clock out in real-time. 

Get in touch with our solution consultant today for all your time clock needs.