Turning Time Clock Analytics into Workforce Strategy

Your time clocks can be powerful tools for executing your company's workforce strategy. Sophisticated time clocks have multi-media capabilities and high-level functionality that can help. Collecting accurate time and attendance data is table stakes for time clocks. When you maximize the potential of your time clocks, they become a pivotal piece of enforcing your workforce strategy processes and initiatives. 

Improve Workplace Safety While Collecting Critical Data  

Time clocks can go a long way to promoting workplace safety. They can ensure workers are current on safety protocols. They can also improve compliance with workplace safety reporting requirements. 

Safety Announcements: 

A web-enabled, multi-media time clock is the perfect medium to deliver safety messages. Right when each worker punches in, they can see a reminder of an important safety rule. When you roll out a new safety protocol, you can deliver a short announcement on it right at the time clock.  

If you provide hands-on safety training or an online training, the time clocks still have a role. You can use the time clock to collect attestations from workers that they've completed the new safety training. Collecting these attestations creates a secure, auditable record that all workers are current on safety training requirements.  

Does your workforce strategy include workers having periodic safety trainings to reinforce safety measures?  If so, time clock attestations will help enforce this rule too. You can review the data to ensure that everyone has attested and confirmed to having completed the necessary training on time.  

Improve workplace injury reporting:  

You can also use the time clock to collect daily attestations of whether a workplace injury occurred. As each worker punches out, the time clock can serve up a message asking them to confirm they didn’t witness or experience a workplace injury that shift.  

With a time clock, your company can build a real-time record of when (or if) a workplace injury has occurred. The daily attestation process can also encourage workers to report what they think may be minor injuries. Delaying report of an injury can increase workers' compensation costs by up to 51%.  

Monitor labor law compliance 

Scheduling software can help you stay compliant with many labor laws, such as: 

• Preventing you from scheduling someone who has worked too many hours within too short a time.  
• Helping you comply with internal workforce management rules, such as limiting overtime.  
• Managing meal break compliance issues 
• Preventing employees from punching in when they aren’t scheduled to work.  

Meal break laws vary by state and are complex. Some of the greatest compliance risks come from meal break laws. Workers may not take scheduled meal breaks or a full break. Any of these scenarios can lead to situations where the worker isn't paid for that time but has been working. 

A state may hold the employer responsible for compensating that time if it finds the employer discouraged workers from taking the meal break. That could be the foundation of costly wage and hour lawsuits. You can use the time clock to help you stay ahead of this issue by: 

• Reviewing time clock reports showing who is not taking meal breaks or taking short meal breaks. This is an opportunity for a positive meeting to reinforce why the worker benefits from taking their full meal break. 

Use the time clock to block early clocking-in from a meal break or shorter break. The more sophisticated time clock systems let you configure the time clock to prevent an employee from clocking back in before their scheduled break time ends. When they try to clock in early, the time clock screen shows them how much time they have remaining on their break instead. 

Your time clocks are integral to your workforce management  

Executing your company's workforce strategy and complying with labor laws can feel like a juggling act. Let your time clock help you out.  

Using a time clock with a large touchscreen makes attestation a smooth user experience. If your workforce management system is designed to collect attestation data, many ATS time clocks can collect it.  

Not sure whether your workforce management system can handle attestations or how to get your time clocks to help? Schedule a call with one of the ATS time clock experts to help you understand what you have and explore how to enhance your system.