Choosing the right time and attendance tools for your office shouldn’t require a master’s degree. It doesn’t have to be complicated when you do a bit of research into the best time clock for your business. Options range from a basic punch clocks to cloud-connected devices that uses biometric technology to scan your employee’s finger or face to clock in or out. If you choose a biometric timeclock you will put an end to buddy punching and timecard theft, so it’s a great way to invest a little and save a lot.

Some of the more valuable features to look for include:

In/Out Punches— With a biometric time clock your employees can use their finger or scan their face to punch in and out. Some models also include the ability to punch with a PIN or RFID card in addition.

Department Transfers—Biometric time clocks are much more sophisticated than a basic punch clock and offer enhanced features such as a department transfer. Employees simply press a button on the clock or within the software and their hours are tracked and applied to that department.

Job Tracking— An employee can track time and attendance for a job, and a task within a job using this feature which is offered in most biometric time clocks. This works great for consultants that need to know how much to bill their clients or to provide records of time worked on each project.

Offline Punching — If you’re internet goes down, you don’t want to miss vital timecard information, and with offline punching available in your biometric time clock, even if your clock goes offline, all punches will be stored and synced back to your cloud software once the connection resumes.

Versatile Connections — Some of the more advanced biometric time clocks will offer both a WiFi and a LAN options in one, saving time and hassle if you happen to have a spotty connection.

Businesses that foster happiness among their hourly workers are not only doing the right thing, they can benefit financially. It’s no secret that when satisfied employees stick around it eliminates the costs of employee turnover. Employee satisfaction that leads to less turnover is a win for everyone involved.

Open communication goes a long way in helping hourly workers feel connected. From a simple thank you for a job well done, to an open-door policy that encourages employees to seek advice as needed. A little bit of effort goes a long way.

There are plenty of tips for managing hourly workers, such as giving your employees a say in the scheduling process and taking into account their time off requests. When employers are open to input, employees feel more engaged and connected to their job.

Today’s hourly workers are looking for higher wages, as can be expected, but there are other non-monetary ways to appease them. Simple offerings such as a predictable work schedule and a positive work culture are very well received.

For companies looking to retain your hourly staff, following these simple guidelines will set a great foundation for the future.

As the modern workplace continues to embrace remote workers, it’s worthwhile to explore helpful tools that support this dynamic. There’s no need to adopt an out of sight, out of mind mentality when your remote workers are digitally connected.

Fostering a cloud-connected workforce offers employees the convenience of using shared documents in Office 365 or Box, making it easy for remote workers to share large files or review documents with one another.

There are many time clocks with mobile apps that track time and attendance in the cloud and offer online portals and mobile apps to punch in and punch out from. Both employers and employees can view hours worked through an online web portal. All employee punch data is clearly logged and accessible 24/7, with start and end times clearly defined as well as hourly breaks. Employers can look online to see exactly when an employee clocks in and clocks out. In the same vein, employees can use the app to view their accrued vacation time, accumulated working hours and more.

Project management apps like Basecamp or Asana allow remote workers to collaborate regardless of distance. Digitally savvy workers gain huge benefits from utilizing modern tools, whether it’s cloud-connected time and attendance systems. In the same respect, employers can rest assured that work is being done and is accurately recorded.

Aside from digital tools, there are simple acts you can do to inject a humanized feel-good vibe. One way to do this is by celebrating big achievements with a virtual party complete with a round of applause offered through a video call can go a long way to boost morale.

With a healthy mix of digital tools along with a sprinkling of human kindness, you really can’t go wrong by embracing a remote workforce.

A recent case in the European courts ruled that EU employers must make punch clocks mandatory in the workplace to precisely track hours worked per employee. The ruling came about from a case against a subsidiary of Deutsche Bank for calculating and tracking only overtime hours.

Punch clocks in the workforce have come a long way since their inception, and this ruling is simple to comply with once employers have a modern time and attendance tracking device in place.

The ruling not only stressed the requirement for all working hours to be captured by a punch in and punch out clock, but to account for and track all rest periods throughout the day.

A simple solution to remain in compliance with this recent ruling involves installing the right employee time tracking system. Whether that’s a Wifi employee time clock with a cloud connection, or a simple punch time clock, any make and model from a reputable brand will track hourly time properly. Whatever EU employers choose, they can rest assured they will not be breaking the law with an affordable and dependable punch clock.

One of the biggest expenses for a business owner is covering payroll. You place confidence in your staff to do the job to the best of their ability in exchange for fair compensation.

However, without proper time and attendance tracking in place, things can quickly backfire.

You may have heard the horror stories about the DMV worker who slept at her desk regularly to the tune of $40,000 in wages earned while dozing. Or the two Fresno State employees who left work each day to go shopping during their shift while earning more than $110,000 in wages.

First and foremost, this is an issue with lack of supervision, but you can’t always be there to keep an eye on your employees. Installing a biometric time and attendance system in the workplace can act like another set of eyes in the office.

When employees scan their finger to clock in and clock out, there is no question whether they have arrived to work and are inside the building. In the case of an employee at the U.S. Patent and Trademark office who billed for four months of work he did not do, the investigation discovered there was absolutely no record of him ever being in the office.

With a biometric time clock you can keep stats on your employee throughout the day. Simply set up the finger or face scan time clock to require employees to clock in and clock out multiple times a day for their breaks and lunch. This will create a digital trail of their presence throughout the workday and provide you with valuable peace of mind.

Geotracking features even allow you to track remote employees by location and can require that employee to be within the geographical boundaries of to the workplace before they are able to clock in and out using a mobile app or portable time clock.

While you may find yourself wishing for eyes in the back of your head to keep watch on employees, a biometric time and attendance system is a much better solution.

There are many hidden costs involved with running a business, but unplanned employee absences are one of the most unexpected. Absenteeism puts a strain on the business when employees repeatedly miss work without notice. Getting to the route of the problem is the best way to find a solution.

Absence management in the workplace is of utmost importance. You’ll want to make sure your business has an absenteeism policy that covers sickness. It’s best to include a copy in the employee handbook for transparency. If employees are given enough sick time, they are less likely to leave you empty handed by not calling or showing up for work when sickness occurs.

Managing sickness absence is much easier said than done, but if you put the proper policies in place is makes for a much smoother experience. It always helps to have that clear employee attendance policy in place to eliminate guesswork on the part of the employee.

You can also enable your HR team to assist with medical leaves of absence when it becomes necessary for an employee to take a leave of absence from work. Another way to reduce the cost of employee absences is by offering a welcoming workplace to encourage their return after an illness. Providing a flexible work schedule or offering the option to work from home are a few alternatives.

Monitoring employee attendance with a modern time and attendance system will help bring awareness to employee attendance. Also, when offering remote work options, this is a great way to keep track of hours worked. Whatever you decide, employee absence is a hidden cost that can be managed with the proper HR attendance policies in place.

Adding a touch of technology to automate your employee time and attendance goes a long way in releasing you from daily repetitive tasks. A fingerprint time clock eliminates buddy punching while saving your business from the threat of employee wage theft. The transition to a biometric time clock is a smooth one. Installing a cloud based biometric time clock system is simple because it doesn’t require installing software. Any product updates or new feature can be used upon release.

Read through reviews and articles featuring the best picks for time and attendance systems to help you make a decision. There are even web based time clock reviews specifically for small businesses. Whatever you need, there’s a clock that caters to it. Even if time clocks for small businesses aren’t exactly what you need, many clocks scale up, allowing you to continue using as your business grows.

When you invest in time clocks in the workplace, you get a lot in return. Some businesses have reported lower payroll costs once a biometric time recorder machine begun tracking employee time. Suddenly the records show employees arriving late to work, when previous handwritten records never reflected this. You may be surprised to learn these hidden benefits of installing a biometric time recorder machine.

Capterra is a great online source to read through the best employee time clock reviews. Whether you’re looking for web based employee time clock software or physical time clocks for business, tracking work hours by touch not punch is a technological trend that’s here to stay.

Managing employee time is a constant challenge in a world where day-to-day demands are ever increasing. Life is already hectic enough without having decide on the best time clocks for employees. However, the method you employ for tracking your employee time and attendance is directly related to the success of your business and the satisfaction of your workforce.

Archaic timekeeping methods such as a time punch clock can leave employees frustrated if they run into problems like misalignment or card feed issues when trying to punch. Not only do these errors result in employee time not being recorded, it also puts your payroll compliance at risk. A foolproof way to remedy this situation is to upgrade to a Wi-Fi employee time clock.

When you set out to buy time clocks, researching different models is important to decide which features best suit your needs. Wireless employee time clocks have sophisticated technology that capture punches with the scan of a fingerprint, wave of a RFID card or even facial recognition. In most cases, all employee punch data is instantly transferred to a cloud account that’s connected to your employee time tracking system. With the click of a button you can export the hours worked directly to your payroll provider.

Talk about a win for employee satisfaction and the success of your business! Investing in an employee time clock system will ensure your time and attendance records are accurately captured and recorded in real time. The user-friendly features empower employees to punch without hassle, and as a result, reduces employee stress levels. Additional ways to create a positive work environment include such perks as offering yoga sessions, healthy snacks and even massage breaks for your employees.

Once your new employee time clock is up and running, you’ll have peace of mind knowing everything is running smoothly. Installing an electric time clock for employees is the first step, and you can take it a step further by becoming a resource to help employees manage their own time. They key is shifting an employee’s mindset from a level of frustration where they feel the demands are too much for the time they have available. Instead, teach employees to change the way they think about priorities by identifying what is most important. By working on the most important items first, and then continuing down the list, it won’t take long before employees feel in control of their own time management.

So not only can you improve time tracking and lower employee frustration by installing a digital employee time clock, you can continue down the path of increased employee satisfaction by offering resources to help with time management.