How To Stop Employee Time Theft

by Surekha Shetty | Dec 14, 2021 | Software, Time Tracking

Most employers would probably like to think that they can trust their employees and employees will be honest for the most part. However, we can never be entirely sure that the people working for us won’t take advantage if given the opportunity. Indeed, a study showed that 43% of employees who have filled in timesheets had exaggerated the length of time they worked. Studies have also shown that around $400 billion is lost every year in lost productivity in the United States, further highlighting the need to address the problem.

Employee time theft comes in several types, and not all of them are necessarily deliberate. Some of the most common include:

Charging for time spent on personal tasks
Buddy punching is a practice that involves an employee’s co-worker punching in for them despite the employee not being at work. Buddy punching alone is thought to cost approximately $373 million alone every year
Employees deliberately adding extra time to their worksheets
Employees not clocking out for breaks
Field employees claiming to have been working but performing other tasks, or even staying at home instead
Accidentally overestimating time worked.

Time theft is a real problem for many companies, especially in times of uncertainty. However, one of the most significant difficulties companies face regarding employee theft is that it’s challenging to detect. Managers cannot monitor all employees at all times, especially where field workers are concerned, and honest errors can be particularly difficult to identify. However, you can take some steps to overcome the issue.

Establish Clear Policies

One way you can help overcome some of the issues is to put a deterrent in place. Your managers can let employees know that they’re aware of problems like buddy punching and that employees will be reprimanded if caught doing so. The act of bringing up the topic alone can avoid complacency among employees and deter them from punching in for friends. Make sure to be polite and respectful when reminding your employees about your policies, but also make sure that you’re firm. Acting on indiscretions will help to send the message that you will not tolerate time theft.

Educate Management

Quite often, the signs of time theft are right in front of us, but we won’t spot them if we don’t know what we’re looking for. For example, what might appear to be a case of an employee working later than others could easily mean that they’re not being honest about their time sheet. After all, it’s a lot easier to be dishonest on your time sheets when there’s nobody around because they’ve already gone home for the day.

Educate Employees

In many cases, time theft might be down to misunderstandings that you can easily clear up with simple communication. You should also make it clear to employees when it’s reasonable for them to record to add time and when it isn’t. You can also educate your employees on the potential harm that time theft can cause businesses, potentially even placing their jobs and their colleagues’ jobs at risk.

Use Time Tracking Software

Software like the PK4 TimeTracker will help to ensure that time is tracked accurately and fairly. For example, the buddy punching system won’t work with time tracking software because employees have to be logged into their computers or on their own mobile devices to track time. The system also helps prevent forms from being filled in erroneously, while it also helps management see which tasks their employees have been working on.

Time tracking software will also help ensure time is recorded accurately for field workers. The time tracking app can record an employee’s location through GPS, so you know they were in the right place. The software is also easy for employees and managers to use, while reviewing and approving timesheets is also made simple, further helping to ensure accurately recorded time.

Overall, time tracker software will help to empower teams to work better and be more productive. Time sheets will more accurately reflect work that has been done while also giving management access to helpful information such as how much time employees spent on particular tasks. Such information will help management see if time is being spent effectively, helping them make their teams more productive while also helping to reduce frustrations.

5 Reasons Why Time Tracking Makes Sense!

by Surekha Shetty | Oct 28, 2021 | Time Tracking

Timesheets help to ensure that you pay employees accurately. They help ensure that you’re not overpaying while also allowing employees to get a fair salary. As valuable as timesheets are, however, there is quite a lot of work involved in processing them, making project management harder. For example, time sheet approval is often a manual, time-consuming process, especially if you need to check and correct errors.

The good news is that thanks to PK4 TimeTracker, time review and approval is now made easier than ever before. The easy to use platform makes time sheet approval faster and easier than traditional methods while also helping to eliminate or at least reduce some of the other drawbacks.

Traditional Timesheet Tracking Methods

Over the years, companies have tried numerous team management methods regarding tracking, reviewing, and approving timesheets. Unfortunately, these methods have numerous flaws that can result in you putting many hours into the time review and approval process. Some of these flaws include:

Employees forgetting to complete timesheets
Employees deliberately filling in the wrong details
Dishonest practices like ‘buddy punching’
Lost timesheets
Difficulty verifying information
Difficulty reading handwriting
High paper use
Employees forgetting badges and punch cards etc.
Employees having to queue to use punch cards and similar.

Many of these problems are reduced or even eliminated with time management tools like the PK4 TimeTracker, however.

Time Tracking Software

The PK4 TimeTracker is a powerful yet easy to use time tracking platform that makes it easier for employees to record working hours clearly and accurately. With the data stored safely in Salesforce, it is a lot easier to work with. And the software provides a range of helpful project management features that take a lot of the work out of time review and approval.

Easily Verifiable Hours

The PK4 platform has team management features that help make it easy for managers to verify that employees were working according to their timesheets. For example, geo-tracking technology will let managers know that employees were in the location they were supposed to be.

Timesheets are Not Lost

With data recorded digitally and synced in real time to Salesforce (for the mobile and web apps), companies no longer have to overcome problems caused by lost timesheets. The information is also available immediately in real-time, instead of waiting for employees to bring their timesheets to the office.

Easy to Read

Because your employees record everything digitally, timesheets created with the PK4 TimeTracker are easy to read. Gone are issues over not being able to read somebody’s handwriting and problems such as paper documents becoming ruined.

Human Error

People make mistakes; they can also forget to track time, and a study has shown that just over 25% of people never track time reading or answering emails. The PK4 TimeTracker software helps to reduce human error both from the employee and from the person reviewing and approving the timesheet.

Reduced Paper Usage

You won’t have to use any paper when working with digital time trackers. A paperless system will help reduce your costs in the long term while also helping you do your part for the environment.

Additional Tools and Functionality

Time tracking software will also help the time review and time sheet approval process in other ways. With the PK4 TimeTracker, project management has all the information it needs right in front of them on a single screen. Timesheets can be approved with the click of a button or sent back to the employee for amendments if required, with a message stating why the timesheet has been returned.

The PK4 time sheet approval software works seamlessly inside Salesforce, helping to keep all relevant data in a single location. Additionally, users that don’t use Salesforce can still use the PK4 TimeTracker web app OR mobile app OR the Chrome Extension for employees to track their time. This is especially great for time tracking for employees working out in the field. All these timesheet entries are also directly synced to Salesforce for analysis, reporting and integration with payroll and invoicing.

The benefits of using PK4 TimeTracker don’t end there, either. For example, for people tracking time within Salesforce, you can install lightning components where a timer starts automatically when employees start working on a specific record. The timesheet can also be broken down in terms of which tasks the employee was working on. Comprehensive reports are also available, and dashboards that help to make it easy to see relevant details at a glance.

Overall, the PK4 TimeTracker offers an impressive array of functionality and streamlining the work involved and helping to reduce time sheet approval errors and other problems. Check out how simple it is to enter, review and approve time with this powerful yet easy to use platform.

Make Your Field Workers More Efficient and Profitable

by Surekha Shetty | Sep 22, 2021 | Software, Time Tracking

If you have employees working out in the field, you will have various obstacles to overcome. Such barriers include not being able to monitor the productivity of your employees and keeping everybody coordinated when in different locations. These problems can result in low productivity, and this can hurt your bottom line.

The good news is that field automation technology is available that will help you overcome these obstacles. No, this doesn’t mean sending C-3PO out to pick corn for you. However, it does mean using software that improves your ability to monitor employees while also streamlining your processes.

Time Tracking

Time tracking is one of the biggest challenges when it comes to managing field workers. It’s not just that you need to be sure that your employees are actually working. It’s also important to

know that their productivity levels are high. For example, if your field employees are spending wasted time waiting for long periods for confirmations from the office, you know that you should take a look at your procedures to see if you can improve your time management. Alternatively, you could try and arrange for them to do something else while they’re waiting to keep them productive.
Studies have shown that around 80% of an average employee’s working day is spent on low value activities. However, mobile time tracking tools like PK4 TimeTracker give you a much better idea of how your field employees are spending their time. Not only will it help you know that they are pulling their weight, but it will also help you to see how they can optimize their time management.

Mobile time tracking also helps with billing, payroll, and invoicing because systems can be updated automatically, helping to prevent mistakes. Time tracking also helps with billing customers because it’s easier to tell how much time your employees spend on their tasks.

Monitor Equipment Remotely

Monitor Remote Equipment — Remote Equipment photos

A time tracker may reveal that your employees spend a lot of time

checking on the condition of equipment in the field. In most cases, the equipment will be just fine, effectively meaning you’ve spent money unnecessarily. But what if you don’t have to travel to the equipment to check its status physically?

Remote monitoring equipment will tell you the status of your field assets without having to spend time and money on checking them in person. If maintenance or repairs are needed, an alert can let people know, ensuring the equipment remains in good condition.

Improved Delegation

When working in an office, you typically know who the best person for a particular task is and, perhaps more to the point, where to find them. However, the same cannot be said for teams working in the field. When it’s difficult to know who is where then it’s challenging to know who is available for the right task, making task management harder.

Mobile time tracking software comes to the rescue. GPS tracking technology and mobile apps will let you know how where your employees are. When combined with other software that helps you improve task management for maximum productivity, it becomes easier for you to make sure the right person is on the right job. Thus, mobile apps will help ensure that jobs are done in good time and done right the first time.

Auto Update Information across Systems

A time tracker might reveal that employees are spending a lot of time updating systems with new data. Your employees will duplicate a lot of this work. For example, somebody working in the field might fill in a particular form and, once they return to the office, they will need to add the same information into yet another form.

However, you can integrate all systems with time automation, and information only needs to be input once. Not only that, but the data can also be updated in real-time, helping to ensure everybody is up to speed with progress.

Summary

Using mobile apps, mobile time tracking, and GPS tracking technology to automate your processes will help your field services operate with more productivity. Such technology can help you track time better, telling you where your employees could spend their time on more practical tasks. Technology can also help with task management and ensure you have the right people on the right jobs. At the same time, automation can also help with billing, payroll, invoicing, and reducing the duplications of tasks and human error. Overall, automation helps make your working day easier while also helping to improve your bottom line.

6 Reasons Why Time Tracking Is Important For Your Business

by Surekha Shetty | Aug 23, 2021 | Software, Time Tracking

Let’s face it – time tracking isn’t easy. It doesn’t come naturally for most people, and you may be afraid that your employees won’t be open to the idea. But even if it looks tedious at first, it’s a habit that, once enforced, will bring tremendous benefits for your business.

Time tracking is more than just checking on individual employees – it creates a complex picture of how your projects are doing, and it even helps you determine whether you’re charging what your business is worth.

Here are 6 reasons why adopting time tracking is important in most lines of work:

1. Time tracking helps spot productivity issues.

Tracking your employees’ time is the best way to track their behavior and spot potential problems. With the help of a simple product like the Time Tracker, you can identify who’s late, who’s going on breaks more than they should, or taking too many sick days.

Going into the specifics, you can easily check how much time your employees spend on their assigned tasks and make sure that they’re actually doing something productive.

Which leads us to our next point: measuring time is just the first step – it’s how your employees spend that time that matters.

2. Time tracking helps management find employees who are open to new tasks.

So your employees have come into the office, they’ve punched their virtual cards – but are they really there to do the work? It’s easy to waste time and hide behind easy tasks instead of tackling challenging projects.

This is where your task management skills come in. It’s your job to discover those employees with light workloads, and time tracking software will allow you to see what your workers are doing. With one glance, you can get an idea of who is working on essential tasks and who isn’t and reprioritize to fit your new goals.

3. Time tracking ensures fair payroll.

When handling payroll, you have to be careful about many things: overtime, paid leave, paid or unpaid breaks, etc. Nobody likes to be exploited, and without time tracking in place, it’s nearly impossible to pay your employees fairly: either them or your business will suffer.

Time tracking software takes a lot of the guesswork out of payroll and streamlines many management and HR processes.

4. With time tracking in place, you can bill clients accurately.

Is your business strategy based on “guesstimations”? When charging their clients, many business owners scratch their heads and estimate a value that would be good for the company and satisfactory for the client.

But is this number based on actual data?

With time tracking, you’ll have a detailed record of your work. Based on this record, you can accurately bill your client with an invoice that reflects your efforts. Should any arguments arise, you can show your client the actual work that went into the project.

5. Time tracking helps you make better estimates for future projects.

Estimating how much time and effort should go into specific projects is a tricky business. Even if you have solid work experience, you might still end up overloading your team with extra work and exceeding the costs and hours assigned for a project.

Clients change their minds, and unexpected problems derail projects all the time. However, you can still significantly improve your project estimates and learn from your mistakes by tracking the time spent on specific tasks and projects and making adjustments for future similar work.

6. Time tracking will enable you to quote fair prices.

Once you go through all the steps above and analyze your company’s budget and expenses, you may realize that you’re charging far too little for your company’s products or services.

That may sting at first – but it’s for the best. Your employees’ time is costing you, so why not have better rates that reflect your company’s efforts? With time tracking, you’ll find that charging more is evidence-based, rather than just covering black holes intuitively.

More profit and happy employees? Yes, please.

Conclusion

At the end of the day, time tracking is all about creating new opportunities. When areas that need improvement are staring you right in the face, it’s easy to take steps for better productivity.

Enabling your employees to log their time may need some troubleshooting at first, but rest assured that you can always make the necessary adjustments inside our Time Tracker for when workers forget to log in or enter the wrong data. So embrace the process, and watch how time tracking transforms your business.

Managing Employee Paid Time Off Doesn’t Have To Be Difficult

by Surekha Shetty | Jun 20, 2021 | Mobile Apps, Project Management, Software, Time Tracking

Managing Employee PTO[/caption]Every worker deserves time off, and paid time off (PTO) is one of those perks many companies choose to offer. Reviewing and approving paid time off used to be overwhelming, but with modern tools in place, managers can now focus on more important things.

Similar to traditional leave, with paid time off, employees get paid when taking personal time off, vacation days, sick leave, time off during federal holidays, and parental leave. The only difference with PTO is that employees don’t have to give a reason for taking paid leave.

How much PTO should you offer?

Since paid time off isn’t federally required, you’re probably wondering how much time off should your company offer. Short answer – it’s totally up to you, but in this competitive work environment, providing PTO will contribute to happier, more productive employees.

Statistically, US businesses offer an average of 10 days of PTO per year, while European workers are guaranteed between 20 to 30 paid days off – that’s a whole month off!

Before you get all envious, you should learn that modern businesses have recently embraced the concept of unlimited PTO, provided that employees still get their work done. It works great for young workers who value their autonomy and flexibility, although many of them end up taking less time off than the average.

How to effectively manage PTO requests

Leave management can become very complicated, especially if you have to handle a high number of employees. Many companies still log PTO requests manually inside a spreadsheet, which makes for an inefficient and expensive process.

If you’re an HR manager in the digital era, you’re probably balancing different types of employees – remote or on-site, salaried, hourly, or part-time. Logging mistakes when managing PTO could lead to unfair payment and open up your company to potential lawsuits.

This is why you need to run a tight ship and have great systems in place. The best way to do this is to establish ground rules and use modern time tracking tools that allow for seamless PTO management.

Define the rules in your employee handbook

Creating a standard policy on taking paid time off is the best way to go, especially if you have many employees and they all come to you with their individual problems and requests.

Inevitably, leave requests will overlap during times like winter holidays, and you’ll be the one prioritizing which employee gets time off. So how do you make that decision?

A few popular policies you could have in place are:

First come, first served. This type of policy takes out a lot of the guesswork and makes sure all workers are fairly treated.
Seniority-based. Time off is granted according to the employee’s “rank,” although, because of their vital experience, taking time off is not always feasible.
Reasons for making the request. Personal reasons such as sickness, burnout, parental leave, or family issues should be discussed and, if possible, prioritized.
Flexibility of the request. When completing the PTO request form, employees should mention whether their vacation dates are flexible or not.
Taking time off too often. You should set rules to prevent employees from requesting time off too frequently or during times when it impacts productivity.

Your employees may have personal issues, or they may be prone to burnout, and as a manager, you have the final say in allowing them to take paid time off.

But keep in mind that favoritism can get the best of you at times, so use your better judgment and adhere to company guidelines when managing your workers’ paid leave.

Use a tool that easily tracks time off

Time tracking has come a long way. Modern time tracking tools are now indispensable for efficient project management – everything gets logged, and time off is no exception.

Managing Employee PTO

Our leading time tracking tool for Salesforce, PK4 Time Tracker, is built to easily manage PTO days. Inside Time Tracker, the PTO Current Status displays Total Days, Available Days, and Pending Approval Days.

Users can log their desired PTO days by selecting the PTO type (personal, vacation, sick, other, etc.), the start date and end date of their leave, and send it for approval.

Managers can edit total PTO days for their employees and approve or reject requests. The available days get automatically updated as employees use their time off.

This entire process is organized within a simple interface, where you can have a bird’ eye view of your workers’ activity.

Needless to say that this automatic system of vacation management takes a lot of pressure off of HR managers.

There’s no more back and forth communication – all the information is out in the open, and employees can feel confident that they get fair treatment when it comes to their earned paid time off.

As a professional, you can’t run your business arbitrarily. Having a set number of PTO days, establishing a universal policy, and tracking hours, including time off, are all essential to your company’s productivity and your employees’ wellbeing.

Photo by Trend on Unsplash

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