15 Aug Five Ways Manual Timekeeping Costs Your Business
Still using pen and paper? Have you considered how much manual timekeeping costs a business?
1. Employee Time Theft
Manual timekeeping systems can be exploited in a number of ways from hours padding to buddy punching. Some large employers who switch to an automated system are surprised by the drop in employee hours the very first pay period. Even if you notice just a small reduction, this advantage will compound, quickly paying for the cost of adopting an advanced yet economical automated system like TimeWorksPlus.
2. Inaccurate or Insufficient Records
Without reliable employee hours data, it is difficult to make informed decisions about human resource allocation. This, in turn, reduces productivity.
3. Unnecessary Administrative Costs
With old school manual timekeeping systems, your administrative staff spends tedious hours troubleshooting timesheet inaccuracies and missing information, and then manually entering the data into the payroll system. When your HR staff can process payroll in minutes, they are free to work on company initiatives that increase employee productivity and loyalty.
4. Increased Overtime
Manual time and attendance systems don’t have built-in warnings to notify managers when associates are approaching or have exceeded their authorized hours. The larger your business, the more unplanned overtime costs you.
5. Higher Employee Turnover
Inaccurate timekeeping and restricted access to basic information contribute to employee frustration and higher turnover. Many employers don’t realize how expensive it is to replace employees.
Numerous studies have demonstrated that it costs about 20% of annual salary to replace an associate making less than 50k a year and the costs increase with higher paid employees.* Do the math: for a team member making $30,000 a year, that would be $6,000.
Automated time and attendance tracking allow associates to handle their time cards and monitor PTO, vacation, and other accruals without having to go through a supervisor or the HR department. When staff members are empowered, they feel better about their jobs which leads to increased productivity.
*Heather Boushey and Sarah Jane Glynn, “There Are Significant Business Costs to Replacing Employees,” Center for American Progress, November 16, 2012, https://www.americanprogress.org/issues/economy/reports/2012/11/16/44464/there-are-significant-business-costs-to-replacing-employees/, accessed March 31, 2017