Overcome Workforce Management Challenges For Telecommuters
The article discusses the growing trend of telecommuting and the associated workforce management challenges such as tracking time and attendance, scheduling, and overtime management, highlighting how Swipeclock's WorkforceHub system, with tools like TimeWorksPlus and TimeSimplicity, provides technology solutions to effectively manage remote employees' time, attendance, and scheduling needs.
Despite some high-profile companies pulling their offsite employees back to the office, the global trend of increased telecommuting continues to grow.
According to Global Workplace Analytics: The percentage of employees (non-self-employed) who work at home has grown by 115% since 2005, nearly ten times faster than office-based labor force. http://globalworkplaceanalytics.com/telecommuting-statistics
While companies that allow telecommuting often benefit from lower operational expenses, increased productivity, an expanded hiring pool, and happier employees, virtual offices can create challenges in Workforce Management.
Workforce Management Challenges for Organizations With Remote Workers
- Tracking time and attendance accurately
- Employee schedule confusion
- Time card submission
- Shift trading
- Overtime management
- Incompatible technology
Telecommuting is enabled by technology that allows organizations to provide their products or services using a remote workforce. Employees use technology to communicate, collaborate on projects, and interact with customers. Similarly, WorkforceHub brings smart technology that makes Workforce Management easy for remote employees.
WorkforceHub is a comprehensive Workforce Management system from Swipeclock. It includes TimeWorksPlus for onsite and offsite employee time and attendance, and TimeSimplicity for scheduling both in-office and offsite workers.
Let's look at the tools that address the pain points listed above.
Tracking Time and Attendance for Remote Employees
Remote employees can clock into the TimeWorksPlus virtual time clock from their laptop, tablet, or mobile phone. Supervisors have 24/7 oversight of who is working, when, and where.
What About Salaried Employees?
Contrary to common misconception, tracking time and attendance is just as important for salaried workers as for hourly staff. Most labor laws apply to both hourly and salaried employees, so business owners must have accurate records of clock in/out times, breaks, and meals. Accruals calculation, overtime pay compliance for non-exempt employees, and ACA work hours regulations are just a few reasons accurate tracking is necessary for all personnel. A paper trail is also needed to verify records in case of an audit or labor dispute.
Sharing Scheduling Information
TimeSimplicity is an effective way to schedule offsite employees. One of the most valued perks of telecommuting is flexible work hours (when allowed by management). However, it's often necessary for team members to be online at the same time for at least a few hours each day, which can be challenging across different time zones. TimeSimplicity offers tools to manage the logistics of remote team scheduling, including centralized cloud-based schedule management, hours threshold SMS warnings, and automatic schedule notifications.
Clear Up Scheduling Confusion
When schedules are centrally managed in a cloud-based system, managers and telecommuters can access information at any time. Automatic notices inform all team members of vital scheduling and time card information.
Submitting Time Cards
TimeWorksPlus provides self-service time cards that employees can access 24/7 from any internet-enabled device. Remote employees can log time and verify time cards under customizable company rules. When they clock in or out, the time is captured immediately on their virtual time card, eliminating the end-of-pay-period scramble caused by outdated and non-automated paper timesheets.
Easy Shift Trading
TimeSimplicity has a Virtual Trade board that allows telecommuters to bid on open shifts, request shift trades, and view approvals without needing to talk to a supervisor. Employees and supervisors don't have to exchange endless texts and emails to work out schedule changes. All stakeholders can see the schedule and updates at any time.
Managing Overtime
“Out of sight, out of mind” can be expensive when it comes to needless overtime, and can also result in employee burnout, higher attrition, and diminished productivity. TimeWorksPlus overtime alerts allow businesses with a virtual office to meet their scheduling, workflow, and labor cost objectives with smart automation, freeing supervisors to focus on other tasks.
Compatibility Problems Solved
Employees working from home may not use the same hardware and software as the corporate office. Because WorkforceHub is cloud-based, it functions seamlessly on desktops, laptops, iOS, and Android devices, and eliminates the need for expensive software upgrades.
Swipeclock offers WorkforceHub, a unified Human Resources portal that helps optimize the performance of supervisors, employees, and companies. WorkforceHub includes TimeWorksPlus, TimeSimplicity, and TimeWorks Mobile, and now features onboarding, benefits enrollment, performance reviews, and employee engagement. WorkforceHub is designed for busy employers who need to streamline scheduling, automate time and attendance tracking, maintain regulatory compliance, and reduce labor costs.
Contact Swipeclock to request a demo or learn more about becoming a reseller.
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