Businesses need every advantage they can get to be successful in a competitive marketplace. However, many of them still aren’t taking advantage of one of the best tools at their disposal, a time card app. A time card app has several benefits that can make a business run more efficiently and be more profitable.
Still, it’s essential to follow the proper steps before you decide to invest in a timesheet management solution. There’s more to choosing a time and attendance app than just picking a program that handles timekeeping.
You’ll want to consider a whole range of factors before deciding on which one is right for your business.
Focus on Your Needs
Before choosing any time card app, it’s important to understand that this is a considerable investment. Therefore you need to choose one that meets the specific needs of your business.
Whether you need just time tracking for a large group of employees, special features like project management, or additional security features like biometrics, knowing what you need going in will help you make the right investment.
Understanding how the employee timesheet software works and what it offers you will go a long way in making sure that you make the right decision. This is where trials and software demos can help. They can help you hone in on which features are the most important to your business.
Have a Plan
You’ll want to make sure that before you invest in online timesheet software, even if you find the right one for your unique situation, you figure out how the implementation process will go.
This is about more than just installing a time card app onto your systems; it’s knowing how to access it for employees and managers, what features you will use regularly, and even how to get help and support while you’re still learning the ropes of the software.
It also helps to have a rollout plan of when the software will be implemented. This will make it so that employees know what to expect, but it’s important to remember that change can be jarring, so there needs to be proper preparation made to facilitate the transition.
There will need to be training to get employees accustomed to the new system and its uses and features. Having a set of policies and procedures ready will make adoption easier because employees will know from the outset what the software is for, how to use it, and the rules they must follow.
You will likely want to have a support system to troubleshoot issues for the first few weeks or months so that implementation goes as smoothly as possible. There’s nothing worse than making an investment and having it not work out because of logistical issues or technical glitches.
Explain the Benefits
Part of the problem of implementing any new system or technology is that it can be shocking when employees are already used to one way of doing things. They may be slow to adopt the new time card app because they feel it is unnecessary or too complicated.
One of the ways to combat this is to explain to employees all of the reasons for the new system. In particular, it is good to focus on the benefits that employees will see directly. Employees will enjoy easier and faster clocking in and out, they will no longer have to track their own hours or fill out timesheets, and all of their data and information is accurate and secure.
Managers, too, will benefit from the software. They will no longer have to micromanage employees and can make schedules and track hours and attendance at a glance to handle any potential issues.
Explaining these things upfront will make the team time tracking app you choose a much more beneficial investment.
