Time and Attendance Systems viewed as Workplace Big Brother?

By: Mitrefinch Australia  10-Aug-2011
Keywords: Human Resources, human resource management, Proximity Readers

Introducing an automated Time and Attendance system will undoubtedly bring many benefits to your business; from payroll savings, improved productivity, greater management visibility, reduced absenteeism, and improvements to OHS. However, while these benefits may be obvious to management, they are often less so to the staff working on the front line.

For this reason, convincing employees that a new Time and Attendance system can help them too can prove to be a difficult task. Especially when your employees may feel that you are trying to create a “Big Brother” type organisation - which is understandable when a Time and Attendance system can provide management with a clear record of lateness, length of lunchbreaks, as well as holidays and sick leave, and even productivity.

So what can you do to achieve staff buy in?

1. Be a Time and Attendance Advocate
First things first, you need to be a clear supporter of the idea in order to overcome potential employee obstacles, and have the confidence to answer difficult questions or arguments that may arise - getting rid of any doubts raised by your staff.

2. Be prepared for some resistance
Your Time and Attendance provider will be able to assist and prepare you for potential objections you may encounter. You should also know that the employees who resist technology are likely to be the least productive workers!

3. Keep Staff Informed
Effective communication is key. Share information about the new Time and Attendance system with employees and their representatives/union officials as soon as possible. Explain exactly how the change will impact them i.e.: will they need to use swipe cards, proximity fobs, or biometric scanners to register attendance.

4. Communication must be two way
Don’t just provide information to the employees, also give them an opportunity to express their concerns and ask questions. For example, with biometric Time and Attendance, employees might be concerned about the prospect of their fingerprint information being stored. You will need to assure them that this isn’t the case.

Your Time and Attendance provider will have basic information (without getting too technical) on how their biometric systems work, which you can use to reassure employees that their personal data will not be compromised.

5. Explain employee benefits
You need to make sure your employees understand how they will benefit from using an automated Time and Attendance. Once they are convinced that more accurate data tracking will improve the accuracy of their wages and provide them with early notice of schedule changes that impact their working hours, they are more likely to buy-into the change.

The ability to request holidays without having to ask their managers directly and amend their personal details, such as address, telephone number etc without contacting HR will also be welcomed.

While, instant access to their absence profile or annual leave balance would enable them to manage their time more effectively. With a Time and Attendance the staff who consistently outperform are the ones who will shine which could encourage you to implement performance-related incentive schemes.

6. Get Supervisors on side
Involving supervisors and line managers in the change process, reduces the risk of them potentially sabotaging the system further down the track. When supervisors realise the importance of having accurate attendance data and that the system will help them minimise the time spent on tedious administration tasks, they will be more likely to embrace the idea and become Time and Attendance advocates too!

7. Training
Sufficient training time to understand the system would also be a valuable step towards better system implementation.

8. Keep an eye on proceedings
Your job doesn’t end once the system is up and running - you will need to continue to monitor the process well beyond implementation to ensure that you achieve the desired outcomes.

For more information on Choosing an effective Time and Attendance System for your organisation download our FREE Guide online. Alternatively contact us today on 1300 884 831 for more information on implementing an automated Time and Attendance system for your organisation.