Time & Attendance Software: How to Implement the Best System for Employees

HR professionals know that implementing change in any capacity can be difficult. Transitioning to a time and attendance platform is no different. From what attendance software is and how it works to how you can select the right option for your team, find out how to implement attendance software for your staff.

Why Would an Employer Switch to a New Time and Attendance Software Platform?

Employers may decide to adjust their time and attendance software for a number of different reasons. For example, the organization may have switched to a new payroll system that doesn't properly integrate with the older attendance software, prompting a change. 

Other factors may include:

• Low Return-on-Investment: The existing system doesn't provide enough value to justify its cost.
• Poor Usability: In some cases, time and attendance software platforms just don't work very well. They're confusing to use and difficult to manage. 
• Outdated Features: It's entirely possible an employer has been using the same time and attendance platform for the past five or ten years. As a result, the features found on this system may no longer be top-of-the-line, especially if the software isn't committed to staying ahead of the curve. 
• HRIS Functionality: Some employers may decide to adopt an all-in-one HRIS that combines and streamlines many different administrative tasks, including time and attendance features. 

How to Implement Time and Attendance Software for Your Employees

Use the following four steps to select and implement the right attendance software solution for your team:

1. Research Different Attendance Software Options

The selection process is an opportunity to strengthen a partnership between employees and HR rather than just an effort to manage the masses. HR should invest plenty of time and energy when researching time and attendance software options to ensure the solution the organization picks not only meets HR's needs but also the needs of the employees.

HR should work with managers on the team to identify existing time and attendance problems or complications. Managers can even discuss these issues in 1:1 meetings with their direct reports to find a solution that addresses actual problems. 

During this research process, consider five features to look for in a small business time and attendance system: 

1. Ability to Clock in and Clock Out
2. Editing Functionality 
3. Location-based Clock In and Clock Out Capabilities
4. At-a-Glance In-and-Out Time Board
5. Payroll Reporting

Similarly, some attendance software may offer productivity tracking features, which can be especially beneficial for remote-work teams.

2. Learn the Attendance Software Before You Teach It

Once a solution has been selected, managers and HR administrators should become proficient in the software before implementing it with the workforce. Take time to learn the nuances of the system so that if a problem comes up, both HR and managers know the appropriate course of action.

This proficiency instills confidence in team members. Why? Once training begins, employees will see not only that the system is simple to use but also that they can rely on HR and managers to teach it correctly. Likewise, HR and managers should become acquainted with the support structure provided by the selected service. 

The platform's basic instructions should also be incorporated into the company's Culture Guide, which is a more advanced type of employee handbook. It's considered best practice to store the Culture Guide online and make it easily available for all employees to review at any time—meaning team members can reference the instructions if they have questions. 

3. Explain the Organization's Attendance Software Selection

Employees will need more than an email to get on board with the new time and attendance system. HR should plan to communicate the organization's choice to employees.

What should be included in this message? HR should explain that the organization's new time and attendance software solves mutual challenges, not just administrative ones. Remember, these challenges can include poor usability, outdated features, HRIS functionality, and low return on investment.

4. Demonstrate the New Attendance Software Solution

Finally, HR should demonstrate how the new software works for employees.

During this tutorial, administrators should clearly lay out the organization's expectations concerning how and when the time and attendance system should be used, as well as why a decision was made to change to the new platform. HR should also reserve time for plenty of questions during this session—and even prepare a list of anticipated questions and answers.