How a Time-Tracking App Solves the Challenges of Remote Working

Although remote work was gaining traction prior to 2020, abrupt office closures in response to the pandemic pushed countless workers to handle their tasks from home. According to the American Community Survey, fewer than 6 percent of American employees worked primarily from home in 2019. By contrast, roughly two in 10 workers are now fully back to the office, with approximately 80 percent working at least partly remote.

But with remote and hybrid work schedules come some unique challenges. One of the biggest struggles for employers is managing employee time. It’s difficult to know when employees are working when they’re not physically present in an office. A time-tracking app is an ideal solution to this common problem, and we’re outlining six ways it can solve the challenges of remote employees.

1.     Ensures Transparency

Although most supervisors aren’t watching the work their employees do at all times, they can get a sense of what’s being completed when they share a workspace. But remote employees often go hours or even days without communicating with their managers, which can make it difficult to know when they’re available or what they’re working on at any given time.

A time-tracking app ensures transparency across all remote employees, providing insights into how long your team members spend on particular projects and when they’re completed. You can also review their time data to determine what hours they’re working and send new tasks accordingly. If you’re concerned about an employee failing to work during their scheduled shift, time tracking provides better insights so you can take the necessary steps.

2.     Maintains Accountability

Employees must be accountable to their employers, or the entire working relationship falls apart. By tracking their hours worked, employees become more accountable for the time they spend on various tasks. They can also review their hours and make any adjustments as needed. Empowering your team members to take control of their time can also boost company morale.

3.     Provides Access to Critical Data

Managers and payroll processors need access to employee time data for a variety of reasons. A manager may need to check on the hours worked by a specific employee to ensure they’re completing the required number of hours, while a payroll processor could need to verify an employee’s status for benefits eligibility. When using a time-tracking app, all authorized individuals have access to critical time data at any time. It becomes easier to verify information, such as the number of hours worked during a pay period.

4.     Ensures Accuracy

Of course, time data is also vital in processing payroll accurately. Non-exempt employees are paid for the number of hours they worked during a pay period, but a lack of data makes it difficult to provide accurate pay. Even exempt employees may track their time for project tracking purposes or other reasons, making a tracking app a valuable addition to any business.

If you have employees who work at a specific remote location, you can also restrict where they can clock in and out from with geofencing capabilities. A geofence is a virtual fence boundary, and you can establish the physical location in which an employee is permitted to clock in or out.

5.     Maintains Consistency

Depending on your setup, you may have employees working fully remotely, along with employees who work in the office at least once in a while. Some hybrid models allow employees to do a combination of work – some in-office and some from home. But implementing a time-tracking app maintains consistency across all team members, regardless of their physical location. If an employee spends two days in the office and three days at home, they can easily clock in and out in the same way on each of their workdays.

6.     Provides Accessibility

Just about everyone has a mobile device these days, making an app an ideal solution for time tracking. Whether your remote employees work from a single workspace (the home office) or travel to various locations, they are likely to carry their phones with them at all times. It’s easy to request that employees punch in and out through the app regularly, as it’s easily accessible and always within reach.

Take advantage of these benefits of time tracking for remote employees by implementing a tracking app in your business. WorkforceHub has the tools you need to improve time and attendance tracking, built with the needs of small business in mind. Explore our time-tracking app and its capabilities to see how it aligns with your company’s needs.