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Classic time and attendance solutions are basically readers located at the entrance to the company premises and identifiers (cards) which employees have to place against the readers to record the fact and the time of their arrival/exit. Due to some misuses (e.g. using someone else’s card), such solutions had to be extended with the options of employee identification through biometric data (e.g. papillary lines) or images from a camera that captured each person using the reader.

Disadvantages of standard TNA systems

The TNA system we know were developed several decades ago. And they have not changed much since that time. Meanwhile, technology has advanced and it offers possibilities of which employers could not dream of in the past. So why should entrepreneurs reach out for outdated solutions? A TNA system which only enables recording employee entries and exits resembles an abacus in the land of computers. Sure, it can be used to count things, but the process is tedious and inefficient.

What are the basic downsides of outdated TNA solutions?

Little benefit to the company using the solution. In practice, TNA systems can perform only two functions, i.e. record the working time and control the access to premises.

Limited capabilities. Standard TNA systems measure the time employees spend at work, but they are unable to verify how the working time is actually used. In fact, they fail to perform its key function, which is to record the actual working time.

Vulnerability to misuses. A standard TNA system can be easily cheated, e.g. an employee can clock his or her colleague in, even though that colleague fails to arrive at work.

Incomplete data. It is common for employees to forget about using the card, which makes the time and attendance data incomplete.

Low practicality, high costs. A standard TNA system is very difficult to use in open spaces or in enterprises which occupy many locations and rooms: placing a reader/turnstile at each entrance is simply impractical and expensive. That is the case, for instance, with logistic hubs that have multiple docking stations which make it possible for people to leave the building unnoticed.

Non-compliance with regulations. Even the seemingly advanced functions such as the use of biometric data or a camera for the identification of employees entering/exiting the premises leave much to be desired. The Personal Data Protection Office asserts there is no legal basis for the employer to process biometric data of employees or to use video surveillance for the purpose of recording time and attendance. In this respect, therefore, such systems also fail.

No support of remote work. Common TNA systems can operate only within the company buildings. They cannot support the working modes which have recently become very widespread, e.g. home office.

IoT – a new technology for new times

Do employers have no other choice but to use outdated and unreliable technologies? Of course not! State-of-the-art solutions such as TIMATE offer entrepreneurs more possibilities than the simple recording of time and attendance. They serve to support team management, employee safety monitoring, employee location and the use of the working time.

Though many entrepreneurs find it hard to believe, they really do not need readers and turnstiles in order to record the working time and to monitor its use. Thanks to the IoT technology, they can use smart identifiers and central stations to make the entire process self-operating, totally automatic and requiring no actions from employees. The only thing that employees have to do is to carry their ID cards with them.

Importantly, data collected by TIMATE can be effectively used for purposes other than recording time and attendance. The information about location and the time devoted to particular tasks enable better work organisation as well as detection and elimination of irregularities in production processes. Such data ensure employee safety by allowing to quickly locate a person who had an accident and they also support evacuation. The data regarding the employees’ moving, coming and going show whether they work in line with their job requirements, e.g. whether a warehouse operator is on the move and an office worker sits at his desk. This type of information can also be used to detect falls and organise immediate help if someone has been injured.

Modern-day IoT systems process all of that data automatically, relieving managers of some routine tasks related to personnel management. They also allow to share time and attendance data with employees, e.g. on cards equipped with displays. As such, they support assessment and motivation.

Today, companies that wish to record time and attendance can choose from among multiple options which significantly exceed the capabilities of standard TNA systems. These options are worth considering if an entrepreneur looking for such a solution wants to record time and attendance, but also to monitor business processes and identify problems. The elimination of problems results in better work organisation and actual savings. That is something a TNA system won’t do for you.

Where do problems come from, anyway? Usually it is the management board that decides to carry out the implementation. The board is convinced that the chosen tool will be the best one for the enterprise. However, it is not the board that will be the key user of the new system.

The key users will be employees who are often very sceptical about changes. They see no point in “improving what is good”. They want to operate in an environment they know and understand. They are unwilling to make some extra effort in order to become familiar with the new tool and its features.

We experience this, when we implement the TIMATE system. Employees who have received their cards and get daily information regarding their work are not always able to make effective use of the system’s multiple capabilities. Why? Because they fail to understand why it has been implemented. And where there’s no understanding, there will be no success either. It should also be noted that doubts regarding the new solutions can be extremely diverse.

Management Board

First and foremost, managers want to learn about financial and organisational benefits that the new system will bring. They want to see the numbers. In the case of TIMATE, it is very easy to demonstrate the benefits. We have hard data supported by real-life examples that show the scale of savings generated by our solution. We provide well-documented instances of process optimisation and elimination of organisational errors in companies where our tool has been operating for a longer period. The management board learns all relevant facts during the selection process.

Managers

Managers, team leaders and supervisors usually fear that the new system will increase the workload. However, they have no reason to worry, since TIMATE plays the role of an automatic boos that relieves managers of some parts of their duties. TIMATE keeps a watchful eye on time and attendance, it automatically provides employees with feedback regarding their tasks, and it also reminds them of the necessity to follow the OHS regulations and take breaks.

Furthermore, the system generates data about how teams are working. It facilitates a better division of duties and task management. Importantly, our tool provides automatic and daily assessment of the team management quality, e.g. of the manager’s work. This may cause some anxiety, but in fact it serves to optimise and facilitate the organisation of work.

Employees

The TIMATE system has been designed to help employees carry out their daily tasks, to ensure their safety at work and to increase their motivation. In fact, the new tool requires only one thing from employees: they have to carry their TIMATE cards with them. The card performs several functions: it is the employee’s ID, it collects work-related data, it sends messages and it also enables access to specific rooms, premises or locations.

Just as it is the case with any novelty, this system may raise doubts. What kind of data does TIMATE collect? Does it protect privacy? Does it emit any harmful radiation? Though the answers to these questions will set everyone at ease, it is important to convey these answers clearly and timely to all users of the new system.

What should be emphasised is the fact that the main task of the TIMATE system is to provide a correct diagnosis regarding errors, irregularities, inefficiencies, required changes and areas for improvement.

Change management or the synergy of implementation and consulting

Who can tell about the new tool and its impact on the work quality improvement? When it comes to large enterprises, a well-prepared internal department (e.g. HR) can communicate the implemented changes. In other cases, external consulting companies can be of help.

When the TIMATE system is implemented, the best way to go about it is to engage in a close collaboration with a consulting company. Such companies identify management problems and implement lean management. They work by auditing all of the business processes within an enterprise. Such an audit can take months. But it can also be carried out on a daily basis, minute by minute. That is exactly what the TIMATE system can do, collecting data required by consulting companies, including the data regarding the organisation of processes and areas for improvement. Such data are recorded by the system every minute. And they can be analysed right away. Thus, the time needed to obtain the information about how the enterprise actually functions becomes considerably shorter.

On the other hand, for results and data to be most reliable, employees must know how to use the provided system correctly. Benefits will be explained and changes will be communicated by the consulting company that is one of the beneficiaries of the implementation of the tool in the audited enterprise.

We are now launching a pilot program that will verify whether this synergy will bring about the expected results. That is what we hope for!

But what if all employees were to take part in the audit process? What if they were to identify and report errors in production, logistics and business processes and, thus, give the company an opportunity to eliminate irregularities just as soon as they appear? TIMATE makes it possible on a daily basis!

How an employee becomes an auditor

TIMATE puts each employee in the shoes of an internal auditor. This happens, because the system makes employees notice and report errors and processes and the work organisation. How does it work?

TIMATE collects data on how employees do their job in six areas: time and attendance, use of the working time, safety, task performance, plan performance and management (this function is available to managers). At the end of the working time, each employee is assessed on the basis of such data. Emoticons with a smiling, neutral or sad face are assigned to particular areas. Employees know right away how efficiently they performed the tasks on the given day, whether they used their working time well, if they adhered to the OHS rules and if they completed all of the assigned tasks.

Importantly, the assessment system can be correlated with the bonus system, i.e. positive assessments turn into points which, later on, get converted into financial bonuses. As a result, employees treat the assessment they get seriously and react when the system gives them a negative evaluation.

What will they do when that happens? If the reason for the negative assessment is a late arrival at work, no helmet on the employee’s head in an area where it is required or slow performance of tasks, the employee simply needs to improve.

However, it may happen that a sad face is not due to the employee’s fault, but it results from errors in processes. When a task is left unperformed, this may be causes not by an employee’s laziness, but by problems in logistics or the work organization. An employee fails to work effectively, because he waits for a delivery of components, for a machine to be repaired, for the assistance of the team whose members do other things at the moment. In such a case, the employee can tell the superior what did not work in the processes and caused downtime or safety violation.

Benefits of auditing

Such an ongoing internal audit performed by all employees brings huge benefits. First of all, enterprises obtain immediate information about any irregularities and can respond right away. As a result, problems do not grow slowly month by month, as it happens when the audit is performed once or twice a year. Errors are eliminated instantly, which improves the company’s performance.

Such a type of audit is also effective, because all employees want the information about errors in processes to reach their superiors so that the errors are removed as soon as possible. No one is happy getting a negative assessment with no fault on their part.

Finally, this audit is much cheaper than a regular audit performed by external companies or by designated employees.

No company performs at 100% of its capacity every day, because business performance depends on multiple factors. The key to success is rapid identification and elimination of errors. In consequence, the organisation will be more effective, while its employees will be satisfied and motivated.

If you want to learn more about how TIMATE automates business processes, write us at: contact@timatesystem.com.

First of all, what is the Internet of Behaviours? It is a technology that allows to explore how its users behave and then to influence their behaviours. IoB is based on the data received from the sensors used in the Internet of Things (IoT). The value added of IoB consists in the analysis and interpretation of such data, which allows to gain insights and suggest different patterns of behaviour to users.

This may seem familiar to companies which already use TIMATE. Why? Because our system works on the basis of the data collected by sensors, including the information about movement and location of employees. Furthermore, TIMATE makes it possible to structure and understand the data via the analysis module, while the messages sent to the users’ cards influence their behaviours, providing a simple and effective motivational system.

 What information does TIMATE get from the employee actions?

The TIMATE cards and devices are equipped with sensors which obtain a lot of precious data. For example, they indicate the employee location (i.e. the zone) and the routes that employees use around the company premises. The system also monitors whether employees move only within the permitted areas and whether they use personal protective equipment. It verifies how much time employees devote to particular tasks as well as whom they meet and where (which is of special importance now, during the pandemic). The system can also detect accidents (falls and loss of consciousness).

Such data provide the basis for the employee behaviour analysis and allow to make conclusions about how the enterprise functions. It may turn out that business processes are not fully optimal (e.g. employees wasting their precious time while waiting for the delivery of items they need for work; employees covering long distances many times everyday, because their workstation is exceedingly far from the locations they need to reach to get their job done, e.g. warehouses). The observation of how the TIMATE card users behave helps to better understand business operations. Moreover, it allows to identify the areas that need improvement.

How does TIMATE influence the behaviour of employees?

The second aspect of IoB is the way it can change behaviours. TIMATE also does that.

• By sending messages to employees’ cards, employers/managers remind them of the need to perform/refrain from an action (e.g. disinfect hands, put on a helmet, leave a hazardous zone, take a break etc.).
• Thanks to the data from the TIMATE system, an enterprise can reorganise its processes and change the way employees work.
• The new motivational module makes employees internal auditors in their companies. Their work is assessed on a daily basis, so they are able to identify inefficient processes or errors in the work organisation which affect the assessment.

Who benefits from IoB?

IoB is a new technology, so it is no wonder it gives rise to doubts. Does an enterprise really need all the data it collects? Is it actually lawful to influence the behaviour of employees?

As for TIMATE, it is clear and simple. The system does not collect any sensitive data, but only information about employee movement and location. In addition, the changes based on such data are beneficial to both employees and employers. It is a win-win model. The enterprise improves its operations, which is good for everybody.

IoB is at the starting point of its development. However, the appropriate use of this technology can help many businesses enhance their activities here and now. Check it out. It is worth it!

How does it work? TIMATE collects and analyses current data pertaining to employees’ work as well as production and business processes within an enterprise. At the end of each working day, such data get converted into an assessment which is displayed on the cards of all employees and team leaders. This assessment is divided into six areas:

Time and attendance

The system generates the assessment of employees’ punctuality, the amount of time devoted to work and breaks (including statutory and non-statutory breaks, e.g. lunch, coffee, cigarette), overtime and undertime.

Use of the working time

TIMATE informs whether employees perform the assigned duties and tasks. For this purpose, it checks if employees spend the right amount of time in motion, e.g. in the area of the production floor / in a warehouse, or at the computer. Each enterprise defines its individual norms in this respect.

Safety

The system checks and records if employees adhere to the OHS rules and regulations. They include wearing helmets and protective clothing within zones which require them. The system also provides accident alerts, the SOS function and responding to safety messages. On this basis it generates daily assessments.

Task performance

TIMATE verifies if employees perform the tasks assigned by the superior and displayed on the card as a list of actions to do on the given day.

Plan performance

Thanks to the open API, TIMATE easily integrates with internal systems for work schedule planning, ERP or CRM. Daily tasks assigned to each employee are elements of short- or long-term plans. The degree of plan performance is assessed at the end of each business day.

Management

TIMATE cards for managers display a daily summary of their teams’ work. The assessment covers particular areas of operation and the team management. The overall evaluation of the team is the average value of the scores recorded on the given day for all team members.

Each area has its own icon. At the end of each business day, employee can see five icons on their cards along with the respective assessments in the form of clear pictograms (smiling, neutral or sad faces). A manager’s card displays six such icons and assessments.

Evaluation drives changes

Why should we assess employees and their work on a daily basis? Because this way we get the ongoing monitoring of the company’s operations and we can identify problems as soon as they come up. If a team shows a lower assessment in a given area, it is sufficient to check detailed graphs and analyses in order to find out what is wrong. As a result, it is possible to implement necessary changes in processes and improve efficiency.

Motivation at the fingertips

The assessment module can be used for the purposes of motivating the employees. A positive daily assessment can be translated into points which will become the basis for rewards and bonuses. The system also allows to reward employees and co-workers with special “recognition” or “appreciation” which gets recorded in the application and on the card.

Thereby managers and employees can continually increase their bonuses. They clearly see it pays to strive for the best, because their work is assessed everyday, noticed and recognised through an increased financial bonus for the given month.