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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 So why should entrepreneurs reach out for outdated solutions?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What are the basic downsides of outdated TNA solutions?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!