Best Practices for Implementing Employee Time Tracking Solution

Time tracking gives organizations crucial data about their labor cost, illuminating time and effort to reveal critical revenue information. Employee time tracking software is a powerful tool that lets you streamline your administrative processes, improve workforce management, and ensure compliance with payroll, government compliances (like DCAA), and company standards. 

This article explores best practices for choosing, implementing, and optimizing your time tracking software.

Choosing the Right Time Tracking Solution

When selecting employee time tracking solution, it's essential to consider several key criteria: 

• Key features and requirements to ensure that your specific company’s needs will be met.
• Usability is paramount. The software should be user-friendly so employees can easily log their hours and managers can quickly approve timesheets. 
• A mobile app version helps with on-the-go logging. 
• Seamless integration with your existing systems, such as HR, payroll, accounting, and project management software, is crucial for streamlined operations. 
• Reliable, accessible customer support can help you promptly resolve issues.

Before you purchase a time tracking solution, it’s important to identify what features you need. Some organizations may need software with clock in/out capabilities, GPS tracking for geo-fencing, meal and break management, or project tracking. You may want to speak with stakeholders from HR, finance, management, and other employees to ensure you fully understand their needs.

Key Steps for Effective Implementation

In most cases, setting up a new time tracking solution takes four to eight weeks. You or your solution provider will need to take the following steps:

1. Analyze your current time tracking practices and look for ways to improve them.
2. Decide how you want to configure your new time tracking system. Consider concerns like integration needs and “must-haves” versus “nice-to-haves.” 
3. Design documentation to help employees use your new system.
4. Set up the new system and integrate it with other tools you use, like your accounting, payroll, and HRIS program systems.
5. Test the new time tracking for users of all types, and then address test observations.
6. Train your staff on how to use the new system.
7. Resolve any issues with ongoing technical support.

Effective implementation requires clear communication, comprehensive training, and a phased rollout. It's essential to create a communication plan for everyone involved, explaining the benefits of the new system and how to use it. You can streamline the process by assigning a point person for the implementation and clarifying who is in charge of each task.

Training should cater to all users, from employees logging hours to managers approving timesheets as well as the admins using the system. You can help users become comfortable with the system by conducting hands-on workshops and providing user-friendly guides, such as a how-to-sheet in the employee handbook.

A phased rollout can also help you avoid major issues. You can start with a pilot group to identify and resolve issues before a full-scale implementation. Testing the system in a real-life environment ensures the software works the way you expect before you roll it out company-wide.

Integrating Time Tracking with Other Systems

Integrating time tracking software with other systems can make your operations more efficient. For example:

• HRIS (Human Resource Information Systems) or HCM (Human Capital Management)   integration allows for automatic updates of employee records, time-off balances, and work schedules. 
• Payroll integration with third parties like ADP, Dayforce, UKG, etc. ensures accurate and timely payroll processing through automated data transfers.
• Expense reporting integration enables businesses to combine project costs and expenses accurately. 
• Project billing integration allows for faster invoicing of client hours.

Your provider’s implementation team can help you set up these integrations and make sure they work the way you need them to.

Testing and Optimizing Your New Software

Testing the way data moves between systems and how the solution is set up can help you maximize the value of your new time tracking software. Your organization can collect user feedback and performance metrics to make sure the system is easy to use, works as intended, and collects important data accurately. With these insights, you can create the best possible system for your organization’s needs.

Maintaining a proactive relationship with the implementation team is vital during the testing phase. You will likely want to choose a dedicated communication channel or account manager from your team to take the lead in resolving any technical issues quickly. This tip can’t be emphasized enough: having a point person to work through training will make the process run much more efficiently. Your software provider’s implementation team may also be able to help you with training resources, best practices, and system optimization tips to boost your return on investment.

Make Time Tracking More Efficient With the Right Software

Employee time tracking software can help your business improve efficiency by measuring the time it takes to complete different tasks. It can also help with transparency, time estimates for future projects, and faster payroll processing. By choosing the right time tracking solution and taking the right steps to maximize its value, your organization can become more efficient than ever. 

DATABASICS offers state-of-the-art employee time tracking software with a simple, intuitive interface. What makes our time tracking solution unique is how we work alongside customers to handle the implementation process for them. To see how you can improve employee time tracking with our software, check out our product guide.