Timekeeping During COVID-19

Accurate timekeeping is an important part of managing workforces of any size. But what do you do when you’re forced to take your operations offsite? How do you make sure everyone’s up to speed with what’s expected of them?

Join us, today, for our roundup of tips for timekeeping during COVID-19, and how you can get more out of this office service, even when you’re away from your Port Orange office.

Make Yourself Clear

When it comes to labor law compliance, the whole thing hinges on the employer policy. But mistakes can and will develop from not making your timing policies clear, right off the bat. State, outright, what is and is not allowed in terms of timekeeping.

At minimum, you’ll want to prohibit working outside of business hours. This may sound straightforward but also applies to things like checking emails outside of business hours. Employees should know that they’ll need specific approval before being allowed to work overtime. Without that approval, they will not receive payment for overtime hours.

Require Accurate Record Confirmations

We all want to think the best of our employees. That said, there’s always the risk that they may try to cut a few corners. They may work less, and later try to argue that they worked more than they recorded. Make sure to ask employees to review their time records before submitting them and sign off on their accuracy. Something that involves them interacting with the timesheet in order to affirm it is preferable.

Obviously, none of this will stop employees from contesting their time records, later on, but it will force them to contradict themselves and will give you more leverage to fight the issue if needed.

Round-Up or Down Cautiously

Rounding your employee payments up or down is fair enough and can save a lot of time and money, but should be approached carefully. As a general rule of thumb, it’s fine to round employee time up from between eight and fourteen minutes, and down by as much as seven minutes.

It should be noted that rounding carries a pretty significant risk and really shouldn’t be done without proper consideration or even counsel. If rounding is constantly benefiting the company or disproportionately benefitting the employee, it’s time for a reevaluation.

One of the most important resources your business will ever have is time. That’s why any service that accurately measures and reports the amount of time your staff members spend on their daily projects is worth your time. Because, without accurate data, it becomes incredibly difficult to invest in the work being done.