• Do they work full-time hours? – firstly, it is important to note that any employee working full-time hours, whether they are paid on salary or hourly, should be provided with benefits if full-time hours are their norm. They should be compensated with benefits the same way that salaried employers are.
• Are they reliable? – if you have a reliable employee, who does their job well, is always willing to work hard, and shows dedication, you want to retain them. It is worthwhile to offer them a benefits package, even if they have to pay part of the premium for the health and life insurance benefits.
• Do you have intent to promote them? – if they will be receiving the benefits eventually, it might be worth giving it to them in advance. That way, they are aware that you are invested in them, and have more incentive to stay on the job until you make the official promotion.
• Do you experience staff turnover? – many part-time staff do not feel committed to their workplace. It is simply seen as a job to them, so they leave if they find something ‘better’. Benefits could be the thing that keeps them, and reduces your training costs etc.

Of course you’ve got to consider your budget, and see who it is feasible to offer benefits to. But these are some of the reasons that you might consider expanding to include your hourly employees.

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If you’re considering whether or not they are worth keeping on the project, there are a number of things that you can do:

1. Talk to their supervisor – a supervisor on the job can provide insight as to whether or not they are actually a useful member of the team, meeting key deadlines and milestones during a job.
2. Use a job clock system – an HR  system that keeps track of working hours and time spent on different tasks can demonstrate how efficient an employee is when they’re at work.
3. Observe their typical behaviours – if you are questioning an employee’s productivity in HR, then it is likely that there is an issue. If an individual regularly sees preoccupied or easily distracted, then it may be that retraining is necessary, or a warning. In extreme circumstances, withholding some portion of their pay may be necessary if it is clear that they are not working during all of the hours they’re at work.

You may find that ultimately other employees feel concerned about the lack of productivity of their comrades. After all, a poor work ethic on the same project can also reflect poorly upon them.

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However, there may be times where employees neglect to do so. In that case, it becomes challenging to know how to handle the situation. You’ve got to make a decision about how and what you pay that employee for.

How Do You Pay Employees That Don’t Clock In?

It’s not a black and white decision when this occurs, although, perhaps your company does have a strict policy. If you have the ability to choose what happens with that employee’s pay; think about the following:

• Is it a common occurrence or a single offense? – it’s not unrealistic that people may, on occasion, forget to clock in if they are distracted at the end of a shift. If it occurs on a frequent basis, however, it could be a sign of an unreliable employee or someone that is trying to abuse the system by failing to clock in via the available job clock.
• Is there evidence to suggest that the employee has done it on purpose? – if typically you give employees the benefit of the doubt and pay them based on when they claim they clocked out, there are some that will take advantage. If this is the case, you may to do further investigation, but may choose to avoid paying them for the complete time.
• Is the employee claiming to have worked an atypical shift? – if the staff member’s usual shift is 9 to 5 and they claim to have worked until 8pm, the claim may be suspect. Certainly, working hours in industries like construction can be inconsistent, but this should still be a consideration.
• Does the work completed corroborate the hours they say they worked? – if the progress on a job is no further than if they worked a typical shift (or even less than that), then it is possible that the employee did not work for as long as they claim.

Some companies will require that employees be paid for their scheduled shift. Others will pay for an amount confirmed by a supervisor. Some may choose not to pay individuals who neglect to clock in and clock out. However, in more cases, it is left up to the discretion of HR who should take the above into consideration.

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So, what can you do if you are finding that employees are regularly disputing the hours that they have worked?

• Stick to your company policy - if an employee has failed to fill out their time card as needed, you may choose to forgive them on one occasion. If they fail to complete the task on a regular basis, then it may be time to start abiding by the typical company policy. Typically, this is to pay for exactly what is recorded on the employee’s timesheet. If that means that the employee fails to be paid for a day of work, then perhaps they will be more diligent about filling out the timesheet next time.
• Have a supervisor immediately sign off on the employee’s timesheet – if an employee has been delinquent when it comes to filling out his/her timesheets, a shift supervisor should begin monitoring their activities. This means signing their timesheets as soon as they’ve been filled out, and if necessary, offering reminders.
• Take advantage of technology - portable time clocks make it simple for employees to sign in when they start their day, and sign out when the time comes to go home. The convenience ensures that employees record their time at work, and it greatly reduces the likelihood that claims of inaccuracy are true!

Mistakes can happen no matter how thorough your HR department is. However, there are methods that reduce the likelihood of these errors, while also ensuring that hourly employees remain organized and honest about their hours worked.

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Especially if construction or contracting is your business, one way to make your company far more efficient in terms of its labor costs and time and attendance management is to use a portable time tracking solution like the JobClock. This portable, durable and accurate electronic time clock is the perfect choice for keeping track of employee attendance on remote job sites. Unlike paper time sheets, it’s reliable and accurate (and less wasteful since it uses no paper whatsoever; and unlike a Bundy clock, it’s strong enough to stand up to the conditions on a construction site (and it’s more accurate as well).

Cut Company Labor Costs

Labor is one of the largest of your overhead expenses and while there may not be a lot you can do to control the costs of materials and other essential costs of doing business in the construction industry, you can keep your labor costs down by using the JobClock portable time tracking system along with compatible time and attendance software in your home office. The JobClock is as easy to use as can be; you can take it to your job site, lock it down wherever it’s convenient for your workers, issue your staff individual key tabs to clock in and out and its ready to use.

The JobClock eliminates time theft since it’s impossible for employees to pad their hours or to clock in and out for one another, so you’ll pay only for hours your workers actually spend on the job. This feature alone can produce incredible savings for your company. Even if time theft or honest mistakes made on time sheets only add up to a few minutes per employee every pay period, this can amount to weeks of wages paid unnecessarily over the course of a single year.

You’ll also find that using a portable time tracking system makes payroll processing much quicker and easier. The time and attendance data from the JobClock can be transferred to your office computer system using a portable USB drive or sent via a smart phone. With Time Summit and AccountLinx time and attendance software, you can then import this data directly into Quickbooks, Timberline and other widely used accounting programs to make your company’s payroll something which your bookkeepers won’t dread having to handle.

While there may always be room for improvement in your business, using the Job Clock portable time tracking system can go a long way towards making your company more efficient and putting a sizeable dent in your overhead expenses. If you’re looking for a way to improve efficiency, this is the best place to start.

However, this no longer has to be the case. Thanks to new portable time tracking systems like the JobClock, it is now possible to keep track of all of the different tasks and job costs on your work site with ease – whether it is only your own employees or you have subcontractors at work on the site as well. The JobClock is an electronic time clock which provides completely accurate information for your time and attendance systems is compatible with most modern time tracking software and makes it easy to track different job costs.

Upgrade Your Time and Attendance System

The solution is an elegantly simple one. The JobClock advanced portable time tracking system uses individually assigned key tabs for workers to clock in and out and with one simple adaptation of these tabs, they can be used as an easy job cost tracking system. With color coded key tabs for different jobs, keeping on top of exactly what’s going on at your work site becomes far less of a headache. All of the time that your foremen and project managers will save through this one simple change to your time and attendance systems means that they can focus on other tasks. In many cases, this could mean getting the job done in less time and well within budget.

Since the JobClock works with almost all common time and attendance software, it also makes the jobs of your back office personnel easier. Instead of having to decipher handwritten time sheets and enter employee attendance and hours by hand, time and attendance information can be quickly uploaded to your software via a USB drive for payroll processing which is quicker and easier than you may have even thought possible. With all of the savings to be had both in terms of time and money, the JobClock isn’t just a portable time tracking system – it’s an edge over your competitors which can help your business make its way to the head of the pack in your industry.

Upgrade to the JobClock System

You may know about how modern electronic time clocks provide total accuracy in attendance tracking. All well and good, but is a construction site really the right environment for a sophisticated electronic instrument? As it happens, the answer is yes, as long as you’re using the right kind of electronic portable time tracking device. The JobClock is an accurate and reliable electronic employee time clock which is more than tough enough to stand up to the hazards inherent in construction work.

The JobClock has undergone rigorous testing to ensure that it can handle even the toughest of conditions. It can be left outside in the heat of summer and cold of winter, handle intense impacts, the shock of being dropped and just about anything else that a work site could possibly throw its way – it can even stand up to a shotgun blast at short range and emerge unscathed. You can see a video demonstration of the JobClock’s near total indestructibility to judge for yourself; if you don’t think the JobClock is tough enough for your work site after seeing this, it’s hard to imagine exactly what could be.

Tough jobs demand tough portable time tracking solutions and the JobClock delivers, all while providing companies in the construction, contracting and other industries with a single, easy to use and inexpensive cost saving device which represents a major improvement over older time and attendance systems. Not only can it withstand being frozen, smashed and buried in cement, it also makes your payroll processing incredibly easy, since data from the clock can be easily transferred to your company’s time tracking software using a portable USB drive.

If you’re looking for an employee time clock which will allow you to do away with handwritten time sheets, save money on labor costs and stand up to any abuse which it might experience on the job site, the JobClock is exactly what you’ve been looking for.

JobClock Benefits

Environmentally Friendly

If you’re using paper time sheets to keep track of attendance and employee hours, then this can add up to a lot of paper which your firm goes through in a year. By switching to an electronic portable time tracking system like the JobClock, you’ll be able to significantly reduce your use of paper and of course, you’ll save on the cost of purchasing time sheets or having them printed.

It Helps Keep Down Labor Costs

One of the most important advantages of the JobClock is that it is highly accurate, unlike older time and attendance systems like time sheets that rely on employees remembering the hours they worked each week and writing it down themselves. Even a few minutes of extra employee time here and there can add up to days, even weeks of unnecessary labor costs for each of your workers in a year. By using this improved portable time tracking solution, your firm could save many thousands of dollars each year.

It’s Designed For Remote Job Sites

The JobClock is made with the construction business and other demanding workplace environments in mind. It’s easily portable and can be taken to anywhere you need it to be, then locked down so that it’s there when your employees need it. It’s also designed to be durable enough to stand up to severe weather and the unique challenges of construction sites. No matter what kind of business you’re in or where you need to go, the JobClock is portable time tracking which can come right along with your company.

It Makes Life Easier For Your Back Office Staff

Not only does the JobClock keep an accurate record of employee time and attendance on remote job sites, it also makes calculating payroll easier for your office personnel. Your bookkeeping staff probably spends a significant amount of time putting together your company’s payroll at present. However, with the JobClock, it’s easy to upload attendance information to your office’s time and attendance software, which makes payroll a quick, easy task. If you’re outsourcing your payroll right now, you can now make this an in-house function, which helps your firm save even more money.

JobClock is Easy for Employees to Use

You may think that making a major change such as your time and attendance systems would cause a lot of disruption and headaches for your company in the short term, but actually if you choose a portable time tracking system like the JobClock and compatible time tracking software, it could be a lot easier than you’d expect.

The JobClock time and attendance solution can be brought right to the job site and locked down so it’s always there when you need it. You’ll just need to assign individual key tabs to your workers which they will use to clock in and out for the day; and when it’s time to take care of payroll, employee attendance information can be easily transferred from the JobClock to your back office time tracking software using a portable USB drive.

The JobClock is a portable time tracking system which it is easy to make the switch to. In fact, the learning curve of the JobClock is so low that you could have your new system up and running in as little as one day. As far as the average employee is concerned, it really doesn’t take much adjustment at all – since it’s actually easier to use this portable time clock than to fill out a time sheet at the end of the week.

For your foremen and other managerial staff as well as your back office personnel who will need to learn the new system and possibly new time tracking software, there are instructional videos available. In fact, there are videos which are designed to show everyone in your firm what they need to know in order to use these new time and attendance systems called JobClock School. Simply provide your staff with the appropriate training videos a few days to a week before deploying the new portable time tracking system and when the day comes to make the switch, it should go off without a problem.