Workplace Culture

Solving the concern over clean time clocks with a mobile solution

By Rick Bell

Jun. 18, 2020

There was a time in the very recent past when the biggest worry about a workplace time clock was whether the employee arrived on time to punch in and remembered to clock out when their shift was over.

That has changed in recent months. It is understandable that employees’ anxiety levels are high, and the thought of having to touch an unsanitary time clock adds some unnecessary concern. While the specter of returning to work among customers as well as co-workers frays the nerves of some employees, about the last thing they need on their minds is whether the time clock on the wall was sanitized after the previous employee punched in for their shift.

Ease their fears

There are obvious sanitary solutions for cleaning workstations and countertops. A mobile time clock app is a software solution that allows employees to bypass touching the grimy surface of a physical time clock.

Cleanliness should always be a concern in any workplace. Employers wouldn’t set out boxes of dirty tissues. So why should a time clock that’s constantly being touched be the lone option for employees to start and end their shift?

And don’t be fooled into thinking that a biometric time clock is a cleaner option. That fingerprint left by the previous employee? Do you know where that person’s digit was before tapping the pad? 

It just makes sense to offer employees a mobile solution to cleanly and effortlessly clock in, safe in the knowledge that their employer is vigilant in maintaining a healthy workforce and concerned about accurate time management.

Safe, sanitary and simple

Automating how a staff clocks in and out is not only the sanitary option, it also is the simple solution to cutting back hours of burdensome administrative work each week. With such a keen focus on predictive scheduling laws and regulations, an automated time clock system featuring a mobile app can communicate schedules that help companies remain in compliance. Employers can communicate scheduling in advance and explain the flexibility needs of the business at the same time, creating an open line of communication between employer and employee.

Employer advantages

Buddy punching has existed practically since the invention of time clocks. A time-clock mobile app assures that the correct person clocks in for the right shift through electronic photo verification and unique passcodes.

Automation eliminates repetitive processes that can lead to miscalculating payroll, which is among the fastest and easiest ways to get burned by a wage-and-hour lawsuit. According to Internal Revenue Service statistics, about one-third of employers make payroll errors. The American Payroll Association separately reported that such errors range between is up to 8 percent of total payroll.

A mobile clock-in solution also helps assure that staff is paid correctly according to time worked and is in compliance with local, state and federal laws.

Here are some advantages employers will find by using mobile clock-in software: 

  • React immediately to curb or cut overtime.
  • Automation saves time and effort.
  • Save money as buddy punching is regulated.
  • Avoid costly lawsuits by complying with all regulations.

Employee advantages

Eliminating a physical time clock eases in-office cleanliness concerns. Companies with staff located in multiple locations who are working remotely allows them to clock in via a mobile app whenever and wherever they are. A time clock app is GPS-enabled and works everywhere in the world. Employees can: 

  • Easily and simply clock in and out with one swipe on their phone and not  touch a time clock. 
  • Request time off remotely.
  • View current and past timesheets.
  • Communicate while on the go.

Ask yourself: Do you really want your employees touching the same time clock? It’s a cesspool of germs waiting to pollute your workforce with every touch. Clean up your physical workplace and tidy your workforce management processes by integrating the Workforce.com Time Clock App.

Rick Bell is Workforce’s editorial director.

Schedule, engage, and pay your staff in one system with Workforce.com.

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