If there’s one characteristic we pride ourselves on at Chronologic, apart from our transparency, it’s our ability to respond and adapt to changing business needs. At the pace technological advances move at, there is no way we would have managed to stick around for over 20 years without it!
Workforce management systems have undergone revolutionary changes since they first appeared. Clocking in, for example, has transformed from involving a rudimentary, bulky machine with paper punch cards to now allowing employees to use either their fingerprints or facial recognition to manage their hours worked with a biometric attendance system.
Throughout decades, however, there has been one constant: the need for some sort of physical clocking-in machine to record the data. That is no longer the case, thanks to the clocking-in app.
We all know about apps; most of us use them on a daily basis, to do everything from stream our favourite playlist to order our food shopping, engage in some online banking or even play scrabble with a complete stranger. So, it makes perfect sense that there should be a way of being able to clock in and out using a smartphone app.
Never heard of a clocking-in (or clock-in) app? Not sure how it works or what it does? Worried your employees could easily cheat the system? (You can set up a geofence, making this impossible). Let us explain a bit more, starting with this: a clock-in app for employees will save your business a significant amount of admin time and also a lot of money, whilst also keeping your employees happy because they know they will be paid correctly for the hours they’ve worked. That all sounds rather appealing, doesn’t it?
When you think about it logically, the way we work has undergone Herculean shifts in recent years. Not that many years ago, you’d have been met with bemused faces if you had started taking about remote workers or hybrid staff. Times change, circumstances change and so therefore, must clocking systems.
Clocking in via smartphone app is a quick, easy and, most importantly, reliable solution for both employers and employees, offering unparalleled flexibility.
What can a clocking-in app offer?
A lot more than just the ability to clock in and out!
Yes, the most important feature for many is the ability to be able to clock in and out. This is even possible without a signal: the information (time and location of clock in) is stored and later uploaded, when once a signal is available.
Employees can also benefit from other functionalities such as the possibility to:
- Manage their holidays: They can request time off and see when it is granted/refused as well as checking how many days they have taken and how many remains.
- Access their personal timesheets: Workers can easily view all their hours, including overtime. This provides a clear idea of what their wages will be.
- See their upcoming rotas: This stops your admin staff – or you, yourself - being bombarded with questions.
All of our workforce management systems offer a clocking-in app as part of their services. Depending on the product, there will be slight variations in some of the functionalities they offer.
To find out more about the apps we offer, head to our individual product pages:
Who is a clocking-in app suitable for?
In reality, any employee. That said, it is especially useful for site workers, remote and hybrid staff and any employees whose job involves a fair amount of travelling around, as is often the case with workers in the cleaning sector and construction industry.
The clocking-in app is really just another very useful tool in the belt of any efficient workforce management system, and is a fabulous complement to other clocking systems or used as the sole method of attendance management, depending on each business’ needs.
How can I be sure my employees are whey they should be?
We frequently get asked this question. The answer is surprisingly simple: Geolocation. This feature allows you to see where your employee is at the time of clock in and out. It does not allow you to track them throughout their shift, of course – that opens a Pandora-type box to a very grey area of legalities and consent that we are deliberately avoiding here.
What it does allow you to do, however, is set up what’s known as a ringfence or geofence. In other words, you can choose to establish a perimeter of, for example, 300 metres, around the point where your employees should ideally be clocking in (i.e., their workplace), beyond which it will not be possible for your workers to clock in.
To find out more, head to the specific clocking-in app pages on our product websites, listed above, or contact us directly and a member of our team will happily explain in greater detail.
The team at Chronologic wishes you a very Appy Christmas!
