Folks, it’s my last in a series of 3 blogs for the Green cause here at EliminatePaperTimecards.org. Maybe it’s a case of winter cabin-fever or just a punchy late night adventure – but I’ve chosen to have some fun with the topic of time and labor management systems and saving the trees.
Eliminating paper timecards is, after all, about more than saving trees – it’s about getting at the root of problems. Most of the problems are people related and the things they do or don’t do. In business we have to manage the people. For years the vehicle for recording, reporting and reconciling paying people has been on paper. It’s time to change that paradigm and save a tree or two.
The last time I heard “50 Ways to Leave your Lover” – that whimsical 1975 song by Simon and Garfunkel – I had to chuckle as I related it to what we witness everyday, the many ways employees tend to sneak around the workplace and surreptitiously manipulate their work day, mislead employers and ultimately inflate their paycheck. All of it made so much easier when the processes are on paper.
So take a “trip” (‘70’s pun intended) with me and explore how you might save some lumber.
“Just slip out the back Jack”
That’s an easy one with paper timecards. Leaving the workplace early and neglecting to report the shortened work day is going to happen in a paper system. Let’s face it – paper timesheets are the “ultimate fail” as my teenagers would say, when it comes to validating information and ensuring rules are followed. If you don’t want someone to know what you’re doing – like the song says – paper is your method of choice.
Oh but “paper is cheap’. Not so! Automated timekeeping systems cost more than a ream of paper but the control and savings they harvest give the employer a significant return on investment that paper never can.
“Make a new plan Stan”
That’s all about the rules and policies and Stan is out there every day making certain the plan is in his favor. With paper based processes an employer cannot sufficiently manage the compounded impact of not adhering to policy and regulation. Stan’s new plan may be putting your company at significant compliance risk when he tries to meet his budget by refusing to pay overtime to employees who have actually worked the hours. Many employers are under the gun today for failing to manage meal breaks – as well as overtime – and the penalties will be very high financially. Paper makes it possible.
“You don’t need to be coy, Roy”
Oh but he is. A good example is the abuse of rounding rules. To make things easy employers often allow employees to round their time to the nearest quarter hour or ten minutes. Which way do you think the dial is going to point when an employee comes in after the top of the hour? He’s going to write down on that paper timecard that he arrived at 8:00 a.m. Paper fails again when it comes to putting down the actual time an employee arrives and departs the workplace. If that late arrival results in an extra 15 minutes of time and it happens a few times throughout the work week – it adds up quickly. If your workers are paid just slightly more than minimum wage, say $8.00 an hour, that ¼ of an hour = $2.00 in added cost. That paper based process starts costing quite a bit.
“Hop on the bus, Gus”
For some employers, not everyone in their employee population is using their automated time and attendance system. Exempt (salaried) employees are often excluded from the perceived bondage of having to swipe in and out at a time clock. After all, these employees are often professionals and feel entitled to not have to record their actual time. It’s a modern business myth that requiring exempt employees to clock in and out is “illegal” or prohibited. The Department of Labor has no such ruling. After contacting nearly every state none reported back that they expressly prohibit such a policy (although employers in states like California should be careful).
Managing professional exempt employees is a supervisor issue. It’s their job to make certain the work gets done and employees are where they are supposed to be. Including exempts in a real-time labor management system allows the employer to better manage productivity through activity based tracking, sophisticated scheduling, and absence management. Did you know the average employees takes three days of unreported time off? Requiring these employees to report to work via the timeclock can tighten down on that unreported time off. That’s a real savings. So it’s time to get Gus on the bus.
“Just drop off the key, Lee”
Paper gives you very little security or much of an audit trail (unless your payroll department is staff with handwriting experts and forensic scientists checking finger prints and dating ink blots). Timesheets are an extension of your corporate checkbook. They are invoices due upon receipt and ensuring their validity is crucial to avoiding overspending.
Today’s time and labor management systems include biometrics which prevent “buddy punching”, voice validation for phone reporting, and password security and user identification for anyone who logs into the system. There are reports that log all of the changes and inputs in the system. Employers can see who, what, when and where. Adequate security around labor spending provides visibility and validity you just can get with paper.
“She said it grieves me so to see you in such pain
I wish there was something I could do to make you smile again
I said I appreciate that and would you please explain
About the fifty ways”
Well, we covered just a few of the ways to “leave some lumber” so far. How your company can eliminate the paper associated with workforce management will be unique. Here are just a few of the offending papers that the right time and labor management system should help you eliminate.
- Timesheets
- Time off request forms
- Exception forms
- Adjustment forms
- Premium pay forms
- Time re-allocation forms
- Schedule requests
- Schedule planners
- Schedule rosters
- Calendars
- Attendance cards
It’s pretty obvious that paper timecards are as old as that 1975 hit song. And like most old things they aren’t as efficient, as earth friendly, or as effective at managing your business. Sometimes it takes a trek down memory lane to remind us of how far things have come.
Words & music by Paul Simon (Edited)
“The problem is all inside your head”, she said to me
The answer is easy if you take it logically
I’d like to help you in your struggle to be free
There must be fifty ways to leave your lover
She said it’s really not my habit to intrude
Furthermore, I hope my meaning won’t be lost or misconstrued
But I’ll repeat myself at the risk of being crude
There must be fifty ways to leave your lover
Fifty ways to leave your lover
Just slip out the back, Jack
Make a new plan, Stan
You don’t need to be coy, Roy
Just get yourself free
Hop on the bus, Gus
You don’t need to discuss much
Just drop off the key, Lee
And get yourself free
…
She said it grieves me so to see you in such pain
I wish there was something I could do to make you smile again
I said I appreciate that and would you please explain
About the fifty ways
She said why don’t we both just sleep on it tonight
And I believe in the morning you’ll begin to see the light
And then she kissed me and I realized she probably was right
There must be fifty ways to leave your lover
Fifty ways to leave your lover
About the Author -
Lisa Disselkamp is a leader and visionary in the workforce technology industry helping employers increase productivity and profits through their strategic use of workforce management technology. She is a business leader, author, consultant, and popular speaker. Her latest book, No Boundaries: How to Use Time and Labor Management Technology to Win the Race for Profits and Productivity, emphasizes how your company can improve productivity and profits through workforce management systems.
