Mobile enabling time and attendance

Time collection for remote and field employees easier when mobile

Most organizations have a portion of their workforce in the field, operating remotely. This subset of employees typically does not have access to the Internet. If they are hourly workers, it’s not possible for them to use a traditional time clock.

Although this part of the workforce can’t use the Internet or a time clock, they almost all have access to a phone and can use it to interact with their organizations’ time and attendance, scheduling, and absence management system.

This form of communication is called interactive voice response (IVR). Most people are familiar with IVR having used it for things such as telephone banking and airline arrival information. American Payroll Association (APA) research from May 2007 found two-thirds of payroll and HR professionals were unaware of this form of automation available for the mobile, field workforce.

Absence management

The very beginning of absence management automation is the communication by an employee she is going to miss work or arrive late. With that said, there are actually two major types of absences — planned and unplanned. The unplanned type, often due to illness or someone who gets a flat tire on the way to work, and the planned type such as a vacation request.

By using IVR for absence reporting, an organization starts the absence management process by getting the event data into the system. This makes the process systematic, fair and equitable.

Once the absence report data is in the system, it becomes actionable. Managers and supervisors can find available, similarly skilled substitutes to work for missing employees who call in sick just prior to shift start.

Employee self-service (ESS) by phone enables the portion of a workforce without Internet access to request time-off and receive word it was approved or declined when they call in at a later date to clock in and out.

Time collection

Time collection is the most popular way organizations mobile enable the workforce. Hourly employees dial an 800 number, enter their employee ID and press one to clock in. Calls take 30 seconds from start to finish. Organizations still collecting time sheets from the remote, mobile, field workforce eliminate the manual paper process by using their phones as data entry devices. Using IVR, labour data is validated at the time of entry. This eliminates the possibility of invalid data making its way into the record keeping process.

Scheduling

There are several forms of scheduling automation made possible with IVR, including dynamic scheduling, schedule review and schedule enforcement. Dynamic staffing is made possible by an advanced scheduler’s use of business metrics to determine the level and skill set of staff needed to work an upcoming shift. The advanced scheduler, which is often a module within a comprehensive time and attendance system, uses the IVR to place outbound phone calls to invite available employees to work. Employees in industries such as transportation and public events often call an IVR to obtain upcoming work schedules.

Employee messaging

Messages sent by text message or email can only be received if an employee has a smart phone with a data plan or happens to be using his computer at the time the alert is sent. On the other hand, messages sent by outbound phone calls can be readily received since almost everyone has a mobile phone or is near a land line. Outbound voice message delivery can be used to alert managers and employees of important information.

For a manager, the message can prompt them to take action. For employees, it can inform them of a plant closure. It also is an integral part of dynamic staffing as described earlier.

IVR is implemented in SaaS (hosted) or On-Premises (licensed) format, depending on the vendor of the overall payroll / HR solution. In SaaS format, it can be implemented within five business days. On-premises implementations typically take longer due to the need to co-ordinate installation of telephone lines to an organizations data center.

Employee training is minimal or unnecessary. Workers simply follow the prompts. If an error is made, a helper prompt informs of how to proceed.

Using IVR, an organization can mobile enable its workforce, resulting in a return on investment often measured in less than one year. It is worthwhile to spend time getting educated in this form of automation.

Mobile enabling

Most people who learn about it are surprised at what an ordinary phone or mobile phone can do. They’re equally surprised mobile enabling their workforce does not require an Android, BlackBerry or iPhone.

Mark Nickson is a managing director at Telliris, manufacturer of IVR systems. He can be reached at (203) 924-7000 ext. 4374 or [email protected].

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