How to Introduce Time Tracking to Your Employees

Updated: February 25, 2020 - By Tim Glendenning

How to Introduce Time Tracking to Your Employees

A Complete Guide to Communicating the Benefits of Time Tracking

Introduce Time Tracking to Your Employees

Time tracking is a simple solution for recording employees' hours worked. The main purpose of time tracking isn't time management. Rather, it's necessary for legal compliance and payroll.

But, surprisingly, it can be challenging for employers when introducing time tracking to their employees. Team members may misunderstand time tracking as a form of surveillance or feel anxiety about correctly filling out timesheets. The idea of time tracking may be uncomfortable, but it doesn't have to be.

Here are 5 tips for introducing time tracking to your employees that will have a positive impact on your company as a whole.

How to Introduce Time Tracking in 5 Steps

OnTheClock has served over 15,000 companies, tracking more than 500 million hours worked. Since being founded in 2004, we have found certain strategies that work well when implementing an employee time tracking system into your business.

1. Educate your employees on the reasoning and benefits

Honest, transparent communication is very important in all organizations. Not only does it build trust — it also informs your employees on the reasoning why time tracking software is being implemented.

Rather than sending an email, hold a company meeting to speak in person about the decision to track time. Depending on your company size, you may want to schedule 1-on-1’s with your employees, or hold smaller meetings within each department. Emails can lead to misunderstandings and unanswered questions, so avoid sending them unless you’re following up on an in-person conversation.

In preparation for your meeting, put together a document to share with benefits that employees will experience. Having benefits listed on paper is great for employees to use as a reference instead of relying on memory. Here are some of the benefits for employees who track their time:

  • Confirms proper allocation of work.
  • Reflects accurate time cards for accurate paychecks
  • Brings awareness to unconscious routines.
  • Allows employees to understand which tasks he/she is spending their time on.
  • Visually see punch-in and punch-out times for record-keeping.
  • Request time off and see if it is approved or denied.
  • Reveals effectiveness for due dates and schedules.
  • Prevents employee burnout.
  • Improves work-life balance by knowing how much time is being spent on work.

There are other mutual benefits too, including legal compliance, increased payroll accuracy, more organized schedules, and streamlined PTO calculation. do everything you can to be honest and transparent so your employees have a clear understanding of the goals behind the change.

Steps to Introduce time tracking

2. Be clear about what the time tracking software will not be used for

Employees may feel like they are not trusted and will be micromanaged. This can lead to hostile responses from your workforce while introducing time tracking. In this case, it’s your job to make it clear how the time tracking system will be utilized.

Emphasize that time tracking will not be used as a single indicator when evaluating an employee’s talent, work ethic, or overall job performance. Instead, it is a tool to help guide management in the right direction to improve their overall team and allow employees to be more autonomous. It also creates a more accurate payroll, which is mutually beneficial.

This is an opportunity to put your great management and leadership skills on display! Give your employees reassurance about the big picture, and don’t single an individual out. This will gain their trust and make them more accepting of the change.

3. Choose a system that is user friendly

Employees will already be faced with a lot of uncertainty and questions. Deciding on a reliable time tracking solution that your employees will enjoy and find easy to use is crucial. A cumbersome interface will only make it more difficult for them to adopt time tracking.

Another benefit of a user-friendly system is that it will help employees remember to punch in and out, improving overall workflow. Employees want to be productive and enjoy the rewards that come with it.

Conversely, if the system you choose is not user friendly, it could cause employees to be frustrated. The frustration could trickle into their work productivity and cause major issues. Employees can accomplish tasks more efficiently when a good time tracking system is in place.

If you have expectations for employees to use the newly implemented time tracking tool, then it’s only fair to provide them with a tool that is simple to use.

4. Show your employees how to use the new software

Like when introducing any new software to the workplace, your employees will need to be trained on how to use the time tracking system. Additionally, your intro meeting should include a brief demonstration of how to use the new time tracking tool. So, before taking the time to introduce the tool, become familiar with its interface.

This is one of many reasons why OnTheClock offers a . This allows you and your employees enough time to use the system and see if it is the right fit for you, your business, and the employees.

If you’re using OnTheClock, you can reach out to our support team at any time for hands-on guidance. We also offer live webinars and 1-on-1 demos to help train new users. Finally, our robust learning center has resources for self-guided learning, including articles and videos.

5. Listen to feedback and answer questions

Encourage your team to share their feedback about time tracking. This step is very important for employees to express their thoughts and feelings. Opening up a dialogue will also give you the opportunity to go into further detail about how time tracking is beneficial to everyone.

In addition to taking feedback, make time to answer your team’s questions. Keep in mind: your answer will affect the team, so it’s crucial to be honest and accurate.

Common Employee Objections (And How to Respond)

OnTheClock was founded in 2004 — so when it comes to employee time tracking, we’ve pretty much seen it all. That’s why we’ve compiled some of the concerns most frequently raised by employees when introducing our software, with examples of how to respond.

A
We’re tracking time as a team. The goal is to understand whether we are investing our time effectively and to look for opportunities to engage in new projects or activities.
A
As a business, we’re ready to level up. In our industry, it’s best practice to track hours worked. Federal law also requires us to keep accurate records of your hours, and this software will make it much easier for us to do that.
A
Micromanagement is definitely not the goal here! We’re keeping track of your hours worked. This software does not monitor your activities. Everyone will be following the same time tracking process. This is a team effort so we can see the big picture when it comes to our business outcomes.
A
We understand that this is a new step. It will take time to make a daily habit out of time tracking. Eventually, though, clocking in and out should feel like second nature. If you need help learning the software, OnTheClock provides free training and technical support. We appreciate you taking the time to adopt this practice as it will make the company as a whole much more efficient.
A
We respect your privacy! OnTheClock is not monitoring software. It cannot track your activity on your personal device. This is a simple time clock that logs your hours worked.
A
We respect your privacy! We’re using the GPS tracking feature to ensure workers are onsite and safe. OnTheClock cannot log your location unless you’re clocked in, and they don’t track location data when you’re off the clock.
A
This is software developed by an outside service to ensure hours are accurately logged. One reason we need to do this is for compliance, as accurate time tracking is mandated by the Department of Labor. It’s illegal for OnTheClock to modify your hours; doing so would put them at risk for litigation. To keep everyone transparent, you can review and sign off on your time cards through this platform — let me know if you’d like us to set this up!
A
When you arrive at work, we’ll provide a device for you. We can configure a device as a group punch-in site that any employee can use, or you can use a computer to access your OnTheClock account via browser. All you need is your login credentials.

What to do After a Time Tracking Solution is Implemented

Once you have successfully introduced your time tracking solution, it’s important to keep the discussion going.

Follow up! Ask your team how their experience is going frequently. Some employees may shy away from bringing up any issues or concerns, so let them know you care about their experience with time tracking.

Likewise, track your company’s progress and measure the impact the new tool is providing. You should notice more accurate time cards, an improved payroll process, and an increase in employee productivity. If implemented correctly, time tracking can improve your company’s culture. It allows employees to coordinate their time appropriately, increase work productivity, and give an analysis of how much time is being spent on specific projects, all while streamlining workflow.

Tracking time is simple!

OnTheClock has helped over 15,000 companies track more than 500 million hours worked.

Start Today!

Written by

OnTheClock Team

OnTheClock is the perfect app for business that want to keep track of their employees' time without spending hours doing it. With OnTheClock, you can forget about the old way of doing things.

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a thought From Alpesh Vaghasiya on 6/1/2022 ...
Thanks for sharing such a informative blog!
reply from OTC - You're welcome. We're glad you like our insight on how to introduce time tracking to employees.

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