How Smartphone Ownership Has Improved Employee Time Tracking in Construction

Employee time tracking has dramatically changed since the increased use of smartphones and the increasing ownership level. Since smartphones exploded onto the market they’ve changed many facets of business. More people now have smartphones which can make employee time tracking or other aspects easier.

Smartphone Ownership

In the past ten years, cell phone ownership has increased dramatically. In 2008, cell phone ownership was at 77% while as of January of this year it’s at 95%. Smartphone ownership has increased dramatically too. Smartphone ownership has more than doubled since 2011, with around 77% of the population owning a smartphone. So three-fourths of your team will have access to a smartphone. And with more people getting rid of their internet service provider for their home and relying entirely on smartphones for internet that number will continue to grow. There are very few people without smartphones, making smartphone ownership one of the reasons why employee time tracking has improved over the past couple of years.

Employee Time Tracking and Smartphones

The advancements in technology improved employee time tracking in construction. One of the biggest advancements is smartphones. Employee time tracking apps have improved in part due to the advancements in smartphones and the number of people who carry them. Smartphones can track location, time, and increase accuracy. Employee time tracking apps can now use these pieces of information to give businesses the ability to know what’s going on and how they can improve. These four key benefits to employee time tracking apps are thanks in part to the rise in smartphone ownership.

Improvements in Location

Smartphone ownership benefitted employee time tracking partially because of the location services. Employee time tracking apps can use the smartphone’s location. Many employee time tracking apps will take a snapshot of the employee’s location, as a result, the back office will know where they were when they punched in and out. However, they won’t know where they were for the rest of the time. But the snapshot model is better than the continuous tracking. The snapshot model doesn’t drain batteries or continuously stream on data. That way your employees don’t have to be concerned about overages or dead batteries.

 

Knowing Overtime

With smartphone ownership, there is a reduction in unknown and unplanned overtime. Many smartphone employee time tracking apps have ways to track and alert for overtime. Some apps let the back office set alerts for when breaks should be taken. That way the employee gets an alert for when they’re supposed to clock out. The back office can also track whether overtime is approved or was intended. They can see when people clocked out for lunch and when people clocked out for the day. If they didn’t clock out for the day or haven’t clocked out at the set time the back office can send a comment or alert. That way it’s easier to track overtime and manage it.

 

Increase in Accuracy

Smartphone ownership improved employee time tracking in construction because it improved accuracy. Smartphones increase the accuracy of data transferred. Since employees are punching in and out on their phones, the back office can just download the data. They don’t have to manually input the data which increases accuracy. The increase in accuracy means that you will save time and money on payroll processing. The back office will be able to read all the information so employees aren’t under or overpaid, more importantly, underpaid. The reduction of errors also eases work on the back office, since they will be less concerned about inputting information quickly they can ensure accuracy.

 

Simplified Data Collection

Smartphone ownership also improved employee time tracking through the simplified data collection and input. Employee time tracking apps usually let the back office download the file. This simplification helps reduce the amount of time the back office has to spend on finding time cards and ensuring they were approved before they were submitted. It also helps ensure that the data can be input easily. Most of the time employee time tracking apps either export the file directly into your payroll and accounting app. Or the app will easily export the file into a format that can be easily imported into your payroll app.

 

Smartphone ownership is changing how businesses run. Many businesses use mobile applications in their day to run their business. Employee time tracking is one of the biggest ways that smartphones are changing how businesses operate. Using smartphones to track employee time can save many businesses a lot of time and money.