Let’s face it, managing employee time, schedules and attendance can be a daunting task, and few of us have "extra time" on our plate. Selecting the right automation tool is critical to ensure accuracy for payroll and compliance with local employment standards legislation.
There are many ways to track employee time including:
1. Paper Timecards and Schedules
2. Using your DMS to track punch times
3. Creating an Excel workbook
4. Attempting to use a system that is created just for payroll
Let’s dig into the implications of each of these options.
If you are still using a paper calendar to "post" your schedules, does it disappear or get doodled on? When it comes down for the next schedule, is it an accurate reflection of what was actually worked? This type of paper-based system (or if you have no system at all), can be a leading cause of poorly managed shift changes, schedule rotations and matching the plan to reality. This means that decisions are made without knowing the actual cost of staffing, or even the required staffing level. Additionally, this leaves dealerships vulnerable if they are held to task by a regulatory body.
Some dealerships still use a punch system through their DMS (or even a physical timecard). This is fine, if the only information a dealership needed was DMS based, and only for those employees. Typically, a DMS based system will not provide managers with alerts and at-your-fingertip information on tardiness or unexpected absences. So, when someone is running around the dealership wondering "Where is BOB?,” it is a complete waste of time, and hugely frustrating, never mind the issues around accurate record keeping. Frequently, there ends up being a break in the process which requires reconciling vacation and sick time for employees and another process for staff who don’t punch on the DMS. And don’t forget that somehow all of this information has to make it into payroll.
What if you’re still using an excel spreadsheet? Tracking employee days off, unplanned absences and leaves or OT/banked time through a spreadsheet can be tedious, subject to errors and easily forgotten when an update is required. Does the person who manages the sheet work in the department where the changes are occurring? If not, you are relying on the "telephone" method of communicating accurate, legal and pay related data and hoping the message doesn’t get lost.
Finally, there are those facilities that try and have their payroll system function as a complete HR automation platform and/or time keeping tool. Payroll systems are amazing- for payroll, but are generally designed to be used by very few people, and are not widely accessible to all staff on a daily basis. This often means that you will find some manual and disjointed processes still being used which introduces cost and inefficiency to the process.
How much more efficient, accurate and easy would time tracking be if employees could put their requests right in the same tool as the approvals and tracking? What if you could restrict or limit requests based on who else is away or high demand dates (hmmm...tire season comes to mind!)? With an efficient tool designed for the automotive industry, you can also track trends, review metrics, pre-approve dates and have employees access their own information from anywhere, at any time.
Finding a system that easily integrates with your payroll system means no extra punches to extract from your DMS, no multi-platform clicking back and forth to manage the same info in various places and no longer having to do manual calculations for standard events like stats, OT, and days off. This means that there is a reduced chance of errors, it's less time consuming (and who couldn't use more time in the day?) and it increases data accuracy.
Given all the benefits to having a true HR/H&S automation platform, is it time for you to evaluate your systems? The cost of manual processes is increasing all the time, making the investment in the right tool more important than ever.
Here are the top key questions to ask yourself:
Are we functioning as efficiently as we can?
Are there any processes that still require email, paper, or manual keying of data?
Is there an opportunity to reduce errors?
How do staff see our processes and what will our new hires think about our systems?
Are we making things as simple and easy as possible for our people?
Are we compliant with employment standards legislation?
Are we leaving money and time on the table?
If you’re struggling with any of these questions, we would love to talk to you!
Please email us at info@dealerpilothr.com for more information how our system can benefit your dealership.