Timekeeping solution for small (8 ppl) company

Coriolanus

Just looking for some ideas.

We run a fairly casual ship. We use a manual sign in system and we've never had any real issues with it up until now.

Recently though, a couple of people, I suspect, have been taking the pi$$. Signing in at 9, then going off to make tea, or get changed into "work clothes", or worse, signing out at a later time than they actually leave at.

I'm sure under normal circumstances people would advise me to just give them a bollicking and if they keep them up issue a formal warning etc.

My problem is we're in an industry, that has a drought of skilled workers in the country. Last time I needed a new machinist I went through 6 months of interviews and trials to get someone good enough for our standards.

So. Rather than go through the rigmarole of causing drama and possibly having to get rid of staff, I'd rather just put in something a bit more formal and less prone to "manipulation".

Any suggestions? In particular if people have ideas of price range that I should be realisitically looking at. I've absolutely no idea about this kind of equipment.

Bandara

Cant remember exactly but I was looking at a clock in system that does it all by the handprint of the employee (eliminates others being able to clock them in etc)

System was from an irish comapny about about 1500 all in

Your still going to have to call a meeting and lay out the rules though, no system is unbreakable and regardless of the shortage off staff etc they still have to act within the parameters of the companys working hours otherwise your productivity will go down more as they will get too relaxed in other areas and it will start costing a fortune in invisable losses.

Good luck

IPR_Iain

buy them all watches. lol

Solair

I goggled clock in machine and quite a few solutions, including an Irish company came up.

Seems there are plenty of low-tech traditional card based machines out there that cannot be very difficult to setup.

DubTony

I got a swipe card system back in 2000 for £1000. 6 years later the same company wanted €10,000 for the same system. It seems it had more bells and whistles. The guy was surprised I didn't buy it. :eek: I bought a manual one that you punch with cards. Simple enough. Requires some calculating at the end of the week, but it's ok. Not foolproof, but very few of them are.
I know some large companies use Biometrics (fingerprints) these days. But I'd imagine these are quite expensive.

I can't remember the crowd that quoted me 10K (surprised?) but I've got one of these somewhere.

http://www.slingsby.ie/c-14934-calculating-time-clock-slingsby.aspx

If I can find it I'll let you know and maybe we can do a deal if you're interested.

TheCostumeShop.ie: Ronan

Sounds like you need to implement performance management. Sit down with them and agree targets, SMART goals etc and have them review their week on the friday to see how they managed.

Another option is to get in an executive coach for a few days to meet with them and create systems. At the end of the day most workers aren't lazy and i'm sure if they need a cuppa tea you don't actually mind as long as they are preforming all their workload. The trick is to set up a situation up so that they know what is expected of them and then they will get a level of satisfaction knowing when they did a good days work.

Solair

I'd definitely sit down for a team meeting and have a chat about what the goals, objectives, problems, etc are and see if you can figure out why people are coming in late and how you can change that.

I mean, maybe they do need time to change or maybe they're having difficulty parking or who knows what's going on until you have a chat as a team.

Having people clock-in may end up just annoying people and introducing a lot of pointless bureaucracy. If they are high-skilled workers who you are trying to keep, as you explained above, then really you need to look at it from a purely time management / motivation point of view first.

Giving people a 'bollocking' will quite likely create a bad 'us' and 'them' atmosphere and could cause you to lose staff and if you have only got 8 staff, you probably shouldn't need clock-in procedures. They're usually used for managing large numbers of people in high turnover situations e.g. retail / production line manufacturing.

A proper sit-down meeting to discuss, in a positive way, what can be done to get the most out of the day and how you can work more productively, is more likely to have a good outcome.

Coriolanus

Some food for thought in there. Cheers ladies and gents. I'll have a think on it.

Mena

Timepoint.ie do the hand recognition one for us. Works fine 99% of the time.

I have no idea about costs though.

DubTony

Mena wrote: »

Timepoint.ie do the hand recognition one for us. Works fine 99% of the time.

I have no idea about costs though.

That was them.

DubTony

I've just read Ronan's and Solair's posts here and realised I didn't fully read the OP.

This isn't a time and attendance issue. It's an attitude issue. And it needs to be nipped in the bud - FAST.

I could write chapters on this stuff as I've been that employer. I never got it sorted until I grew a pair and confronted the employee directly and firmly.

On the basis that you don't want to rock that casual ship :rolleyes: (sorry), and I fully understand why - although I don't see that being a valid reason for not having a disciplinary meeting at the very least, here's what I'd do.

Discuss the situation with the offender/s and lay it out. Explain that you're not going down the disciplinary route at this time. Tell him / her / them (I'm just going to use "he / him" from here on) that what's going on is intolerable. Tell him that you're making a note of the incident/s and putting it on his permanent record. No warnings are to be issued in any form (written or verbal) but should there be a recurrence, action will be taken. If he's still on probation, extend it NOW. Let him know that falsifying hours is gross misconduct (effectively stealing from the employer) and will not be tolerated.
And then throw in the carrot. If there are no further incidents within 6 months or a year, you'll remove the note of the incident and pretend it never happened. If all is good after the agreed period, stick to your word and hand the note to him at the specified time and leave it at that.

After that explain to all staff, that they should clock in when they are ready to start work. If they want tea they should get there 20 minutes early, the work clothes should be on before they clock in etc. and ensure that all employees are aware of the rules. Print it up and have each one sign their own copy and a copy for their personnel file. Tell them to put it with their copy of their contract or employee handbook.

And then train people up, so that if you lose a key person, you'll have someone who can get you by in a crunch.

Solair

Personally, I would go for a

1) Softly softly approach - have a meeting and discuss in general discuss importance of time-management, production schedule etc etc..

2) If that fails, then have a meeting specifically explaining what the problem is but just as a general issue.

3) If it continues, just call the person(s) involved into a meeting and explain that it has to change, but without resorting to being angry. Just take the calm HR manager approach outlining what the problem is, why it's a problem and then get a commitment to resolve it.

4) If that fails, have an actual disciplinary procedure i.e. an official verbal warning.

then ... proceed as per your disciplinary policy (which you should have, along with a lot of other general policies)

In general you have to balance the need to keep a positive relationship with your staff and a good working environment and keeping things running smoothly.

If someone's totally taking the **** you do have to point it out pretty starkly sometimes and you have to follow a sensible disciplinary procedure. However, you also need to avoid creating a hostile relationship between management and workers or just generally creating a bad atmosphere as that will drive down productivity and could risk losing staff.

It's all a matter of balance, but the most important thing for any manager of people is that they are fair and consistent in how they deal with people.

It's really impossible to offer any more detailed advice on this without in-depth knowledge of your company. The main thing though is that you set out exactly what your / the organisation's expectations and that you are firmly assertive without being a total ogre.

jetsonx

Nevore wrote: »

So. Rather than go through the rigmarole of causing drama and possibly having to get rid of staff, I'd rather just put in something a bit more formal and less prone to "manipulation".

Any suggestions? In particular if people have ideas of price range that I should be realisitically looking at. I've absolutely no idea about this kind of equipment.

This is a management problem and more importantly a communication problem which you intend throwing money at and to turn it into a technology problem.

Are you too afraid to broach this issue with your staff? Are you not going to get to the root of the issue as to why your staff are turning up late?

justindublin

Wow, Pricy Systems. You can sort this without being a bollix to staff and fear mongering.

I worked in IT for a pretty big chain (40 stores before we went bang) and like that we got landed with creating a cheap solution... and we did!

Biometrics/Fingerprint system using some lightweight and simple to use software. We used barcodes and stuff in the past but staff were taking the piss, as soon as this system went in our monthly wages literally dropped by thousands.

You'll need to get one of these - A Microsoft Fingerprint Reader

and Purchase a copy of This - Power Clock

Pick a PC to run it on, or buy a cheap one (ultra low specs only needed). Install the software, create the staff members (scan finger printers etc) and set yourself up as an admin. Done!!

You can even get daily reports if ya like.

Let the software be the evil one in the office, not you.

If ya need anything else, PM us.

steve_

Id pop in a camera where they check in and say "YOUR ALL BEING WATCHED!!" muh haha

ssbob

Do all your machinists sit at a computer(sorry if that is a silly question) but I know in my last job when I logged into my computer was actually when I clocked in, there was software installed on our computers(very cheap) which fed the times to the manager.

Other than that for the offenders I would say to them jokingly "your takin the piss", that will register with them but if it is kept up then you will need to call a meeting, explain to them that things are getting tight etc.

Let us know how you get on.

Solair

How about just starting the day with a brief staff meeting?

ssbob

Solair wrote: »

How about just starting the day with a brief staff meeting?

Thats a great idea, ensures everyone is in on time.

BostonB

I've yet to see a time tracking system that can't be manipulated, by simply clocking in then doing something else. Also the time taken to track and administer this time is often more than the time being lost in the first place. Then the issue that the people with perfect time keeping are often not the most productive people either. I'd rather track production, and let everyone see those figures. Everyone knows where they are then.

MotteDai

This is an interesting thread, I find myself in a similar position. I have a number of people 10-14 on one site and 2-3 on another with 3 in our main office. I need to ensure my staff are on site when they said they were and also if a fire alarm goes off i'd need the onsite list printed off immediatly to be checked.
I dont want staff to feel big brother is watching as currently we dont have a tracking system and i like to trust prople. However being on time and in place to deliver for on site client is important also need a list for fire drills and invoicing later..
Anyone out there do this I liked the earlier post with the finger print and the simple software, however we need that little bit more, im not willng to fork out 10k, anyone come across a cheap low tech soloution other than signing in?

BostonB

There probably something based around phones with GPS these days.