Time theft is a major, growing concern for businesses. Many employees receive hourly wages, however the time actually worked may be questionable. There are many situations, distractions, and temptations – some unintentional, resulting in an employee stealing time, especially when reported manually on a paper timesheet or by punching in/out using a time clock upon entry or departure:
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An employee hits a little traffic on the way to work, arriving at 9:04 am – four minutes late. Then, puts lunch in the company’s refrigerator, grabs a cup of coffee and proceeds to his/her desk to begin working at 9:25 am. Unfortunately for the business owner, the employee enters 9 am on the timesheet – really reflecting the time leaving the car and walking towards the building. Twenty-five minutes stolen!
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An employee runs a company-related errand before the end of the workday – leaving the office at 4 pm to drop-off documents for a client. Completes the drop-off at 4:50 pm, but then decides to pick up a few groceries on the way home. In the morning, the employee manually rounds-up and enters 5 pm on the timesheet. Ten minutes stolen!
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An employee is allotted an hour lunch break, which does not require punching in/out or notating on a timesheet. However, the employee actually had a 66-minute lunch break – not a big deal… wrong! Six minutes stolen!
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Breaks during the day may become frequent and undocumented – a few extra cigarette and/or snack breaks can really add up – perhaps Fifteen minutes stolen!
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An employee works until 6 pm but arrives at the time clock at 5:56 pm. No problem – asks a co-worker on the line to clock him/her out at 6 pm (Buddy punching) – Four minutes stolen!
The American Payroll Association (APA) reports up to 75% of small businesses are affected by time theft, with a price tag of $400 billion annually in lost productivity. According to studies by the APA:
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Time theft can cost a company 7% of their gross annual payroll. A gross annual payroll of $500,000, may cost a company $35,000 in stolen time.
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The average weekly “theft” of time is 4 hours and 5 minutes per employee! That is 49 minutes per day, per employee in a 5-day work week!
HQ Platform’s TIMECARD feature enables employees to clock-in at their job station, or from a mobile device. A photo ID is taken when clocking-in and out. In addition, geo-fencing (GPS) allows employers to know exactly where employees are when clocking-in and out. If done outside the threshold for a particular site, an alert is sent.
Whether you are a new business, small or large business, you cannot afford to have employees steal time. HQ Platform can help you eliminate many of these situations and save money. Take control of the CLOCK!