Protecting your business against Time Theft

10 minutes here, an extended lunch break there – time theft happens, and often inadvertantly, but how much is it actually costing your business?

What is Time Theft?

Time theft happens when an employee is paid for any amount of time they haven’t actually worked. This might be when an employee pads their timesheet at the beginning or end of their shift, or taking a longer lunch break than that which is officially reported. It may just be accidental, when an employee forgets to clock out for a break, or because timesheets are completed on paper at the end of the week when it is virtually impossible to remember with any accuracy what was actually worked 4 days prior.

More often than not, time theft is an indication of problems with a company’s time tracking system – not with malice on the part of it’s employees. If an employee isn’t sure exactly how much time they’ve worked in a day or shift (because they track time manually in spreadsheets or on paper time cards), they will likely estimate their total time worked based on their schedule or simply round their times up or down.

How can time theft be prevented?

It is the responsibility of the employer to put the systems in place to give employees the tools needed to accurately report their time worked. Business owners can eliminate employee guesswork by implementing an automated, mobile time tracking system with GPS location capabilities.

This is where an application like TSheets comes into play.

Employees clock in to TSheets on their mobile device, at which point their location is automatically recorded – so you can make sure they’re actually on site, even if you aren’t. GPS Tracking takes and retains records of every location point in the employee’s day, so they accountable for where they have been and when.

In the case of employees all clocking in from one location, TSheets Time Clock transforms any tablet, laptop, or computer into a traditional punch clock, complete with biometric facial recognition for employee accountability. Employees simply clock in on site using a unique four-digit PIN.

The working day is easier for the employee, and more valuable for the employer.

Compliance is a breeze thanks to Timesheet and Location records against all employees, securely stored in TSheets.

Payroll takes moments, with the need for data entry completely eradicated, and employees can be confident that they are being paid for the work they have done – they put in the times themselves after all!

A switch to full transparency, and employee accountability, can put an end to micromanagement and even increase productivity and the employee’s sense of freedom and autonomy.