Showing posts with label Cloud Attendance. Show all posts

6 SOUGHT-AFTER ATTRIBUTES IN AN ATTENDANCE SYSTEM





Putting a system in place is no longer an option for today’s businesses. It’s not whether a system is needed for operation or not, it’s more of what kind of system suitable for the operation. The fact is, not all systems are created equal and to choose a system that suits one’s organization, you need to know your current and future (3-5 years) requirements from that solution. Avoid losing money, time, and valuable resource. Choose a system that can satisfy your company requirements and more. 


TimeTec reveals the top 6 sought-after attributes consumers are looking for in a Time Attendance solution. 

1. Automated

Changing from pen and logbook attendance to a punch card system is a change in system, and from a punch card system to a smart card system also is a change in system. However, a key to a good attendance system is automation, in other words eliminating the needs for resources/labor from doing various tasks involved in a process. Hence, the system must not only reduces the resources’ work hours, but it also must be able to reduce possibility of human errors in the work process. In time attendance system there are 3 major processes that require automation: 1) data collection 2) data processing, and 3) data analysis. Data collection automation can be tackled by biometrics attendance device like FingerTec TA100C and attendance mobile application like TimeTec TA. The attendance recorded within those devices will then be processed based on the settings configured in the system to produce the results that are ready for analysis. The whole automation process in time attendance is crucial when choosing time attendance solution because the system needs to run effortlessly and be able to produce the outcome that businesses want.

2. User-friendly

According to the late Steve Jobs, “Simple can be harder than complex: You have to work hard to get your thinking clean to make it simple. But it's worth it in the end because once you get there, you can move mountains.” When a complex system can be accessed and used by a wide range of users without intensive training, the system has achieved user-friendliness. User-friendly interface is second to none in choosing an attendance because in any organizations, there are hierarchy of employees with different kind of backgrounds. Hence, not all staffs can comprehend a new system, all at the same pace. Therefore, a good time attendance system has to be easy enough for all staff to use effortlessly.


3. Comprehensive

Companies are looking to change a system when their existing system does not fulfill the requirements of its business and operation anymore.  Therefore, the new system must possess features that can make process automation becomes more effective. For example, the quantity of attendance column available must be sufficient and match the requirements of a company’s operation. Scheduling feature has to be flexible to cater to the different kinds of roles and work hours of workers.  On top of that, businesses are looking for a time attendance system that have other useful features including claim system, leave management and etc, to further enrich the entire process. 


4. Data Fluidity

In an attendance system, data is important and it needs to be available to the relevant parties at all times. Windows-based software has data access restrictions in terms of location and Web-based can be accessed up to a local network only. Cloud-based software like TimeTec TA on the other hand provides data access to users from anywhere at anytime, very efficient in this dynamic era where mobility is key.  On top, cloud solution also keeps all data intact for a few years without having to worry about the server size or data safety. 


5. Integrate

When a time attendance system can be integrated to a payroll system of choice, it’s a contender. Why is this feature important? Because time attendance data is more often than not will be directly linked to a payroll system and if the system can automate the data transfer, half of the work is done. Again, one of the main purposes to changing a system is automation and if attendance data can be easily linked to payroll for any payroll period, it’s a win-win for users.


6. Value for Money

Bottomline is, the solution must be of value to the company. Every company wants to maximize the value of investment and by having all your requirements met, a good time attendance solution will save your company more than just money.

Get a free trial of TimeTec TA and discover its awesome advantages!


Attendance system

TIMETEC TA SOLVES 7 MAJOR PAIN POINTS OF RETAIL BUSINESSES




Running a retail business is no walk in the park, no matter the scale of your operations. If you are a manager or owner in the retail industry, you know best that the challenges comes from every corner. Understanding customers, markets and competitors, running daily operations, generating revenue and growth, dealing with employees, managing supply chains, business partners, and the list goes on. Moreover, the steady growth of e-commerce in recent years has brought profound changes and given rise to new rules of the game.

Therefore, in order to successfully compete and thrive in this changing landscape, even the more established brick-and-mortar retailers are now busy with reinventing their businesses and improving their products, services and productivity. Along the process, they will also have to take a closer look at the staff, since these are the backbone of every store’s operations, as well as a significant operating cost. However, given that retail staff can be dispersed across many stores and wide geographical areas, there is a certain complexity to that. 

Picture this, when an Area supervisor needs to ensure that all stores are opening on time, they will probably need staff attendance data from the stores that they are unable to physically inspect. It does not stop there, others such as HR or Store managers also have use for and will need to access such information. To address this kind of requirements, one option that retailers can consider is TimeTec TA, our cloud-based time attendance management solution. 

Let’s explore some issues you could be facing in selecting the right attendance management tool and what TimeTec TA can do in each case:



Pain Points for Attendance Management in Retail and the Solutions Offered by TimeTec TA.



1. Multiple Store Locations 

Data is dispersed, potentially delayed or lost
As pointed out earlier, having multiple stores all over, possibly even across different countries and time zones, makes it difficult for a company to keep track of attendance. Payroll is also usually processed at headquarters or in a shared service centre, so to get things done on time, with minimum errors, it is crucial to collect and manage attendance data on a centralized system. 

TimeTec TA offers Data Centralization
TimeTec TA enables this, by storing data from all your separate offices and outlets on a cloud server, where it is accessible from anywhere, at all times. You receive the information in real-time and will rely less on key employees having to manually prepare reports and sending them over. What’s more, this is achieved without you installing hardware or software and neither do you need to worry about backups.   


2. Clocking Methods for Attendance 

Excuses for not Clocking, No record for Mobile Staff 
In any retail business, there are many roles, back office staff, procurement, marketing and events, logistics, merchandisers, sales or operations team, area supervisors, store assistants and etc. Some of them are not based in a fixed office, at least not all of the time. If you require all employees to clock in for work without fail, including the mobile staff, you need to provide suitable clocking channels to accommodate their work nature.

TimeTec TA provides Versatile Attendance Clocking 
With TimeTec TA, employees can clock using 5 clocking options, namely biometrics, web clocking through a PC, and 4 clocking options through a smartphone; Beacon, NFC tag, GPS and Wifi. There will be no excuses for not reporting in, even while on the go. To monitor movement of your mobile staff, give them the option of clocking with GPS from their own phone, no other device required. 




3. Complications from Work Schedules

Need to Balance HQ and Store’s Scheduling Requirements
For retail companies, scheduling can be quite complicated, unpredictable and subject to last minute changes, due to a host of factors such as constant turnover, higher proportion of part-time staff, shift swaps, flexible off days and seasonal demands. Delegation is another tricky element. Store managers should rightly participate in setting work schedules/rosters since they oversee daily operations but the supervisors back in HQ must not overlook this as they have to answer for the staff cost and performance. If not managed well, many things can go wrong: miscommunications, store opening late, understaffing and excess overtime cost, just to name a few.

Create Varied Work Schedules that fits HQ Requirements with TimeTec
Therefore, you need a flexible system like TimeTec TA that takes care of all the different scheduling requirements. You can create weekly, daily or flexi schedules suitable for various groups of staff and allow Store managers to manage weekly rosters for their team. On the other hand, supervisors at HQ can ensure work is proceeding according to plan, schedules are applied uniformly throughout the branches, compliance with labour laws, staffing sufficiently meets crunch time demand, arrange staff transfers and approve any changes Store managers puts in. For better monitoring, there are also functions for overtime approval and notifications of tardiness and absence.


   

4. Data is Not Available for All

Data is limited, one sided and possibly inaccurate
Sometimes, attendance data loses value if it is not timely and does not reach the right people. While HR department or payroll will have a copy, how about all the various HOD, Store managers and even staff themselves? By keeping information flowing one way only, with no checking or confirmation from outlet supervisors or employees, there is no guarantee that it is accurate and could be fully relied on for payroll purposes. If there are any issues, the people-in-charge may not notice in time, to take appropriate action.

Data Transparency in TimeTec
TimeTec TA is a multi-user system, where every employee is given access and can login to view data in the system. This means users can check their own data accuracy and provide feedback, to ensure transparency and promote better engagement. Furthermore, the system is controlled by access levels, so you can assign Admins that will be permitted to view information for their own teams.


5. Staff Registrations

Registering Staff Separately for Different Outlets 
Using a time attendance system that requires you to register staff separately in branches and in other places may not be a big deal, but it could be inconvenient if you always have to transfer staff around. If the user data can’t be synced, you have to repeat the registration at each new place or otherwise miss out capturing their attendance.

One Time Staff Registration
This is not a problem in our cloud-based solution. Only one time registration is required and the employee can be moved and synced to any branches easily, accurately and effectively.


6. Unable to See Real time Workforce Situation

Limited Reports, Waiting time, Lacking for some Branches
Ultimately, the main purposes for implementing any attendance software still lies in the need of management to have a clearer picture of what is going on in the workforce and also to have reliable data for payroll computation. Without a proper tool, it is difficult to get answers you need. For instance, our example earlier regarding Area supervisors that are tasked to ensure stores are following business operating hours. All the time. It requires comprehensive data and reports and may be hindered if supervisors do not have access to generate reports on their own, there is only information on some branches but not others, waiting time, errors and etc. 

Information and Report are Always Up To Date & Available
TimeTec gives you the ability to view the overall workforce situation at any time, whether through Web or the Mobile app. Information is updated immediately and authorized Admins will be provided access. With this, they can now see the number of staff actually available on the shop floor, every single day, for every branch. The data is free from manipulation, and various reports can be generated according to needs, all the way to export for payroll.



7. Manage Leave Applications & Approvals

Manual System, Time Consuming, Outdated Records, Limited Access
On the opposite side of attendance, there is leave, which is an essential aspect of workforce management. When it comes to leave management, some may choose to stick with a manual approach. In that case, it means many hours of administrative work, to compile and process leave application from all outlets, leaving you with potentially outdated or inaccurate records. Not only that, manual forms can be misplaced and delay in submission will affect the employees leave plans. At the end of the day, only HR keeps the current details on everyone’s leave balance, so all enquiries must go there.

Amazing Leave Management
TimeTec TA provides ways for your staff to plan for holidays and leave with the inclusion of TimeTec Leave under one platform. Through the automated system, all leave applications and approval is managed through the Web or Mobile App. HR will have less to handle, yet they can monitor the process straight from the HQ. Additionally, latest information can be shared, managers can use it for planning work allocation and employees can view their own records at any time. 



Lastly, if you wish to experience for yourself how TimeTec TA can help you, get a free trial today at https://www.timetecta.com/free_trial or contact us at info@timeteccloud.com for consultation.
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Employers! Consider These 5 Things That Employees Appreciate



Who doesn’t welcome a big fat bonus and a considerable increase or any hike in salary? But at work, those two things don’t come every so often and most definitely you’ll have to earn it. However, it’s a known fact that employees spend most of their time at the office, or for the office, and because of that, employers need to be mindful of the employees' welfare and well-being. Modern employers need to listen and respond to their employees because these are the people who are moving their businesses towards the set goals. In the Silicon Valley, for example, most things like food, lodging, medical care and etc are given free, an effort to retain valuable employees. Retention programmes have also become a strategy for the human resource department in companies worldwide to keep their valuable staff intact in order for development programs to proceed smoothly without any interruptions. However, apart from a good office, salary increment and bonus; what else could an employer do to retain their employees? While organizing a company trip overseas is awesome, a company can instead do the little things that employees appreciate. TimeTec presents how a company can deliver these without breaking the bank. Additional Annual Leave When you cannot afford to spend more on salaries or bonuses, you can compensate it with valuable time. How? By adding some annual leave into the mix. Show your appreciation to the long-serving staffs with an additional day or two to their total annual leave. This could be accomplished by tweaking your company leave policy and specifying the duration of service that is applicable. In addition, a company can also be creative and provide a different kind of leave to serve a deserving group of staffs such as Menses Leave for women employees, or that employees are allowed to replace overtime with a day of leave. Time is as good as money and it is certainly something that employees appreciate more than money.


Leeway in Time Attendance Employees are not robots, they have errands to do, family to take care of, elderly to pay attention to. While being on time is good for business, but occasionally it still poses a challenge to some employees. Having said that, a company can give a bit of leeway in time attendance like a grace period before an employee’s attendance is recorded as late. For example, your company’s official time is 9am to 5pm. If you have a grace period of 15 minutes, for instance, employees who arrive at 9:12 will not be considered late. Yes, employees should know how to manage their time, but a little consideration on time policy from the company is actually a win-win for everybody. When a company understands, employees would, therefore, appreciate and engage.




Work Location Flexibility
As an employer, would you worry about not seeing your employees at the office? Well, don’t. Modern workforce values flexibility and if a company can allow them to work from home or every now and then, they will surely appreciate the gesture. Working from home doesn’t mean everything will go unsupervised and haywire. We are talking about mature employees that can get the job done on time with the quality expected from them. Hence, work location doesn’t really matter. Nonetheless, the company needs an effective tool to control this arrangement such as having a GPS attendance for those particular employees or at least a mobile attendance tool for timekeeping.
Breathing Room
Employees do not appreciate micromanagement. Who would like to have their superior breathing on their necks at all times? Employees appreciate the employer who trusts, and they will be committed and engaged to the company if they know that they have the trust of the management. However, the company also cannot let loose on everything because a ship needs to be steered to the destination. Again, a company needs a tool to monitor the employees’ ongoings but not to intrude in their everyday matter too much. Sometimes, managers have the feeling that a particular employee has taken too many breaks, instead of assuming, get the information sorted out to support the claim and don’t make a mistake by confronting the employee with false information. It’s wise to have a monitoring system so that the employer doesn’t have to be nagging for information. One thing for sure, employees do not appreciate being blamed for no apparent reason.


Invest in Good Tools
Don’t be skimpy, invest in good tools for employees to work efficiently. You can’t expect a nice looking advertisement without having good software for your designers to work on. You can’t expect a great piece without employing a good writer. Computers need to be replaced after sometimes, so your employees shouldn’t have to wait forever to load certain things. A decent Internet connectivity must be available for the work to be fast and efficient. Because it’s frustrating when a job can’t be accomplished in time as there are not enough available tools to get it done. An employer shouldn’t expect an employee to go to the office to clock their attendance at 9:00 am when the meeting appointment is set at 9:30 am at a customer’s office. As such, a mobile attendance tool is necessary for dealing with the mobile workforce. In addition, investment in cloud leave management tool is a great way to reduce the workload of HR personnel in handling the intricate leave details and at the same time, provides transparency to the employees. 

Time progresses and changes observed. Workforce behavior is changing with time and employers need to keep up and catch up. These little things that a company does could no doubt amount to a long-term commitment from your employees.




automated leave

A Guide to Choosing Time Attendance System of the 21st Century




Human Resource is one of the many integral parts of Enterprise Resource Planning of an organization, and Time Attendance is an important part of Human Resource. Choosing the right Time and Attendance solution can benefit an organization not only in terms of cost but it also can present the workforce with better working experience, which in turn is able to produce better workforce engagement and collaboration. Managing workforce in the 21st century presents a different sets of challenges to the managers. Today’s employees are more mobile than ever and they are connected like never before, making work location no longer a vital element in the mix. Staff discipline is not only defined by 9-5 period, rather many companies have started to recognize the need for time flexibility. And in the world that moves fast, instant access to data is definitely second to none. So how do organizations react to the change in the workforce dynamic? Time attendance indeed is an important system for a company to help manage its growing workforce day-in and day-out, all year long.

This article will present 20 important elements you should look out for when choosing a good time attendance system for your company. Do not take any of them for granted because when a company grows, its requirements follow, and investing in a system that cannot cope with future changes is a waste. Let’s look at the 20 points.

 1. Clocking Versatility - The Time Attendance System of choice must be versatile and inclusive. This means that the system must allow users to clock-in according to their preferences so long as the data received is correct and accurate without any possibility of abuse. Having only one option for the staffs to choose from, for example, a biometrics fingerprint device or a card device installed at the office to clock in attendance is not entirely wrong but it would cause inconvenience to some employees that need to work elsewhere such as attending meeting at a client’s office in the morning, those who are traveling abroad or some staffs who are working from home. The time attendance system must cater to all employees at any given situations, because only then the data received would be inclusive and conclusive.

 2. Realtime - The Time Attendance System you choose must be able to produce data in real time and accessible from anywhere at anytime because in this day and age, waiting makes people restless, and it is no longer tolerated. The system must not be fixed its access to a location, such as the office only and it has to be accessible by authorized personnel in the time of need. 

 3. Affordable & Scalable - A good choice of Time Attendance System must be affordable, sustainable and scalable. Buying a software as a one-off purchase might sound amazing at the moment, but can the system stands the growing demand of the business and the company in years to come. Hence, whenever your company is considering purchasing or committing to a Time Attendance System, please make sure that it is not overly-priced, whereby your company can sustain it comfortably over a long period of time, and that you can scale the usage depending on your company’s demand without having to fork out a fortune to get more.

 4. Schedule & Roster - The Time Attendance System that you choose must let managers set schedules and rosters as seamlessly as possible. It needs to be flexible and cater to the various requirements of a company and it can be set up in a short period time, and translated into each staff’s roster without any hassle. The schedule feature of the system also must be able to handle changes made to the schedule instantaneously and be reflected in the system almost immediately to guarantee smooth operation.

 5. Job Cost - Job costing lets you track employee time by task, to ensure they are prioritizing their work and focusing on the right tasks. Some companies do not require this feature but as time progresses, more and more companies are looking into job cost feature in the effort to be cost effective.

 6. Approval System - Overtime is costly and most companies would like to control and monitor the overtime taken by the employees in their effort to manage operation cost. This is where the approval system comes in handy. The overtime request can come before or after the fact, and with this approval system available in the solution, it’ll make it easier for a company to trace and control overtime.

 7. Integrability - In choosing a Time Attendance System, it is important to note on its integrability. The fact is, each company usually has invested in various solutions beforehand, and changing of one solution must not demand a change in another. Hence, it is important that the system be able to integrate the likes of payroll, employee leave, accounting, or HR software to ensure accuracy between programs and save on time and labor in the payroll department.

 8. Effective User Management - A Time Attendance System handles employees, and therefore it makes User Management module a huge part of the system. In choosing a good system, the User Management module must be practical, and comprehensive. Keying employee data one by one is not acceptable; addition, transfer & deletion have to be easily done, and the system must have sufficient fields to contain employee details for the company. 

9. Multi-Access - Access rights are different from one role to another. From super admin to admin to user to billing admin, all have different access to information in the system. In short, a great choice of Time Attendance system must be equipped with access controls limit on what information certain roles can view and access to.

10. Multi-Company - This feature is a must-have if your organization has multi-branch and multi-company. The Time Attendance System of choice must have organization chart structure to determine the position of the companies/branches or staff under those entities.

 11. Mobile App - Choosing a Time Attendance System that does not have its App is rather risky in this modern age. Staff mobility is growing and mobile App is a tool for staff to report their whereabouts with convenience. It is  especially important if you have people working out of the office, abroad, working from home, working at different sites and mobile all day.

12. Cloud-Based - Do not get turn off by the term cloud-based thinking that it would be costly. There are plenty cloud-based system out there that are affordable and have great features. The reason cloud-based should be a preferred choice because apart from providing accessibility to data at all times,  its backup capabilities ensure data does not get lost, and data cannot be manipulated by unauthorised individuals. On top, maintenance and support are at the lowest when cloud-based solution is concerned.

13. Compliance - There are two types of compliance a Time Attendance System has to meet, one is labor law compliance and another is data protection act compliance. Identify all the compliance you need to adhere to and make sure that the system of choice has a mechanism to comply.

14. Data Analysis - Data is information in raw or unorganized form that refer to, or represent, conditions, ideas, or objects. Data alone cannot do your company any good with analysing it and finding solutions to your organization’s problematic areas. As such, a good Time Attendance System must have performance and productivity tracking mechanism that could help your business identifies problems and areas to improve.

15. Calculation - A good Time Attendance System can automate the process and the calculations based on the given formula and rules. The rounding rules of times has to be available to ensure consistent recording of time. These rules let you round to the nearest time grouping, such as five minutes, or to the beginning or end of a shift, such as when someone clocks in early. And the rules are determined by the company. At the end of the month or the payroll cycle, every data and calculation has to be churned correctly for easier and hassle-free integration.

16. Notification - This is an important feature for a good Time Attendance System. These alerts work to notify managers when employees miss a clock-in or clock-out or are absent, late or approaching overtime, so remedial actions can be taken immediately to nip the problems in the bud.

17. Report - Report is a requisite in Time Attendance System of choice. A system that can provide a variety of useful reports should be your preference. Reports that include an overview of hours worked, time-off requests and other stats help you monitor your staff and identify labor shortages or excesses to improve your scheduling.

18. Data Transparency - Conventional Time Attendance System gives the advantages to the employer and the employees are in no position to check or audit their own data. However, a good Time Attendance System of the future has to be able to give this advantage to employees in one way or another, and make necessary edit or changes whenever required.

19. Monitoring Tool - Every employee has a different work rate and a different portfolio to attend to. Thus, a good Time Attendance System has to be able to provide monitoring tools that can be used to identify the performance of your employees. You should be allowed to monitor on certain areas and be notified accordingly for possible remedial actions. Areas to monitor should be  on the employees’ clock-in time, short work hours and etc.

20. Support - In any system, good technical support and service is a MUST. Opt for Time Attendance System that offers you support around the clock, with ample of guides and information available online so you’ll be able to get help at any time.

Managing workforce in the 21st century is challenging due to the changing elements in the workforce itself such as the growing need of mobility at work, the need to be flexible in work time and location for some talents, incorporation of work life balance for the millennials, the need to be transparent, and etc. Therefore, this modern era requires more than just a basic Time Attendance System that can clocks time in and time out. The quest for the 21st century Time Attendance System is a system that not only will save you money, but also a system that could improve your workforce efficiency and productivity effortlessly. 
affordable

Flexible Working is Trending Worldwide. Are you ready to embrace it?



Flexible working is the new trend in today’s working environment. With the rising of travelling cost; fuel price, train/bus tickets and not to forget, the endless traffic jam, it’s only wise for companies to offer options like flexible work arrangements and the ability to work from home or from anywhere to their employees.

According to a survey done by PwC, 63% of workers say they expect that the standard eight-hour workday will be obsolete and 68% said they expect to work remotely instead of commute to an office everyday. Many companies are now adapting this new flexible working method such as flexible work hours, work from home, and hot desking and it’s definitely something that’s worth to consider.

Let’s see how flexible working can benefit your business

1. Reduced Costs 
Less people in the office means less cubicle, less electricity bills, savings on overheads, and more. This allows businesses to grow and increase headcount without the need of having a larger office space.

 2. Better Productivity
By not having to commute to the office or getting stuck in traffic jam, employee can save time and are more incline to start their work earlier and finish later. Also, flexible workers often work more effectively at home to justify the arrangement made for them and this means value increase for the business.

3. Increased employee job satisfaction and loyalty
The freedom to manage own time will give the confidence to the employee and create loyalty towards the employer. Offering flexible working can also be one of the ways for employer to retain valuable staff.

 4. Reduced absenteeism and tardiness
With flexible working time, employee can work according to the time that suits them best; whether it’s morning or night. With the options given, employee will more likely to be present on workdays, reducing absenteeism and tardiness rate.

5. Attract talents
Flexi working time is something that most employees sought after; to be able to spend more time with their families and friends. This would be a great appeal that a company could have to attract more employees that want to achieve a better work-life balance.

To implement flexible working method, you also would need a good system to monitor their working time. TimeTec TA offers flexi schedule setup and also allows employees to report their attendance via mobile using GPS option. With this, you can still monitor the attendance for your flexi workers and check their performance every time.

A thing to note is, not every organization and all staff can adopt flexible working hours because some staff are required to be at the office or work place at all times due to the nature of the job like doctors, nurses, teachers, construction workers, factory workers and etc.

But for the businesses that could, let’s get flexible and use TimeTec TA!
Attendance Automation

Boss Mode - A System Role for Bosses to Monitor Workforce Performance



TimeTec TA App provides a comprehensive dashboard for administrators to take a quick look at the overview of the company’s workforce performance, and to supply a remedy for any problematic attendance patterns observed.


Ironically, the bosses’ attendance records can affect the overall data because bosses are more often than not are not reporting for attendance, they don’t apply for leaves, they don’t adhere to the work schedule and shouldn’t be monitored.

The Boss Mode is a feature in TimeTec TA that takes those bosses out of the system yet still provide them with the power to access and observe what’s going on in the Company.

Step 1 – Create a New Division under Organization Structure



In this example, we are going to name the structure as Management. There are 3 people assigned to the Management under the organization structure, consists of Jonathan as the boss. Hence, you need to create a subdivision to house Jonathan as the Boss, and subdivision to place the rest of the Top Management people. Assign them to the subdivision accordingly. You can also have more than one person as bosses.

You can also have different users assigned to different subdivision but still under the structure of Management.



Step 2 – Create System Role and Exclude Boss Sub Division


You need to create a new system role to be named Boss and select Partial Division. From the drop-down menu, exclude the Boss division (subdivision of Management). At the Access right section, select Full Module Right. Finally, assign the boss to this new system role.

With the Boss Mode,  the bosses can access the system and monitor all the activities without being counted in and nobody can have access to the bosses’ profiles and the ‘performance’ and the dashboard will present the total of staff without the bosses' data anymore.


boss attendance

4 Ways Cloud has Changed Data Analysis


What are the components necessary to carry out data analysis? Usually, this includes a suitable data collection process, the architecture, and infrastructure in place, access to data, transformation, techniques and models for analysis and finally the interpretation of results.
Add in the Cloud element and the process is similar to what is commonly practiced, with exception to differences in the method of data generation, storage, and access. Information can be collected on a larger scale and centralized more conveniently because of the scalability and broad network access feature when using cloud infrastructure.
Data is also now remotely hosted but the access is ubiquitous. Applications and services operating on a cloud platform can be accessed worldwide by users on connected computers and smartphones.
In TimeTec TA, essentially what we offer is a system that captures, stores and processes the data of working hours for employees using cloud technology. With cloud, the data is simply generated through more methods, capable of incorporating the interaction from many computer browsers and mobile devices.
So, how does cloud change data analysis for the better? 
Better Access
When we use the cloud software such as TimeTec TA for time and attendance, it leads to better data accessibility as the privilege of access can now be offered to all employees based on company policies and role settings. Each staff can access their own attendance records in real time and request for amendments where necessary. This gives them the chance to manage their own time and fosters responsibility for their own performance.
Using system role, direct supervisors who work with employees on a day to day basis is given the tool to effectively manage people in their own team. Information sharing becomes straightforward and aligned with operational needs and personnel responsibilities.
By giving access to relevant information within limits, these people can also analyze patterns in the working hours and spot inconsistencies or non-compliance instead of leaving it all in the hands of the Human Resource Manager or Administrative staff.
Better Response Time
Over here at TimeTec, we are constantly working on making improvements and product enhancements to deliver the best possible user experience to customers. To achieve that, we need to understand our users’ needs, and naturally, this entails gathering information and customer feedback before making changes. We also established a mechanism such as ‘Request Form’ for users to directly share their thoughts or submit features request within the software.
Due to the nature of a cloud-based system, performing clear analysis in this step is even more crucial as the eventual solution when it goes live; as it is immediately and simultaneously available to all users. However, the upside is that this becomes an opportunity for us to achieve a better response time for our customers.   
More Data to Support Decision-Making
Data analysis these days can be done on many levels, be it basic and rudimentary or done through business intelligence applications with highly tailored dashboards or even using the latest processing engines on very huge datasets. Whichever way used, the purpose is to get meaningful insights and preclude bias in supporting decision making.
As mentioned above, due to the connected and elastic nature of cloud, data can be collected on a larger scale and from more sources such as from devices or sensors. Generally, being able to gather more information is better so as to give us a more complete and well-rounded picture of things. However, this also presents new opportunities and challenges in terms of using complementary data sources, integrating them and choosing the best analysis techniques and ways to interpret data. We wouldn’t want to be making flawed interpretations and bad decisions based on the data.
Data Analytics Cloud
To go a step further, with some of the analysis software moving to cloud drives, information and analysis results are becoming even more accessible in organizations. For instance, Time Warner Cable’s B to B Sales Division use the Salesforce Cloud for analytics and forecasting. Amazon also has recently launched their Kinesis Analytics, a new service for its AWS cloud platform allowing developers to analyze data being streamed to their servers in real time.
Cloud technology has indeed changed the way we collect, store, analyze and share data in the workplace today.  And I reckon that cloud has made its way into the world we live in and it’s here to stay.


Ms Lai Yuen Kuan is a Monash University Graduate in Business and Commerce, majoring in Accounting & Finance. She worked at KPMG Malaysia as an Auditor for 5 years and now serving TimeTec as a Data Analyst.

attendance on cloud

Go BYOD with TimeTec TA


The use of mobile phones has expanded to include more than just personal matters; mobile-enabled workforce has become a new norm. The concept of Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) lets employees use smartphones for work-related matters and it has rapidly gaining acceptance worldwide. A recent study by MarketsandMarkets revealed that BYOD is increasing at an annual compound rate of 25% annually. 

 The BYOD concept comes with numerous benefits to the organization including improved productivity, lower costs, workplace flexibility and it also provides better work-life balance, which will provide better employee satisfaction. 

 While BYOD is great, a company needs to be using it with cautions and make sure that your employees understand its positive impacts and be wary of the negative. Here we list a few attentions to taking into account when it comes to using BYOD in an office environment:

 Rapid Mobile Phones Development
These days the development of mobile phones is faster than the speed of light so to exaggerate. Mobile phones and their versions are updated frequently, which requires the development of its application for BYOD devices to be updated frequently also. Ensure that the app you use is updated constantly and support the latest technology to reduce the problems you might encounter when using the app with any mobile type or version. 

 Application’s Access Control
When everything is accessible from various devices; it’s important to control the level of accessibility of each user. System roles and user access settings are crucial to making mobile application for BYOD safe to use. Examples of user settings are normal users can view only information related to them while the administrator can view the overall performance of employees and monitor all their data. 

Set the permission for each user for both web and mobile application in TimeTec TA. The accessibility for both web and mobile application is set differently for admin, operator and normal user. 

 Simplicity is the essence of UX
Nobody likes complicated matters, especially when it comes to user experience or acronym UX. When assessing an app for BYOD, make sure the UX for the app is simple, easy to navigate and understandable. The developer needs to be thinking complex features to cater to user requirements but delivery to users must be simplified. BYOD users rely highly on applications on their devices, therefore having a smooth experience with the app is not an option, it’s crucial.
TimeTec mobile application focuses on simple and concise UX, to provide an easy and smooth experience to all its users. 
Future Flexibility
No one can predict the future, but it’s important to know that the app developer is open and able to support wider ecosystem. The app needs to be able to do not only the main features but also extra features such as chat, linkage to third party apps, etc. 
Set attendance monitoring notification or send company announcement to all users at any time via TimeTec mobile application.
Security over lost of devices
Electronic devices are prone to get stolen or broken. While it’s great having all your business information in one device, losing the device could spell trouble for the company. It’s important to ensure the level of security offered by the service provider in this situation. Also, make known of your BYOD policy to all employees so they understand the importance of keeping their devices safe. 
TimeTec allows only one Mobile ID per user and is secured with individual login username and password. 

 BYOD trend is here to stay and growing; embrace the concept and go BYOD with TimeTec TA. Sign up to TimeTec TA and download TimeTec mobile from IOS and Google Play Store today!
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