Time theft may seem like something out of a blockbuster sci-fi film, but the truth is far more prosaic and an everyday thing than it appears. The financial repercussions of employee time theft might be considerably greater than you realize for many small organizations.
Time theft is a minor offense that may quickly escalate into a major issue. Learn what time theft is and how to avoid it in the workplace. Employers cannot prevent time theft unless they understand how to detect it. This is when things become complicated.
Employees use a variety of tactics to steal business time that may “outsmart” a basic remote employee time tracker. You need something advanced and tech-savvy.
What is Time Theft?
Time theft happens when an employee gets compensated for unworked time. Because it is so subtle, it is often overlooked. Employees whittle away at an employer’s bottom line gradually by claiming extra hours worked that never occurred.
Time theft can occur through claiming hours that were not worked, ceasing to work when clocking in, or getting remuneration that one is not legally entitled to.
Consider the following: Bob, your committed employee, is seated at his desk, typing like a caffeinated squirrel. But here’s the twist: when his fingers dance across the keyboard, his eyes droop like a dying flower.
Yes, you read it correctly: Bob has been caught in the classic act of employee time theft known as the “Nap & Tap” and we don’t want that to happen, do we? And that’s where the employee time tracking software comes into action.
Why is Time Theft a Threat to Your Business?
Time theft does not necessarily seem like a criminal fleeing with a suitcase full of cash. In fact, it may appear as an employee scrolling on their phone too frequently, or a team member logging in for a buddy who is “just running 5 minutes late!”
Time theft is like a two-edged sword; it can seriously cause danger to your business. Every minute not spent on important work is a minute that could have been spent building your business, forming new alliances, or inventing breakthrough solutions.
Employee time theft may not have the same spectacular appearance as some of the more obvious hazards to your organization, but it’s DeskTrack’s insidious nature may undermine your development, damage your reputation, and stymie your achievement.
Understanding its impact and taking proactive steps to mitigate it is a vital step toward securing your company’s efficiency, development, and general well-being. So, while it may not be a headline-grabbing issue, time theft requires your attention since time, once gone, can never be recovered.
Types of Time Theft That May Take Place
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Distractions From The Internet and Cyberslacking
Social networking and online browsing are both digital diversions that have a double whammy: Not only can time spent online on nonwork-related things accumulate, but it can also lead to decreased focus on the work that has to be done and an overall decline in both productivity and job quality.
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Falsifying Time Sheets
A time card is falsified when an employee submits erroneous information about their working hours or leads others to supply misleading information. But with the help of the best time tracking software for employees lacking time sheets can absolutely be fixed.
- Waste of Time on Purpose
This sort of time theft encompasses a wide variety of employee conduct, including taking too long to complete a job (often resulting in otherwise unneeded overtime), padding the time spent on a task, and terminating work early but failing to clock out on time.
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Longer than Permitted Breaks
Workers must take breaks during office hours, but they must not be excessive or unauthorized. Misuse, on the other hand, is conceivable. For example, the lunch break is prolonged by 15 minutes, or the smoke break becomes an extended excursion to the coffee shop. That’s where employee monitoring software comes really handy.
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Working On Personal Projects At Work
Employees can also steal time from businesses by spending time on non-work-related personal activities, and that can cause damage to businesses. Making personal calls or texting at work might be examples of this. It may be paying payments online for computer-bound personnel, or running errands between jobs for off-site staff.
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Inflation of Working Hours
This type of time theft includes anything that leads to exaggerated work hours being recorded and reimbursed. While an employee may do it unknowingly (or with the false idea that it benefits the payroll management software, as in the case above), inflating work hours also involves timesheet fabrication and time clock manipulation.
So What’s the Solution: Use Employee Time Tracking Software
Paper timesheets are the easiest way for employees to steal time, and physical time clocks offer many excuses: “So-and-so lost their time card, so I loaned them mine,” or “I lost my swipe card.” With a time management app, you can avoid fraudulent time theft and early clock-ins and remind employees to clock back in through mobile applications when their breaks are done.
Employee Time Tracking Software with Screenshots is essential for raising productivity and optimizing operations in any organization. Employee time tracker gives organizations the tools they need to measure and analyze employee work hours.
Here are some concrete advantages to implementing the best time tracking software for employees in your business:
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Improved Productivity
Employees can be more productive when they know their hours are precisely and effectively logged. Employers can find areas and niches where productivity can be up-scaled by using a system to measure time spent on activities. This might involve giving employees better tools or resources to help them do their tasks more quickly.
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Enhance Accountability
Employees are more inclined to focus on their tasks and complete them on time if they are aware that their performance is being watched. This can lift up the overall productivity and cut down on time that can be wasted. Managers can also utilize greater responsibility to keep staff accountable for their behavior. It may also guarantee that all of their objectives are met.
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Data on Attendance That is Accurate and Reliable
The best employee time tracking app provides exact and dependable records of employee work hours. Using productivity monitoring software, such as fingerprint clocking-in machines or face recognition clocking-in devices, ensures organizations have real-time, accurate information rather than historical, manually compiled records.
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Punch Your Punch-out Clock
The old method of tracking employee time spent at work, often known as timesheets, is costly and impracticable in this day and age. Timesheets and punchout clocks are an ancient method of keeping track of your employees’ shifts that might necessitate big revisions at the conclusion of the pay month.
What is The Best Employee Time Tracking Software?
Best employee time tracking software for work from home is beneficial to all sorts of businesses. It may be tailored to unique commercial scenarios and requirements. This is why it is necessary for an employer to take the time to find a good one who will benefit them and their organization in the long term.
Try out DeskTrack – the best time tracking software for freelancers out there. DeskTrack is more than simply time tracking software for employees; DeskTrack is a revolutionary tool that enables organizations to recapture wasted hours, enhance processes, and cultivate a productive culture. It becomes more than simply software with its individualized insights, project time tracking, and seamless integration; it becomes your company’s strategic ally in the battle against time theft.
So, if you’re ready to raise your time management game and embrace efficiency like you’ve never done before, DeskTrack is the solution to all your time theft problems.