85% of leaders question the productivity of their hybrid teams. To help gauge productivity and performance, many are turning to surveillance software, which leads to its own set of problems. For example, 64% of US employees who work remotely feel like they’re being micromanaged .
That’s where remote employee time tracking comes in. Time tracking gives managers and employers insights into productivity without veering into micromanagement.
In this article, we explore the most effective methods for tracking hours remotely, as well as the best time-tracking software to use.
Remote employee time tracking allows organizations to monitor work hours, project time, and productivity across distributed teams using digital tools and HR platforms.
If your team members are spread across multiple time zones , the right software can help you track employee hours accurately.
Virtual time-tracking is an effective solution that aids productivity and accountability. But it needs to be done right.
Here are four ways to track hours for your remote employees:
Time-tracking software records how long employees spend on tasks or projects, helping managers monitor productivity and allocate work more effectively.
Time-tracking software records the amount of time employees spend on particular tasks during work hours. It can usually integrate with existing project management tools.
This type of software lets employees record task durations, while managers can set estimated work times needed to complete each task.
Integrated HR platforms allow employees to log work hours, manage timesheets, and track attendance in one centralized system.
Integrated HR platforms offer a centralized platform on which employees can log their work hours, breaks, and tasks.
For example, employees can easily track their work hours and create timesheets through Remote HR Management . This type of system works well for teams with employees who work at different times from different locations.
Virtual time clocks allow employees to clock in and out digitally from any location, making them useful for distributed teams or remote workers.
A virtual time clock operates in the same way as a traditional time management system — employees can virtually “clock in” and “clock out” on each workday. With a virtual system, employees can log their work hours from any location through multiple devices.
For example, Time Clock Wizard helps you monitor employee absences, late clock-ins, and work breaks.
Self-reported time tracking allows employees to manually log their hours, though it may lead to discrepancies if not monitored carefully.
Employees can self-report their own work hours through whatever means they see fit. For instance, they could use a stopwatch or time-tracking software, or they could even just look at the clock. Then, they “hand in” online timesheets.
However, self-reporting can also have a higher discrepancy rate between reported time and actual time worked.
Choosing the right employee time-tracking solution depends on your company’s workflow, reporting needs, culture, and team structure.
For instance, virtual time clocks may be too rigid for creative industries that need a lot of flexibility. For a company with a large number of shift workers across the globe, an HR platform with a time-tracking tool would be a better option.
Here are a few tips for choosing the best remote employee time-tracking option for your team:
First, evaluate your needs by breaking down your daily operations.
Ask yourself:
For example, a remote team might need simple scheduling features so people can work throughout different shifts. A team like this may not need project time tracking features at all.
Once you’ve identified your team’s requirements, determine which option will make time-tracking as quick and straightforward as possible.
You can go through product demos to shop for the right tool for your company. While testing out different software, ask yourself:
You want to choose a time-tracking option that doesn’t overwhelm or confuse your remote employees with too many options. Keep it as simple as possible.
Using a time-tracking software that integrates with your existing system can save you time and money. When considering your options, ask yourself:
Consider how much you’re willing to invest in time-tracking software for remote employees. For companies with remote employees around the globe, you want to make sure your software can scale with your distributed team .
Ask yourself:
Generally, choosing a solution with a flexible and transparent pricing plan is a good idea.
To simplify your search for the best remote employee time-tracking tool, here are our top three recommendations.
We factored in real user experiences on software review sites like Capterra and G2 to find the best remote employee time-tracking tools.
Remote HR Management is a solid HR platform that helps your entire distributed team with time and attendance tracking.
The platform helps employees automate their work hours and helps contractors keep track of their own time. With this information, remote employees can create worksheets to keep track of their work hours.
With Remote HR Management :
Companies with a distributed team can benefit from Remote's comprehensive time-tracking features. For example, Mimo partners with Remote to manage a team of over 35 remote contractors all from one centralized location.
Timely is an AI-powered time tracker that focuses on precise time capturing. It helps you accurately bill clients for work while accounting for both billable and non-billable time spent on a project.
Key features of Timely are:
Buddy Punch is a time clock software that simplifies time-tracking for both employees and HR managers. It helps employees “punch in” and “punch out” at the start and end of each workday.
Key features of Buddy Punch are:
Buddy Punch is ideal for businesses with “in-field” employees who are constantly on the move during work and need a quick and easy way to notify managers of their billable hours. For example, the company helped truck drivers track their time from different locations across Arizona.
You should monitor your remote employees’ hours for the following reasons.
Time tracking provides valuable insights into task prioritization, company resource use, and how teams manage their project timelines and deadlines.
Specifically, it can help with:
For instance, imagine you notice that employees are taking two hours longer than anticipated on a project. With this information, you might find that the project requires more time to finish, and allocate more time for the same types of projects in future planning.
Time tracking helps you make sure that you’re billing your customers and clients accurately. It also helps you stay compliant with local laws and that each employee’s pay is reflective of the work they did during the pay cycle.
Time tracking also helps with:
By analyzing time usage, you can pinpoint productivity trends and identify areas where your team may require additional support.
Remote time tracking can help with:
For instance, tracking the time employees spend on specific tasks may reveal that it takes longer to complete certain processes when using a particular software. This insight could indicate the need for additional training or further investment in a software update.
For HR managers like yourself, it’s difficult to know how your team members are using their time — and identify areas for improvement as a result. This makes time tracking appealing, but there’s a risk of going too far.
Extreme remote employee time-tracking may cause distrust and micromanagement. Like 43% of employees, your team members might even feel pressured to act busy.
Remote HR Management offers a more balanced approach. It helps with remote employee time-tracking, but it doesn’t resort to intrusive surveillance measures.
Without software that can track hours accurately, keeping on top of deadlines, communicating with your employees, and tracking time can quickly become complicated.
That’s why using an HR platform with time-tracking features like Remote HR Management is a smart move. With Remote, you can easily manage your team’s time and track progress while maintaining transparency and accountability.
Chat with us today and take your remote team’s productivity to the next level.