Time and labour

Today's workforce is experiencing a transformation in its identity. A multi-generational and mobile workforce is merging with technological advancements to create more efficient business operations. At the same time, the growing complexity of regulations is making compliance more challenging. To stay competitive, employers need to revisit their strategies around time and labour management and adopt innovative approaches.

What is time and labour?

Time and labour measure the time employees allocate to their roles and their effectiveness in those positions. It's an essential aspect of conducting business within every sector, notably retail, food services, and manufacturing, where individuals are employed on an hourly or shift basis.

What is time and labour management?

Time and labour management is the process of devising employee schedules, tracking hours worked, and overseeing absences. Today, many businesses opt for software solutions for these tasks to use real-time information for critical personnel decisions.

Time and labour management software

Employing software for time and labour management can help create smooth processes, thereby increasing the productivity of both employees and managers. Several systems today include mobile applications, facilitating a more effective and adaptable approach in contemporary, evolving workplace settings.

Benefits of time and labour management software

When correctly implemented and used, the appropriate time and labour management software can help employers in:

• Managing labour expenses efficiently
• Complying with labour laws and regulations
• Enhancing the efficiency of their workforce
• Increasing payroll accuracy
• Designing adaptable scheduling options
• Minimizing the requirement for manual data entry

What does time and labour management software do?

Software designed for managing time and labour computes working hours in alignment with payroll guidelines. This automation eliminates the necessity for labourious and error-prone manual data entry and hourly calculations. Such software typically also leverages machine learning, allowing it to examine essential performance metrics, such as rates of absenteeism and overtime. It can also create models to help supervisors make more informed decisions to manage their workforce and payroll expenses better. For instance, efficient time and labour management tools in the retail sector use data on sales or store traffic to predict the required staffing levels. Managers can then create schedules that reflect these labour projections to enhance efficiency and adhere to budget constraints. Once employees clock in, their activities are monitored in real time, allowing for adjustments in their tasks as necessary.

How can ADP help businesses manage time and labour?

ADP is a leading provider of time and labour management solutions featuring advanced data and technology integrations that revolutionize workplace operations. Our comprehensive offerings include quick and user-friendly time tracking, scheduling, and attendance management systems, providing a seamless journey from time punch to paycheque. Additionally, ADP ensures businesses receive professional support, keeping them operational with little to no interference in their daily activities.

ADP time and attendance features and benefits

ADP's time and labour management solutions are tailored to meet the specific needs of diverse industries, workforce characteristics, work environments, and organizational objectives. Here are some of the main features:

Time and attendance:
• Efficient processing of hours worked and time off in alignment with the rules and policies of each business.
• Collecting time data directly at its point of origin through methods like online timesheets, time clocks, mobile apps, point of sale (POS) systems, or biometric identification devices.
• Accurate hours with geofencing to restrict punch locations for mobile employees to get accurate hours worked.
• Facilitating seamless data exchange between timekeeping, payroll, and HR through customized integrations.

Employee scheduling:
• Predict labour demands to create schedules that align with financial targets.
• Match shifts with the most suitable employees by considering their availability, skills, preferences, or other critical business requirements.
• Notify employees of available shifts through text messages and provide options for shift swapping online or via mobile apps.

Absence management:
• Easy viewing of accumulated time-off balances and the option to be alerted of any irregularities, such as late arrivals or unexpected absences.
• Implement absence policies automatically, managing both rewards and penalties.
• Monitor leave requests or delegate the entire leave management process to ADP's specialists.

Compliance assistance:
• Reduce the risk of non-compliance by automating the enforcement of labour and pay regulations, keeping track of all work hours, and accurately calculating overtime pay.
• Benefit from continuous support for various compliance mandates, including rules on fair scheduling, work-rest periods, and union contracts.
• Take advantage of detailed records of timecard modifications to minimize disagreements about work hours logged.

Time and labour reporting

Access to dependable data and past patterns can simplify ensuring proper staffing levels and reducing expensive overtime. By leveraging the reporting tools provided by ADP's time and labour management solutions, supervisors can:

• Review hours logged, time off, overtime, labour expenses, and other key metrics with immediate insight
• Compare performance against budgets and organizational objectives
• Customize dashboards to gain insights that are important to goals

Touchless time kiosks

Innovative timekeeping applications now include facial recognition technology which enables staff to sign in and out without any physical contact. The ADP® Time Kiosk app offers this feature as well, so it minimizes the transmission of germs through touch and also enhances security by eliminating the possibility of "buddy punching", which happens when employees may punch in and out on behalf of each other. When the system recognizes an employee, it activates voice command functionality, allowing the employee to execute various tasks such as beginning or ending a shift, going on a meal break, changing job assignments, and much more.

Find the perfect time and labour solution for your business

At ADP, we recognize employers' profound understanding of their operations and workforce. With this insight, we tailor our time and labour management offerings to meet the specific requirements of each client – ranging from a straightforward employee time-tracking system to a sophisticated workforce management platform. Business proprietors can rely on ADP for a time and attendance solution that suits their needs and budget perfectly.

Frequently asked questions

What does labour management mean?

Labour management is the supervision of employees by their employers. It includes assessing the amount of work done and the time it takes. This management must comply with specific guidelines covering numerous areas, including overtime, breaks, safety measures, leave policies, attendance, disciplinary actions, and terminating employment.

How do you manage labour?

Many employers turn to workforce management systems to make labour management easier in the modern workplace. These systems reduce the burden of manual tasks by monitoring issues, evaluating possible solutions, providing recommendations, and executing decisions on a manager's behalf. Furthermore, automation removes the need for manual data entry and calculation of work hours, thereby enhancing the accuracy of payroll operations.

What is the difference between a labour management system and a time and attendance system?

Fundamentally, a labour management system equips employers with the tools to monitor employee attendance and schedule work hours. Advanced automated systems offer a regulated approach to managing schedules and calculating wages, helping with labour law compliance. These systems work with various time-tracking methods, such as online timesheets, mobile apps, and physical time clocks. Comprehensive labour management systems offer additional functionalities, including managing labour budgets, leveraging data and analytics for decision-making, streamlining regulatory compliance, and adapting to unforeseen changes in the labour market.

Learn More

Time and labour management, when done correctly, can boost productivity and lower costs. You can benefit from ADP's workforce management solutions by getting help with scheduling, absence management, and much more!

Talk to us about your time and labour challenges, and we'll walk you through our solutions — including how companies like yours use them. Call 866-622-8153 or start a quote.

This guide is intended to be used as a starting point in analyzing time and labour and is not a comprehensive resource of requirements. It offers practical information concerning the subject matter and is provided with the understanding that ADP is not rendering legal or tax advice or other professional services.