How Small Companies Can Control Labor Costs Using Latest but Affordable Technology
If you are an employer, running a 10-15 employees company, you must have come across the problem of controlling labor costs. From production sector to service sector, even in semi-GOVT companies, managing employee attendance efficiently has always been an issue for the busy employers.
Controlling labor costs is no longer solely the domain of large corporations as the recent economic downturn has forced small businesses to reevaluate as aspects of their organizational infrastructure.
Long available for larger organizations and at high costs, employee attendance and time tracking software has not, until recently, successfully migrated to the small business marketplace.
A few years back, when lower cost RFID proximity card and biometric time clocks entered the marketplace, small companies found something affordable at a basic level of time tracking. This soon proved to be a half-solution. These solutions were designed to force business owners to tether the time clocks to client based software installed on local computers. These solutions, which offer a fairly low cost of entry, soon end up costing the businesses much more with IT costs, support contracts, and extended warranties.
Small businesses today demand that their vendors offer technology that is affordable and that utilizes the best available technologies. With web-based cloud computing or software as a service (SaaS) offerings the norm for many services commonly used by small businesses (accounting, banking, hosting, etc), business owners are looking to companies that create technology based on how businesses operate as opposed to companies that modify enterprise class technology and try and make it work for small business.
Time and attendance applications for small business have in the past taken for granted the fact those most small businesses had diverse labor pools. The most common time and attendance solutions for small business are timeclock offerings. Timeclocks are great for workforces that do not have access to a computer or the Internet, yet not ideal for clerical workers. Companies with warehouse workers, clerical workers, and remote workers have been forced to buy timeclocks and client based PC software and attempt to (not inexpensively) aggregate the data on their servers.
An ideal solution for small business time and attendance would pair inexpensive and easy to use hardware with a web-hosted software application that allows business owners to access time and attendance data any time and anywhere.
Such a system would harness the power of cloud computing coupled with the convenience of plug and play time and attendance terminals, allowing employees to clock in or clock out from a device, a website, or a phone.
Software solutions provider companies have started building programs which comes equipped with the scalability and integration capabilities to use RFID, biometric devices and of course integration of any third party payroll system. If you are looking for a good time clock/attendance management system, you must see all such compatibilities. You may need to use these features in due course, as your company grows in time. Most of these software companies offer free demo, in CD or in the shape of online interactive demo. Better to use a 15-30 day trial version so you can get familiar and match with your own company needs. Remember that it does not cost much to use RFID, biometric devices or barcode scanners. In return, the benefit you get in terms of time and cost saving is huge.
Source by Tony Chopp