Tracking Early Departures in Shift Work: How Can We Improve Our System?

Dear Seniors,

We are in the process of designing a system where we can track the employees who leave early. I need your valuable suggestion on the same.

We are into a healthcare BPO service where employees are working in shifts. The problem is that the employees leave early or take half-day leaves (especially during night shifts), and there is no track of them. Basically, as per the company policy, they are supposed to take approval from their line managers, and the line managers, in turn, would inform the HR department. However, somehow the procedure is not effective either due to the negligence of the line managers or due to a communication gap. So, we have decided to involve the Security department and direct HR intervention in the approval process so that the department can track these employees.

Kindly suggest to me how I should start and take it further.

See Arun. Placing a policy is very easy, but designing a checklist process for the same is difficult. I think you can take the following steps to keep a check on that up to a certain level:

1) Approval process is okay.
2) ID Card visibility - Make it mandatory.
3) Check-in and Check-Out time - to be mentioned by employees every day.
4) Security – Involve your security guard and give him the rights to stop an employee if not wearing an ID Card and not filling the entry.
5) Scrutiny of Register - Check the register daily and mark the blank entry with red.

You will have a large amount of dependency on Security for that purpose. See that your guards understand their weighted responsibilities.

Hi Arun,

Some processes that can be followed:

1. Employees have to carry their swipe card every day. In and out timings should be recorded. Apart from this, attendance registers should be maintained for cross-checking.

2. If total working hours are less than 8 hours in a day, it is considered as half a day. The same should be deducted from their salaries.

3. Taking leaves without approval should be considered as Loss of Pay (LOP).

This will instigate some responsibilities in employees, as this will directly affect their salaries.

Regards,
Latha

Dear Arun,

Please install a biometric fingerprint system for in and out entries. Instruct staff to register their fingerprint during entry and exit. This system will help you easily track them. You can purchase these biometric systems from "Precitron," available all over India.

With regards,
Pandiyarjan
Project Manager - GT Electronics

If more than 50 employees, it is worth automating. The manual process is prone to errors, requires more involvement, increased inspection, is subjective, and involves meetings with many defaulters.

With automation, doors don't open without swiping. If they open, they record the time of the particular swipe. The process can be easily scaled to any number.

If this is not feasible, create a system of entry and exit (separately) by placing security guards. All entries and exits should be recorded along with basic employee identifier details. Load the data to Excel and analyze it. It is important, in this case, to rotate the security guards on a daily basis.

Hi Arun,

You can have a login system installed in their systems that is aligned with the intranet, from where you can extract the report. I hope most BPO organizations have such a system. Since it is dependent on others, involve them in correcting the system. Additionally, you can focus on task accomplishment rather than attendance if feasible, as task completion is important.

A good number of members from the group have responded. If you can inform others about the final system you have implemented, that would be great.

Thank you,
Sailaja

Hi Arun,

As Pandiyarjan suggested, we can opt for a biometric fingerprint system for in and out entries. We can instruct the staff to register their fingerprint during check-in and check-out. This option also incurs a lower cost when compared to other technologies.

Goodbye

The best way to keep an eye on entry and exit of employees is to maintain records on a biometric fingerprint-based attendance marking system with electromagnetic locks on multiple gates. Another effective step would be to install a camera near the main entrance where the fingerprint machine is located.

I hope this solution will work and help address your concerns to a certain extent.

Hi Arun,

To track the employees who are leaving early from the office, check the following things:

1. Conduct briefings for all employees, stating that any employee leaving early or taking half a day off without prior permission from superiors will be marked as Leave Without Pay (LOP).
2. Ensure they understand the need for the process to enhance productivity for their own benefit and for the company's growth.
3. Monitor the login and logout times through the phone installed with CMS. This report will help identify if the employee is repeatedly leaving early.
4. Educate them on the job's importance, which will lead to their satisfaction in knowing that someone is acknowledging their efforts. Also, teach them about professionalism in a corporate environment.

Regards,
S.P.R

Certainly! Here is the corrected version of the user's input:

Ya, you can install a biometric attendance system in your office to capture the in and out times. This system will allow you to generate reports on early departures, latecomers, and employees who have not attended the office. CMS Computers Ltd. is providing this system.

Thanks,
Sunil Nipurte

Hi Arun,

It is an indication that everyone accountable for their functions is not responsible for it. All you have to do is have a viable system and checklist in place. Once that is put in place, it has to be monitored regularly, and the concerned person accountable for any deviation should be informed of it.

You have not mentioned what kind of entry, exit, and attendance system is maintained in your company. Biometric is effective, and you can also install doors that are linked to swiping cards or biometrics, which can also help.

Once the employees know that they are being monitored and this will reflect in their PMS, things will improve.

Also, empower the security to ensure that all the systems put in place regarding entry/exit are followed by all employees.

If you think that there is a lack of coordination or direct involvement of the line managers in the whole activity, there is something more than what you see. It could also be a matter of employee satisfaction and employee engagement.

Hope this helps your case.

Prabhakar

It seems that the boss is liberal in the office, and employees are enjoying it. A simple old trick: call the employee just a few minutes before leaving over the phone and ask him to do some petty official job en route. Make him feel that he is doing a favor to the company. After a 2-3 day gap, put a load on him. So simple, so easy, no cost, only tactics. It's the old art of management: pat the fellow, he carries the extra load with a smile.

I truly agree with Latha. It is always better to have a computerized swipe-in and swipe-out system that calculates your time. Those who do not complete the 8 and 1/2 hours of duty time may be asked to sacrifice half a day of leave, or the supervisor may approve it as a leave.

Nayna

Hi Arun,

Your company can buy a software which tracks the in-time and out-time of employees through their access cards, which they have to swipe each time they go out or come in through the main entrance. Based on this, you would be able to monitor employees who leave early without completing their work hours.

In case the company is unable to afford that software, you may manually keep track by requesting employees to put their check-in and check-out times in a register. This register would be maintained by a guard and it is mandatory to be filled each time an employee checks in or checks out.

Regards,
Neha

Hi Arun,

Some processes that can be followed:

Don't allow your employees outside of the company premises without having an approved gate pass or any other sanctioned form duly approved by their department heads.
Instruct or give authority to security personnel to restrict employees who are moving early in their shifts.
Maintain a separate register for gate passes.
Daily scrutiny must be followed by HR.
Deduct the salary for those employees who are not following the rules.

That will help to solve your problem.

Dear Arun,

Your concern is rational and obvious. The best way to keep track of employees in a staff of over 100 employees is via a fingerprint detection and registration system. This system keeps track of employees' in and out timings and also monitors how long they are outside the office premises during lunchtime. Alternatively, a swipe card system can be implemented to track attendance timings.

Believe me, technology-driven HR practices can be trusted in our fast-paced life.

Hope this helps you.

Regards, Swati HR

Thank you all for the valuable suggestions. I have drafted a proposal based on your suggestions and have submitted it to the management. It's up to them now to decide.

Dear Arun,

You can designate someone to monitor the in & out timings for all the staff members. You can also assign the job to the security guard. He will enter the details in the timesheet register himself and submit the sheet to HR every morning before leaving. Any cutting or overwriting in the sheet will be questioned. Also, once in a while, you can make a surprise visit to monitor the same.

Hope this will be an easier and faster way to track the attendance.

Regards, Ruchika

Hi,

We usually monitor the in & out punching through the biometric system, where you have to show your ID card as well as your thumb and finger to be scanned. This process will detect your fingerprint along with capturing your in and out times. If you don't have access to the biometric system, a simple register will serve the same purpose. Please make sure to make an entry at the time of entry and exit so that we can trace the time spent.

Regards,
Mukesh ROHILA

Hi, the problem of tracking employees leaving early can easily be managed. First, there is a need to regulate the exit of employees leaving early. The easiest way is to involve security. Do not permit the exit of employees without written permission from the concerned line manager or report such exits to involve disciplinary action.

Another aspect is framing a policy. The following points can be considered while framing a policy:

(a) Rules governing half-days and leaving early
(b) Chain of command authorizing such leaves
(c) Penalties or deductions from salary for unauthorized absences
(d) Redressal mechanism in case an employee is aggrieved about not being granted a half-day or allowed to leave early

Hi Arun,

Tracking employees can be challenging, especially when they take the organization for granted. It is crucial to approach this situation thoughtfully to prevent employees from perceiving your measures negatively.

I recommend adopting a two-pronged strategy. Firstly, as HR, conduct sessions where you directly address employees to understand the reasons behind their behavior.

Secondly, leverage IT by installing smart access cards. These cards electronically monitor employees' clock-in and clock-out times, providing you with additional management information such as login hours and break times. There are several service providers in the market offering such solutions.

While implementing these changes may require some time, as an interim solution, especially in a shift-based work environment like yours, consider introducing attendance/login hours bonuses. Reward employees who meet specific attendance, login hours, and productivity targets.

I hope these suggestions will help you address your current challenges effectively.

All the best.

Hi Arun,

Nowadays, tracking an employee who arrives late and leaves early is very easy. You can speak to the HR department and have a biometric system installed. Each time employees enter and exit, they will need to swipe their card. At the end of each week, you can check the report from the system to identify latecomers and early leavers.

Thank you.