What Are Attendance and Leave Management With Field Force Management Software?

Tracking field executives’ leave and recording accurate attendance is an essential function of Field force management software. Dive in to know how it works.

What’s the first thing employees do to start their day?

They log their attendance. Desk workers can simply walk into the office and punch in to start their day and punch out to end it. However, attendance reporting isn’t so simple for field employees.

They have to carry out various field-based tasks, place orders, and visit clients throughout their workday. Visiting the office for the sole purpose of marking attendance is not practical for field teams. But how do we solve this challenge?

Well, the solution lies with field force management software. It can streamline attendance and leave management for field employees in addition to scheduling tasks and tracking sales orders. Keep reading to know what attendance management is and how it works in FFM software.

What Is Attendance and Leave Management?

Attendance is a core operation in any organisation. From the CEO to the unpaid intern, all employees have to mark their attendance after coming to work. Storing and maintaining this data which includes employees’ leave, absences, and completed work hours is called attendance and leave management.

Most businesses that focus on field operations use an automated solution to track their employees’ leave and attendance. Some companies rely on paper-based punch cards to log staff entries but that’s not practical in the case of field executives.

Offline or manual attendance management systems can be prone to errors or rigging by employees. And shockingly, 43% of shift workers admitted to committing time theft, as per a survey by Software Advice. But all these issues have a simple solution – field force management software.

It can manage field employees’ attendance, track leave, and offer automated timesheets. Field managers can view the exact hours their employees worked and where they marked their attendance. The software optimises other field operations like tasks and orders.

Trivia As per Forbes, 69% of employees admit that they don’t track their time accurately. 50% of employees said more than a quarter of their time is wasted at work.

Why Is Attendance Management Complicated in Field Operations? – 4 Main Challenges

The nature of operations and attendance are very different in field services than in office jobs. Therefore, it comes with its unique complications that are generally time and efficiency-consuming. These complications are why no business with a team of over two field executives should go without employee tracking software.

1. Impractical attendance recording

To go to the office or not to go to the office, that is the dilemma!

The biggest problem that comes with remote attendance management is whether or not executives should go to the office. After all, why should executives come to the office just to mark attendance if they have to go to the field anyway?

Executives should have the freedom to log into work from anywhere so that they can devote their shifts only to working.

2. Time theft and frauds

The problem that persists with remote attendance marking is that some employees might resort to tricking. If their shift is time-centric and not task-centric, they might log in and log out before even starting work.

Believe it or not, GPS and other smart tech can be fooled too if you know how to do it. Since most employee tracking systems work through devices, employees can give their phones to anyone and fool the GPS. False attendance marking is a huge problem with remote and field employees.

3. Reporting errors

You’d be surprised to know how many people forget to mark their attendance and go on with their day. This is a huge problem since even if employees have done all their work, their day might still be considered a leave.

This flaw in communication can lead to several productivity-based issues. And losing a full day’s pay over a minor or human error can affect employees’ morale.

4. Inaccessible leave data

Many times employees have to contact their HR or manager to check how many leaves are left in their kitty. While this is a wasteful admin utility, it is also prone to human errors. The same problem also persists when employees apply for leave and managers have to decide whether or not they can grant the leave.

How Does Field Force Management Software Help Simplify Attendance Tracking?

Now you know some of the problems that both employees and employers can face while marking and managing attendance. So, we’re sure you want to do something about it, right? Here are a few ways field force management software helps simplify attendance marking.

1. Remote Attendance

Field force management software allows employees to log in from wherever they are. You do not have to even think about making employees travel extra just to mark attendance.

2. Geofence-enabled Attendance

You can set up a geofence to ensure executives only get to mark attendance from a particular site. This can be a task site or a designated place for all field executives to punch in and punch out. This prevents any misuse of the remote attendance marking feature.

3. Geocoded and Visual Attendance

Other than geofences, attendance will also be verified through geocoded images. The software reads latitude, longitude, and time in a picture that executives compulsorily need to upload while punching-in. This feature prevents buddy punching.

4. Attendance-Task Linking

Employee tracking software can obviate employees’ forgetfulness by linking attendance with tasks. Not only can employees only mark attendance when they are near the task, but they can also only mark the task finished after logging out. Plus, once their shift ends, field executives are automatically logged out.

5. Leave Quotas

Employees do not have to wonder how many leaves are left. Field force management software displays all the leave data on the dashboard. Employees can check their leave balance, holiday calendar, and company leave policy using their mobile app. This data is instantly updated in case of any changes. Also, managers can define the leave categories (full-day, half-day, sick, maternity, casual, unpaid, etc.) as per their wish.

6. Simple Communication

Applying for leave could not be easier with field force management software. Employees can simply request leave using their mobile and it’s instantly sent to their manager. Managers can set up a hierarchy of approval and also demand a valid leave reason from employees. This way, the organisation can keep a record of each employee’s leaves and the reasons why they took them.

Wrapping Up!

So far, you have learned about the attendance management challenges for remote employees and how field force management software overcomes them. However, not all FFM software is the same. Some cater to only the time or location tracking needs of your business while others focus on task and order management. For the best results, you need a software solution that helps simplify all field operations. This will help you reduce reliance on multiple apps.

For instance, TrackoField offers accurate leave and attendance management features. The software also offers a payroll and expense management module, thus serving as an HRMS tool as well. Using such one-stop software can help you reduce administrative burden and improve the efficiency of your field teams. So, stop delaying and get in touch with TrackoField today!

FAQs

• Why does FFM software need to have a leave and attendance management module?

  The main job of field force management software is to simplify field teams' workflow. This is not possible if an employee has to use multiple apps to carry out his routine operations. Using separate apps for attendance and leave management, order tracking or task scheduling is not practical. Hence, most top FFM software like TrackoField offer a leave & attendance management module.

• What is the best field force management software to manage leave and attendance?

  There are many FFM systems that can accurately manage employees' leave and attendance. One of the best FFM software in the industry is TrackoField. It streamlines the leave & attendance of field employees and also manages their tasks, orders, and expenses.