Imagine arriving at work, locating a sign-in book, finally finding the timesheet with your name and employee ID on it, writing down when you arrived, when you left for lunch or other breaks, and when you left for the day. After repeating this every workday for two weeks, you submit your timesheet to a supervisor who then manually enters the written data into an ERP system. The supervisor then verifies the accuracy of the recorded hours against each employee’s schedule and any company policies regarding attendance and overtime. This was the process for the over 200 employees in the New Jersey Institute of Technology’s (NJIT) facilities department before 2016. The labor-intensive manual process of signing in and out on a timesheet was susceptible to inconsistencies, leading to errors in payroll processing, including complying with contract and union rules.
SOLUTION AND RESULTS
Recognizing the need for change, NJIT implemented TimeClock Plus, TCP Software’s automated time and attendance solution, to streamline their facilities department’s timekeeping process. TimeClock Plus introduced advanced time clock features to automate time tracking while adhering to compliance requirements and simplifying payroll and leave requests.
IMPROVED TIME TRACKING PRECISION
The bustling workers in facilities often mismanaged their clock-ins and clock-outs, with sometimes a 15-minute difference between shift start and end times. After installing TCP’s biometric time clock readers, workers now record time using their fingerprints, improving punctuality and eliminating buddy punching.
We now know the time itself is something that’s now seamless and accurate and unchallengeable. — Rob Gjini, NJIT’s Assistant Vice President of Facility Systems
NJIT also utilized the single sign-in features of TimeClock Plus, enhancing security without a need to manually manage credentials and creating an easier and faster onboarding process for new workers.
SIMPLIFIED SUPERVISORY TASKS
Designating between family sick leave versus regular sick leave used to be burdensome for supervisors to decipher the proper code for the correct leave type when workers created requests manually. With TimeClock Plus, workers have access to different leave templates with corresponding leave codes embedded. They can submit requests online and supervisors receive notifications in realtime. The user-friendly digital platform allows for easy access to data, enabling supervisors to oversee attendance, approve leave requests, and adjust schedules accordingly. “Being able to see things on the screen and have multiple supervisors see who’s scheduled off when so that they can consider whether they’re approving requests for additional people in the same group,” says Gjini. “That’s really what makes the process a lot simpler than it used to be.”
ENHANCED COMPLIANCE AND REPORTING
Manually navigating the complexities of union contracts and regulations limited consistencies in timekeeping and payroll. Gjini recalls how some supervisors often misunderstood the different union rules associated with various unions.
“One supervisor for one employee in a union is doing things differently than another supervisor of employees for that same union,” recounts Gjini. “Which is a big problem.”
TimeClock Plus remedied the problem with features that allowed NJIT to incorporate union regulations like leave and overtime rules within timekeeping, providing greater consistency and accuracy. In addition, reports from TimeClock Plus facilitated seamless integration with Ellucian Banner, NJIT’s ERP system, reducing payroll errors and improving the reporting processes.
Every step you can take off the supervisors’ plate is worth a lot.
FUTURE OUTLOOK
Looking ahead, NJIT strives to be a proponent of leveraging technology to further empower workers and enhance operational efficiency. Gjini also speaks highly of the consistent support from TCP:
“I had people on the phone very quickly and knowledgeable about the product and were able to help me very fast and helped us understand the options and the impact of options.”
