How to ensure HR management of mobile workers: the role of a digital time and attendance system

To improve the management of your human resources, you have decided to implement one of the most widely used HR software products on the market. However, you are not seeing a return on your investment. Why and how are digital timesheets the tool that you’re missing for efficient management of your mobile workforce?

The difference between sites and offices

The construction sector is slowly starting its digital transformation. Gradually, high-performance software for HR, payroll, finance and other areas is being implemented in offices. However, companies struggle to get an optimal return on investment. The reason? The lack of pertinent data from sites. You can have the most powerful software but if you don’t input high-quality data at the beginning, it cannot output conclusive results at the end.

Data collection is the big challenge for construction companies. With mobile workers with various administrative statuses, working on different jobs and sites within the same day… it is much more difficult to record their work data than the data of employees who arrive in the office at 9am and leave 8.5 hours later.

Capturing worker data: why don’t the standard solutions work?

In many construction companies, recording the hours worked is still done using printed timesheets or Excel spreadsheets. When some companies try to implement a digital process they come up against the limits of ‘generalist’ solutions (sometimes included in the HR software). But why aren’t these solutions sufficient, and what should be used instead?

Mobile workers

As already mentioned, the construction sector relies on very mobile workers. In addition, the workforce is not only nomadic, it is also very diverse: using a variety of temps and sub-contractors is common practice. Furthermore, the difficulty also arises from the wide range of jobs undertaken by the workers. In the construction sector you don’t work in one single place. Even when you only work on one project it is made up of very different phases and jobs. In order to calculate wages or costs it is essential to be able to accurately determine the number and nature of the hours worked by each person. This has to be done while taking into account overtime, night hours, unplanned absence due to bad weather, etc. Capturing the data of mobile workers is as crucial as it is complex. 

Finding simple and fast solutions

If the majority of HR managers use efficient software with user-friendly interfaces, the situation on sites is sometimes very different. On one hand, paper timesheets waste the precious time of site managers and supervisors. Entering data into Excel spreadsheets poses the same problem. These solutions are time-consuming, inefficient and frequently prone to errors. On the other hand, standard digital solutions are not suitable. Consequently, they are not widely used on sites. Workers want a fast, efficient and easy-to-use solution otherwise they will not use it, however powerful it may be.

Which solution to choose?

In order for software to be used, it must be designed according to the needs of its users. We have already mentioned that the needs of a construction company are very specific. So there is value in turning to a software company that is specialised in the construction sector, who will be able to provide you with a customised solution that meets the needs of the users.

A solution designed for the construction industry – what does that mean?

Within its resource management platform, Traxxeo has developed a specialised mobile application: Digital Timesheets. This solution is designed for the construction sector through:

• Integration of the company’s cost structure: 

The different site codes are integrated in the application, as well as the desired level of detail (project, phase, job, etc.). This enables a clear overview of the hours worked for each specified code. 

• Integration of management rules: 

The company’s own rules are integrated into the application. This enables alerts to be generated for exceeding the authorised time limit, or night hours to be easily recorded.  

• Functionalities which are designed for use in the field: 

With offline capability, intelligent pre-population and a user-friendly interface, the Digital Timesheets mobile application has been designed for workers. This has led to excellent adoption in the field. 

Once the information has been collected and processed, it is integrated in a structured manner into your digital environment: ERP, payroll software, financial control software, etc. They all benefit from accurate and recent data. For HR managers this means:

• Accurate and recent data on worker activity;
• Information structured and integrated into their software according to their own rules;
• Automatic alerts in the case of anomalies;
• A centralized overview of all available information.

Efficient HR management of your mobile workforce, starting today

Among the suite of resource management tools offered by Traxxeo, digital time and attendance is one of the fastest to implement. From personalisation of the Digital Timesheets application to training your workers, the Traxxeo teams will support you throughout all the implementation phases and for the entire project lifecycle. 

Our teams are also available for a personal demonstration of our solutions. If you would like to streamline your processes and increase productivity on site, get in touch.