Companies leverage recruitment agencies to save time and money during the hiring process. The position can be full-time, part-time, temporary, contract-to-hire, and so on. The external firm shifts through resumes, shortlist candidates, and deals with the onboarding paperwork. The job doesn’t end when the right person is found. The recruitment agency manages employees while on the job, overseeing their compensation and evaluating job performance. Time tracking provides insight into business, letting recruitment agencies know if things are on track to hit their deadlines and budgets.
If you’re not tracking time, now is a good time to start. It can be a useful tool to help with invoicing, budgeting, and forecasting. A time-tracking solution also ensures you can avoid penalties for non-compliance with the requirements. By monitoring and recording time against assigned tasks and planned activities, you can enhance efficiency and reduce costs in middle office processes (and increase satisfaction). Time tracking is considered a necessary evil, but many don’t realize that not tracking time does more harm than good.
Popular Business Solutions for Time Tracking That Optimize the Work Capacity of Your Recruitment Agency
As the old saying goes, “What gets measured gets managed.” There are many reasons to track your time, and certain solutions make this practice more effortless, accurate, and convenient. Here are the pros and cons of some of the time-tracking solutions your recruitment agency might use. They’re similar in many regards and help you solve your most pressing business problems.
Clock Cards
Clock cards are source documents that record the number of hours a person works during a specific period. While some clock cards require employees to punch the time clock with a clock, others involve swiping a card and more sophisticated technologies, such as fingerprint technology. The exact date and time are recorded, and the information can be used by a clerk for payroll or to create internal controls. More precisely, the data is part of the official records. The system relies on the fact that employees punch their own time honestly. Some might leave early and get someone else to clock them out.
Timesheets
Unlike clock cards, timesheets contain additional information, such as the projects on which a person has worked. They generally come in the form of Word or Excel templates. The employee must write down their task, business function, and how much time they spent completing them. A supervisor must verify the timesheets before they’re sent off, so timesheets tend to be unreliable. Workers might forget to enter specific tasks and details, especially when jumping from project to project. Equally, some employees might feel bad about reporting actual hours if a task takes longer than usual.
Spreadsheets
The spreadsheet time-tracking approach entails entering the time spent dealing with tasks in a spreadsheet template, which saves time and effort. The template can be deployed for multiple projects. As opposed to paper timesheets, spreadsheets can be backed up and stored effectively. The problem is that all the entries must be logged into another system for payment and compliance purposes. Even though spreadsheets are a better way to track time, they don’t record the actual time spent on tasks. A reputable recruitment agency must verify if overtime hours are accurate before paying for extra time.
So, What’s Your Best Next Step?
There are better tools out there, so break up with traditional solutions for time spent on tasks, projects, and other deliverables. Take time-tracking software as an example. You should definitely look into this option if you have the available space and technical requirements, as it can provide insight into your middle office operations. The recruitment edition helps you manage your workforce and clients, automating the jobs you dislike, such as email invoices. You can track time on a desktop or on the move so that time clocks can be added anywhere. The timesheets can be approved by managers, internal admin groups, or both.
Time tracking offers tax benefits. For example, you’re eligible for various benefits that can increase your profits and enable you to pay less income tax. If your business relies on professional contractors to thrive, they can fill their expense claims using the time tracking software, which then undergoes an approval process. Understanding tax codes are an integral part of managing payroll. With time tracking software, you can accommodate different tax codes, rechargeable (or reimbursable expenses), etc., and calculate the number of driving miles based on postcode entry.
Time tracking software is dedicated software designed to help you log, store, and analyze work time. Attention must be paid to the fact that such systems provide additional perks, such as having digital signatures on automatically generated documents. You can export reports to accounting software such as Xero or QuickBooks, which simplifies the distribution of invoices to the right billing contract. Equally, exporting data to a PDF is an excellent solution if you want to offer clients proof of the work you’ve accomplished so far. Proactive communication about what you’re doing is paramount to an ongoing positive relationship.
When You Have Time Tracking Software, You Understand Everything Going on In Your Business
Tracking time isn’t necessarily about tracking productivity but about making smart business decisions. Not only can you benchmark but also forecast. Time tracking pinpoints what tasks take up too much time and enables managers to achieve the highest possible expected return while working on a project. You can export the data formatted specifically for your needs for your payroll system. Even if you don’t bill hourly, time tracking is still of the essence. Every project comprises a certain number of hours, representing a cost. If you want your recruitment agency to stay afloat, ensure the total price you’re charging is greater than the cost of completing the project.
To summarize, time tracking measures how you work, struggle, and misuse time. If you have an idea of what people are working on, you can identify overtime and compensate accordingly. Conversely, you can take corrective measures if employees cheat the time clock. With time-tracking software, you don’t solve just one problem but build a window into your business.
