Deciding on what type of workforce management software to use can be a difficult task. There are many different types of workforce management software each with different functionalities. The type of time and attendance software a business uses depends on the characteristics of the business itself. A small business of less than 20 people will not want to implement a large scale time and attendance software solution that is designed for large companies. Equally, a large company will not benefit from a light workforce management software solution that is designed for self employed persons and individual operators.

Of course this is an obvious decision on the part of the company implementing the workforce management software but there are several other factors in choosing time and attendance software that can be easily overlooked. One factor that can be easily missed even though it is the most apparent feature of a workforce management software solution is the user interface. Because it is so readily apparent it can be hard to see the woods from the trees. The user interface can often be seen as a functional element that needs no consideration other than whether or not it allows users to carry out the required tasks.

But consider the difference between a grey, indecipherable user interface that simply lists files and folders ambiguously and a clean clear interface that uses colour coordinated icons to make finding what you are looking for quick and simple. If each of a company’s employees is spending fifteen minutes every morning trawling through a muddy UI compared to five minutes for the intuitive UI it’s a small difference that quickly adds up. For a company of just fifty people that adds up to a difference of more than forty man hours per week. That’s like adding an extra employee just to account for a poor time recording software user interface.

Another factor to consider in the implementation of time and attendance software is the distribution of work back to employees. There are many small and time consuming tasks that can consume the entire time of a HR staff member. These are things like confirming attendance, registering leave requests and informing employees of their remaining holiday entitlements. A good time recording software solution will enable employees to take care of these kinds of tasks themselves. When this information is centrally stored there is no reason why HR staff should be tasked with retrieving this information when employees can access it themselves much more easily.

Another feature of workforce management systems that should be standard by now but isn’t, is mobile functionality. Since many employees work from remote offices, from home and as they travel employers need to know that these employees are actually working even though they are away from the main office. Good workforce management software should have functionality for remote and mobile devices such as laptops and smart phones, allowing employees to clock in via the internet. Many workforce management software platforms have specially designed apps for iPhones and Android devices that allow employees to clock in as they travel.