What exactly is Time Theft?
Time theft states when employers are billed by employees for the time when they were not active.
Time theft can be set in:
- Starting late
- Finishing early
- Taking long breaks
- Timesheets rounding
- Overtime that is not authorized
- Deep socializing
- Involvement in Personal activities
- Attendance in proxy
How to put a stop to time theft?
Clear Expectations and Policies should be setup
Employees might now be aware that they are doing time theft so job expectations and policies should be set from the start.
The policies should state this as a big deal.
- The policies should include:
- Rules regarding overtime
- Personal tasks permission
- Employee socializing acceptance
- Accurate time tracking
- Rules specific to time theft and the consequences regarding breaking the rules
Communicative, not combative
It’s not particularly theft if an employee is calling his loved one or paying some bills and taking some minutes. However, if the time is exceeding to several hours then it is a problem.
When it comes to solving or addressing communicate with the employees rather than taking some combative action.
This approach is best in a long run as morale and relationship with the employees would not be destroyed and trust will be maintained.
Employees’ Interest should be kept first
An employee experience should be enriched by doing outings, providing some free meals and snacks. This will surely help in the situation.
Tracking Time
Activity-based software and products will help in efficient employee tracking.
Employee monitoring software can surely evaluate the employees who are going through or browsing their social media handles and using it for a hefty amount of time.
Time Theft can be done by employer too
Transparency should be in both ways
If an employee is working extra hard and it’s staying late or arrive early employer is bound to pay the employee extra.
When this overtime is unpaid it constitutes time theft and it can cause some legal trouble for the employer.
Usage of Time and Attendance Software
The best time and attendance software should have:
- User-friendly interface
- Tracking of productivity
- Attendance and activity purely based on time
- Usage of website and various apps
- Screenshot feature
- Tracking of task and progress
- Automation feature
- Data Transparency
Work Examiner is one of the several products in the market that is used in several offices and organizations for efficient tracking and monitoring of their employees.