3 Features HRMS Users Want from Their Attendance Module

Many of the top HRMS solutions on the market today include an attendance management module; it’s a natural fit from a business perspective and an overall systems viewpoint. While many products offer a variety of features, let’s look at HRMS users’ top wishes for the HRMS attendance module user experience.

1) Employees: Keep it Simple

For an employee, attendance tracking is an administrative task, and it should be as quick and easy as possible to perform. Whether you implement basic attendance tracking or incorporate complex rules and logic to regulate attendance requests, the system needs to be user friendly. For example, I’ve seen loosely configured attendance modules that require employees to note company holidays, such as Independence Day, themselves, even though the product offered the option to globally maintain holidays.

On the flip side, I’ve seen robust product configurations that are smart enough to help employees make smart attendance decisions, such as systems incorporating rules stating that only a certain number of half days can be taken in succession. You don’t want an employee to have to search for the HR policy on such issues. Let the system take the lead, and build in the rules to help your employees easily get to these details.

Recommended Reading: HRMS Software Guide - Find software with an HRMS attendance module

2) HR: Spot the Trends

Attendance becomes an HR issue when something starts to go off the rails. Don’t just use your HRMS attendance module as an “after-the-fact” log; you can also use it for analysis and forward planning. Do you have departments in which employees don’t seem to take time off in the same patterns as other departments? They could be overworked and under stress... or they could be motivated and in love with their work. Has a previously high-performing department suddenly suffered an influx of days off? Could a problematic manager in that department be affecting performance? HR needs to address such issues quickly; the HRMS and it's available reports are vital in highlighting them and providing guidance.

3) Time and Attendance Administrators: Exceptions

Administrators control the daily operational aspects of reviewing and approving time data. While most employees will fall within normal guidelines and require little attention, the exceptions require more visibility. An attendance administrator needs quick and easy visibility, such as via a dashboard or reports of outliers that need additional attention. In addition to such tools, administrators should have access to extra detailed information. Drilldowns or linkages are necessary. Administrators can’t be expected to jump around in the system to locate an employee’s supervisor or work location - that leads to wasted time and effort.