Digital time recording in the home office: overview instead of observation
Use modern software solutions for home office time recording for targeted planning
Working from home: frowned upon by many, long established by some and currently demanded by all. Surveys have shown that up to 70 percent of employees in Germany will have worked in a home office for the first time in spring 2020 - new territory for many companies and employees. How can effective time management and targeted staff scheduling work if suddenly everyone is sitting in their own four walls instead of in an (open-plan) office? How do both HR managers and employees keep track of office days, home office times and holiday planning? And how does it all work without giving the feeling of constant control and accountability? - Web-based software solutions for digital time recording such as prime WebTime from primion, combined with transparent internal corporate communication, provide a promising answer.
Location-independent home office time recording with user-friendly software
For the employer, home office workplaces mean more than just providing the technical equipment. A rethink, away from the classic time clock mentality towards a corporate culture based on trust and loyalty, is also necessary. Digital time recording creates a stable framework - for both sides. Finally, work in the home office must also be well organised. Intelligent and individually configurable software solutions such as prime WebTime are easy to use and ideally reflect what employers need. Home office days planned in advance and absences due to illness can be displayed as well as detailed working time bookings.
Digital time recording in the home office is done either via the web application or via the mobile web app. The overview table shows employers at any time which employees are in the office or working from home at which times and makes all attendances traceable in the long term. Home office days can be planned and approved in advance with prime WebTime. If additional days are requested, the employee receives notification that the permitted number has been exceeded, thanks to the digital time recording software. Digital time recording with prime WebTime can be optimally integrated thanks to numerous interfaces and is compatible with common wage and salary programmes such as DATEV or SAP. The HR department can evaluate the recorded data in different file formats at any time - for example, for precise hourly accounting.
Working time protection even in the home office - thanks to digital time recording
What many people do not know: Until now, there was no legal employee entitlement to home office - unless the employment contract or company agreements contained supplementary regulations. In Germany, the Covid Occupational Health and Safety Ordinance of the German government now obliges companies - for the time being until 31 April 2021 - to allow home office, provided there are no compelling reasons against it. It remains to be seen what will happen after that and whether the pandemic will contribute to home office workplaces becoming the order of the day in future.
One thing, however, still applies - also to home office time recording: the German Working Hours or Working Time Protection Act (ArbZG). Employees are not allowed to exceed their working hours of eight hours a day or 48 hours a week, breaks excluded. These times and all times in excess of these must be documented. Thanks to digital time recording via prime WebTime and the complete booking of all times and absences, it is much easier for employers and employees to comply with the working time protection regulations. For example, overtime can be clearly recorded and compensated for by requested days off. Those who explain this meaning behind digital time recording to their employees automatically dispel the prejudice of performance control. In addition, recorded times and presences in the office are an important planning tool - for calculation and quotation preparation as well as for internal meetings and joint customer appointments, for example.
The new territory of the home office, including evaluable and user-friendly digital time recording, definitely works: with a corporate culture based on trust, communication at eye level and the necessary equipment and solutions for home office time recording that can be ideally integrated into the workflow.
