How to Choose the Right Employee Time Tracking Software?

Running a business is challenging, especially when you are growing your company and expanding your team. As the need for employee time tracking software to gain popularity, it is becoming more apparent for organizations to ensure the overall performance, security, and health of their business.

This is why it is important to consider implementing an employee time tracking software to keep your team organized and ensure that each task is getting the prioritization and attention that it deserves. Statistics indicate that companies that use time tracking software to monitor their employees boost their productivity by 30% within the first month.

Unfortunately, there are so many types of employee monitoring programs that picking the right one for your business can be relatively tricky. Before you spend loads of time and financial resources vetting software companies, here are five essential steps you need to take to find the most appropriate employee time tracking software for your operations.

Steps to Choose Right Employee Time Tracking Software

1. Determine Your Goals

The initial step in choosing the right employee time tracking software is to decide what you want from it. There is no one-size-fits-all solution for employee monitoring programs, which is why you should review your current processes and determine the areas for potential improvement.

Every time tracking software package has trade-offs, and you might need multiple solutions from different developers to meet your requirements. Moreover, it would be best if you prioritize your organizational needs by identifying the features you would like to have, and you essentially must-have.

Talk to other professionals in your field and find out the employee time tracking software they are using to monitor workers. Attending trade shows and reading articles can also help you understand how the market is changing and the software you might need to adapt to changes.

2. Evaluate Feature Functionalities

Other than that, you must also be able to measure each software’s functionality to ensure that it can meet workplace privacy and employee monitoring needs. Consider asking for a free trial period so you can properly test and evaluate each feature’s effectiveness.

During your trial, assess the test efficiency, quality, depth, and intuitiveness of each feature against your requirements. Evaluating the functionality element of each feature will help you close the technology gap and make the system function well when monitoring employees at work.

Add-ons might be useful, especially if you are looking to expand the software’s functionality. So, consider how they will impact your employee time tracking software budget before purchase.

Know how does employee time tracking software work

3. Consider Pricing

Price is not a huge consideration when choosing an employee training software unless it is out of line with the market. Nevertheless, you must take into account the accessibility of the price and the opportunities of lowering its barrier entry into your workflows.

The cost of employee monitoring applications typically varies significantly depending on the number of licenses required and included features. It is ideal for creating a budget to have a spending plan when choosing the right piece of employee monitoring software.

A software budget ensures that you will always have enough financial resources for other essential things your business needs. Having a spending plan will also keep your organization free from financial burden.

4. Create a Shortlist

Employee monitoring applications are not cut from the same cloth, so you should create a list and compare top 20 employee monitoring software tools. Research and identify a list of software vendors that provide the software and services you need.

Ask for references of customers who have had similar requirements and check online reviews to see what previous clients are saying about their products. Checking their customer service is also a must since it can help you determine the overall quality of the employee tracking software.

You’ll also want to consider their track record for tech support in case you ever run into an issue that requires professional help. A responsive software provider is advantageous, especially if you are running a tight ship and have no dedicated IT department.

5. Make a Decision

Decide on precisely what you need, including possible training, maintenance contract, and several software copies once you have determined the package that fits your requirements. Ask for a quote and negotiate professionally to get the best value for your budget.

Once you have your made decision, you need to communicate it to everyone affected in an engaging and inspiring way. Usually, implementing an employee time tracking software may raise an eyebrow or two within your working environment.

Get your employees involved in implementing the solution by discussing how and why you arrived at your decision. The more information you can provide about the project benefits and the risks, the more likely your employees will be to understand your decision.

6. How you work and what devices you use

Employee time tracking software are created with specific uses in mind. Some are made for Windows, some for Mac, Android, or iOS. And you must acknowledge them concerning how your style of work is.

If your position requires you to frequently be away from the office, you’ll require an app made for iOS and Android. If your work requires you to be always at the office, a robust Windows or Mac app will be more suited for you. If you’re a freelancer, who charges by the hour, you’ll need a proper work hours tracker, so you can monitor your billable hours.

7. Ease of use

A basic requirement for any time tracking software is that it should be easy to use. The principal purpose of time tracking software is to save time by keeping track of it, and that can’t be done if you are required to spend a long time learning to handle the software and its features.

The ideal time tracking software will have the fundamentals prominently placed and additional features less outstanding. Any of the features should not need more than a couple of clicks to function.

8. Your Workflow

You should keep your team’s workflow in mind and choose a time tracking software that compliments it. Does your team use project management software like Trello and Asana? Are you a developer that uses tools like JIRA and Gitlab to manage your projects? Do you utilize business and productivity tools to help optimize your business processes?

Then look for time-tracking software that integrates with the tools your team uses regularly. Desklog has integrations with Trello, Asana, JIRA, and Gitlab to make it easier for your team.

9. Devices you use

Certain time tracking software could be designed for specific platforms. Some are designed for Windows, others for iOS, Android, or Mac, and you must evaluate them according to your work. If your job requires you to be traveling frequently, you’ll need an easy-to-use iOS or Android app. If you work in an office, a robust Windows or Mac app with advanced functionalities may be more beneficial.

10. Number of Employees

Tracking software will need to be more flexible for companies with a large number of employees. This applies to reporting, arriving times, working hours, shifts, and other factors. Different regulations will have to be set for different teams.

Smaller teams can usually function properly with regular time tracking software, but they may still need a mobile app, good data security, and effective reporting features.

Desklog is the right time tracking app for your team?

Desklog is a feature-rich and easy-to-use employee time tracking feature. It is equally suited for tracking working from the office, home, or freelance. Desklog boosts your team’s productivity and provides practical project tracking, reporting, automated screenshots, time tracking, and much more with its advanced features.

Automatic Screenshots

Direct view of employee activities during work hours

Offline Time Tracking

Track the productive time consumed away from the workstation

Productivity Report

Accurate productivity reporting to obtain the correct productivity insights.

Document Title Tracking

See document titles, email subject lines, chat group names, etc… on which your employees are spending their work hours.

Attendance Management

Administer employee logins, logouts, and all attendance-related pursuits.

Finding the Right Software

There are hundreds of employee tracking programs available, and they come in a plethora of technologies and configurations. By following the tips to choose the right employee tracking software, you can avail the best one for your business and manage employees, increase productivity, and achieve higher returns on investment.

Desklog is a dynamic employee time tracking software that helps boost productivity by monitoring the real-time productivity of business teams. It offers three pricing packages, including the Desklog Lite, Desklog Pro, and a 40-day free trial.

Downlaod Desklog for Windows, Mac and Linux

Some Common Faqs

How does employee time tracking software work?

The employee time tracking software works by analyzing the overall productivity of the team using a set of advanced features to track the real time performance.

6. How to monitor the employees working remotely?

With an effective remote employee tracking software you can track and monitor your remote team and improve the overall productivity regardless of the place they are at.

What are the features of an employee time tracking software?

Features of time tracking software include attendance management, productive time tracking, app time tracking, screen monitoring with automated screenshots etc.

Is it possible to maintain the workflow of the team while working remotely?

Yes, you can maintain the workflow of your remote team by continuously monitoring their work progress using an employee monitoring software.