The construction industry is facing one of the biggest worker shortages in history. According to the Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC), the construction industry will need to attract an estimated 546,000 additional workers ON TOP of the normal pace of hiring in 2023 to meet the demand for labor. ABC reported that the construction industry averaged more than 390,000 job openings per month in 2022, the highest level on record. Couple that with historically low unemployment rates and the construction industry is facing a seriously steep climb to find and hire enough workers to meet consumer demand. Beyond shoring up hiring and retention practices, construction companies can also combat worker shortages by becoming as efficient as possible.
Time tracking is the perfect area to streamline and simplify. Labor costs are the biggest factor when estimating and bidding on projects and when you can better understand and control those costs, you make the most out of your manpower, saving you money.
There are three ways to streamline your time tracking:
- Get a better time clock.
- Automatically upload data to payroll.
- Use stored data to make future decisions.
Get a Better Time Clock
Accurate job costing begins and ends with accurate data. And you don’t get accurate data with clunky time clocks or paper time sheets. A digital time tracking system precisely records each hour and minute your employees work. There are no times to remember at the end of the week and no way for employees to fudge or pad their time sheets. Digital time tracking works via an app employees download onto their personal devices, a rugged time clock or kiosk mode, where all employees clock in and out on one device. Supervisors are also able to clock in individual employees or teams. In an app like ExakTime’s workers simply clock in by pressing the green “Go” button and clock out by pressing the red “Stop” button. Photo ID features provide security for personal device users by requiring a photo of the user to be uploaded when he or she clocks in or out.
A digital time clock always records accurate data. The errors that could sink your labor costs, like transposing numbers, not remembering the right clock-in and clock-out times, and even time theft are eliminated. A great time clock is the key to gathering accurate data which construction companies can use to streamline payroll.
Automatically Upload Data to Payroll
Another way digital time tracking makes you more efficient is how the data is quickly uploaded to your payroll system, saving you valuable time. ExakTime integrates with top payroll systems like QuickBooks, ADP, ConstructionPayroll.com, Viewpoint, Foundation, Sage and Acumatica among many others. Data can be exported as frequently as needed by employee, job and cost code, helping you manage payroll and enabling you to further investigate where your labor costs are being spent.
What’s more, using a time tracking solution that integrates with your payroll system means payroll can be done faster, easier and more accurately. Digital time solutions ensure that manual data entry, typos and errors are a thing of the past. Your accounting staff also doesn’t have to wait on foremen to collect paper time cards at the end of the week. The data is automatically there and it’s always accurate.
Use Stored Data to Make Future Decisions
The data gleaned from mobile time tracking apps can give construction companies valuable insight into labor management. A time tracking app gives employers the ability to track worker clock-in, clock-out times, locations, cost codes and field notes via its reporting features. These features allow employers to see in real-time what is going on in the field. For example, if a project’s labor costs are skyrocketing, a report can quickly tell you who is working and how many hours. This type of data is invaluable when deciding how many work hours are required on a project. The data might show you need fewer workers than you originally thought.
The reporting features that come from a digital time clock not only allow construction companies and contractors to track productivity, but this data is also necessary for compliance. Nearly every US employer with wage workers—and some with non-exempt salaried employees—must comply with the Fair Labor Standards Act, which is the Department of Labor law covering minimum wage, overtime and payroll records. With clear and complete records of time worked, you can ensure that you are complying with FLSA standards—and you have documentation at your fingertips in the case of government audits.
The labor shortage doesn’t seem to be easing anytime soon. If you can’t hire enough workers, the next step is to make the workforce you already have more efficient. ExakTime can help. Our digital time tracking solutions, like our mobile app and rugged time clocks, empower construction companies in controlling their labor costs, making them more efficient.
See how it can revolutionize your time tracking process by scheduling a demo.
