When you think about a trendsetter in the music industry, a 79-year-old might not immediately come to mind. Yet, that’s exactly what Jackson Wan Kwong, known as 尹光 in Cantonese, proves to be. Just recently, he amazed the world by crossing the boundaries of conventional and digital, creating innovative melodies with an AI-generated voice, ‘Wan K.’ Despite being rooted in decades of tradition, Kwong’s approach towards music echoes the ethic – old does not mean outdated.
This sentiment stands true not just in the realm of music but extends to various areas of life. Just like Kwong’s innovative music creation, an old concept that has been continuously updated and refreshed with embracing technology is Time Attendance Systems. They’ve been around for quite some time, yet they are far from being obsolete – a testament that being seasoned doesn’t necessarily mean being out-of-date.
The Rich History of Time Attendance Systems
The concept of tracking time in the workplace is not new. In fact, the roots of the Time Attendance System dates back to the 19th century with the invention of the Bundy Clock by Willard Bundy. Those mechanical punch clocks matured over the years into timestamp machines used to keep track of the hours employees appeared at, and departed from, work.
Technology, always restless, continued to develop. By the late 20th century, digital systems using magnetic stripe cards became the new norm. Further updates saw time clocks evolving even more through biometrics and contactless technology.
But it didn’t stop there, the modern times ushered in even more advancements. Incorporating cloud computing and mobile technology, modern Time Attendance Systems have become more streamlined, digitized, and real-time, breaking away from the limitations of the past.
The Time Test: Thriving Relevance of Time Attendance Systems
The evolution alone doesn’t justify the continuous relevance of Time Attendance Systems. What keeps it pertinent is the real, tangible benefits organizations across the globe experience when incorporating such systems into their HR operations:
- Accurate Record Keeping: For companies of all sizes, maintaining an accurate record of hours worked is essential to ensure workers are paid fairly. With a Time Attendance System, businesses can eliminate guesswork and discrepancies.
- Enhanced Efficiency: The automation of time tracking reduces administrative labor and minimizes errors due to manual data entry. This enables HR personnel to invest their time in more valuable tasks.
- Ease of integrating with payroll systems: Modern time attendance systems can seamlessly integrate with payroll systems, facilitating automatic compensation calculation based on accurate, hard data.
- Valuable insights for strategic planning: Analyzing time-attendance data can aid in workforce planning, overtime cost management, and even predicting future staffing needs.
- Promotes Employee Accountability: Clear and accurate tracking of time and attendance promotes responsibility among employees and discourages tardiness or unauthorized absences.
Just as Jackson Wan Kwong continues to redefine his music at the age of 79, maintaining his relevance in the dynamic landscape of music, Time Attendance Systems have been continuously enhanced and serve as an indispensable tool in the modern corporate world.
With a longstanding presence and gradual enhancement over the decades, Time Attendance Systems prove that old concepts, like vintage wine, can grow to be more valuable and relevant as they age, especially when they adapt and roll with the advancements of technology. Clearly, old does not mean outdated.
About Clockgogo
A cloud-based time attendance management system aims to make time tracking more easy and effective. Powered by the patented 4-level verification technology, Clockgogo provides HR staff with a peace mind upon time card management.
Fake GPS, buddy punching, hefty hardware costs, clumsy installation will not be problems anymore. With flexible and user-friendly roster planning and reporting capabilities, calculation of work hour, overtime and other time attendance results is just a click away.
Time card and time attendance results can also be retrieved through API for third-party HCM / HRIS / HRMS / HR system integration (e.g. Workday, Peoplesoft etc.).
Since its launch back in 2016, Clockgogo has already processed more than tens of millions faces and is widely adopted among global brands.