Manual mistake: New survey proves the need for automated time & attendance

A new survey by workforce management solutions specialist CyberShift and the American Payroll Association (APA) on employee time-entry management finds continued usage of relatively antiquated methods of recording time—e.g., manually recording employee hours on paper-based forms or Excel spreadsheets—a practice that results in plenty of errors.
Nearly 20 percent of those surveyed say they’ve experienced errors in a typical payroll cycle.
“These responses highlight the importance of up-to-date workforce management practices and systems to improve business processes and productivity for American businesses,” says APA Executive Director Dan Maddux.
According to APA, through the payroll withholding system, wage earners and payroll professionals contribute, collect, report, and deposit approximately $1.7 trillion—or 64.2 percent—of the annual revenue of the U.S. Treasury.
Says CyberShift CEO Robert Farina, “These results validate that many companies have an opportunity to better manage their time and attendance processes by adopting automated workforce software, eliminating human errors, and increasing staff productivity.
More than 1,500 payroll professionals from companies ranging in size from less than 500 employees to more than 10,000 employees completed the APA-CyberShift online survey which ran from June 3, 2008 through June 17, 2008. Administered by the APA, a diverse mix of payroll and financial professionals such as treasurers, controllers, vice presidents, directors and managers provided responses.
The APA conducts regular surveys focused on industry trends, products, and processes that gauge the opinions and concerns of payroll professionals. Response to the June 2008 APA-CyberShift survey was one of the highest in two years, according to the APA.

Do you have experience and expertise with the topics mentioned in this content? You should consider contributing to our WTWH Media editorial team and getting the recognition you and your company deserve. Click here to start this process.