The Evolution of Time Tracking

Time is money, someone once said. 

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In the business world, losing time means losing money, getting beat by the competition, and being left in the dust by the new and innovative ways of doing what you do. 

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That’s why time tracking plays an important role in every company.

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It’s true, people have always been fascinated by time - what they can do with it and what it can do for them. 

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The first people tracked the sun, the moon, and the sea to determine parts of the day, to know the season, what predators would emerge, or what to plant next. Time meant life and death for them as much as it now means financial stability for us. 

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These days, ‍working from home is more productive for many, but how did we arrive here?

The Start of Time Tracking

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The oldest record of tracking time for completing working responsibilities dates back to 1772 BC and The Code of Hammurabi with the first reference to wages. 

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Source: history.com

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Ever since then, organized governments have tried to control their economics - admittedly, with varying success - by measuring the time needed to complete a task and determining the level of compensation accordingly. 

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Throughout history, there have been numerous ways to keep track of working hours - sundials, hourglasses, punching tablets, pendula, and even the size of the food portion dealt at the end of the shift. 

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Having that in mind, today’s time tracking software is as simple as they get, right?

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The Automation of Time Trackers

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In more recent history, 1888 is the year most frequently referenced for the invention of the first time clock by IBM, which was used to measure the time necessary for completing a working activity. 

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Source: Wikimedia

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It was recorded manually by punching or stamping a card that corresponded to an employee at specific times. However, this is far from a fully automated system like we have today, as it required human interaction and the manual input of information. 

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In this sense, the time tracker has seen much improvement since then. 

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Modern Time Trackers

While manual tracking systems still exist and are used in some parts of the world, a whole industry has evolved from the need to overcome the unique challenges pertaining to timekeeping in the digital age. 

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The biggest push in improving time-clocking solutions was the result of industrialization and the introduction of the self-calculating machine - very simple in concept, yet extremely effective in producing results. 

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The evolution of time tracking has thus witnessed several huge transformations, going from manual punch cards to digital software. 

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Thanks to this invention, time tracking has been made easier as it basically totals up all the time spent on work throughout the week for quick - automatic - processing and easier wage calculation. 

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In the twentieth century, business owners and managers have also used paper timesheets to keep track of employee attendance, until the introduction of RFID cards for tracking time employees were spending at work, as well as their location and movements during working hours. This was also a good security measure at the time, as it prevented workers from entering the areas they didn’t have access to. 

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Source: Wikimedia

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It was the predecessor of modern remote time tracking software as supervisors were able to monitor employee activities closely from their offices via detailed reports of workers’ check-in and check-out times, and movements on the premises. It represented state-of-the-art technology that couldn’t be tricked. 

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Software Time Trackers

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It wasn’t long before mechanical time trackers were replaced with software where human involvement in the calculation process morphed into an overseeing and decision-making one. 

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Modern web-based time tracking software solutions are often programs installed on a piece of equipment - PC, tablet, smartphone - that record not only employee clock-ins and outs, but also what they are working on during office hours, for how long, with what intensity, where, etc. 

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Moreover, these tools allow managers to distinguish between productive and unproductive employee activities. They can label websites and apps that are or will be used by the employee as productive, unproductive, and neutral, and thus acquire insights relevant to each employee and their scope of duties from this desktop time tracking software. 

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Managers can be alerted by the tool about long periods of inactive or unproductive time or unprofessional worker behavior (like visiting websites unsuitable for the professional environment). 

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A Modern Time Tracking Powerhouse: ‍Insightful

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Insightful makes working from home more productive, and much more besides.

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Works for Businesses of All Sizes

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The workforce analytics software is easily scalable and can be used in small and mid-sized businesses as well as in large enterprises. What’s more, corporations can leverage it to improve their operations and streamline efficiency across the board. 

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Protects your Data

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Furthermore, all the information gathered by Insightful is secure since it’s stored either on the customer’s premises or on Google’s secure servers and accessible only to the company’s authorized staff members. This makes it easily and conveniently controllable.

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Billing Accurately

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In this regard, time tracking and billing software combine the two biggest needs for this type of tool. Especially useful for paying freelancers, but not excluding full and part-time employees, tools with this function provide an easy and precise way to financially compensate workers in accordance with their productivity.. 

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Additionally, some solutions have the option to limit the hours freelance employees, for instance, can work on a project. This, in turn, allows the employer to stay within the budget and pay the workers appropriately. 

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In some industries, however, it’s not applicable to use desktop time tracking software to monitor employees if their working duties don’t hinge on the constant use of digital devices. This is why some solutions have a GPS tracking option so the employers can be sure their staff in the field is where they should be during working hours. 

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Remote vs Office Productivity

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Leaping further ahead into the future, Insightful now offers users the ability to track productivity levels in a remote vs office context.

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What this means is team leaders can compare and contrast performance levels based on where team members are working. This can provide valuable data regarding how to improve productivity as a team, and where individuals work best.

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In the remote work age, you need to be on top of workforce productivity whether they work from home, in the office, or a combination of the two.

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Tracking Through Time

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While the means of tracking employees in the workplace have changed over time, the need for it hasn’t. 

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Even now, when companies are moving back and forth between working in the office and remotely, the necessity for properly monitoring employee activities is present. 

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That’s why it’s important to find the best employee time clock software for your needs - that corresponds to your industry requirements and is able to solve your unique problems.