Home office, flexible working arrangements, or on-site working: Regardless of how your company is organized, you are required to reliably record your employees' working hours and rest periods. How can you successfully implement working time management software? And how can you ensure that your employees accept the new tool? Modern time management software is indispensable today for accurately documenting working hours in accordance with applicable regulations.
What does working time management involve, and how do you record activities?
Working time management ensures that your employees' working hours are recorded correctly. This includes, among other things:
the working time model (daily or hourly flat rate)
the calculation of overtime
daily and weekly rest periods
the maximum working time
absences
The recording of activities also includes the assignment of tasks to individual persons or teams.
Why is working time management so important?
Compliance with legal requirements
In Switzerland, the provisions of the Labour Act (EmpA) apply. These include:
at least 11 hours of daily rest time (Art. 15a of the Labour Act (EmpA))
breaks depending on the duration of work: at least 15 minutes for more than 5.5 hours, 30 minutes for more than 7 hours, and 1 hour for more than 9 hours of work (Art. 15 of the Labour Act (EmpA))
a maximum weekly working time of 45 or 50 hours, depending on the industry and function (Art. 9 of the Labour Act (EmpA))
In the event of an inspection or in the event of disputes, employers can thus provide clear and verifiable evidence at any time.
Reliable database
Your HR team works with accurate information that is available at all times. This simplifies processes, reduces errors, and ensures that payroll accounting is carried out correctly.
Increased productivity
Digital processes avoid duplicate entries, ambiguities, and time-consuming queries. This reduces the workload for HR, managers, and employees.
Better organization
With legally compliant work schedules, a clear overview of overtime, and complete HR reporting, managers can make informed decisions and plan projects more realistically. This has a positive effect on the entire company.
How do you successfully implement working time management software?
Would you like to make working time tracking in your company more efficient? Then it's worth taking a look at the typical stumbling blocks and how you can avoid them.
Challenges when introducing working time management software
Are you unsure which software is best suited to your company? Choose a solution that is reliable, secure, and clear. Also, consider whether you want to primarily record working hours or also map project-related activities.
Are you wondering whether the introduction will take too much time? Then intuitive software that is quick and easy to use is essential. Working time tracking should be a relief, not an additional task.
Are your employees concerned about being monitored more closely? Communicate openly: the goal is not surveillance, but transparency and fairness. This also includes respecting rest periods and vacations.
How can you ensure that the software meets the needs of your company?
Working time management only works well if employees actively participate, because they record their own hours. So involve them early on, for example through short surveys, workshops, or test phases. This will help you quickly identify which features are particularly important.
What options are available for managing working hours and activities?
Do you prefer a manual or automated solution? The effort involved varies significantly depending on the approach.
Spreadsheets
Tools such as Excel allow you to create your own timesheets. You define the layout and calculations, and then employees record their working hours, breaks, and absences themselves. The program automatically calculates working hours, overtime, and absences.
Specialized software
Working time management software digitizes the recording of working hours and makes it easier to calculate overtime. The advantages are:
noticeable time savings for HR, managers, and employees
high data quality and fewer sources of error
secure and centrally available information
simple, fast approvals by managers
automatic notifications when legal requirements are exceeded
seamless export to your payroll software
You can choose from various timesheet templates and adapt them to your company. And what about employees in the field? They can record their hours in real time via a virtual time clock, regardless of their location.
All companies—regardless of size—benefit from professional working time management. Communication and the active involvement of your employees are crucial for a successful implementation.
How do you calculate the ROI of your working time management software?
Working time management software should be worthwhile for your company. The return on investment (ROI) is usually determined by the following factors:
Administrative relief: Fewer manual steps such as approvals or absence monitoring.
Fewer errors: Automated calculations reduce conflicts and costly corrections.
Higher productivity: Managers identify time-consuming activities and plan more efficiently.
Legal compliance: Consistent compliance with legal requirements regarding time tracking.
Higher satisfaction: An intuitive solution strengthens the trust of your employees.
The ROI is calculated based on the ratio between the savings and efficiency gains achieved and the costs of the software and its implementation.
Why is it worth optimizing working time management?
Modern working time management is not just about control. It is a strategic tool for making sensible use of resources and increasing the overall performance of your company.
How do you support your employees in organizing their working time?
Good working time management benefits not only the company, but also the employees. Five concrete measures:
Use software wisely: A clear tool provides a clear overview of working hours, absences, and breaks.
Promote good work organization: Training courses on prioritization and time management help to reduce stress.
Enable flexibility: Working from home or flexible working hours support individual work rhythms.
Define clear goals: Precise tasks and deadlines make prioritization easier.
Encourage breaks: Regular breaks increase concentration and prevent fatigue.
Five methods for better personal working time management
These methods help your employees to structure their working time more effectively.
Use software for working time management
Tools such as Lucca's working time management enable real-time tracking of tasks and working hours, including reminders, planning functions, and evaluations.
The Pomodoro method
Work concentrated for 25 minutes, then take a 5-minute break. After four cycles, take a longer break. This promotes focus and prevents mental fatigue.
The Eisenhower Matrix
Tasks are divided into four categories:
urgent and important → do immediately
important but not urgent → plan
urgent but not important → delegate
neither urgent nor important → delete
Getting Things Done (GTD)
The method is based on five steps:
collect
decide
organize
review regularly
act
Timeboxing
A fixed time slot is defined for each task and consistently adhered to. The method comprises four steps:
determine tasks
set time slots
use a timer
stop as soon as the time slot ends, even if the task is not yet complete
Conclusion
Well-organized working time management increases productivity, reduces errors, and ensures that legal requirements are met. Accurate recording also supports clear work organization, prevents unnecessary overtime, and increases employee satisfaction.
Working time management software makes it easier to record working hours and relieves you of numerous administrative tasks. At the same time, prioritization methods help your employees organize their working day clearly and tackle important tasks in a targeted manner.
Whether it's saving time, making better use of existing resources, or complying with legal requirements, efficient working time management brings your company tangible added value in every respect.
