TL;DR: You need more than GPS tracking. Learn about the ultimate way to ensure your employees are at the job site when clocking in.

Your employees are in the field covering jobs every day and night - or are they? That lingering doubt gnaws at you constantly. When will the call come from your customer that your employee didn’t show up?

Supervisors can’t be everywhere, and you wonder if a GPS employee time clock app is the answer. GPS is excellent for road trips when your phone is plugged in, but what happens when tracking employees?

Phone batteries die...

Tracks are bad at times…

Employees leave while on the clock…

Or clock in from the parking lot and take naps

And employees voice concerns about privacy.

Don’t give up on GPS just yet.

You need help with daily operational issues. You need to know if employees are clocking in at the job, if they left the job, or if they’re at home when they clock out. Employee time theft can crush your business.

To trust GPS as a tool for managing employees effectively, let’s get a better understanding of how GPS works, factors that affect its results, and privacy issues. Finally, we’ll discuss a complementary technology that gives you 100% confidence that your jobs are covered. But first…

GPS is a system of more than 30 global satellites that orbit the Earth and send signals with their position and time. Your phone has a GPS receiver that listens for these signals and must have at least four satellite signals to track your location, but there’s more to factor in.

The government broadcasts signals at 95% accuracy, so from the start, we can’t expect 100% accuracy. Additionally, a few other factors influence GPS results for time-tracking apps.

The environment- tall buildings form “urban canyons” that cause signals to bounce. Bad weather, large bodies of water (including the human body), and the sun’s magnetic field can result in poor-quality GPS tracks.

Other phone apps- listening to music or podcasts while they work? Other apps fight for network bandwidth and processing power. Even when not in use, background processing impacts a phone's GPS ability to connect to the network.

Phone settings- besides location settings, airplane mode, and battery saving affect GPS quality. Of course, low battery affects good GPS reads.

Phone quality- simply stated, we can’t expect a $39 Android to perform like a $1200 iPhone.

It's important to note the privacy concerns in this matter. While you hold the liability for your employees' actions and whereabouts during their work hours, they may feel uneasy about being tracked. However, in most cases, employees prefer precise time reporting, and the use of a GPS app accompanied by clear policies and open communication achieves everyone’s goals.

Should you abandon GPS time-tracking apps due to a few issues?

Of course not.

On the other hand, would you like the perfect tool to answer your most important questions – are my employees at the job site when they clock in, and do they leave the site while on the clock?

This solution integrates proprietary GPS logic that minimizes battery drainage, data usage, and filters out irrelevant information. In combination with another technology, it provides you with...

TimeTiles™ clock-in stations by Chronotek Pro are durable, tamper-proof, 2inx2in PVC tiles with a self-contained antenna. Peel off the back and stick the tile to the wall at the location. Employees use the Pro app to clock in and out, and tap their phones on the TimeTiles™, much like how a shopper pays for groceries.

Can you trust a GPS employee time-tracking app?

Yes! You can trust Chronotek's proprietary combination approach to location tracking.

(Note: TimeTiles can be used without GPS too.)

For 100% confidence that your employees are on-site, give us a call.

855-434-0864

Or book a Zoom call.

More about the new Chronotek Pro platform:

Take a peek at our new platform, Chronotek Pro.