August 19, 2010: Initial Query posted to both PUBLIB and OPLNI discussion lists.

Hello All:

I am interested in makes/models of time clocks for a staff of about 20. Any type you would recommend? Thanks in advance.

Susan

Second query: Does any rural library with a staff of 20 use time clocks. If so, what types do you use? Do you have a union workforce?

Responses (Names withheld):

· I think this product is pretty cool. Integrates with common payroll programs. Inexpensive. http://www.bioelectronix.com/biometric_tc_100_info.html

· Personal responsibility and use of library's clocks, computers, or cell phones as source for employees to record their own times. (Not sure what this meant)

· I recommend a time clock software package called Virtual Time Clock by Redcort. http://www.redcort.com/timeclock. If you have a computer you can load it on, it sure makes time cards easy and it does the math for you.

· We have a time clock at our library. I like it very much. We have 17 employees. This is the web site you can visit. http://www.qqest.com/

· No, but we should! I would love to see some responses.

· We are mostly considered rural since were in Appalachia, and we do not use time clocks, good old paper and pen time sheets, and we are not union. There are about 42 employees at 6 locations a majority of them part-time. They considered getting an electronic time clock but decided not to due to budget reduction and more inconvenience then the time sheets are.

· We use Time Card WebXpress and currently have 22 employees. We are charged per month based on the number of staff we have. It is very easy to use and is web-based. We are non-union however we follow the 7/8 rule set forth by FSLA. (An employee who clocks in 7 minutes after the hour will still be considered on time. An employee who clocks in at 8 minutes past the hour will have their time rounded to the nearest quarter hour. Employees who clock out 8 minutes past their designated schedule will have their time rounded to the nearest quarter hour.)

· We are a rural library with a staff of 14. We have used a time clock for years. We are not unionized. The one we have by Lathem has been around for around 20 years with few problems. The only thing I don't like is that I wish it broke the hour into hundredths instead of sixty minutes. It makes payroll a bit longer.

· After evaluating several products, the library has recently started using a product called TimeClock Plus (www.timeclockplus.com). It seems to be meeting their needs. FWIW, the software appears to be fairly robust. There also appears to be a hardware clock in/out device that can be used. The library is using a Windows-based software-only solution, however. Hope this helps! Oh yeah, forgot to say that our staff is less than 20 and our area is pretty darn rural. As for union representation - we have NO union. Even the teachers are NOT represented by a union.

· We have a workforce of 18 that punch a clock. We use ArcoPrint's Attendance Rx software on a communal PC.

· Our library (really rural) has been very pleased with webtimeclock.com. We are not union.

· Our library uses a time clock and has for about 10 years. There are 23 staff members; no union. It is a Pyramid 4000. When it was implemented, there were a few staff members who consistently were not getting to work on time and the time spent on their lunch breaks was being questioned. The Director at the time felt that a time clock would be the best solution. Those employees are still with the library and have adapted to the time clock well.

Then, in September, I again queried the OPLIN list:

I have received so many responses regarding time clocks. To be perfectly honest, I am surprised at how many are using time clocks. I'd like to hear from the rural staff that has to "clock in". Has this procedure always been in your life? Or, have you had to go from time sheets to a time clock? I'd like to hear about any morale issues. How does it make you feel? Or, is it no big deal? I may be way off base here, but I think a public library has a work-flow that should be more flexible than the rigid demands of a time-clock. Wouldn't be the first time I was wrong! LOL! I'd like to get feedback.

Thanks!

Susan

Responses (Names withheld):

· I've worked as a volunteer, a front-line grunt librarian, a department head, an assistant director, and a director, in various libraries that used time sheets, time clocks, and the honor system (by which I mean, employees are simply assumed to have worked the scheduled hours unless they tell you otherwise, and the schedule is what is used to calculate pay hours.) I've also worked for non-library employers that used each of these systems. In my experience, the honor system is far and away the best for morale and the most likely to result in hard-working, productive, dedicated employees. There are exceptions, but people tend to try to live up to the expectations of their superiors. If you send a clear signal that you trust them to work hard and be punctual and stay through the appointed end time, most (though admittedly not all) will do their best to live up to that.

Requiring a time clock, on the other hand, sends a subtle message that the employee at worst cannot be trusted to work the hours they are scheduled to work, or at best that they are expected to work not a second over the hours they are scheduled to work. The employee will tend to live up to one expectation or the other. And in every single place I've ever worked, library or not, every single employee understood that the message of the time clock was "We don't trust you." This sense that they are considered untrustworthy poisons everything they do and diminishes their effectiveness on the job. It makes them less likely to trust supervisors and administrators with their own ideas, concerns, and questions. It makes them less dedicated to the shared mission of the library. It makes your best employees more likely to move to a workplace where they will feel less alienated.

I do realize that time sheets may be required for accounting purposes, and so the honor system may not be an option. I would recommend time sheets that the employees fill out themselves, whether on a computer or by hand. While not as clear a message of trust as the honor system, these still send a message that you trust your employees to be honest and forthright. And most will rise to that expectation.

That said, there will always be employees who try to game whatever system you have in place. Time clocks will not make them any more honest, work any harder, or be any more punctual. They will find ways around them, just as they will find ways around time sheets and the honor system. Such employees are a problem that a time clock will not solve, although it will admittedly help you document the problem a little more easily than the other methods will. The question is, is it worth the risk of damaging the morale and trust you have with the good employees just in order to make it marginally easier to punish the bad ones? My gut feeling, and my experience, is that it's not. My two cents, your mileage may vary, etc. Good luck. This isn't an easy decision no matter what.

· At our library we have always allowed employees to record their own time; first on time sheets and now on time cards (which I created myself). There are times someone forgets to write down their time, but when I sign the time cards, I usually notice that and ask them to fill it in. I also check to make sure everyone records their extra time for the monthly staff meeting. This process works well for us. I have a very dependable staff and have never had to adjust someone's time card for being late. They "patrol" themselves.

· I agree. I was surprised when I saw you were asking about time clocks for so few employees, but figured there was some particular problem that they would solve.

· We have a sign in/out book – nothing formal, we are so small you can tell who is here and who isn’t. We really use it in case there is a question if someone worked a certain day or not – and sometimes staff forget to sign in/out which is no big deal. A former director implemented -- due to issues she had in keeping track.

· We are a small rural library that used to use an honor system for tracking work time. Whatever the employees wrote down for time worked the FO would round to the nearest quarter hour. This worked fine until the staff grew in numbers and a few new hires were caught taking excessive breaks and coming in late for work but not reporting it. The morale with the staff that was honest and doing everything right started to fall. The time management software we purchased was relatively cheap and helped to curb some of the abuses. It took some getting used to but now that we’ve had it for a few years I would NEVER go back. It’s so handy to keep track of sick time, holidays and vacations. And it archives the pay periods. To ease the perception of big brother watching, when we implemented the time clock all employees started punching the clock, even the director. It’s now just part of the daily routine and I haven’t heard any complaints from the staff. We’re not so rigid that if someone forgets to clock in or out we won’t make manual adjustments. It happens. Though if it becomes habit we do start to take some notice and have caught abuses. Good Luck!

· I'm not sure what you mean by "flexible." Federal labor laws require that non-exempt employees be paid for all the time that they are on the job. (BTW: There are definitive standards for the exempt classification; being salaried alone is not sufficient reason to be classified as exempt.) We only have two exempt employees. I know that the morale of our non-exempt employees would be negatively affected if they felt that they were expected to be "flexible" without an appropriate adjustment in compensation or schedule modification. Using webtimeclock.com assures our employees and us that all of their time is accurately counted, whether "flexible" means being on the job for more than 40 hours/week or "flexible" means shifting hours from one day to another.

· I would never, ever use a time clock. If you had to clock in, would you feel that you worked for an organization that trusted you? Would you feel like a professional? Me neither. Also, I expect my employees to do more than just put their time in, and I know you do as well. I agree with all that you said.

· I work in a suburban library with a time clock. I find it very insulting and demoralizing. The time clock was instituted some time before I started here, not very long before the library unionized. While I've never heard a direct correlation between the two stated, I think that's not far-fetched. Long timers do talk about the changed atmosphere at the time when they went from feeling part of a team to feeling distrusted and consequently much less devoted to their place of work. It seems to be part of the constant tension between labor and management here. My sense is that my employer is less interested in the quality of my work than in my showing up and clocking in and out at the right time (not more than 10 minutes before my shift and not more than 10 minutes afterwards for fear the auditors will think they have us working off the clock). I suspect that pre-time clock; most employees were at their workstation ready to start at the beginning of their shift; now many clock in just in time and then go to their desk. When I want to finish a project before leaving for the day or come in early to get something done, I have to hide this from my supervisor. Very strange and a very unprofessional atmosphere. I would strongly urge you to avoid going this route.

· Our library is small and pretty rural and does not use a time clock. We fill out our own time sheets. With a small staff and lots of comings and goings a time clock certainly seems to butt into one's life in all the ways you suggest. Years ago I worked for a local greenhouse and he went to time clocks at some time and was constantly initialing someone's because the parameters were pretty inconvenient.

· At our library we have used a time clock to punch in and out for +10 years. We had employees abusing the honor system and it caused problems with those employees that were consistently prompt. It's worked great for us because it is very visible to everyone. We also docked employees if they are +6 minutes late. Even though this has been in place for +10 years it has been very important even in recent weeks/months as you always seem to have an employee that wants to push the limit. Not sure how we'd survive without it.

· I was the director of a library for 10 years. We went from a simple time sheet: in at 9 and out at 5: to a more accurate paper record of the time worked. It had columns for morning, afternoon, and evening with the appropriate in and out rows/columns for lunch and dinner breaks. During my tenure at the library, I feel that we moved forward into the 21 century HR practices without comprising our small town feel. I also thought about a time clock but I realized that I would be “punishing” the majority of the staff for the tardiness of one staff member. To address the staff member’s tardiness, I simply scheduled her to start work at 9:15 or 12:15 depending on the shift. She then took a shorter lunch/dinner break which worked out well. She wasn’t paid for being late and the other ladies stopped the constant worrying that this staff member was getting a special consideration that they weren’t. All was good for the staff member and for management.

· We have a slightly larger staff size than 20, but we are quite small. We have had time clocks for a few years now. They have had some advantages and some disadvantages. Originally, we had time clocks put in to stop some employees from taking too long breaks, claiming to be working and they weren't and other similar problems. In most cases, the employees were not at the Main Branch, so the director could not as easily watch them. In my opinion, the people who were problems are still problems. The difference is, it is harder to misbehave. It still happens though. I was the type of employee who always came to work early and started work early and did not claim that time. So, in my case, I now have to wait for the clock, so the library has lost the extra time they would have received from me.

Some advantages: There is a record of everyone, when they clock in, when they clock out, how long their breaks are, and how long it takes to travel to branch locations. The director is protected. He can show proof of good or bad behavior of an employee. It is harder for employees to claim extra time worked because you can see what time they clocked in and out. There were rumors that some employees worked from home and claimed they were at work. Or claimed they were at work when they weren't.

Some disadvantages: Employees are not as free to help patrons. If they have clocked out for lunch, they have to leave for lunch. Previously, you helped at the circ desk until you could get away. At closing, we have to be clocked out on time. As a manager, I cannot stay over for any reason. Used to I have the ability to work a few minutes extra to help a patron before leaving (like with copies or faxes or printing off assignments for school). It is hard to remember for the employees to clock in and out. Some confusion arose from our 7 minute rule. The 7 minute rule is if you leave 7 minutes or more late, you are paid for 15 minutes more. The time clock rounds it up to the next 15 minute mark. The same thing applies to arriving 7 minutes early. Because the time clock rounded to the next 15 minute mark no matter when you clocked out, some staff thought that meant they didn't have to return to work until the rounded up time. This gave them longer lunches. Most of the people who took advantage before the time clock are still doing so. In most cases, they are management and can still "work" the system. I hope this helped you. Like I said, I see some advantages to the system, but we could do without it too.

· I'm the director of a small library. We have a staff of 14, 5 of whom are full time. We are using time sheets. I have a wonderful staff, which consistently goes the extra mile to make sure our patrons have excellent service. They are sensitive to one another, and will step up and volunteer to cover shifts, duties, etc. - a real team. So my personal opinion is that to introduce a time clock would be a significant morale issue - basically saying that the board and I don't trust you to record your time. I think it would really undermine the relationship between staff and administration, not something I would never want to do. I would be interested in hearing the results of your informal survey. Is there a different response the larger the library is? I would think that the larger the staff, the different the response will be.

· I think you are right on! After 16 years, I would be upset to have to start 'punching in' and I think the board would be shocked at the number of hours most staff put in unpaid. I think if there is a problem with a particular staff member, address it with that person and stop legislating to the lowest common denominator! (Sorry - I'm off my soapbox ; p) Maybe in a large library, but in small rural libraries, we all generally pitch in and do what needs to be done, regardless of the clock. Just my humble opinion. Thanks for raising the question! Have an AWESOME day!!!

Epilogue: Our library board, after listening to my passionate plea not to use time clocks has made the decision to implement. So, we are pushing up our sleeves and diving in with a positive attitude. We are transitioning to an online product called Time Force (www.mytimeforce.com). We are apprehensive as this is a major change, but I am confident that all will be fine. We will still use our time sheets for a few time periods once the new system is up and running. Then, it will be like taking off the training wheels. We may experience a few bumps and bruises and bugs in our teeth, but after that the ride should be smooth.

Thank you all so much for your help, advice, well-wishes, etc.

Susan