New technology allows employees to clock in via text message
Released on: October 16, 2008, 11:49 am
Press Release Author: Chance Cook/HourDoc.com
Industry: Human Resources
Press Release Summary: HourDoc.com now uses SMS text messaging to track employee time. This new technology will assist companies in tracking their mobile employees and those who work numerous locations.
Press Release Body: HOUSTON, Texas (October 16, 2008) - Revolutionary time and labor tracking company HourDoc.com announced today that it now offers clients the advanced technology of allowing employees to clock in and out using their cell phones. There will be no extra charge for this new time-saving feature, which will assist companies in tracking their mobile employees and those who work numerous locations.
Using SMS technology, otherwise known as "short messaging system", employees using HourDoc.com's powerful and easy to understand, on-demand system can now confidently clock in and out-for the day or for breaks-using simple text messaging.
Here is how it works. Each cell phone has a unique 10-digit number: the area code, three-digit prefix and four-digit number. These numbers are completely and totally unique to those cell phones and cannot be changed or mimicked. HourDoc.com has based its new technology on tying the unique phone number to a specific employee. That unique phone number is linked to the employee's account in the HourDoc system and can make time entries for only that employee.
When an employee clocks in via their cell phone, they essentially call the HourDoc system and send a basic text message. The text messages are commands for the HourDoc.com system, and the employee chooses one of four text message commands. They are "in", "out", "bin" or "bout". These stand for "clocking in", "clocking out", "taking a break/clock in" or "taking a break/clock out". The HourDoc system then receives these SMS text messages, and posts the according time entries to that employee's electronic timesheet.
"This allows employees chosen by management the opportunity to simply clock in and out using their cell phones," said HourDoc.com President Dan Smith. "So if you have employees that need to be out in the field, by using HourDoc.com they don't have to physically go to the company's location, clock in and then head out to the job site. They can just clock in once they arrive at the site using their cell phones, saving the company time and ultimately money."
It takes two minutes for the data to be entered into the client's account, but the HourDoc system will consider the incoming data "live." In other words, it makes the time entry at the exact time the text message was sent, not the time it was received into the HourDoc system. Just like a normal text message, if the cell connection is interrupted, the SMS text message will hold in the phone's internal computer and be automatically sent once the signal is again re-established. It will also use the original time the SMS text/time entry was sent by the employee.
"This is truly what sets the HourDoc.com system apart from every other time and labor tracking system on the market today," Smith said. "Our programmers and executive management are again proving that HourDoc.com is the premiere system for any company seeking to affordably manage their workforce, and we continue to respond to our client's ideas and push the programming envelope further."
HourDoc.com is an easy-to-use, web-based time and labor tracking system that provides companies advanced online tools to monitor and manage their employees. HourDoc.com's scalable time management technology is specially designed to expand to meet the unique needs of growing businesses. A proven and affordable software-as-a-service solution, HourDoc replaces tedious manual time entry and reporting processes by allowing employers to tap into real-time labor data on-demand so they can readily assess and manage work schedules, time and payroll reports, and staffing needs anytime or anywhere. For further information about the company and these statistics, visit www.hourdoc.com.
Web Site: http://hourdoc.com
Contact Details: HourDoc.com 1947 East 3300 South Salt Lake City, UT 84106 1-877-CURE TIME