Industry Trends

8 Benefits of Digital Timesheets and Rosters for Distributed Teams

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More accurate, time-saving and helps you cut down on costs. These are the benefits of digital timesheets & rosters distribution that have helped SA companies unlock real value

Want to engage, connect and empower your distributed teams?

In a world where work is becoming increasingly digitised, companies with deskless employees (about 75% of the South African workforce) spread across a vast geographical region need better solutions to effectively reach their employees.

That’s why Jem HR has worked to deliver tailor-made digital payslip distribution for distributed teams, faster, more efficient internal communications, and benefits such as earned wage access.

But what about traditional paper-based timesheets and rosters? It’s slow, inefficient and expensive to send these via hand or email. Not to mention error-prone!

That’s why Jem developed a powerful digital timesheets and rosters solution, specifically for frontline and deskless teams. It helps any company unlock the benefits of digital timesheets & rosters. Here’s what you need to know.

 

The Old Way of Sharing Timesheets and Rosters

Traditional (analogue) timesheets and rosters depend on manual entries, paper records and email or apps that distributed teams don’t have reliable access to when out in the field.

Those printed copies or emails also make it very hard to track whether the right person actually received it, which can lead to confusion and operational issues. And there’s the added cost and time of manually delivering them.

Yet there are tremendous benefits of digital timesheets and rosters to unlock.

 

The New Way

Digital timesheets and rosters eliminate these pain points by automating the creation, updating and distribution process.

Employees receive immediate access to the most current schedules through a familiar platform (WhatsApp), allowing seamless real-time adjustments and notifications. 

This digital approach ensures efficiency while supporting compliance by maintaining accurate records. HR teams benefit from consolidated data, which allows them to monitor productivity and manage attendance effectively across the organisation.

Here’s why digital is the way to go:

 

8 Benefits of Digital Timesheets & Rosters

 

1. Improved Accuracy in Tracking Work Hours

Manual timesheet processes introduce a significant margin for error as data is often inputted by hand, leading to miscalculations or lost records. The benefits of digital timesheets & rosters include documents (and distribution) that eliminate these risks by automating work-hour tracking, ensuring that each entry is recorded precisely. 

For employers, this automation reduces the chance of payroll discrepancies, minimising time spent on corrections and fostering a more trustworthy payroll system. Employees benefit from knowing their hours are logged accurately, helping to build confidence in the system and their compensation.

 

2. Enhanced Efficiency and Time Savings

Creating and managing timesheets manually takes considerable administrative time, especially for HR teams handling large workforces. In a digital system, generating and distributing timesheets becomes almost instantaneous, allowing for faster scheduling and minimising the bottlenecks that manual processes create. 

By saving administrative hours, digital timesheets enable HR departments to focus on more strategic initiatives. Employees also benefit from receiving their schedules promptly, allowing them to better plan and prepare, which supports improved productivity.

 

3. Real-Time Updates and Flexibility

Analogue systems struggle to accommodate last-minute schedule changes, especially in distributed teams where communication delays are common. One of the benefits of digital timesheets & rosters is that your digital rosters allow for real-time updates, ensuring that every team member receives the latest schedule instantly, no matter where they are. 

This flexibility reduces the risk of miscommunication or missed shifts and allows employees to stay informed of their schedule changes on the go. For employers, this agility means a more responsive workforce, which is essential for maintaining continuity and reducing operational disruptions.

 

4. Reduced Payroll Processing Costs

Managing payroll manually involves extensive paperwork, printing, and administrative handling, all of which drive up operational costs. With digital timesheets, these paper-related expenses disappear, and automation further reduces the manual labour required to manage payroll. 

Employers see direct savings in administrative costs, allowing resources to be redirected toward more critical areas. For employees, digital payroll processing means fewer delays or errors, fostering a smoother, more reliable pay cycle.

 

5. Centralised Data and Reporting for Better Insights

Analogue timesheets scatter data across paper files or spreadsheets, making it difficult to analyse workforce trends or address attendance issues. Digital timesheets consolidate all time-tracking data into one system, allowing HR to generate insights on productivity, absenteeism and overtime patterns. 

This centralisation allows employers to make data-driven decisions, such as addressing understaffing or adjusting schedules to prevent burnout, among other amazing benefits of digital timesheets & rosters. For employees, a data-backed approach to scheduling means policies are more likely to reflect real workforce needs, enhancing job satisfaction and productivity.

 

6. Seamless Integration with Payroll and HR Systems

In a traditional setup, data from timesheets must be manually transferred to payroll, introducing the possibility of error at each step. Digital timesheets integrate seamlessly with payroll and HR systems, ensuring a continuous data flow without the need for manual reconciliation. 

For employers, this integration guarantees payroll accuracy and efficiency, while employees benefit from timely, precise pay because their work hours are accurately reflected in the payroll system.

 

7. Improved Employee Satisfaction and Trust

Manual tracking can lead to disputes over logged hours, creating frustration among employees who may feel they’re not fairly compensated. Among the many benefits of digital timesheets & rosters, digital time tracking provides transparency, allowing employees to view their own records and verify their hours independently. This transparency fosters trust in the system, building employee satisfaction. 

For employers, this trust reduces turnover rates and enhances retention, as satisfied employees are more likely to remain loyal to the company.

 

8. Simplicity and Accessibility for Employees

Using everyday platforms like WhatsApp for digital timesheets makes accessing rosters and schedules straightforward and convenient. Employees no longer need to learn new software or keep track of multiple logins, as they can access their schedules on a platform they’re already familiar with.

This is one of the most powerful and effective benefits of digital timesheets & rosters. The simplicity ensures they are well-informed, reducing the likelihood of missed shifts or scheduling conflicts.

For employers, offering a user-friendly system minimises HR support requests and enhances team reliability, resulting in a more efficient and organised workforce.

 

How to Get Started with Digital Attendance and Roster Distribution by Jem

Getting started with Jem to unlock the benefits of digital timesheets & rosters is easy:

  1. Book a demo: We’d love to show you how fast, easy and effective the system is, so contact us now for a free demonstration.
  2. Activate WhatsApp attendance and rosters with Jem HR: Once you’re happy to get going, you simply download your timesheets and rosters from your existing time & attendance system and upload them onto the Jem portal.
  3. Start sending: Once everything is in place, you can begin sending timesheets and rosters to employees instantly via WhatsApp.

See the impact we’ve had in helping real SA companies unlock the benefits of digital timesheets & rosters when digitising their payroll and HR.

 

If you’d like to see our Timesheets and Rosters in action, please watch the short video below.

 

Book a demo

Jem HR is a growing and trusted provider of innovative solutions for HR, payroll and attendance systems.

Book a demo with one of our product experts into the Jem Payslip, Communication, EWA and Roster products.

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