Prevent Employee Buddy Punch & Time Theft

6 min read

Buddy punch (or buddy clocking) is the most prevalent form of employee time theft. It is estimated to cost U.S. businesses $50 billion every year.

Let’s first understand what buddy punching means. When an employee asks a colleague to clock them in or out for their shift, it accounts for buddy punching.

For instance, an employee running late might call a teammate to clock them in, recording payroll hours without actual work. Similarly, an employee leaving early might request a colleague to punch them out later.

In some extreme cases, employees use buddy clocking to take entire days off without being detected or to accrue extra overtime. This form of employee time theft results in employers paying for significant unworked time and undermines the morale of honest employees.

In this blog, we will discuss how to prevent buddy punch and its various consequences.

Challenges Different Industries Face due to Buddy Punching

When employees pretend to be working more hours than they are, businesses end up paying for time that wasn’t spent on the job. This adds up over time, leading to financial losses that can make it harder for the company to grow, invest in new initiatives, or even pay employees fairly.

Buddy punches can also affect internal decision-making. If you lose track of employee locations, project time allocation, estimates for future projects can be hampered. This issue goes beyond lost wages and productivity; it also leads to a loss of control over your team.

Construction

In construction businesses, inaccuracies in contract labor attendance can cause major financial losses. For instance, a site might have ten employees present, but the company could be paying for twelve. These small discrepancies add up to substantial monetary losses over time.

Additionally, knowing exactly who is on-site is crucial for safety compliance. If an unrecorded worker is injured, it can result in serious OSHA liabilities and increased insurance premiums. Moreover, materials and resources may be allocated based on incorrect labor data, causing mismanagement and wastage.

Home healthcare

When caregivers indulge in time theft, patient care suffers. This results in increased patient wait times, reduced staff availability, and a decline in the overall quality of care.

Managers and caregivers both face significant repercussions. Legal troubles may arise from inaccurate records, and even cause issues in maintaining compliance with healthcare regulations. Such cases not only strain financial resources but also jeopardize the trust and well-being of patients who rely on timely and attentive care.

Facilities Management

Let’s take a janitorial management company for example. Buddy punch can lead to operational issues. When the actual workforce on-site is less than reported, cleaning tasks may not meet expected standards.

Resource misallocation becomes a challenge too. Cleaning supplies and equipment are ordered based on incorrect labor data, leading to wastage and increased costs. Inaccurate attendance records also complicate scheduling, causing managers to either overstaff, incurring higher costs, or understaff, resulting in poor service quality.

How Can allGeo Prevent Buddy Punch And Theft Of Time?

Employee theft of time is tricky. How do you provide proof of an employee stealing time from employer? Therefore, the best solution to stop buddy punching is to refine your time tracking system with these solutions.

Geofencing

Geofence is a virtual perimeter created around a job site. When a particular device enters or exits a given geofence, the employee gets automatically clocked in. It can be set to trigger a notification for both employees and the manager.

allGeo’s geofencing solution creates a virtual perimeter around job sites. This way, you can define the area from where employees can punch in or our from a job site. Here’s how it works:

Automatic Punch in/out: The geofence automatically clocks employees in and out when their devices enter or exit the geofence. It reduces the possibility of clocking in remotely or having someone else do it for them.
Zero Touch, Low Hassle: This “Zero Touch” feature requires no training for employees. As the system operates seamlessly in the background, it reduces the risk of human error or manipulation.
Real-Time Notifications: The system can trigger notifications for both employees and managers, providing real-time updates on attendance and ensuring that any discrepancies are immediately addressed.

Automated Time Tracking

allGeo’s automated time tracking feature can not only prevent buddy punching, but also revolutionize how your business manages time and attendance. It eliminates the risks associated with paper-based or manual processes which make buddy punching very easy.

Paper-based systems allow employees to easily falsify time records. By utilizing GPS-enabled mobile devices, employees can clock in and out using iPads, iPhones, Android devices, or even feature phones.

GPS Tracking: GPS tracking allows managers to see the exact location of employees in real-time and also provides a map view. It ensures that the right worker is at the right job site and prevents buddy clocking.
Real-Time Data Collection and Alerts: The system automatically records time and location data. It can trigger alerts for any exceptions, so managers are immediately aware of any discrepancies.
Mileage Tracking and Breadcrumb Reports: allGeo tracks mileage and generates breadcrumb reports for individual employees. As managers, you can cross-check these reports with time punch records to verify authenticity and prevent buddy punching.

QR Code Check-in

allGeo offers QR code clock-in feature that enhances timekeeping accuracy and prevents buddy punch. Here’s how it works.

Reaching the Site: Each job site is equipped with a unique QR code. When a field worker arrives at the site, they simply scan the QR code using their mobile device.
Scanning the QR Code: The QR code scan serves as a timestamp, recording the exact time and location of the worker’s arrival. This ensures that only the worker physically present at the site can clock in.
Uploading Signatures/Pictures: To further verify their presence, employees can upload a signature or a picture within the same form after scanning the QR code. This additional step provides visual confirmation and enhances the accuracy of the attendance record.

These solutions help you tackle buddy punching, resulting in better HOS calculation, and more accurate payrolls.

What Causes Buddy Punch?

Outdated Clocking System
Buddy punching is a common problem in companies where timesheets, swipe cards, tags, or proximity cards are used. These kinds of outdated time punch methods are easy to manipulate.
Lack of Consequences
The absence of strict consequences or enforcement encourages some employees to continue buddy punching. Consequences of engaging in buddy punching, or any type of time theft must be laid out in your company’s attendance policy clearly.
Short break periods
If employees are not receiving enough break time, they might resume their shift only on record and actually begin working later. Although this may be only for a few minutes, rounding off these additional minutes quickly escalates costs. Hence, reviewing internal policies and employee satisfaction can also stop buddy punching practices.

Consequences of Buddy Punch and Employee Time Theft

According to the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), buddy punch is illegal and can result in lawsuits. Buddy punching, a form of employee time theft, complicates matters as it is difficult to prove.

Nevertheless, employers are legally obligated to compensate for these logged hours, highlighting the need for accurate time tracking to ensure compliance and avoid legal issues.

1. Financial Implications: Time theft leads to inaccurate payroll, resulting in financial losses for businesses. Over time, these losses can be substantial and hinder growth.

2. Productivity and Company Culture: Inaccurate attendance records disrupt workforce productivity, affecting project timelines and overall performance. Moreover, a culture tainted by time theft erodes trust and collaboration among team members.

3. Managerial Complications: Evaluating employee performance becomes challenging for managers due to buddy punching, leading to flawed decisions on promotions, pay raises, or disciplinary actions.

4. Integrity of Payroll and Accounting: Inaccurate time records from buddy punching compromise payroll integrity, complicating financial management and potentially causing legal issues.

5. Client Relations: Buddy punching can lead to inaccurate billing, risking client relationships, potential loss of business, and reduced revenue.

Buddy clocking often starts as a seemingly harmless favor, with one employee clocking in for another. However, the cumulative effects are substantial. This might not seem like a big deal, but it can impact the bottom line.

Here’s how-

In 2016, according to data from the Census Bureau’s Annual Survey of Entrepreneurs: The total employer firms in the USA were 5.6 million, out of which 89% were firms with less than 20 employees.
Data published by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics says that there are 78 million hourly employees in the American workforce.
The APA estimates that over 75% of companies lose money from buddy punching. In firms with <20 employees, nearly 4.5 hours are poached by employees every week through buddy punching. This accounts for a total of approximately $350 million worth of capital lost to buddy punching each year.

Conclusion

Understanding buddy punching meaning and its consequences is crucial to implementing effective strategies. To effectively address it, start by evaluating its extent within your organization. Then, implement targeted changes. After a month or two, assess the effectiveness of these measures while ensuring clear communication with employees about the new policies.

If buddy punching persists, consider more robust solutions. For example, require employees to clock in using their smartphones on the local network. Additionally, make sure employees cannot view or edit each other’s time records, which makes it more difficult to buddy punch. Learn how to prevent buddy punching with advanced solutions like those offered by allGeo with your free trial.

By refining your processes and eliminating opportunities for buddy punching, you can better safeguard your business against time theft and maintain accurate, reliable attendance records.