How Leisure businesses can elimimate time theft using workforce management technology

People from all corners of the globe rely on Leisure businesses to provide a smooth, enjoyable experience as they enjoy a well-deserved break from their everyday routines. 

By Leisure businesses, we refer businesses that fall into the following sub-categories: 

• Attractions (theme parks, tourist centres, zoos, galleries, and others) 

• Sports-related venues (gyms, aquatic centres, sports centres, and others) 

• Venues for kids and families (play centres) 

• Entertainment venues (cinemas, theatres, clubs) 

 When it comes to staffing and workforce management for Leisure businesses, however, managers face a number of challenges.

Staffing for Leisure businesses: a demand-driven obligation 

The staffing requirements of Leisure businesses are directly correlated to patterns in consumer demand. For example, theme parks, zoos, and play centrers all experience surges in traffic and demand around school holiday time. Staffing managers must anticipate this, accurately forecast demand, and roster staff accordingly — or source new staff altogether.  

However, Leisure businesses are unique in terms of their workforces. Oftentimes, they are comprised of individuals with backgrounds in Hospitality and Retail. The breath of roles to be filled, combined with the seasonal nature of the industry, sees many Leisure businesses lean on third-party labour hire agencies to meet demand. 

This in turn results in transient workforces. They are commonly made up of workers looking for a temporary gig, often in the form of students or young adults working multiple jobs at a time. Not only does this make it difficult for managers to find and retain reliable staff — but a lack of connection to the core business mission and values mean may lead to a disengaged workforce. At the same time, a lack of knowledge about business policies and procedures may cause unintentional time theft.

Time theft, and what it may be costing Leisure businesses 

Time theft is the term used to describe when employees report more hours than they have actually worked in order to inflate their pay.  

We took a deeper look into this phenomenon in a previous article — but to summarise, here are some of the ways time theft can occur within businesses: 

• Inflating work hours, either dishonestly or by mistake, including rounding up their start and finish times 

• Break times and work avoidance, where employees take extra-long or unauthorised breaks 

• Buddy punching, occurring when employees clock on for another employee to cover for absence or lateness 

• Fraudulent data entry, where timesheets and timesheet systems experience glitches that require times to be re-entered manually, allowing employees to lie about or exaggerate their hours 

Regardless of how it’s committed, the costs of time theft truly add up. Say, for example, a retail employee working in a Leisure organisation logs an average of 10 extra minutes per day because they clock on late. With 5 employees, that’s 50 minutes per shift. If you’re paying $30 per hour, that’s 216 hours a year lost, or a total of $6,480 in wages. With multiple shifts per day, or more workers, that number rises accordingly. 

It’s important to understand that any business is vulnerable to time theft, not least those who lack an adequate clocking and time tracking system. Leisure businesses, however, are especially at risk; consider the number of employees working in a large stadium or entertainment venue during peak period, dispersed and on-the-go, and how hard it can be to accurately track their work hours without an automated system.

Humanforce's workforce management solutions are ideal for all Leisure businesses. But first — why Humanforce? 

Humanforce was one of the first software companies in Australia to specialise in workforce management (WFM) software systems, including scheduling and time & attendance. For 23 years, we have made the lives of HR, managers and frontline (‘deskless’) workers easier through our WFM software suite — and continue to do so today in the US, UK, and New Zealand. 

Today, Humanforce offers its WFM software as part of an all-in-one human capital management (HCM) platform. This platform also includes HR, Talent, Payroll, and Benefits. This is what we can do for Leisure businesses across the globe.

Humanforce's Time & Attendance is your greatest ally in the fight against time theft 

Time theft can occur stealthily within your organisation. Time & Attendance, part of the Humanforce WFM suite, allows businesses to accurately track and capture live workforce data to weed out any disingenuous or dishonest practices. For example: 

• The biometric capabilities that ship with Time & Attendance — such as facial recognition and finger vein scanning — can eliminate “buddy punching”, where employees clock on and off for each other 

• Digital time capture and precise time tracking removes the need for manual input, especially on pen and paper, where an ‘8’ can look like a ‘3’, preventing misinterpretation 

• Geo-fencing capabilities also ensure your employees are where they claim to be, preventing them from claiming work hours after leaving the premises 

These are specific examples, but Time & Attendance ships with several other features that help in combatting time theft. Managers can track, monitor and record employee activity with ease, as well as handle shift complexities such as location, role, or break changes. It is a powerful time tracking solution, allowing both managers and employees to access a range of clocking tools to suit their specific needs.  

Clock in-and-out, and manage time sheets on-the-go via the Humanforce Work App; or choose from methods such as direct pin, kiosk, or biometric authentication. 

Time & Attendance integrates with Humanforce’s Payroll solution and third-party payroll systems through the generation of digital timesheets. Using Humanforce’s Awards & Compliance solution, the timesheets can also be configured to calculate minimum pay and entitlements based on relevant industrial instruments, such as awards, employment agreements, and collective bargaining agreements. 

Finally, Time & Attendance gives managers access to robust workforce analytics. This in turn enables deeper, data-driven reporting, as well as the ability to identify anomalies in time & attendance metrics. It’s a scalable solution that can handle high volume loads — from smaller playcenters to major festivals — without compromising on user experience or security.

Additional Humanforce solutions for Leisure organisations

Awards & Compliance 

A key part of the Humanforce WFM suite is the Awards & Compliance solution — allowing managers to accurately interpret complex awards, track changes as they happen, and apply them with ease.  

The sophisticated award interpretation engine (sometimes referred to as a pay conditions engine) ensures that all modern awards and employment agreement pay obligations and entitlements are met, providing instant calculations to indicate exactly how much employees should be paid. The payroll calculator quickly and accurately calculates wages, penalties, overtime and allowances in accordance with current labour laws. 

This is an essential feature for Leisure businesses employing employees from across different industries, simplifying award and payroll calculation for greater compliance confidence. 

Talent 

Humanforce Talent is ideal for Leisure businesses relying on casual workforces. 

It grants them a candidate-centric, holistic approach to talent acquisition by pooling pre-qualified candidates, contractors, internal staff and alumni into a single talent community. 

Managers can then contact pre-qualified candidates on an as-needed basis, which is beneficial for any Leisure businesses looking to bolster their ranks for busy periods. 

This is just a snapshot of what Humanforce can do for your organisation. To find out more, visit our website or talk to one of our experts today. 

About Humanforce 

Humanforce is the all-in-one platform for frontline and flexible workforces, offering a truly employee centred, intelligent and compliant human capital management (HCM) suite – without compromise. Founded in 2002, Humanforce has a 2300+ customer base and over half a million users worldwide. Today, we have offices across Australia, New Zealand, the US, and the UK. 

Our vision is to make work easier and life better by focusing on the needs and fulfilment of frontline workers, and the efficiency and optimisation of businesses. 

To learn more about how Humanforce’s solution can help automate people processes in your business, please contact us.