Consider adopting new timekeeping tech to track work hours of remote staff.

The mass move to remote work this year has shined a spotlight on a not-so-secret problem: It's hard to track telecommuters' work hours.

Now the gradual return to onsite work highlights an opportunity: Maybe it's time to take a fresh look at timekeeping technologies.

If you Google "alternative timekeeping systems," you will find hundreds of new time-and-attendance tracking solutions.

Time sheets, plus. Digital time sheet technology is advancing rapidly. Some vendors pair online time sheets with smartphone apps. Others tap phones' geolocation capabilities to track employees' whereabouts in real time.

No-touch alternatives to thumbprint readers. Devices that scan thumb-prints when employees clock in and out have been around for years. Now the retinal-scanning technology used to screen Transportation Security Administration PreCheck program participants at 65 U.S. airports is available to register when employees enter and leave work.

Perfect for this pandemic, another touchless-timeclock from Ascentis includes the ability to scan employees' foreheads to check their temperatures and wirelessly track employees' locations in the building.

Some vendors can retrofit existing thumbprint readers with no-touch technology. Others offer apps that pair with existing thumbprint readers, sending a unique access code to employees' phones as they approach. Those systems claim to prevent co-workers from fraudulently clocking each other in.

Caution: California, Illinois, Texas and Washington have enacted privacy laws that restrict use of such technologies. Arizona, Florida and Massachusetts are considering legislation.

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