Disciplining employees isn't a favorite part of owning a business but one that may be necessary from time to time. What is important is how you go about it. There are effective measures that can be taken so that it is handled properly. Make sure you have clear policies and procedures in place. Every employee should get a copy of them that they must read and sign upon starting the job. That way they can't come back later and tell you they didn't know what the rules were.

There needs to be clear information on what the consequences for such actions will be as well. That way when the disciplinary action is being taken they will know what to expect. Consistency is very important because if you show any favoritism other employees will find out. The moral of your entire business will drop and that can have profound negative effects in the end. Make sure any type of disciplinary action takes place in private. It is unprofessional to do so in front of other employees.

Of course there are times when the circumstances surrounding the situation warrant some compassion. For example if you have a policy that someone must call in at least two hours before their shift if they can't come in and they don't there could be a good reason. What if they are involved in a car accident and have to be taken to the hospital? It just may not be possible for them to contact you in time.

Since you do want to keep your good employees because it is costly to train new ones you need to have fair disciplinary actions in place. For example you can make the first action a sit down discussion of the matter. A written documentation of the event can go into the employees file. Should the action continue or they go against other policies they may face suspension. Finally, termination may need to be considered if they are risking the safety of other employees or they simply aren't interested in doing a good job.


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The human resources department of any business is very important. Some people don't realize all that they do behind the scenes. In many regards this part of the business helps with the foundation. This is where those interested in work will drop off their application. They are reviewed and those that meet specific criteria may be contacted for a job interview.

Not everyone that gets an interview will be offered a job though. Some are filtered out once references are checked. Others are eliminated due to not being very good at the job interview. They simply weren't able to show they have the types of skills that the company could benefit from. Others do stand out from the crowd though and they are often contacted by human resources again. From there an actual job offer may be extended.

Each employee will have their own file either in a paper format or on the computer. This will have pertinent information including their address, phone number, and social security number. There should be information about who to contact in the event of an emergency as well. If a background check and/or credit check were done prior to the job offer being extended the results of such information should be in there as well.

Any information about job training that has been completed will go into that file for future reference. If there have been disciplinary actions taken or outstanding reviews by supervisors all of that information should be included. It helps to give a very good idea of the overall skills and competency of employees. This information can be helpful when it is time for raises and even promotions within the company.

The reason why most of us go to work each day is to earn money. It is also the human resources department that keeps track of hours worked and prints out paychecks. In order to do that they must track information on how much the person is to get paid. They also need to be informed about deductions that will be subtracted from the gross wages. Common ones include health insurance, retirement, and taxes.



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Let's face it, if you can't measure it, then you've got absolutely no way to control it. This adage is true for most things, but none more so than for time, which is why there is such a huge timesheet industry.

But what's involved when you collect time, and why should a business bother with this process. What are the pros and cons, and are there any pitfalls? Lots of questions which is why this paper will focus on the main types of data collection, and the possible choice you should make for your business.

So why bother collecting time in the first place. This is really the crux of the matter, and when you get down to it, there are many reasons.

1. So you can correctly bill your clients for the work you've done. For example, if you've spent 2 hours re-designing a web page, then you need to bill your client for those 2 hours of your time, else you won't get paid. You could of course have a fixed cost, which also works, but in general most business charge by the hour.

2. Process improvement is another key reason why you should be collecting time data, using a decent time tracking software, or at the very least a simple timesheet solution, like pen and paper. However, read on as there are ways to collect time, and then there is the way.

3. Theft of time is possible the most compelling reason for some organizations to collect time - so the effectiveness of their employees can be measured, and the lazy ones weeded out. Harsh, but a fact of life.

Let's take a look at three simple ways to measure time.

1. Online Timesheets: A variant to the Site Timesheet system (below), whereby a typical user may logon on to a centralized server, using their web browser, and enter their time usage into a live web page.

2. Site Timesheets: Timesheets are a favourite and go back years and years, quite possible even to the birth of the modern industrial era with Mr. Henry T Ford and rationalization. Modern timesheets are electronic these days, and the onus is on the user to complete the timesheet when prescribed.

3. Time Tracking Software: If you want to jump to what's hip and modern then today its time tracking solutions. Time tracking is a more modern approach to the problem of measuring time. Instead of completing timesheets, the process is automated in software, allowing the user to focus on the job at hand.

3 different ways to measure time, but are they all the same? Do they have the same pros and cons?/

Regrettably, the answer is no. For all types of timesheets, be that online timesheets or pen and paper, there are some inherent problems, especially when juxtaposition against time tracking solutions.

For example, relying on your staff to complete a timesheet is still very much a manual process be that paper or electronic. You still have to say what you've been doing, who the job was for and how long it took you. While very popular with service industries, this technique is very poor at capturing all the time used within a business setting, and can suffer as much as 30 to 40% loss in productivity.

The alternative, would be time tracking software solutions. This as a method of time attendance, has none of the drawbacks and inherent problems long associated with timesheet software, in general gathering more accurate data, giving a more meaningful insight into the business using the software.

In all, when you come to make a choice between electronic timesheets, or possibly even online timesheets, do be sure to checkout the latest in computing technology, and test drive the more modern time tracking solutions, you may find the experience more worth while than you would think.



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