Flexible working hours can be a very valuable component of a persons role and there are two key requirements that are relied upon for it to function effectively: accuracy and the ability to track it.

The Flexitime application is built to support these needs however it goes well beyond being an electronic timesheet. It is a workforce management tool.

At the fundamental level, employees enter their daily start and finish times and when they take a break. Times entered are validated according to core hours set at system level, this includes rosters for part-time employees as well as standard FTE’s. Entries are flagged when they fall outside of core hours to prevent keying errors and ensure accurate data. Employees are prompted with a warning message if they don’t take a break after 5 hours. From an OHS perspective this can be a really important mechanism to reinforce a safety-focused culture. A report can also be run to flag time worked without taking a break. Other reports are available to track time accrued and flextime taken.

At The City of Adelaide, the Flexitime application has been integrated with their Payroll system. This allows new starters and leave balances to automatically flow through. Managers can view real-time data to see who is on premises along with high-level overviews and drill-down capability of hours worked and Flexitime balances. To control Flexitime as a resource liability, hours can be capped in a period. Managers then approve the hours worked each period either individually or in batches.

Ultimately Flexitime is an efficient and effective way to keep track of hours worked and benefits managers and employees alike. At The City of Adelaide it is certainly relied upon by everyone and provides accountability in a fair, measured and consistent way.