Let’s say you have a perfect employee: Stan. Stan’s the man. He’s the most efficient worker you have, is very personable with customers, and generally boosts team morale when he’s around. The only problem is that he tends to come to work 10-20 minutes later than starting time. That means that Stan is not a perfect employee. In fact, he’s a borderline harmful one — even if he doesn’t mean to be.

Crafting a fair but consistent employee attendance policy can make an impact not only on your business’s bottom line but also on your team’s morale and retention. But it’s easier said than done. Different employees have different needs: family care, mental health circumstances, remote locations, cultural holidays, you name it. How does a business take all of this into account while keeping the attendance policy consistent and compliant with ever-changing labor laws?

If you have a large company, multiple locations, or employees who work in the field, keeping track of employee attendance manually can be impossible. You may go an entire day without seeing all of your employees, so it’s hard to know if they’re where they’re supposed to be when they’re supposed to be there. Attendance apps can help with that.