We have our team log on and off by telephone
They use the clients phone (part of the contract agreed beforehand) to call our office number at start and completion of shift
Not fool proof but has worked well over the last four years.
Especially as it allows you to be aware of all issues that my arrive.
Initially the staff thought it was a bit big brother but actually they now all like it
We know if all our team are at the sites on time, we are confident that the client has little concerns about the time spent on site (it doesn't mean the work is being done only that they were there, but we have other systems to show how and when the work was done) it also allows us to send cover if there is a no show.
It is very helpful with payroll too as we have a separate record of the hours worked in addition to the staffs time sheet and the clients schedule returns.
The best example I can show apart from the clients confidence in us is when our team of four failed to log on one wintry morning at a site over 50 miles from our base. We called the client who had no information we called the teams mobile but it wouldn't connect we then called their emergency numbers to find they had all been picked up for work so off we went to see what had happened.
There they were 12 miles down the road in a ditch. The van had swerved to avoid a deer and had skidded on the ice and slid into the ditch. No one hurt slight damage to the van and the deer had wandered off. The phones couldn't get a signal where they were, they were all extremely cold and were delighted to be "rescued".
If there is no log on within 10 minutes of start time (anyone can be late) we begin to call to find out what
the problem is ...........not foolproof but low cost and effective, we like it the staff like it and the clients like it
Try it and see how it works for you, remember though it must be the clients landline so you have a record of the number do not let the staff use their mobiles they may still be in bed lol
Cheers
Gordon