Working Smarter Cafe
When you think of UKG, the image of a timeclock likely comes to mind. That would make sense, as countless workers across all industries use UKG Pro Workforce Management (WFM) to clock in and out every day. But what if your employees work in the field and timeclocks aren’t an option? In that case, you may want to consider geofencing. Geofencing allows your employees to punch in/out on their mobile devices in a controlled and monitored fashion. In this edition of UKG’s Working Smarter Café, we’ll look at the different types of geofencing, use cases, and best practices.
Known Places
We know what you’re thinking. If my employees can clock in remotely from their phones, then how do I know they’re really at work? It all starts with Known Places, an established zone in your UKG Pro WFM solution (accessed via the Application Setup) that restricts employee punches based on GPS or Wi-Fi locations, as well as QR Codes. If a punch comes in from outside the zone, it won’t be accepted. Let’s start by focusing on GPS Geofencing with Known Places.
GPS Geofencing is the most popular type of geofencing. You define the GPS location or Known Place by entering the latitude and longitude, as well as the radius and accuracy threshold. Click here to access a public tool that can help you with the visualization. GPS geofencing works best for employees who travel (e.g. home health care workers), as well as work locations with strong GPS signals and sprawling facilities, but no timeclocks and/or limited access to desktop computers. If your employees travel frequently, you may want to enable punches outside a geofence area that trigger the following automatic comments: Punch location is unverified and Punch location is outside of a geofence area.
Read the What do The Punch Location is Unverified & Punch Location is Outside of Geofence Area Comments Mean? article for more information.
If your location has a poor GPS signal, then Wi-Fi geofencing may be a better option. Wi-Fi geofencing allows employees to punch in as long as they’re signed into an established Wi-Fi Network. You start by configuring Wi-Fi Access Points, the communication components of a Wi-Fi Network, and then establishing the Wi-Fi Network itself. Each Wi-Fi Network must have at least one Access Point. Finally, once all the Wi-Fi data is in your system, you’ll assign it to a Known Place. Wi-Fi geofencing is best for buildings with multiple levels and/or a poor GPS signal, facilities without timeclocks, and areas with clear Wi-Fi Networks.
Finally, our latest geofencing offering is QR Codes. Like the configuration for Wi-Fi and GPS geofencing, QR Codes are created in the Application Setup and assigned to a Known Place. You then simply print and tape the code to a wall. From there, employees log into the UKG Pro mobile app, navigate to the punch screen, and scan the code to punch in for work. QR Code geofencing is ideal for areas with large campuses and employees with job transfers at specific locations. A common concern with QR Codes is that employees can take pictures of them and punch in later when they’re not at work. To prevent fraudulent punches, you can keep your QR Codes fresh by regenerating them often. Or QR Codes can be used in combination with other forms of geofencing for further validation.
Geofencing Combinations
Not sure which geofencing road to go down? You may want to try more than one – and you might get stronger data. For example, you can set up GPS geofencing while still having your employees clock in via a QR Code. If they punch in within the GPS geofence area, it proves they’re on premise and thanks to the code, you’ll know their exact location. Otherwise, the system will not accept their punch without both forms of validation. The two types of geofencing complement one another and you can trust the data. You can also combine GPS and Wi-Fi, Wi-Fi and QR Codes, and even all three!
Best Practices & Tips
- Don’t try to do it all on your own! Partner with your IT Team and reach out to UKG Support for help. While Support is break/fix, they’re also how-to and can guide you through creating your first one or two Known Places, as well as help with geofencing errors.
- Test each of your Known Places thoroughly in UAT prior to deployment.
Remember that geofencing affects ALL devices. If you don’t plan to take an all-mobile approach to punching in, consider using Known IP Addresses to allow access to laptops or desktops coming from pre-approved IPs.
* Click here for more information on managing geofencing challenges and contact Support for more information.
- Use a Punch Audit Dataview like this one to audit user behavior on a regular basis.
- Keep up on maintenance. Plan for regular updates to GPS coordinates, Wi-Fi Networks, and QR codes to stay accurate.
- Train with confidence by creating user-friendly training materials for your employees and managers.
- Be intentional. Plan within your capabilities and try to keep it simple.
If you have further questions, please contact UKG Support or your Executive Relationship Manager (ERM).
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