Leveraging Technology to Increase Accountability in Extra Duty Employment
Importance of maintaining accountability through the use of technology
Maintaining accountability and transparency in extra duty employment is crucial to a successful program. PowerDetails recently added the ability for officers to clock-in upon arrival at a job and to clock-out when leaving via the PowerDetails mobile app. This newly developed feature provides employers with a mechanism to verify the presence of hired officers at extra duty jobs and creates a digital record of the hours worked. If desired, this optional feature can be required as a part of agency policy.
To address any privacy concerns, it is important to note, the app does NOT track officer movement when using this feature. Rather, this feature gathers GPS location data only at the time when the user presses the “clock-in” or “clock-out” button.
How it works
To utilize the feature, agencies need to have a subscription to the PowerDetails Enterprise Edition. Additionally, program coordinators and/or agency PowerDetails program administrators must turn on Billing Approval via the PowerDetails site settings to allow for the time clock punch corrections. This feature is then available at the employer level. To enable the feature, simply select the time clock checkbox in an employer’s profile.
Through the PowerDetails app (available through the Apple and Google app store), officers have the ability to advise the employer if they need to cancel the job, which will then open the job to other users, as well as clock-in upon arrival at the job site, and clock-out when leaving the job site. Officers can clock-in and clock-out as many times as they need to. Once the job has been completed, officers will then submit their hours advising the administrator that the job was completed and is now ready for invoicing and payment.
What happens when a user forgets to utilize the feature
If an officer forgets to use the feature at a job, hours worked can still be captured in the same manner as it was previously, according to the posted job hours. If an officer needs to change the hours worked, the officer can do this by updating the hours and adding the required note documenting the reason for the change, when submitting their timesheet upon completion of the job.
How it makes things easier/better
In addition to creating an electronic record of hours worked and simplifying the process for officers to verify their hours worked, this feature provides additional benefits to employers and to the agencies. At PowerDetails, we understand an agency’s need to ensure the actual number of hours worked, ensure their officers arrive at an extra duty job on time, and that their officers are fulfilling the needs of the job. The ability to verify the service provided to individual employers helps to maintain strong relationships between the business community and local law enforcement agencies. Coordinators can easily maintain an electronic record of the jobs worked by their members thus easily providing information to agency administration. With the multitude of reports available on the PowerDetails platform, running reports to create a snapshot of your agency’s extra duty program has never been easier.
To learn more about this feature if you are already a PowerDetails customer, please reach out to a member of our Customer Success Team via email at support@powerdetails.com or by phone at 1-855-476-9191.
To learn more about how PowerDetails help you address accountability issues surrounding extra duty employment or to get a live personalized demonstration, please contact us.
You can also watch an online demo, at any time, by clicking here.
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