Week 7 Nov 8th

I met with my preceptor today for 5 hours. My objective for this meeting was to develop an understanding of the payroll system. Today was the end of the payperiod, so I was able to assist my preceptor with reviewing the employee's time sheets in the Kronos payroll system. During this time, we would make adjustments as needed. Each cost center, be it the nursery or pediatrics, has a log in which the employees write in any discrepancies with their time. Some forgot to clock in or did not have their badge. Others needed their critical needs bonuses added to their paycheck. This task that I thought would be simple turned into a time consuming, tedious task! It took 3 1/2 hours just to got through the time correction sheets and make changes as needed. Also, those employees who did not have enough hours to maintain their full time or part time status had to use paid time off to fill in the gaps. For those who did not have PTO to steal from, we had to send them an email message letting the employee know of the deficit. If the employees do not maintain their allotted hours, for example a full time employee needs 36 per week, they could loose their benefits. Out of all the tasks I have performed to this point, this was my least favorite. In my opinion, it almost seemed as if we were having to "baby" these employees and remind them to perform a task that is an essential part of their job. My preceptor stated that she has habitual offenders. To address these problems, she has copies of the hospital protocol concerning attendance and PTO usage handy. This way, she always has back up when she approaches employees with these problems. But, outside of reminding the employees to clock in and out correctly or to work their hours, there is little she can do to remedy the problem.