Attendance · Practical guide
How to handle missed check-ins and attendance exceptions
A clear review process for missed check-ins, old location updates and attendance corrections, with examples for field teams.
A missed check-in needs a review, not a guess. The employee may have forgotten, been at a client site, had no connectivity or run into a phone setting problem. Those situations need different responses.
A simple exception process helps managers resolve the record consistently and gives employees a clear way to explain what happened.
Separate the attendance record from the explanation
Start with what the system recorded: date, check-in or check-out time, and available location information. Then add the employee’s explanation. Keep both visible in your review process instead of treating an edited time as the whole story.
For example: “No check-in recorded on Monday. Employee says they began at the client site at 9:15. Manager reviewed the visit record and approved the correction.” This is more useful than a corrected time with no reason attached.
Four common exceptions and what to check
| Situation | First check | Manager’s next step |
|---|---|---|
| Forgot to check in | Employee’s explanation and the day’s work records | Review a correction request under your attendance policy. |
| Could not check in at a client site | The assigned location rule and the actual work arrangement | Check whether the site rule fits the employee’s work. |
| Location looks old or inaccurate | Last update time, connectivity and location permissions | Ask for context; avoid treating one map point as a complete account of the day. |
| Forgot to check out | Employee’s stated finish time and supporting work context | Resolve the missing record rather than assuming a full extra shift. |
Use a short correction request
Ask employees for the date, the missing or incorrect entry, the requested correction and a short reason. Request supporting information only when it is needed to resolve the issue. Avoid asking everyone to attach several screenshots for a routine missed check-in.
Example request
“14 September: I missed my morning check-in. I started at the Whitefield client site at 9:15 and recorded the service visit that morning. Please review my attendance for the day.”
Set an internal deadline for submitting requests and tell employees who reviews them. The appropriate deadline depends on your operating and attendance process; make it clear before the first exception occurs.
Give reviewers the same decision rules
- Who can approve? Choose a manager who can understand that employee’s work.
- What information is sufficient? Explain when a reason is enough and when more context is needed.
- How is a decision explained? Use a specific reason for rejection so the employee knows what to clarify.
- When is the issue escalated? Define a route for disputed or repeatedly unresolved records.
Do not make the number of visits the only test of attendance. Different jobs have different work patterns. A long service visit and several short sales calls cannot be judged by the same visit count.
Review repeated problems at the end of the week
If several employees struggle at one site, review the location rule and the working arrangement. If the same device regularly stops updating, investigate its settings and connectivity. If people simply forget, improve the reminder and training process. Repeated manual corrections can reveal a setup problem rather than an employee problem.
Keep the review connected to the working day
NexaSync brings attendance records, leave and attendance review into the manager’s workflow. Start with attendance and shifts, and check site geofencing if your team checks in at defined locations.
Test a normal day and an exception day during setup. A process is not ready just because the first check-in works; the manager also needs to know how a missed or disputed entry will be handled.