Geofencing is a way to check that staff are at the workplace when they record their clock-ins using the Mobile App.
How it works
Workforce.com compares the GPS coordinates of the employee when clocking in against the address defined in your location settings.
An icon in the lower right corner of each clock-in photo on timesheets indicates whether the clock-in occurred within the defined distance (Login radius) the address.
The timesheet icon is Green in color if the clock-in occurred within the geofence, and Red if it occurred outside of the geofence. If the shift location's address is not defined the icon will appear Blue in color.
How to set your geofence location and distance
The location of the geofence is defined by the address in each location.
When entering your business address into each location, Workforce.com searches google maps to identify the location of the workplace:
You can adjust the clock-in area (geofence) for each location:
Go to Workforce > Teams and click Edit next to the location.
Expand Advanced options.
Update Login radius (meters) to the size you need. The default is 100 metres, but you can make it smaller for more precise clock-ins.
You can also adjust the geofence directly on the map: drag the circle’s edge to resize it, or drag the circle to move it.
Click Save.
FAQs
Can I change the clock-in radius for multiple sites at once?
Yes. Go to Settings > Import & Export, export your Locations, update the Clock in radius (meters) column for each site, then import the file back to update your locations. Alternatively, you can change each site individually by editing the location and updating Login radius (meters) under Advanced options.
As GPS accuracy and connectivity can vary between sites, we recommend checking the right radius for each site rather than using the same value everywhere.
How accurate is the GPS signal?
There is no standard accuracy that can be defined. How accurate a GPS signal is depends on many factors including:
The terrain and surrounding buildings
The service provider
The type of device being used
If you find that accuracy is an issue in your specific location, increase the radius to account for the expected error. For locations with poor GPS or cellular connectivity, consider using a larger radius to ensure accurate clock-ins.
The employee looks to be at the correct location on the map but still shows as offsite
The login radius is based on a central point on a map. This means if the address entered covers a large area, the radius may need to be widened or the geofence moved to reflect this.
This becomes a consideration in places like shopping centers or large factories. For example, when entering the address of a shop within a large shopping center, google maps may drop the pin for a shopping center on the street entrance of the building. Use the map in your location settings to check where the geofence sits in reference to the location of the store and consider if widening the geofence is required if there is a wide area where employees could commence their shift.
Why does the location show somewhere I am not?
Usually this is a sign that a GPS signal hasn't been received by your device since moving from the previous location. There are a number of reasons that might be the case, including if GPS had been turned off on the device for some time. In most cases, your phone will only require a short amount of time to acquire a more recent location signal, and closing then opening the app again will force the GPS location to update in Workforce.com.
Why are clock-ins not being prevented when offsite?
You can stop employees clocking in or out of the mobile app when they’re outside a location’s clock-in radius by using a shift question set to block:
Go to Settings > All Settings > Shift Questions.
Create a new shift question and choose to prevent clock in rather than ask a question.
Choose when it applies: clock in, clock out, or both (you may need a separate rule for each).
Set the condition to offsite, and select the mobile app as the device. The offsite condition isn’t available for Time Clocks.
When you find an example, check the employees 'clock ins' section of their employee profile to identify what action was taken by the employee at that time (e.g. clock in or clock out):
Compare this action against the 'When' section of the relevant shift question to confirm if the question should have applied to this action:
Also check the shift question settings to confirm what employee tags the question applies to, and that the question applies to the example employee based on their classification:
For further location inaccuracy troubleshooting steps, see Workforce.com Mobile App: Remote Clock-ins.