Defining and leveraging geolocations

Mobile devices can store and transmit GPS data that provide systems with information about where a particular device is currently located. A geofence is a virtual perimeter that represents a geographic zone or area. Using geofencing, organizations can prohibit owners of devices from performing certain system functions (for example, clocking) outside of the virtual perimeter, or they can track whether specific activities occurred inside or outside this virtual area.

In Workforce Management, geolocations are defined at the team level. Each geolocation consists of a pair of GPS coordinates (latitude and longitude), representing the physical location of the team, and a radius. Together, they define a circular geofence or zone around the location for this particular team.

For example, you can define a 50 meter geofence for a team centered around a particular store location. Using clock validation, you can prohibit employees at this store from clocking outside of the defined geofence. Alternatively, you can automatically unauthorize an employee's timesheet if the clock transaction occurs outside of the defined geofence using pay rules. When an employee performs a clock transaction using their mobile device, the coordinates of the applied clock can also be displayed on the applicable work summary in the timesheet for tracking purposes.

Capturing GPS coordinates during an attempted clocking transaction requires a mobile device's location services be turned on.