Optimize Workforce Efficiency with Zoho People’s Employee Location Tracking

Location Tracking Using Zoho People Mobile App

What is location tracking feature in Zoho People?

Location tracking in Zoho People allows your organization to capture and record your employees' geographical work locations using the Zoho People mobile application. The mobile application uses the device's GPS (Global Positioning System) to capture the precise location from the employee's device and then transmits this data to Zoho People, to access the data from Zoho People web service.  An organization can track their employees' work locations only between their check-in and check-out times of their work shift hours.
Notes
This feature is available in the Professional and higher plans of Zoho People. Email support@zohopeople.com to enable this feature for your organization.
Info
  1. Professional and Premium Plans are powered by Zoho Maps.
  1. Enterprise Plan is powered by Google Maps.

How is it useful?

An organization can ensure employees are physically present at their designated work locations during check-in and check-out times of their work shift. This allows them to monitor the location of field employees or remote workers to manage and coordinate their activities efficiently. It also enables them to validate employee location data to assess productivity patterns and fairly compensate employees for the hours worked within designated locations. Additionally, they can quickly locate employees in case of emergencies, ensuring safety and a prompt response if needed.

How is employee privacy ensured?

  1. Employees must consent to sharing their device's location data.
  2. Employees can disable location services on their device at any time.
  3. The feature collects location data only between the employees' check-in and check-out hours.
  4. Data is collected and stored within Zoho People, which features a robust data privacy and security system.
  5. The collected data cannot be shared or misused, and can be accessed only by authorized personnel within the organization.

How does it work?

  1. An administrator enables the Location Tracking feature in a specific attendance policy of Zoho People in web application.
  2. Employees allows location permission for the Zoho People mobile application on their devices.
  3. Employees check in through the Zoho People mobile application during their work shift hours.
  4. Zoho People mobile application uses the device's GPS (Global Positioning System) to capture and record employees' work locations at specified intervals.
  5. Zoho People Mobile application captures the following data from an employees' device between their check-in and check-out time at the set time interval:
    - Check-in time and location 
    - Location capture time and location
    - Location capture failed time
    - Break time and location
    - Check-out time and location
    - Automatic check-out time and location (If enabled)
  6. Location tracking ends when employee checks out.

Set Up Location Tracking in Zoho People

In Zoho People, Location Tracking is a feature within the attendance service's specific policy, you can enable it for either a specific user or users within a specific shift. This feature utilizes Zoho People mobile application to track and record employees work location.

To set up location tracking:
  1. Go to Settings > View all > Attendance > Configuration > Specific Policies.



  2. Click Add Specific Policy.
    Info
    You can enable location tracking for existing specific policies by editing them.
  3. Set the applicability of the specific policy to either specific users or users in a specific shift.
  4. Set up necessary attendance specific policy settings, refer to Specific Policies.
  5. Scroll to the bottom of the specific policy settings page to locate and enable the Location Tracking feature.



  6. Enable Location Tracking using Zoho People mobile app feature.
  7. Set location capture interval.
    Idea
    Specify the time interval for capturing location from your employee's device between their check-in and check-out time. For example, if you set it to 15 minutes, the device will capture location data for every 15 minutes.
  8.  Enable Auto check out when location cannot be captured, and set the limit for the maximum allowed location capture failures to automatically check out the user after a specified number of failed attempts.
    Idea
    For example, setting instances as 2 will automatically check-out the employee whose location capture failed for 2 consecutive times.
  1. Enable Trigger notifications when location capture fails, and select the checkbox for Employees, Reporting managers, or Specific Users to notify them when location cannot be captured from an employee's device.
    Info
    To customize the email notification template to your preference, click Customize Email Template and set up your email template, and click Save.

  2. Enable Display geo-restricted range in the location tracker to show the designated geo-restricted range of an employee in the location tracker. This helps you to determine whether the employee's location is captured within or outside the geo-restricted range.
  3. Click Save.
    You have successfully set up the location tracking for a specific attendance policy, applicable to shifts or specific users.

View Location Tracker Data - Zoho People Web Application

Once Location Tracking is enabled and configured for your employees, and when they check in using the Zoho People mobile application, the application captures the location using the device's GPS (Global Positioning System) at the defined intervals. This data is pushed to the Zoho People web application and can be monitored from the following places in the Zoho People Attendance service.
Idea
  1. Employees can view their own location tracker data.
  2. Managers and Admins can view their location tracker data and their reportees location tracker data.

My Data

To view your location data:
  1. From your home page, go to Attendance > My Data > Location Tracker.
    Your location tracker data of the current day is displayed. To view the location tracker data of past days, click on the calendar and select the required date.



  2. You can view the timeline of your location tracker data at the left side of the page, which displays the following location data:
    1. Check-in time and location
    2. Location capture time and location
    3. Location capture failed time
    4. Break time and location
    5. Check-out time and location
    6. Automatic check-out time and location (If enabled)
Info
For Automatic check-out, your last successful location capture data will be set as your automatic check-out time and location. 
  1. You can view the map on the right side, where the above mentioned location data are marked with icons of different colours. Hover over the icon to view the time and location of the specific location captures.
    Idea
    If geo-restriction is set for you and Display geo-restricted range in the location tracker setting is enabled you can view  the designated geo range in the location tracker map.

  2. Click the ellipsis icon to view the number of times you have checked in, instances of location captures, instances of no location, break counts and check-out counts for the selected date.


Team Data

To view your reportees Location Tracker data:
  1. From your home page, go to Attendance > Team Data > Location Tracker.
    Location tracker data of your reportees are listed.

  2. On the left side you can view the total employees who have checked in for the day and their latest location status.
    Idea
    Use search option to find the specific employee location data.
  3. You can view the map on the right side, where the latest location data of your checked in employees are displayed in the map. Click on an icon to view the detailed location tracker data of specific employee.
    Idea
    You can also click on the timeline icon to view the detailed location capture details of an employee.
  4. In the timeline of the specific employee you can view the following location data:
    1. Check-in time and location
    2. Location capture time and location
    3. Location capture failed time
    4. Break time and location
    5. Check-out time and location
    6. Automatic check-out time and location (If enabled)
Info
For Automatic check-out, your reportee last successful location capture data will be set as their automatic check-out time and location. 
IdeaIf geo-restriction is set for you reportee and the Display geo-restricted range in the location tracker setting is enabled you can view the designated geo range of your reportee in the location tracker map.

Info
To view the location data of past days of your reportees, click on the calendar and select the required date.
  1. Click the ellipsis icon to view the number of times your reportee have checked in, instances of location captures, instances of no location, break counts and check-out counts for the selected date.


Employee Instructions - Allow Location Tracking in the Mobile App

Once administrators have set up Location Tracking for specific employees or employees in a specific shift in Zoho People, employees should follow the below steps to allow location tracking during their check-in and check-out times of their work shift hours.
  1. On your mobile device, go to the permissions section of the Zoho People application and allow location access. This only needs to be done the first time you use this feature.
    1. For android devices, click Permissions > Location Permission > Allow only while using the app.
      Idea
      You can press and hold the Zoho People application icon, then select App info to enable permission.
    2. For Apple iOS devices, navigate to Settings > Location Services > Zoho People application > Allow Location Access > While Using the App
      Info
      You have successfully enabled location permission for the Zoho People mobile application, and it captures location only when the application is in use (between your check in and check out time).
  1. Once you have set the necessary permissions for the Zoho People mobile application, enable location on your mobile device and ensure that your mobile internet or WiFi is on.



  2. From the home page of your Zoho People mobile application, click the Check-in icon when you start your work shift. Once you have checked in, your location is captured and updated to your organization at regular defined intervals.
  3. To stop your organization from tracking your location during your break or personal time, click Check-out or Break (If applicable).
    Idea
    You must check in again to continue your work shift attendance and allow for the capturing of your location data.
  4. Zoho People mobile application captures the following location data of yours at regular intervals:
    1. Check-in time and location
    2. Location capture time and location
    3. Location capture failed time
    4. Break time and location
    5. Check-out time and location
    6. Automatic check-out time and location (If enabled)
InfoIf you have been automatically checked out due to location capture failure, you must check in again to continue your work shift. Ensure your location services and mobile internet are always on during work shift hours to prevent location capture failures and automatic check-outs

View Location Tracker Data - Zoho People Mobile Application

Idea
If geo-restriction is set and the Display geo-restricted range in the location tracker setting is enabled in Zoho People, you can view the designated geo range in the location tracker map.
Employee View
Employee can view the their own location tracking data

To view location tracking data from Zoho People mobile application:
  1. From your home screen, click Services > Attendance > Location Tracker.
  2. In the Timeline tab you can view your current day location capture data, click on the date dropdown to select and view the location tracking records of past days.


Reporting Manager or Admin View
Reporting managers or Administrators can view their own location data and their reportees location data.

To view your reportees' location tracking data:
  1. Click Map tab to view the latest location data of your checked in reportees.
  2. Click Timeline tab to view the detailed location tracking data of each reportee.


  3. In the timeline tab, your own location data is displayed by default, you can search for employees to find their location data.
    Idea
    Click on the date dropdown to select and view the location tracking records of past days.



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