When it comes to location tracking, Connecteam has three capabilities to offer: Geolocation, Geofencing, and Breadcrumbs Live Tracking. Each capability is designed to cater to the different situations that our clients might experience on a day-to-day basis. With the Breadcrumbs feature, admins can see their employee's live location while clocked in. The location is also documented and accessible later on if you need it.
As this is a sensitive topic for many, we've decided to write the following article which will help you as managers deal with your employee's questions regarding this feature. We've also written an article with the most common questions that managers and employees might have concerning Breadcrumbs.
How are Breadcrumbs different from geo-fencing?
While geofencing allows you to create a radius around a specific address and ensure that employees are clocking in from the correct location and nowhere else, the breadcrumbs capability allows you to track your employees on the go
Does it track the employees only when clocked in?
While the capability requires the employee's location services to be set to always, Connecteam only provides managers with their location when they are on the clock. In other words, when employees are not clocked in, we do not save that information nor display that for managers to protect your employee's privacy.
Why do employees need to set their Connecteam location services to ‘always’ instead of ‘while using the app’?
To provide managers with their employee's location, even if employees turn off the application, one would have to set the location services to always. With that said, as mentioned before location tracking is only enabled when users are on the clock and we do not save that information nor display that for managers to protect your employee's privacy.
Why does my or my employee’s iPhone say, “Connecteam has been using my location in the background”?
This is a native iOS capability that Apple has built into its operative system to let employees know that their location services are being tracked and is required by Apple when such a feature exists.
What if an employee goes out of cell service or their phone is shut off while clocked in?
If an employee shuts off their phone or goes out of cell service they will still remain clocked in but the application will not be able to track their location.
What happens if an employee turns off location services while they’re clocked in?
If an employee turns off their location services the application will no longer be able to track their location, but they will still remain clocked in.
My app drains a lot of data and battery
Our Breadcrumbs technology has been developed with energy efficiency in mind, meaning that we only capture a location stamp when they move a certain distance to conserve both battery and data. Our testing shows that our technology saves up to 85% more battery and data than traditional live tracking! With that said, one should keep in mind that the application will drain more battery and data with the capability turned on compared to our geolocation and geofencing capabilities.
What if I forget to clock out?
Connecteam has built-in reminders to remind employees to clock out or automatically clock them out, either after a certain amount of hours worked or when their shift ends.
How can I navigate the breadcrumbs map view more effectively?
To enhance your understanding of employee locations on the map, we we have made several improvements to our map, to provide valuable insights into location activities and enable managers to gain a clear picture of their employees' whereabouts. Here are some of the widgets that will assist you in comprehending the map and tracking employee locations effectively:
When you hover over the route of a specific user, you will notice an animated arrow that indicates the direction of the route. This feature allows you to easily visualize the path taken by the user on the map.
When you hover over a pin on the map, you'll not only see the timestamp but also the name of the employee to whom the pin location belongs. This additional information provides a clear identification of the employee associated with the specific route, allowing you to easily differentiate it from the routes of other employees.
In cases of low accuracy, you will notice a dotted indicator with a question mark. Hovering over this indicator will explain the issue, offering insights into the reason behind the reduced accuracy. This feature ensures that you are informed about any potential inaccuracies and helps you understand the underlying factors affecting the location data.
When an employee clocks in or out with low location accuracy, we display this information on the map. You will notice an indication, along with the reason for the reduced accuracy, to provide transparency and clarity.
In cases where a user is automatically clocked out, we are currently unable to capture their precise location. However, we have implemented a solution to address this. To ensure transparency, we place a pin on the map near the area to indicate that the user was auto-clocked out, and their clock-out location could not be accurately captured. It's worth noting that you will also have access to their last timestamp before the auto clock-out, which generally indicates where they clocked out from.
What might be the reason I see a straight line with no pin locations?
There can be various reasons for encountering a straight line on the map. Here are some possible explanations:
In certain cases, if an employee's phone is switched off, we won't receive any location updates, and it may appear as a straight line on the map.
It's important to note that some employees may choose to turn off their geolocation services intentionally after clocking in, which can result in a straight line as their location data is not being shared.
Power-saving modes on phones can sometimes restrict the collection of breadcrumbs, leading to a straight line. This can occur when an employee's phone is in power-saving mode to conserve battery life.
Lastly, it's essential to ensure that the users' Location Services setting for our app is set to "Always" mode. If the app is set to a different mode or if the employee quits the app or turns off the screen, it may affect the ability to capture location updates and result in a straight line.
This seems complex to use
The great thing about Breadcrumbs is that employees don’t have to do anything!
As always, Connecteam is designed to be as easy to use as possible. Once the admin sets up Breadcrumbs, employees just need to give their permission and Breadcrumbs will run automatically in the background.
Need more guidance? 🙋 Our LIVE support team (at the bottom right corner of your screen) replies to ANY question.