In the past few decades, American businesses have begun shifting from a totalitarian view of employee management to an attitude of freedom with accountability. Through global recruitment and the evolution of what makes a family, many companies have come to realize trust can have a much greater benefit on productivity than micromanagement.

Most human resources professionals are familiar with the term "exempt" employees, meaning the individual is paid on a salary basis and does not qualify for overtime pay for hours worked in excess of 40 per week. Exempt status is determined by the type of work being performed without consideration to the employee's time commitment.

The HR department at a mid-sized, St. Louis-based company recently conducted a research study investigating organizational procedures and attitudes regarding time-keeping practices. Respondents to this survey included human resources professionals, company executives and business owners.

The survey results collected include basic demographic information (company size, longevity, family-owned status, etc.), current time-keeping procedures for exempt employees, and attitudes about these procedures.

Time-keeping procedures

The study focused on three basic categories of exempt employees: standard exempt professionals, commissioned salespeople and executive leadership. The responses collected show whether time is tracked for each category and how it is reported.

• Exempt professionals: 50 percent of responding employers do not track time, 41 percent track time by self-reporting, 9 percent track time by punching a time clock.
• Commissioned salespeople: 83 percent of responding employers do not track time, 11 percent track time by self-reporting, 6 percent track time by punching a time clock.
• Executive leadership: 64 percent of responding employers do not track time, 27 percent track time by self-reporting, 9 percent track time by punching a time clock.

Because this summary focuses mainly on exempt professionals, it is also important to note here that of the 9 percent of employers who require exempt professionals to punch a time clock, half use the time clock for paid-time-off (PTO) tracking purposes only.

Attitudes toward time keeping for exempt employees

When asked about management's observed attitude toward putting in extra time, 77 percent of respondents replied that time commitment is generally not important as long as the work gets done. Similarly, when asked whether it is a good practice to track the time worked by exempt employees, 43 percent of respondents believe it is a poor practice, 43 percent are indifferent, and 14 percent believe it is a good practice.

The final portion of the survey asked respondents to select any of the statements below with which they agree. When comparing these responses with the data from the time-keeping procedures mentioned earlier, it is not difficult to anticipate procedural changes in the future. Businesses that want to remain competitive in the talent market will need to align their practices with these increasingly flexible attitudes.

So it is time for a change?

The need for workplace flexibility continues to increase for many reasons. More families include two working parents, adults are returning to school for advanced degrees, and the younger generations are seeking a greater work/life balance than ever before.

In order to attract the diverse talent of the future, employers should carefully consider what makes a productive workplace: freedom and accountability, or control and vigilance?

One final note: As the government toughens up on employee misclassifications, employers shouldn't put off auditing how their employees are classified. One-third of respondents reported some concern that they may have employees misclassified as exempt.