19 Oct How your business can benefit from a fingerprint attendance system
The use of biometric fingerprint access control system has been gaining vast popularity around the world. Organisations have been quietly replacing their outdated security solutions and time management systems with advanced biometric readers and more progressive workforce management software solutions. These readers are critical to assisting companies with additional security and, more importantly, reducing potential loss in revenue through payroll discrepancies and ‘buddy punching’. Add to that, biometrics can substantially simplify the entire attendance and record keeping system for improved efficiency.
Biometric attendance systems
A biometric attendance system, essentially, allows users access to areas within a business while tracking the time they entered the building. To use fingerprint access control, a database storing all fingerprint templates is required alongside an access control system. For those that are looking into the possibilities of biometric readers, they can be installed with minimum fuss. Access to particular areas is then controlled by the access control system via the fingerprint scanner, which identifies an individual based on matching their fingerprint with a registered template. If the individual has not enrolled in the system, access will be denied.
Many biometric attendance systems – such as our ievo security solutions – can be used alone or with additional input methods, such as MIFARE® or HID iClass identification cards. Biometric readers are some of the more secure methods for tracking time and attendance – especially as the times an individual has entered a building, or a specific area, are logged in the database.
The cost of ‘buddy punching’
‘Buddy punching’ refers to a form of time theft in which employees will ‘punch’ or ‘clock in’ for others that are late or not in work for some reason. The concept of ‘buddy punching’ is, certainly, nothing new to the world of work, but it can prove costly for large businesses. To put it in perspective, employers in the US lost over $373 million to employees exploiting time and attendance recording systems in 2017. Shockingly, this included large chunks or even entire days of missed work, further highlighting how serious the issue has become. While this statistic is staggering, the effect could go further beyond lost revenue, as it can also have an extreme impact on productivity and morale of other employees. There is also the risk this practice could, potentially, cause a negative culture within the business. Companies cannot afford to ignore such a concept. However, there is a solution to effectively reduce ‘buddy punching’ within a business by deploying biometric authentication technology.
A biometric attendance system enables organisations to track and monitor employees with astonishing accuracy and reliability. Such systems – including biometric fingerprint scanners – can verify an employee’s identity within seconds due to characteristics and features that are unique to the individual. Therefore, the employee has to actually be present to ‘clock in’ for work.
How can they boost efficiency
The installation of fingerprint access control can help boost overall productivity while ensuring a business is safe and secure.
As mentioned earlier, biometric attendance systems can dramatically reduce the possibility of buddy punching. An employee cannot replicate the fingerprint of another worker, so there will, likely, be no instances of time theft within the company. With the reduction in time theft comes increases in productivity and accountability, with every employee held accountable for their actions.
Similarly, companies with a manual timekeeping and payroll process can benefit in the long term. It’s possible to save a number of hours – or even the administrative burden of one person assigned to timekeeping – with biometric solutions, reducing attendance tracking to mere minutes.
Additional expenditure on key cards, ID badges, swipe cards etc. are reduced with biometric security solutions – especially if the resources need to be restocked due to human error (losing or forgetting secondary credentials, i.e. ID cards). Add to that, business owners/directors can use the recorded data to identify any productivity issues – perhaps down to one individual – and assess or correct any issues or concerns before a situation worsens or even rises.
For companies within the food and drink industry and other hospitality sectors, a fingerprint attendance system can even reduce cases of cross-contamination or food terrorism. For instance, if an issue was detected in the produce, a company can use the information stored in the biometric readers to identify who was on site at the time and identify the person(s) potentially responsible. This is not always possible with key cards and the like – especially if it is not being used by the assigned person.
Simultaneous enrollment
For those companies looking into biometric authentication, consider the benefits of simultaneous enrollment. For instance, ievo biometric readers allow users to enrol at the same time and at various locations. As long as the biometric scanners are connected to the database, the individual’s fingerprint templates can be registered and the required permissions granted.
This simultaneous enrolment also allows for greater workforce management. If a business has multiple premises or locations, directors/managers can quickly see who has entered different buildings, monitoring their times and even grant or revoke access to particular areas within the company. This is especially important for business or facilities that have areas with restricted access.
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