Top Benefits of Biometric Time Clocks
Written by: Allied Time
As a business scales, time management becomes an even greater concern. At a certain point, employees will outnumber management so it’s important to have a system in place that helps track time with transparency. That’s where biometric time clocks can come in handy. The pseudo-science name doesn’t mean they will replace your management team anytime soon, but they can be useful for businesses looking to scale and worried about their ability to track employee time.
Accuracy
One of the major sources of loss for small businesses is time fraud. This practice is fairly subtle, but employees do it all the time. Time fraud occurs when an employee uses time clocks to clock in for work, and then leaves the site or reports elsewhere and does not do any of the work required of him. Time fraud can also occur when there is “buddy clocking” in place, where someone clocks in for someone else.
A biometric time machine virtually eliminates this problem. Employees must use some part of their person to clock in. Machines can read the contours of a face, or the imprint of a finger. Employees are also safe from potential privacy violations, as the machine does not record a detailed image of the employee or his face.
These systems use our bodies to record specific points. When an employee’s face or thumb passes over the scanner, the system matches what it sees to data points modeled after that employee’s input. In this way, specific employees are catalogued without their identities being at risk.
HR also benefits, as punches are accurate and time is recorded. Plus, biometrics are required to enter or leave an area. This means employees benefit from less time worked off the clock, and there is no need to remember a keycard or pass code.
Preparing for the Transition
If you plan to move your work place to biometric time clocks, here are some things to keep in mind. For one, employees will require training on the new technology. Inform them as soon as possible and train accordingly. Employees may also have concerns over their privacy, so it’s important to address these concerns and explain how the system works.
There are also people who claim religious or moral objections to this kind of technology. While these cases are rare, do have a contingency plan in place for dealing with these situations as they arise.