Today, United Kingdom telecom company Talk Talk announced that it has finally done away with inefficient paper-based attendance system in favor of biometrics provided by The Bodet Group. The biometric time and attendance system uses networked biometric scanners in order to cut down on wasted administrative time while also improving workforce management and ensuring accurate record keeping.
Initially going to be installed in six sites, with the promise of a coming full scale rollout, the Bodet system is fingerprint-based. Employees simply touch the scanners while checking in for work as the system compares the submitted print to a template. Successful matches have their punch-in and out data sent to central control software which can be mined for department specific employee data reports.
“Like many companies, we used a paper based system to record staff attendance, but we found this wasn’t working effectively and was open to abuse,” says Howard Kanzira, business development manager at Talk Talk. “With 27 shops around the UK, we needed a system that would provide reliable and accurate real time data both for payroll and personnel management at all our sites.”
“We now have a very accurate record of who is working at which site and when,” says Kanzira. “The data is immediately available for payroll, and is especially helpful in regard in calculating holiday and overtime. The software also generates tailored management reports so that current and historic attendance information can be accessed by store and by area. This means that management teams have accurate data for performance management at every level and can identify trends at an early stage.”
The benefits of biometric time and attendance are manyfold. Faster sign-in with less chance of error while also eliminating threats of time fraud. A friend can’t cover for an absence by signing his buddy in when she isn’t there. Having accurate records in a digital system also allows for analytic software to play a part in workforce management.
Recently a similar system was proposed for New Delhi medical dispensaries in order to shape things up after complaints of poor service and doctor truancy.
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June 6, 2014 – by Peter B. Counter
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