Society functions on a simple assumption: that people will be where they are supposed to be on time and ready to work. It’s how we keep the trains running on time. Sadly, as we saw last week in our featured article on time-theft, some miscreants choose to take advantage of that assumption for personal gain at the expense of the rest of us through the fraudulent practices or ghost working and buddy punching.
Thankfully, biometric time and attendance solutions can combat time fraud and bring greater accountability to the workplace. In addition to that, they can also provide a great amount of administrative relief, allowing for extremely accurate attendance records. What’s more, the time and attendance solutions that can aid employers and organizations in this manner aren’t hypothetical or in the works, they exist right now and are being deployed on a global scale.
Here are four time and attendance deployments from around the world, bringing efficiency and accountability to everyday operations.
Caribou Coffee in the United Arab Emirates
Caribou Coffee, a chain of coffee houses in the United Arab Emirates (with some impressive user reviews), recently chose a BioLite Net system from Suprema, Inc. to track employee attendance. Leveraging BioLite Net IP fingerprint terminals in 50 Caribou Coffee locations, the biometric attendance data is transmitted to a central corporate office.
The Caribou Coffee deployment is an excellent example of how biometric time and attendance solutions can benefit a workplace where truancy doesn’t seem to be a problem. The primary intention of deploying Suprema biometrics in this case is to improve efficiency and accuracy as the chain undertakes expansion efforts in the Middle East and Turkey.
Medical Dispensaries in New Delhi
In New Delhi, medical dispensaries use biometric time and attendance solutions specifically to cut down on truancy. A 2014 inspection of the city’s dispensaries, the attendance records of these facilities were shockingly lax, with many staff being absent for 25 to 40 percent of their workday. The resulting customer complaints lead to the deployment of biometrics in 98 medical dispensaries.
Dr. N.V. Kamat, speaking to The Hindu at the time about the topic, commented: “We have already introduced biometrics in our office and are now working on covering the dispensaries. We have been getting complaints about the slack attitude of the dispensary staff, patients facing problems due to delay in treatment etc. This is not acceptable.”
Biometrics were chosen, therefor, to crack down on truancy and reduce the unreasonable treatment times. In healthcare, time isn’t just money, it’s also a matter of wellness. Adding accountability to dispensaries ensures timely treatment.
Tempo Team, The Dutch Temp Agency
A temp agency in the Netherlands is employing biometric time and attendance to remotely keep tabs on its workers. Punctuality and good work ethic are important in every workplace, but when it comes to temp agencies, those qualities are part of the product that they’re selling. It therefore behooves Tempo Team to make sure its employees are showing up on time.
Tempo Team has therefore installed biometric fingerprint readers at the facilities belonging to its clients, including Grolsch, Aldipress and Etos. The tech is used approximately 20,000 times in a given week to verify worker attendance and Tempo Team managers can monitor attendance from home, allowing them to warn a client if a temp hasn’t shown up for work.
Stapleford Park Country House Hotel
Sometimes the biggest benefit of biometric time and attendance is simply being able to streamline the sign-in process. Stapleford Park Country House, a country hotel in Leicestershire, United Kingdom, used to use old fashioned time sheets for employee sign-in. The hotel recently deployed a fingerprint biometric attendance tracking system from Bodet, Ltd. and it helped efficiency in a number of ways.
The obvious benefits are that the Bodet system allows for accurate payroll and automated record keeping. Less obvious are the situation-specific perks. The Stapleford Park Country House has a diverse staff, both salaried and unsalaried, who work around the clock. The schedules can be downright byzantine when you take into account agency staff and shift swapping.
Sally Hatton, Stapleford Park’s payroll administrator, commented on the technology after it had been deployed. “It also saves so much management time,” she said. “Neither we nor the duty managers have to spend time chasing people for time sheets, and as the data is entered automatically it eliminates the risk of manual entry errors.“
*
Join us next week as we continue to Time & attendance Month Be a part of the conversation by following FindBiometrics on Twitter and tweet using the hashtag #FBTimeMonth to let us know some of the time and attendance deployments you think are notable.
—
May 20, 2015 – by Peter B. Counter
Follow Us