The Rise of Biometric Time and Attendance in Workforce Management

More businesses are considering adopting biometric technology with their workforce management software. Fingerprint, finger vein, and palm vein biometrics are getting more attention around the world as viable biometric modalities that can be used for individual identification in different areas such as: Identity management, Employee time and attendance, Point of sale access etc.

Biometrics for workforce management is a rapidly growing trend not only to increase identification accuracy and security but also to ensure employee accountability, increase productivity, and boost business profits.

Why are businesses considering biometrics for workforce management?

The major factors that drive businesses to consider this sophisticated technology is to replace traditional and obsolete paper based time tracking such as passwords, personal identification numbers (PINs) and time cards that are traditionally used to clock in and out and access computer networks. For many of these businesses that sniff out employees engaging in buddy punching and time theft, deciding how to stop it has become an arduous task. Business are suffering from mismanaging employees effectively to increase productivity, where different problems like employee time theft, buddy punching, and inaccurate identification are common. According to the FBI, this type of time theft costs U.S. companies a combined $500 billion annually. Moreover, there is a lot of leeway in customizing a workforce attendance system, and that is where a biometric attendance system comes in handy!

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Capture time
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Capture time
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Adopting biometrics for workforce management can pay both tangible and intangible dividends for those who invest in it and we have demonstrated several examples of how biometrics can benefit business owners from several different angles. Biometric credentials for every individual are different and cannot be forged or duplicated which prevents employees from punching in a co-worker while not present in the workplace. Therefore, biometric technology identifies a person by who the person is rather than what the person has or what they know such as PINs, passwords, or an ID card and it can prevent time theft from workforce management as biometric credentials cannot be shared like passwords. If you are currently using a traditional paper based time and attendance system and looking for a technology to help you to overcome these types of limitations, you might consider using biometrics for long term benefits and a higher return on investment.

Benefits of using biometric time and attendance for workforce management

Biometric identification management technology in a point of sale or workforce management environment may not initially be the least expensive option, but has proved time and time again to provide higher return on investment, increased employee productivity and enhanced customer loyalty. Here are some major benefits that drive businesses to use biometrics for workforce management:

• Increase Productivity: Eliminating the practice of keeping manual time and attendance records, biometrics saves employee time, decreases staffing overhead, and provides accurate labor data to the payroll system to effectively manage business operations and increase productivity. According to a case study, through a combination of increased productivity and reducing buddy punching a company estimated $15,000 in savings per year through a $5,000 investment in biometric technology. Bahrain based manufacturing and Construction Company Mass Contracting Co. WLL has integrated a biometrics solution for accurate biometric time and attendance which led to an increase in employee productivity.
• Achieve Higher Return On Investment (ROI): Biometric technology can deliver positive ROI to a business by eliminating buddy punching, employee theft, and other problems caused by inaccuracies and loopholes of an old-fashioned time and attendance system which causes many businesses to unnecessarily lose money each year. In a previous blog post, we estimated a hypothetical ROI of up to 60% using biometrics than other traditional methods. Cal Poly Pomona Foundation has been able to achieve higher ROI with a biometric time and attendance system implemented with their workforce management system.
• Loss Prevention: Employee time theft costs business billions of dollars of losses annually. According to the U.S. Department of Commerce, employee dishonesty and time theft costs American businesses in excess of $50 billion annually. The same statistics show that at least 37% of theft occurs multiple times from their employer. Relying on security cameras, barcode swipe cards, or PINs for inventory management and transactions has loopholes to prevent employee theft that render them less effective solutions. Conversely, biometric technology can ensure loss prevention by providing a concrete audit trail and accurate tracking of every employee.
• Accountability: Biometric technology can ensure a clear audit trail for POS transactions and removes the problems of swapping of IDs, passwords or PINs. In addition, biometric technology can accurately provide information on who is performing what, thereby encouraging your employees to act ethically which helps to increase accountability. Australia based workforce management solution integrator company GTick integrated a biometric solution within their windows based workforce management system for the local Mine Worker Association to increase employee accountability.
• Boost Operational Efficiency: Biometric time and attendance eliminates unnecessary time spent clocking in/out and reconciling paper timesheets enabling a more fair and equitable allocation of resources to other initiatives and helps to boost operational efficiencies. Faith Assembly Church of God has been able to speed up the attendance process of the youth services and boost operational efficiencies.
• Compliance with labor laws: Biometric time and attendance ensures a concrete audit trail for all transactions, resulting in strengthened compliance, decreased risk, and increased savings by eliminating litigation and penalty fees. In Bangladesh, Ready Made Garments are using a biometric time and attendance solution that is also compliant with local labor laws.

It’s clear that more and more businesses are looking to increase productivity, profits, and employee accountability by eliminating employee time theft, buddy punching and other problems. Biometric time and attendance systems for workforce management are clearly the most secure and effective method to eliminate buddy punching and maximize business ROI. In the future, biometric time and attendance systems will be an essential element for business to ensure operational efficiencies.