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Keeping Track of Time and Attendance

Time and attendance systems are put in place to automatically track and record when employees are clocking in and out at work, with 85% of companies integrating this with their payroll system, according to a study undertaken by the Aberdeen Group. These systems enable businesses to monitor their employees working hours and creates a simple method for those with flexible hours, such as contractors, to log their hours when moving across sites. Traditional time and attendance systems, such as paper time sheets, don’t provide live information, allow for time theft and don’t directly associate ID with the employee. Digital sign in kiosks can assist in many ways, such as preventing these issues and providing a reliable record for health and safety purposes.

Sign-in kiosks are able to provide employees with a structured system, with a lower chance of miscommunication and errors as all hours are logged, whether they are early or late, which could also be used to track and reward employees with consistently good timekeeping. The system could also provide employers with attendance information, which would enable them to put plans in place or update systems if employees are absent, ensuring the business still runs smoothly each day. Alongside the day-to-day management of sickness and absence, businesses are also able to integrate HR systems, which could allow employees to complete activities such as booking holidays, access employee handbooks and picking up extra shifts.

Through the use of digital sign-in kiosks, systems can be altered by employers and security to ensure that not every everyone has 24/7 access, as they may have had with traditional keys, also then preventing access to specific areas that could hold sensitive information or be dangerous for employees to enter without supervision. This means that if emergency access is required outside of working hours, sign-in systems can ensure that the workplace remains secure whilst providing the required access to those with correct permissions. These systems are able to assist health and safety officers, during working hours, by providing up to date and accurate information on those who are in the building, which they could access from a separate device to save time collecting or printing documents in potential emergencies.

There are many methods in which companies can use to enable their employees to clock-in and gain access to their workspace, with different devices integrated into their kiosk. These can include;

PIN number pad
ID tag scanner
Facial recognition: this can analyse facial features to grant access
Iris recognition: this uses identifying features within the iris
Retina recognition: this uses the patterns of veins at the back of the eye
Fingerprint recognition: this recognises the finger pattern
Finger vein recognition scanner

Although some companies may not need to use biometrics for employee sign-in, and may find that ID cards and personal pins are secure enough, some companies may need a multi-layered

approach providing a strong security system- but this is often dependant on the business and projected security breaches. Through using bimodal systems to combine two methods, these systems can be used by many different industries, such as within the construction industry, where workers may often have damaged or cut fingers from day-to-day work, making a fingerprint method of access counterintuitive. Through using the finger vein scanner alongside another method such as a tag scanner or iris recognition, systems are able to capture and match biometric traits more successfully, making businesses more accurate and secure.

Using clock-in kiosk solutions can help businesses combat time theft. This occurs when employees are paid for time when they were not at work, or for work that they did not do, costing employers thousands of pounds every year. Traditional clock-in methods such as a personal PIN or physical sign-in sheets can make it easier for employees to claim for these hours, in ways such as;

Rounding up or down the minutes/hours or paper time sheets
Friends clocking in for each other by borrowing key cards or forging signatures
‘Forgetting’ to swipe cards in order to avoid hours being tracked

Digital clock-in kiosks can combat these issues, ensuring businesses can ensure the information that’s being recorded is accurate, by utilising camera’s within the kiosk for facial recognition, or with other biometric methods built in. Using biometric data is created around unique identifying characteristics and are nearly impossible to forge, which provides ideal protection from any hackers or unwanted intruders, as well as being able to remove data quickly and easily to follow all data protection laws in case the employee moves on.

Administrative teams would also be able to focus more on other important responsibilities, saving time by not having to chase employees for paper timesheets and examining data to ensure it is correct, which is able to streamline businesses. These methods are also able to reduce payroll errors which are often inevitable due to human error, on occasions such as absence of admin staff, which would mean that the payroll is still able to run smoothly when staff could be limited on occasions. This could also allow remote access for businesses, such as staff clocking in to access their private rotas and documents, and to the administrative team being able to complete payment actions.

Browse a range of iPad and tablet kiosks online and look at ways you can change the dynamics of your business with our innovative solutions today. For more information, get in touch with the imageHOLDERS team by calling +44 (0)1202 892863 (UK) or +1 877 450 2172 (US) or email [email protected].