Why should you think about upgrading from a manual clocking in system to a biometric system? Employee attendance and the accurate tracking of hours worked is an essential part of business management. Mistakes can cost money, lead to unnecessary expenses, and slow down the productivity of your business.
If you still rely on a manual clocking in system, then you should take the time to discover the reasons for switching to a biometric terminal.
What is a Biometric Terminal?
A biometric terminal is a clocking terminal that allows employees to clock in or out using their fingerprint. The system stores employee fingerprints as an algorithm, which increases security. This can be used in conjunction with a key fob or swipe card. Below, you will find out why a biometric terminal provides a superior option to using a manual clocking in system.
The Disadvantages of Using Manual Clocking Systems
It will help to explore the disadvantages of using a manual system for clocking in or out of a shift. Manual clocking in systems includes time cards, time sheets, and paper punch cards. These solutions have been in place for over a century and are still used by over two-thirds of businesses. Here are the primary disadvantages associated with using manual systems for tracking employee attendance. Many businesses find that manual time clock systems can:
- Lead to mistakes and errors
- Are inefficient
- Slow down the HR department
- Are prone to employee attendance fraud
Manual Clocking Leads to Mistakes
It is estimated that the average business experiences payroll errors 3% of the time when using a manual system for tracking attendance. Many of these errors are often caught by HR staff or employees, but it requires effort to correct the mistakes. In fact, about 10% of the time spent dealing with payroll is spent correcting mistakes.
Manual Clocking Systems Are Inefficient
Manual systems are also incredibly inefficient. This leads to wasted labor. With manual systems, the average employee will waste 4 minutes of paid time per shift dealing with punching in or out. This includes punching in a minute or two early for their shift, not punching out for breaks, and the time spent physically clocking in or out.
These small errors and the wasted labor can add up in payroll costs. While this may only equate to about €15 in wasted pay per month per employee, if you have a large company, you could be wasting a significant portion of your payroll. With just 100 employees, this could result in a loss of €1500 per month.
Manual Clocking Slows Down Your HR Department
Every pay period, your HR department can spend about 7 minutes per employee dealing with tasks related to manual time cards and punch cards. This includes verifying the time entered on the cards, entering information into a payroll system, replacing lost time cards, and other tasks. This can be a major drain on the efficiency of your HR department.
Manual Clocking in Systems Can Be Abused by Employees
Time cards, time sheets, and punch cards are prone to employee fraud. It is easier for employees to use methods of cheating the system, such as “buddy” punching. With time sheets, they can simply enter incorrect times. Employee fraud is a real concern in almost any business that still relies on manual time tracking options.
The Advantages of Using Biometric Terminals
Now that you understand the disadvantages of using manual time clock systems, you should take a look at how a biometric clocking solution can prevent all of those issues. By making the switch from a manual system to a biometric terminal, you can:
- Prevent payroll errors
- Increase efficiency
- Improve the productivity of your HR department
- Prevent attendance abuse and fraud
Biometric Systems Prevent Error
Biometric systems prevent errors, including errors related to the entry of payroll information. As soon as an employee clocks in or out, their time is automatically logged and stored by the system.
Biometric Systems Improve Efficiency
By using a biometric system, you can improve the efficiency of your workforce. Employees will spend less time at the clocking terminal. Those 4 minutes of wasted time that are common with manual solutions are not an issue with a biometric terminal. Employees simply press their finger against the scanner. Depending on your needs, this could be combined with a key fob or swipe card to increase security.
Improve the Productivity of Your HR Department
With the system automatically logging employee time and submitting this information to a central system, your HR department does not have to waste time dealing with the issues related to a manual time card. A biometric system simply requires an employee fingerprint, which cannot be lost or stolen.
Along with improving the productivity of your HR department by cutting down on time spent dealing with time cards, they will also enjoy spending less time dealing with administrative tasks. Time off requests and scheduling issues are handled through the system. When an employee makes a request for time off or a shift swap, supervisors receive a notification in their email – instead of directing this request through HR.
Prevent Employee Abuse and Fraud
The opportunity for employee time abuse or fraud is eliminated with the use of a biometric system. People cannot borrow each other’s fingerprints for clocking in or out, which prevents buddy punching. With the attendance and hours worked stored electronically, you can also prevent time card fraud.
Biometric Terminals Offer a Superior Solution for Employee Time Tracking
The bottom line is that biometric terminals offers many benefits including the perfect solution for accurately tracking employee attendance. They prevent attendance abuse, increase efficiency and productivity, and eliminate payroll errors. A biometric terminal also provides increased security and a simplified solution for tracking the time and attendance of your employees.
If you are still using a manual clocking in system, it is time to consider upgrading to a modern solution. Get hold of Advance Systems today to learn more about biometric terminals and additional workforce management solutions.