If you run a construction business, then you already know how tricky it can be to keep track of all of the hours that your employees work. You might have people starting one job at a certain time, while there’s another crew across town that has a different start time.
As a result, you end up with quite a mess on your hands, especially when everyone gets paid hourly. This is why you need a good time clock system. A biometric time clock system can work wonders. It will also help you track your employee’s time efficiently. We know that time equals money, so why should you spend more than you need to set up paychecks each week.
The Benefits of a Biometric System
We already mentioned one of the pitfalls of owning a successful construction business – dealing with timekeeping. A biometric time clock system, which uses fingerprints, is the best solution. Your employees can put the time clock software on their smartphones and clock in and out from anywhere.
On top of this, you won’t have to worry about your employees “swiping in” for their friends. They will only be able to clock in as themselves. This prevents time theft. Let’s go into all of that in more depth.
Clocking in From Anywhere
Most construction companies keep their employees on the go. They might in one town on Monday, and then another on Tuesday. This movement can be hard to track, and it also prevents a traditional time clock system from working properly. Why? Well, a traditional time clock system is anchored to a wall.
Imagine your employee having to come to the office, swipe in, and then go to wherever they’re needed. This costs you time – since you’re paying them for that travel time – and is much less efficient. It’s faster when your employee can go to the job site and just clock in right there.
Wage Theft Is a Problem
On top of this, a traditional time clock system tends to use a single punch card for each employee. You don’t know for certain if that employee is actually the one clocking themselves in. (Unless you place a camera over the clock, but that just creates more work for you.)
Many construction workers become friends, and you might see them teaming up together for different things. This means that they might be tempted to clock in for each other. For example, one worker is running late, so he calls his friend, who then clocks in for him. You’re losing money because you don’t have the systems in place to catch this. Biometric time clock systems are quite different.
Communication Will Improve
If you don’t have a good time clock system, then your human resources personnel might be left in the dark. They don’t know when your employees are working, or even what job they are on. On top of this, if you use systems like the old-fashioned paper kind that rely on note taking, then this is an even bigger problem.
Those systems really operate on the honor roll! You could end up with an employee who seemingly vanishes, only to turn up later with the job completed. The problem? You have no way of proving that he’s the one who completed the job. Your HR people won’t know when he worked or anything. This is extremely problematic. Instead, use a biometric time clock system that can track virtually everything.
What Is a Biometric Time Clock System?
In order to explain just how useful these biometric systems are, we need to define them. A biometric time clock system is one that uses an identity marker, like a fingerprint, in order to identify an employee. Without placing their fingerprint in the time clock’s reader (or even on the smartphone app), these employees can’t log in.
As a result, you’ll know exactly who is logging in and what they’re working on. Yes, this sophisticated software can even track things like what job your employees are working. This is extremely helpful in the construction industry, as you have many different jobs going on at once.
Putting a Biometric Time Clock System in Place
We’ve already explained just how much a biometric time clock system can help your construction business. You know just how important one is. Now, we’ll go into some depth about how easy it is to set one up. These systems run on sophisticated software that is actually very easy to manage and program. You just need to set everything up once, add your employees to it, and then get started.
As the jobs and employees change, you can switch things around. As a result, you’ll spend less time on payroll and tracking budgets, leaving you more time to get new construction clients.
