Biometrics refers to technology that recognizes a specific feature on an individual to confirm the person’s identity. Starting with simple fingerprint identification, the technology has advanced and branched out to face recognition, hand/palm geometry reading, voice recognition, and retina scanning.
While biometrics date back to the Babylonian times when business transactions were confirmed by placing fingerprints into clay - true biometrics didn’t emerge until automated systems were developed, near the end of the 20th century.
At first conception biometrics seems complicated and “futuristic”, however, the technology is user friendly – easy to implement, work and manage. The implementation of biometric time clocks is just as simple as implementing traditional badges or PIN terminals. Enrolling employees into the system is fast and easy, so companies of all different sizes can utilize biometrics and the benefits that come with it.
Companies have started to implement biometric time clocks to identify employees and track working hours. Biometric time clocks can provide an organization with a variety of workforce analytics including but not limited to determining actual pay amounts, identifying late check in times and monitoring absences.
Biometric time clocks provide the following advantages:
1. Reduce payroll costs 2-5%
2. Reduces administrative errors and time spent calculating employee hours
3. Eliminate the risk of “buddy punching” and time fraud (Employees punching the time clock on behalf of fellow employees who are leaving early, arriving late, etc)
In addition, there are no privay issues associatied with biometric time clocks. Biometrics do not store images of the hand or fingerprint. The information of the employees enrolled is a template of their hand or fingerprint, created using a series of algorithms. These templates cannot be used to replicate a person’s hand shape or fingerprint.
Overall, it is easy to see that the automation of time and attendance is a signigicant investment for companies, yet yeilds a strong ROI. A biometric time clock can save organizations a significant amount of resources and money.
Learn about Synerion's touch screen biometric solutions
