Biometric timeclocks: Worth it for your company?
October 10, 2008 by Sam NarisiPosted in: Gadgets, Hardware, In this week's e-newsletter, Latest News & Views
Some companies are turning to electronic fingerprint scanners to keep track of when workers come and go. Is this the future of payroll, or a system that’s too high-tech for its own good?
Basically, the technology replaces the old punch clocks (and even older paper time sheets). Instead of inserting a card, employees press a finger or palm to a scanner when they come to work or leave for the day. The system keeps track of the time for payroll.
The point is to streamline the timekeeping process, and to keep employees honest (since there are no time sheets to falsify and no way of having a co-worker punch in for you if you’re late).
Apparently, some big companies like Dunkin Donuts and Hilton hotels are already on board.
But will it catch on? Who knows. First of all, it probably doesn’t need to be mentioned that these systems are expensive. It might be worth it if you’re keeping track of a lot of employees who commit a lot of timekeeping fraud, but at most places, things may not be that complex.
Also, there’s already been a backlash from employees at companies where these systems have been implemented. Installing such an extreme fraud-proof system certainly sends a message of mistrust, and firms may find that the negative psychological effects outweigh other benefits.
What do you think? Does your company use biometric devices, or are you thinking about using them? Give your opinion in the comment box below.
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Tags: biometrics, time and attendance
October 14th, 2008 at 10:23 am
We are a small company with about forty hourly employees. We installed biometric time clocks in three locations for under $1,000 per location and will make that back in just a few months of not having to add up time cards. We presented it as easier for employees than having to keep track of a card and have had no backlash at all. (It probably helps that this is the truth – we do not feel that we had a problem with fraudulent time reports.) This also gives us the ability to manage overtime with various tool such as email alerts as employees reach forty hours per week. We anticipate substantial savings, not an expensive outlay.
October 14th, 2008 at 10:43 am
Our company implemented a biometric time clock for our plant employees after we found out they were “buddy-punching”. There was resistance at first because employees thought it read their finger print so we explained it reads the size and shape of their hand, not their finger print. The time clock has really worked out well for us.
October 14th, 2008 at 10:50 am
I head of a company using this to keep track of exempt employees as well… I say that is opening up issues regarding FLSA… What is your opinion on that? If you start tracking exempt employees, doesn’t that mean you are treating them like non-exempt and thus should pay overtime?
October 14th, 2008 at 10:55 am
We’re not that large of an organization, but we did consider it. We opted to go with an electronic time clock that reads a bar coded employee number instead, mainly because the bio-clock was expensive even to rent through our payroll processing vendor (ADP). But when you look at the cost of the card printer and supplies like cards, lanyards, cartridges, it wasn’t as much more as you would think. Plus it’s easier for employees who generally don’t keep up with their badges all that well. You can’t really leave your finger at home…at least I HOPE you can’t! It’s not as “out there” of an option as some might think.
October 14th, 2008 at 10:58 am
We use biometric clocks at our hotel. We didn’t have the issue of mistrust with regards to time and buddy punching. Our issue was everyone thought the clocks were taking their finger prints. We had to explain to them in fact it was their finger geometry not a fingerprint. Once we explained it to our team members, they accepted it. Our clocks are even schedule driven. If a team member is not scheduled to work, they cannot clock in.
October 14th, 2008 at 11:01 am
Our company has used these biometric timeclocks for years, which tells me that they are neither new nor too expensive.
They have worked well for us, except for the few individuals who have worn out their fingerprints. There is a way around that, but the newer the clocks get, the more finicky they are. Some employees can’t use the clock at all because the pressure sensor won’t read their finger no matter what we do! It also means that you have to put each person in the clock in person. It takes a lot of time, depending on how many new employees you have and can end up costing you in lost time. Also, the clock occasionally drops prints and you have to do it all over again. It is a hassle.
The employees aren’t upset at all about us “mistrusting them.” I just tell them it is so only they can clock in or out for them – that way they won’t be clocked out as a prank while they are still working and if they leave their badge at home it isn’t the end of the world.
October 14th, 2008 at 11:02 am
We are a company of approx 215 employee and we have been on the bio time clock for about 4 years. It is the best thing that we did! We moved away from the swipe cards to the bio method because of lost or destroyed swipe cards plus the employees’ punching each other in. We went with a local vendor who handles the Cincinnati Time Clock system. Much less expensive than the payroll companies.
October 14th, 2008 at 11:03 am
We have been using the hand scan system for about 5 years, and are now looking to upgrade to the thumb print. The employees are fine with this system, and we do not have to worry about badges being lost or destroyed.
October 14th, 2008 at 11:12 am
We currently use a biometric timeclock (ADP)and love it! Our excuses have dropped dramaticly and we have not had any problems in 1.5 years. The employees (95) were excited when we started using it, thought it was so modern and high tech, no one had any thoughts of mistrust!
October 14th, 2008 at 11:17 am
My company has been using the biometric Kronos system for a couple of years. It was challenging to implement because we had to print every employee at the clock. We use two prints per person. It is no harder to maintain than the old electronic version we previously used. Instead of missed punches due to lost cards, we face missed punches due to the biometric system not reading prints. It will cause problems if your hands are dirty or wet. Also papercuts can alter prints and cause rejections. The overall morale was positive. Our employees were apprehensive at first but I think the technology scared them and the thought of change. We never made it sound like a trust issue.
October 14th, 2008 at 12:06 pm
We installed the ADP handpunch less than 2 years ago. We tried to calm employee fears before they were raised by making sure that they understood it was not a fingerprint machine but rather measured the size and shape of their hands. We only have 20-25 employees using this but have had no complaints and it has eliminated a lot of the “oops I forgot to punch in/out” that we were getting with our old Kronos system (card swipe). Plus with the card swipe, anyone could swipe you in or out. This allows us to better track employee attendance and punctuality. We aren’t a rich company by any means but we found this to be affordable and worth the cost!
October 14th, 2008 at 12:33 pm
I have been involved with two mfg organizations (multi-state w/ 2200 employees and single state w/ 150 employees) that had biometric timeclocks. With the larger employer, the savings were dramatic and immediate. Employees could no longer depend on co-workers to punch them in early or punch them out late and record OT. It ended disputes by employees who claimed they were short-paid. An employee could no longer claim he left at 5 pm (which meant OT hrs) if the timeclock recorded a 3 pm out punch. No one but himself could have punched him out. My staff had very close communication with dept mgrs and supervisors for verifying attendance and OT but we knew there was fraud being committed among some employees. With the smaller employer the savings were not so dramatic however, we still believe the investment was worth it. We did not experience any mistrust issues with employees. Just the opposite. The honest employees (the majority) were happy to see Mgmt was taking measures to keep employees from taking advantage. It was a moral booster for most. The only concern that was voiced by the employees was what the employer was going to do with the biometric (fingerprint) data. The fear was we would forward this information to the local, state and federal authorities. We covered this concern in the meetings we had when we introduced the timeclock change and let them know this information is considered confidential and would be treated as the same as their personal information. In conclusion, in my experience, it was a win-win for not only the employer but for the employees as well.
October 14th, 2008 at 2:30 pm
In response to Michelle, we’ve had some people tell us they have their exempt employees clock in so that they can prove to insurance companies that they really do work 40 hour weeks. This is only a problem if you have a horrible insurance company that threatens not to pay out on big claims.
We steer clear of this because we do not in any way want to treat our exempt employees as if they are non-exempt. Some areas of the FLSA are a little more tricky to interpret and we don’t want to do anything that would make an exempt employee look or feel non-exempt. Plus, if it is ever found that you’ve been treating someone as exempt when they should have been non-exempt, you’ll end up owing all of the OT that has been recorded and not just what they think they remember (which could go either way).
October 14th, 2008 at 2:35 pm
Christina,
That is what I thought – a friend of mine works at that company and she will probably bring it to the attention of top management so they don’t potentially get themselves into hot water!
Thanks!
November 11th, 2008 at 12:53 pm
My company has been using biometric hand readers for over 10 years. I just bought a third clock to save the 10 minutes or so a day that a group of workers uses to get to and from their work location to the time clock. We figure that they have long paid for themselves in cost savings.
July 7th, 2009 at 1:14 am
We purchased a biometric timeclock at AvidBiometrics.com and have been pleased. We had too many employees who were cheating the system and we were wasting thousands in disputed overtime claims.
This eliminated all risks and has made payroll a breeze.
May 20th, 2010 at 12:03 am
Companies will outsource their payroll services to people who specialize in it, leaving you more time to focus on your main service.