By 2020, the cost of workplace absence in the UK will increase to £21 billion. That’s a whole lot of missed opportunity. While it can feel a little Orwellian to keep tabs on employee activity, spotting trends in employee absences makes it easier to boost productivity and assess workplace morale.
On paper, your chances of spotting these time-off trends are slim. But, fortunately, you don’t need to rely on ring binders and timesheets. With fingerprint time and attendance technology, you can access all your data and records straight from the cloud.
But how does this actually work? And what are the bonafide benefits of a cloud-based time management system?
Let’s take a closer look at biometric time and attendance and how it could revolutionise your HR department.
What is fingerprint time and attendance technology?
Before we look at the advantages biometric time clocks can offer your business, it’s worth defining what fingerprint time and attendance actually is.
Employees use a biometric attendance system to clock in and out of their shifts, just as they would have done in the past. However, unlike paper timesheets, there is a far more accurate record of their attendance.
Every time they scan their fingerprint or face, the data is stored in the cloud, making it easier to analyse and turn into visual reports. Ultimately, this gives HR managers a more complete view of the office at any given time.
Why should I care about fingerprint time and attendance technology?
Fingerprint technology isn’t new. But it’s the growth of the cloud that’s enabling HR teams to make the most of it. With centralised time and attendance management comes a host of benefits you’d have a hard time replicating in a spreadsheet.
Monitor time and attendance instantly
Fingerprint time and attendance technology lets you know exactly who’s in the office at any given time. As soon as an employee clocks in, they’re logged in the system until they leave at the end of their shift. HR managers can use this capability to track employee activity and take an instant roll call.
With this method, you also avoid buddy clocking. Since you can’t easily dupe fingerprint and facial recognition technology, staff members are accountable for their own time.
Simplify leave management
The average worker took 4.3 days of sick leave in 2016, according to the Office of National Statistics – a record low. But this doesn’t take into account the growing issue of presenteeism, with 86 percent of employers seeing staff at work despite lingering illnesses.
A biometric attendance system makes it easier to see when employees are taking time off and spot patterns in both absenteeism and presenteeism. Rather than sifting through drawers of paperwork to find the answers, you can log into the system portal and view all the data you need from one convenient place.
Streamline rota management
Not all jobs are 9-to-5, especially in today’s world of flexible working. Part-time, seasonal and weekend workers all have different rotas, making it difficult to plan for holiday cover and keep the same levels of productivity throughout the year.
With cloud-based time and attendance, this isn’t an issue. You can see who will be in the office ahead of time and plan your schedule around their activity. Fingerprint technology means you’ll know exactly who’s been in and out of the building and can even integrate with payroll to automatically compensate overtime.
The cloud is mightier than the pen
As many as 14 million UK workers want more flexibility in their jobs. However, as your workforce grows and diversifies, keeping track of changing rotas and schedules requires a time and attendance system that can adapt to modern practices.
ACUTEC Attendance fingerprint time and attendance technology offers a smarter way to monitor, record and analyse employee activity, helping you supercharge office productivity. Unlike traditional timesheets, the cloud is incredibly difficult to misplace, meaning you will always have centralised access to time and attendance data, whether you’re inside the office or out.
To find out more, visit our ACUTEC Attendance page and book a free demo today.
