Biometric attendance systems are becoming increasingly popular in today’s business world, thanks to their ability to overcome a range of problems associated with “traditional” methods.

How it works

Whenever a new employee joins an office, there is a clearly defined system to record their fingerprint. For security reasons, the system plots the fingerprint as a series of reference points, rather than store the full image of the fingerprint. This protects the security and identity of the employee, as those reference points cannot be ‘reverse engineered’ to recreate the fingerprint. When the employee touches the scanner of the biometric system to clock in or out, the fingerprint is matched against the reference points in the database to verify the employee’s identity.

This is absolutely safe, as the system only has a record of the employee record or ID number and corresponding fingerprint reference points. So, even if it is hacked, there is no personal and sensitive information worth stealing.

The advantage of a biometric system

1. One of the biggest advantages of using biometrics for attendance in business is that employees are unable to “punch in” for each other. Biometric characteristics cannot be duplicated, which prevents employees from acting dishonestly.
2. Biometric clocks reduce administration staff overheads and provide accurate data to the payroll department. This helps to manage the overall business efficiency and increases productivity.
3. The larger the company or organisation, the greater the reduction in the burden placed on the payroll department, as it reduces manual handling of data because it is now fully automated.
4. During an audit by the Australian Tax Office or FairWork Australia, the biometric system easily retrieves the records of an individual and assists in the independent verification that you have been complying with employment laws.
5. When you implement a biometric system in your business, many clients report an immediate ROI (Return on Investment). When people know they are being accurately tracked, they adapt their behaviour to fit the working rules of the company. Employees become more accountable for their actions, which may also include taking extended or frequent breaks.
6. When biometric systems are linked to quality payroll systems, which are automatically updated to reflect changes to awards, it does away with human error. This in itself can pay for a new biometric system.
7. Another advantage is that it can restrict employee and non-employee access to certain areas of your organisation. This makes the office more secure against intruders or wandering visitors – and increases data security.

Many people investigating fingerprint technology for the first time believe that it is “new” science that was previously the domain of Hollywod movies. In fact, it has been in use in a manual form since 1891! The move to workplace settings has been implemented for many years and has proven its worth in both large and small companies on a global scale.

It is easy, safe, avoids the use of passwords and employees can start work as soon as they reach the office.