7 Benefits of Implementing an Online Time Clock

Curious as to how you can improve accountability and gain better insight into your employee scheduling data? Take a look at adding a biometric (fingerprint ID) time clock into your time and attendance workflow.

What is a Biometric Time Clock?

Biometric technology offers one of the most cost-effective, convenient, and secure forms of employee and staff identification available in the world today. A biometric time clock collects a physical identifier – such as a fingerprint, facial scan, or iris scan – and enters it into a system, automatically tracking a timestamp for the entry. As opposed to manual clocking in, punch time cards, or other traditional systems, biometric time clocks can increase security and accuracy, as well as save time and avoid errors.

Combining a biometric time clock with a strong EMS scheduling software enables your agency to run at optimal performance. Below are the top seven benefits of integrating an online time clock into your time and attendance processes.

Benefit 1: Eliminate Time Theft

One of the most highly regarded benefits of a biometric time clock is its ability to eliminate employee time theft. A biometric time clock can detect a user or fraudulent attempts within seconds with precision. It does not rely on any sort of security camera, pin number, badge, or fob, which are all significantly less accurate and secure options.

Integrating this tool with an EMS scheduling management tool allows agencies to create thresholds that require employees to give an explanation if they clocked in or out before the scheduled shift time. Each agency is allowed to use its discretion based on the reasoning on whether to accept the actual punch in/out time or keep it at the scheduled set time.

Benefit 2: Increase Productivity

Biometric technology also facilitates automated processes. All the information on the online time clock is stored and reported through an automated system, eliminating the need to keep time and attendance manually. By doing this, you save the confusion and time from employees refuting incorrectly documented times, reduce the amount of staff needed to manage the data, and provide an accurate account of time and attendance data to the payroll department.

Implementing a biometric clock into current scheduling processes helps to effectively manage business processes, leading to an overall increase in productivity.

Benefit 3: Eliminate “Buddy Punching”

“Buddy punching” is when one employee punches in for another employee who is not really there, using his or her using ID access. Although buddy punching is illegal, employers continue to lose millions of dollars a year because of it.

A biometric time clock captures unique biological traits to detect an employee based on his or her specific makeup and cannot be duplicated or forged by anyone else. This eliminates giving coworkers the ability to clock in or out for another employee.

Benefit 4: Speed Your ROI

A direct return on investment (ROI) can be shown by investing in a biometric time clock. An ROI for an EMS agency can be seen through increased productivity, cost management, and time savings.  An increase in productivity increases your employees’ confidence when it comes to the accuracy of their attendance and shift clock in and out times.

When employees feel like their time and money are secure, they are able to focus their attention on the tasks at work and perform at higher levels. A biometric clock also relieves HR Departments, Managers, and Supervisors of the time-consuming tasks related to tracking employee hours and ensures the highest form of data precision.

Benefit 5: Optimize Payroll Processing

With an online time punch clock system, agencies can eliminate the costs occurred from mistakes made while manually inputting the data from physical time sheets. These times are given to payroll and directly affect the amount an employee makes on each paycheck. If the information is entered incorrectly, it can ultimately affect an employee’s time worked, overtime, sick, and vacation time.

Biometric time clocks are able to automatically record payroll hours, ensuring that payroll information is transmitted accurately every time. Implementing a biometric time clock can also give agencies the opportunity to reduce overhead or allocating resources to other areas of the organization.

Benefit 6: Improve Employee Accountability

One of the best features of a biometric clock is the audit trails. Everything that has to do with the clocking in and out of employees is recorded, tracked, and stored for future use. With biometric technology, there is no question of if the information is inaccurate based on human error. It also eliminates the risk of any type of favoritism or changes to the time sheets. When employees understand that they are solely responsible for their actions and performance at work – and will be held accountable for taking unscheduled breaks, lunches or time-off – productivity will greatly increase.

Benefit 7: Simplify and Secure Processes

Biometric time clocks require no password, pin numbers, or cards, eliminating the chances of the identification being lost, stolen, or forgotten. This makes process of clocking in and out for shifts very simple for workers, as well as removing the possibility of upper management or HR taking time out of their day to replace lost or stolen badges. Other than the chance of an employee having a serious physical injury or disease, biometric technology stays consistent and permanent for the entire length of employment.

A Better Solution for a Savvy Scheduling System

Biometric time clocks are known for being the secure, time-efficient, and cost-saving solution for clocking in and out. It gives your employees a peace of mind, allowing them to increase their productivity at work while also relieving some of the cumbersome responsibility of HR, supervisors, and management. While it may seem like an obvious choice for large EMS agencies, many of the benefits seen above will work for smaller organizations as well.

Need an extra layer of security with attendance for your EMS agency? The bioclock interface is an optional biometric solution that can be easily added to ESO Scheduling. It employs a USB fingerprint scanner and an internet-connected Windows application.

Come see how bioclock and ESO Scheduling can help your agency stay on time and work smarter.