Are you still using the conventional time card machines in your office or corporate building?
If yes, you should soon upgrade to better technology for good.
In this article, we are going to tell you 8 legit reasons for replacing your outdated time card machine(s) and what is a better alternative (if not this). So, if your organization is still a fan of these machines, you should give this post a read and reconsider your choice.
A Little Background about Time Card Machines
A Time Card Machine, sometimes also referred to as a Punch card machine or Clock Machine, is an electronic device used in workplaces to record the in and out time of the employees in order to mark their attendance of the day. In mechanical machines, a paper card (known as punch card) has to be inserted into the time slot of the machine. Through this, the machine records the entry and exit time of the workers. Several time cards combine together to form timesheets.
A Timekeeper is employed to keep the records, maintain the database of the attendance and manage timesheets. Timesheets contain the punch in and punch out the detail of each and every employee present in the organization.
The Alternative Solution
With the advent of biometric systems, which are more accurate and advanced, many flaws of time card machines came into notice.
Wait…
Do you know what Biometrics Time Attendance System is?
Well, it captures the unique physical feature of an employee, such as facial or iris recognition, to count the hours he worked for. Biometric system is digital in nature and hence, is very accurate and fast.
If you think that it’s unnecessary to make a shift from your old machines, check the next section. We’ve discussed the reasons why you should upgrade in it.
Why Replace Time Card Machine with Biometric Time Attendance System?
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Slower Data Compilation
These punch-card machines are somewhat slow. When an employee punches his card in the time card machine, it takes some time to compile the information. For a big organization with a large number of employees, the machine will have a large database and hence, will work even poorly. It will create a delay in recording the time. In the end, you need someone to keep track of the database and resolve speed, inconsistency or performance issues.
On the other hand, biometric systems are relatively faster as they record some physical trait of the employee and instantly update the database.
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Buddy Punching
The biggest issue in time card machine is of buddy punching.
Employees punch their friend’s card even when they are absent or are late arrivals. This buddy punching practice gives a huge loss to the employer, as they are paying for the work which has not been done.
In the case of the biometric system, this practice is not possible as every person’s selected physical trait is different from the other. Hence, this prevents such practices and helps you maintain a healthy work environment.
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Expenditure for Upgrading Device
Being a physical machine, it requires maintenance and also has to purchase a new machine within some time period. This is an unnecessary expenditure for any organization. While the biometric systems are a one-time investment, as it is a digital device.
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Data Entry Error
Sometimes, the machines didn’t record some the entries and have to be entered manually by the Timekeeper, which may lead to some data entry errors, which may lead to some paycheck problem for the employees. But in case of the biometric system, the data is recorded and maintained automatically; so there is no chance of any data entry errors. Digital systems usually provide higher accuracy and are more precise.
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Time Theft
Employees can also do time theft, which is somehow similar to buddy punching. But in time theft, they usually try to enter wrong entry or out time, which in turn gives a huge loss to the employer, by paying the amount for wrong time entries. The biometric system completely eliminated the time theft problem, by the facial-based attendance system.
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Payroll Errors
Time cards machine usually created some payroll errors, which results in salary loss to the employees. These errors occur during modification being done by the timekeeper and the HR department. For an automatic machine, like biometric, no such modification is required, as the system updates by itself.
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Employee and Employer Satisfaction
In a punch card machine system, both employee and employer remain in a fear of losing their money. This brings in stress and dissatisfaction, which in turn affects the productivity of the company.
With biometric systems, employees have job satisfaction and the employer does not suffer from any buddy punching or time theft monetary loss. When both the employee and the employer are satisfied, this brings an increase in productivity and profit itself.
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Loss of the Card
One more threat is that if an employee has lost his punch card, he would not be able to mark his attendance or sometimes may not get to work. He has to request the HR team to issue him a new punch card and this process will take some time to issue the new one. So, in the meantime, the employee’s attendance cannot be marked and hence, he has to suffer from loss of pay. But with a biometric system, there is no such issue as he has to mark his attendance by his face or iris, even if he loses his card, it won’t affect his attendance.
Conclusion
Time cards have become very popular in the past few decades. The reason behind its popularity is its cost, ease of use and ease of installation. Every small or big organization started using these machines to record the work hours of their employees.
As technologists always thrive to make our work easier and simpler, time card machines are outdated now. Biometrics solutions are gaining traction.
From the above-listed points, you must have understood that digitalizing your attendance system will surely be very beneficial for both the employee and the employer. So, act like a smart employer (or corporate space owner) and switch to a BAS Attendance System as soon as you could afford.