What are the Advantages and Disadvantage of a Time Attendance System?

The advent of the biometric technology allows the identification of people through their physical characteristics, most commonly their eyes, hands, fingerprints, or facial features.

A person’s body, not by what he/she inputs through paper and pen, becomes the sole source of information, say, for attendance and security within the company.

Biometric based time and attendance terminals are becoming increasingly more popular due to the many benefits they provide. They guarantee that employees are not able to clock in for each other, preventing instances of employee time theft.

Biometric solutions are employed by many multinational organizations, government agencies, institutions, hospitals, and banks to name a few industries. Research suggests that many people trust modern biometric technologies more rather than they do traditional security systems.

Biometric time attendance systems provide numerous benefits, to say the least. Here are a few of them:

Security :

Biometric time attendance systems offer solutions, such as fingerprint and retina scanning, that unlike passwords, are nearly impossible to hack. This can be very helpful, especially for business owners who want a trustable security solution.

Accuracy :

Biometric time attendance systems work with physical traits such as the retina, palm veins, fingerprints amongst others, that will always accurately serve you anywhere and anytime.

Accountability :

Biometric security requires your direct interactions to login or pass the security system. This allows complete accountability for all your activities.

Convenience :

Passwords are not always easy to remember and may be forgotten. In the case of biometric time attendance systems, your credentials stay with you all the time; it doesn’t require you to note down or memorize anything.

Scalability :

Biometrics are highly scalable solutions. Biometric technologies are used in many banking security systems, government projects, HR workforce management, etc. This is possible because of the scalability of its solutions.

ROI :

Biometric solutions offer the best ROI in comparison to other security systems. With just a single biometric device and software, you can keep track of thousands of employees of a large company.

Compliance :

Inaccurate records can cost an organization a lot of money and can also violate labor laws, which may result in expensive legal fines. Regulations require that employers keep track of attendance and provide the required compensation to their employees for any extra hours worked.

Time-saving :

Rather than being a time-consuming operation, preparing a duty roaster in spreadsheets is now obsolete. Some vital characteristics of an attendance management system will aid in the creation of an effective duty roaster. Managers can prepare proactive roasters while staying under budget.

Analytics & Reports :

You can generate a wide range of reports pertaining to attendance, late log-ins, overtime, and other topics using an automated system. With this attendance system online you can generate reports automatically, and you will be able to access them with only a few clicks. You can also keep track of late log-ins, excessive breaks, and so on.

Shift Change :

When team members want to swap shifts for a day or a while, they often do so without informing the team leader or manager. The internal issue is that as the incharge, you know their talents and limitations, which you can't reveal to them to retain faith. As a result, you would arrange the shifts accordingly however, when team members swap shifts, it may disrupt the process. In such cases, the attendance system will not enable the swapped team member to log in without the manager's or HR's prior clearance; in other words, the biometric system will scan their fingerprints or retina but it will not let them in.

An attendance management system that synchronizes with your payroll makes this process easier and more seamless. While the introduction of biometrics offer many benefits, unfortunately, they may come with their own set of issues.

The following are some key points to consider concerning the disadvantages of biometrics:

Error Rate :

Biometric machines are not foolproof and may make mistakes. Usually, biometric devices can make two types of errors: False Rejection Rate (FRR) and False Acceptance Rate (FAR) . When the device rejects an authorized individual, it is known as FRR and when it accepts an unauthorized individual, it is known as FAR.

Physical Disability : 

Some people may have damaged or lost body parts such as their eyes or fingers. In these cases, a fingerprint/ Iris recognition device would be inappropriate, offensive, and would only cause embarrassment.

Scanning Difficulty :

Some biometric modalities like fingerprint or iris scan can go through scanning difficulties. It may happen due to various reasons including sweaty fingers, eyelashes, lens, eyelids, and reflections from the cornea. Due to these reasons, iris or fingerprint scanning may not be as reliable for use.

Bottom line :

Although biometric time and attendance systems have both advantages and disadvantages,

We can’t deny the fact that they have greatly improved the efforts to provide a reliable and trusted security system to the beneficiaries of the work force. Biometric time and attendance systems are easy to install and use and help companies save money.

Once employees discover how simple it is to use the biometric system compared to a manual system, they will be happy to get on board.