4 Reasons to Use Time Clocks With Facial Recognition

When it comes to time tracking in the work environment, there are plenty of reasons to upgrade from pen and paper timesheets to a more modern employee attendance tracking system.

One of the main reasons for upgrading attendance systems helps prevent what’s known as buddy punching, or time theft. Buddy punching occurs when employees punch in for a coworkers that are running late. While time theft may not seem like a major problem (especially if you only have a handful of employees) it’s important to note that if left unchecked, time theft can quickly eat into your company’s finances.

In fact, according to the American Payroll Association (APA), the average employee wastes anywhere from 50 minutes to 4.5 hours of their paid time per week showing up late, leaving early, and taking extended breaks and lunches. Even if you’re a small business – timekeeping for more than one employee in real-time over the course of a year could easily cost thousands of unearned dollars in payroll.

One of the best ways to reduce time theft is with access control features, such as biometric face recognition. With touch-free biometric systems like a facial recognition time clock, you can virtually eliminate the chance of time theft occurring, streamline your time tracking, and keep everyone honest and on the same page, and ensuring that you’re not paying for hours that weren’t worked.

While biometric facial recognition technology has been around for years, it is just now starting to become a standard feature when it comes to cloud-based attendance software. With this in mind, let’s take a look at a few benefits of using this sort of time clock software in your company now.

1. Eliminate Time Theft

Simply put, a face recognition time clock can put an end to buddy punching completely. Time cards and passcodes can be passed around, enabling employees to help a fellow coworker out by clocking them in during their absence. But biometric technology stops this sort of activity in its tracks.

With a facial recognition time clock system, if your employee isn’t there to have their face scanned for authentication, they won’t be clocked in. There’s no algorithm that can be hacked, no RFID card or RFID badge that could be “borrowed” to fool access control, no fingerprint scan or LCD touch screen to fool. Since no one can fake an employee’s face, a facial recognition time attendance tool will let you put an end to buddy punching once and for all.

In addition to preventing buddy punching, you can put an end to other forms of time theft as well, such as employees falsifying their hours worked or exaggerating overtime. Since your employee needs to be present to clock in and out, there’s no falsifying the figures or exaggerating the hours they were present. Note: there’s a difference between facial recognition and a simple photo picture (tools like Exaktime clarify this by designing another feature specifically for facial recognition such as their “FaceFront Biometrics”, though this isn’t enough to prevent people seeking out Exaktime alternatives).

2. Saves Time and Frustration

In addition to the money-saving benefits, face recognition systems can also help to save you and your employees from a tremendous amount of time and frustration. With old-fashioned punch cards or attendance templates, you run the risk of employees losing their proximity cards or forgetting them at home. Passcodes or passwords are easily forgotten, resulting in wasted time and frustration. With facial recognition functionalities, your employees can easily clock in and out with just their face, no codes or passwords required. As a bonus, in lieu of the pandemic, this a hygienic, touchless option that scans the facial features of an employee without requiring more direct input.

3. Enhances Reliability and Accuracy

Implementing facial recognition software can also help to improve accuracy. No one can argue that your employee was or wasn’t present when there is a picture as proof. While numbers can be changed, biometrics can’t! An automated system can also help eliminate a lot of human error, meaning you’re your employees’ time; including their hours worked, overtime, and absence is accurately reported, removing the guesswork from the equation!

4. Handle Temporary Employees or Remote Workers With Ease

Finally, if your company hires temporary workers, such as seasonal employees, or contract workers, then you know firsthand the frustrations that can arise when it comes to tracking and accurately managing their time; and if you have employees working out in the field, it’s a similar story. With so many different people coming and going, keeping track of everyone’s hours, not to mention verifying them, can be all but impossible. With facial recognition software, though, you’ll be able to confirm that your employees were on-site when they claim to be, it’s an easy way to ensure accuracy.

Some employers turn towards physical punch clocks with warranties such as the Amano Compumatic, Lathem, uAttend, or other fingerprint time clocks, but these tools can be clunky and aren’t even contactless (a consideration that’s become more important for employees in recent times.)

In today’s age, your choice of a biometric time clock should be honed by flexibility – the time clock system you choose should work on Wifi or Ethernet, should be available as a web app or mobile app (for iOS and Android), and should be as smooth to implement as possible so it doesn’t disrupt your employees’ workflow. Bonus points for integrations with other software you use for project management as well (a lot of our clients look for biometric employee time clock solutions that integrate with payroll software such as Quickbooks and Paychex).

Making the Switch

The workplace is constantly changing. Keeping up with the shifts means working to stay ahead of potential issues that could arise. By implementing an employee time and attendance tracking software that includes facial recognition software, you’ll be ahead of the curve and be able to increase accuracy, eliminate the chance of human error, and help to prevent time theft, all while making the process of clocking in much easier for your team. What isn’t to love about that?

If you’re interested in a tool with built in facial-recognition software, you can’t go wrong with trying our very own Buddy Punch.

In addition to facial recognition, we have numerous time tracking and employee scheduling features in order to make workforce management simple and easy for both managers and employees. In addition, our responsive customer support is always around to help you figure out how to use our software to your best advantage.

Buddy Punch is available as both a web tool and an app, which means it functions on all devices (including Smartphones, Tablets, and Desktop). Click here to view the virtual demo of Buddy Punch, or click here to start a 14-day free trial.