How Biometric Attendance System can deal with Absenteeism?

From corporate organizations to educational institutions, it’s the workforce powering the establishment that makes or mars its image. The level of coordination and sincerity the workforce operates on determines the company’s productivity and profitability, therefore, it is necessary for employers to ensure that no employee misses work without cause. Nevertheless, the issue of absenteeism has been plaguing companies for a long time now and temporary solutions won’t solve this problem. It is only with a biometric attendance system that employers can nip this problem completely in the bud.

Absenteeism

The practice of regularly staying away from work or school without good reason.

Absenteeism can result in

• higher costs with no ROI,
• decreased morale,
• inconsistent productivity, and

many other serious consequences for an organization. Not only in corporate offices, but absenteeism is also rampant in labor-intensive industries like garment manufacturing, particularly in Asian EDCs (emerging and developing countries) like India. Absenteeism in educational institutions is another big problem that affects economic growth in the long run. To curb all this, an effective biometric attendance system needs to be implemented.

Types of Absenteeism

Almost all employees miss work occasionally, but it’s important to comprehend their form of absence. A leave of absence can only be considered illegitimate if its reason hasn’t been communicated, and if it happens often.

Absenteeism can be divided into:

• Excused absence from work

In case of a sudden leave or a legit emergency, the employer may excuse the absentee as long as the reason for the same is conveyed later on, in a timely manner. Such absences do not threaten the company’s productivity unless the absentee frequently misses work and doesn’t inform the company beforehand.

Note: When scheduled absences are accompanied by advanced notices, the workforce requirements can be managed properly. In any case, maintaining error-free attendance records is a must. This makes the job of the HRs much easier for them to approve and process leave applications easily.

• Unexcused absenteeism from work

Besides the regular leaves of absence, we need to understand that partial absences like being late to the office, early departure from work, and even extended lunch breaks are a form of absenteeism. Absenteeism at its essence is the lack of efficiency and sincerity towards work. So, announced, or unannounced, any repeated or unnecessarily extended absence from work is chronic absenteeism that negatively affects an organization.

The Role of Biometric Attendance System

In a very recent meeting regarding government health facilities in the cities under the UT (Union Territory) administration in India, it was brought to light how manual registration of attendance is still being maintained. Chandigarh’s new Health Secretary, Yashpal Garg revealed how things were being regulated. “During recent inspections of health care facilities,” he said, “it was seen that the manual system of attendance was being followed. The actual arrival and departure of the staff are not recorded in such registers. Due to non-punctuality, the patients keep on waiting.”

He also advised the director principal of GMCH, director of health services, and medical superintendents of GMSH and GMCH to start recording attendance through biometric attendance machines within a week post the inspection, and to lead by example so that others may follow.

The meeting concluded with the decision that healthcare facilities will have to follow a biometric attendance system that authenticates via facial recognition or RFID cards. (You can read the full article published in the leading Indian newspaper, The Times of India, Click here.)

This may be just one of the many instances where manual attendance-keeping did not yield accurate attendance records, eventually resulting in mismanagement or misinformation. The consequences of absenteeism extend beyond the workforce to visitors and clients, and it is not acceptable to be cavalier about this issue. Facilities like healthcare, banks, and pharmaceutical research centers are the most vulnerable to any such underestimation.

Biometric Attendance System at Work

Biometric attendance machines, especially the advanced ones being developed lately are fully capable of curbing absenteeism by monitoring every aspect of an employee’s attendance process. However, it would be remiss to not mention that the performance of every management system is correlated to the level of discipline among its users. Biometric devices do make things better, but we must keep one thing in mind – these systems can motivate and manage the staff for efficiency, but they cannot influence their ‘will’. Biometric attendance systems make the experience of recording attendance so effortless and sophisticated that the users naturally fall into the habits of punctuality and sincerity at work.

Below mentioned are various approaches that demonstrate how biometric attendance systems promote compliance and efficiency:

1. Monitor Every Pattern

One of the most effective approaches to combat absenteeism is to have thorough and accurate information. This is not possible with a manual register, as it can be easily tampered with. Even the age-old card punching machines can be manipulated through buddy punching. Biometric attendance machine have a smart authentication procedure that only marks the attendance of the user when they are physically present and correctly authenticates themselves with their pre-registered identifier like a biometric fingerprint. In this way, authentic data is uploaded making it easier to follow the attendance patterns of employees.

Note: Some advanced biometric attendance systems also upload data to the central server in real-time, thereby, keeping the employer updated at all times.

Many biometric attendance systems are programmed to analyze the attendance records and highlight abnormal patterns for the employer to take corrective actions. This helps the organization to filter out the employees who have extended periods of absenteeism and understand how this affects their productivity.

2. Implement Productive Management Solutions

Looking after the employees is one of the key responsibilities of the employers and the biometric attendance system gives you the convenience to do that with relative ease.

Absenteeism is not always the fault of the employee; it may be due to some issue he/she might be facing at work, or due to any illness, or health issues like chronic back or shoulder pain that the employee hasn’t disclosed yet. Biometric attendance systems track even short-term absenteeism and alert admins who can take necessary steps to curb it. Employers can use this data to approach the employees to get to the bottom of the problem and resolve it. Biometric attendance systems help create suitable working conditions and open communications between the employees and the authorities.

3. Create a Balanced and Standardized Workflow

Uncertainties and emergencies don’t come announced. It may happen that an employee suddenly asks for leave due to some situational emergency. In such cases, if the managers have complete records of his/her attendance pattern, it becomes easy to gauge if permitting a leave is viable or not.

For genuine employees, employers may go the extra mile and support them in their time of need. This transparency and trust are only possible when all parties involved have comprehensive attendance reports to draw analysis from. The biometric attendance system indirectly strengthens the bonds between employees and employers.

4. Add An Additional Layer of Security

When biometric attendance devices get paired with access control systems, you not only monitor the ins and outs of your workforce but also control movement within the premises. Only those who have their biometric fingerprints or facial scans stored in the system can enter the building, fortifying your office from outsiders. Within the building, you can prevent unauthorized employees from entering restricted, management-only areas.

A biometric attendance system allows you to quickly identify when someone is stretching their break and arrives late or leaves early. If this works in sync with access control systems, you will also be able to know if the said employee is in an area he/she is not allowed to be in. Thus, you can double the layer of security and safety.

The Last Word

Biometric attendance systems are quickly becoming the standard norm for establishments of all scales and sizes. They are the most beneficial in effectively addressing the issue of absenteeism and fortifying the company’s productivity. In this rapidly evolving market, even a small issue, if left unchecked, can become a huge headache for the business later. A general word of advice would be to invest in futuristic technologies like biometric devices to streamline your business processes as well as establish a better level of convenience and sophistication for all users.