May 2018 – Time and Attendance

Are You Allowing A Toxic Culture Into Your Workplace?

“Don’t you know that you’re toxic”. Have a read of our latest blog post here, on the best way to highlight that toxic employee.

Let’s be honest, we have all experienced a difficult co-worker or manager at some time in our working lives. This is nothing new in the workplace but sadly, as a recent Harvard Business Study uncovered, bullying and incivility is not something that your company can afford to ignore.

The business study, which was undertaken by 60,000 employees, highlighted the true financial cost to businesses on the shop floor that employed people with a partiality to, but not exclusively, the following :-

• Vulgarity
• Lack of respect
• Lack of manners
• Discourteousness
• Coarseness
• Impoliteness
• Rudeness

The study also highlighted that by allowing such individuals to remain in the company over a long period of time, had a detrimental effect on the retention of other key members of staff.

The statistics below make for grim reading, as staff retention is crucial to any forward thinking company.

• 38% Intentionally decreased their work output
• 25% Took their frustrations out on their clients
• 12% Left their jobs altogether

The hiring process doesn’t always come easy for management, especially if they are lacking in the people-skills department themselves. Managers may be good at running a business or a department in terms of work, but from time to time they can fail to pick up on certain attributes that a person displays during the recruitment process. By missing these characteristics, individuals can and often do, “slip through the net”.

And as we all know, everyone can look good on paper!

Let’s take a look at the 5 main prime antagonists that may rear their “ugly heads” in the workplace as uncovered by the business study.

1. The Slacker
2. The Bully
3. The Gossip
4. The Lone Wolf
5. The Know it All

As you will see from the list, Human Resource Departments can do without the burden of this particular type of employee – in any situation.

So what can be done to highlight and more so bring to task this certain individual? What can management and in particular Human Resource Departments do, to end this negative cycle within the workplace?

ELF Productivity Limited’s CEEQUEL® software is the essential Time Management suite that you need.

ELF’s Time and Attendance system will allow you to uncover the real reason behind the downturn in productivity. Whether you need to supervise “The Slacker” on the shop floor or call time on “The Gossip” in the office, CEEQUEL® and our Shop Floor Data Capture and Human Resources modules will provide everything you require and necessitate for your workforce.

Shop Floor Data Capture

Shop Floor Data Capture does exactly what it says on the tin, it is employee tracking at its very best. A component of the CEEQUEL® Time and Attendance software suite, Shop Floor Data Capture not only calculates employees working hours, it also tracks activities and jobs over a specified time; thus highlighting that “shirker” and “gossip-monger” on the shop floor. Another benefit this module provides is the Incentive Scheme Calculation. This calculation is particularly popular within the manufacturing sector as it converts operator performance into performance related pay.

Human Resource Management

CEEQUEL® Human Resource Management solution is an all-encompassing, fully comprehensive HR module that will completely transform your personnel requirements. With views such as appraisals, discipline and grievance procedures, it provides the necessary instruments needed to deal with your day to day management workload. This module provides you with the software to not only supervise every individual employee but it will also highlight your hardworking employees; thus enabling you to reward and promote the right staff.

Another added benefit to CEEQUEL® Human Resource Management module is that it can co-exist on the same Time and Attendance database or as a standalone HR Management solution.

Does your company need a dynamic Time Management system that will not only stop a toxic culture from springing up in your workplace but allows your company to run more efficiently and smoothly?

Is it time for you to take a closer look at your workforce?

CEEQUEL® Time and Attendance software suite is all you need to monitor and keep track of your ENTIRE workforce.

If you would like to know more about the unrivalled CEEQUEL® Software Suite, including our leading Time and Attendance modules; the downloadable catalogue of brochures can be found here.

Contact ELF Productivity today for a free no obligation quotation and demonstration of CEEQUEL® software.

Advantages and Disadvantages of Proximity Clocking Terminals

Proximity clocking terminal may sound complex, but they’re actually very common, and it’s highly likely that you’ve come across several in your lifetime. In reality, this term describes a system where swipe cards or fobs can be used to record what time a staff member enters or exits a building or an area of their company’s premises. So, is this system the best way to record time and attendance and grant employees access? Here are a few of the pros and cons of proximity clocking terminals, as determined by ELF Productivity Limited.

Disadvantages of Proximity Clocking Terminals

Forgettable and Transferrable

The main problem with having a physical card, badge or fob for each employee that is authorised to use a time and attendance terminal is the fact that each one is relatively easy to remove from its assigned member of staff. Whether accidentally or by design, workers are able to swap passes (leading to inevitable “buddy clocking”, where one staff member clocks in or out at a terminal on behalf of another, meaning the second employee will be registered as being “present” when they are not), or put theirs down and lose it (which could easily lead to a security breach or theft). These items can also prove expensive to replace or maintain if multiple staff members continue to lose and damage theirs.

Advantages of Proximity Clocking Terminals

Familiar

As proximity clocking systems have been around and in use for many years, the basic process of clocking in and out using a swipe card, fob or badge is one that many workers will be used to. However, the very basic mechanism that was first used by forward thinking companies decades ago has now been replaced by a system that takes multiple actions at once, storing useful employee data and updating clockings in real time, meaning there is no downloading or transferring of information required. It’s a well-known approach, but one that produces brand new results.

Quick

Newer systems have now come into use whereby staff members may use fingerprint scanners or facial recognition to clock in and out of their places of work. However, a queue of individuals waiting to start their working day at nine o’clock in the morning or to head home at five in the afternoon can prove quite slow to process in this way, particularly if a company has very few terminals and employs a large quantity of individuals who all work a typical eight-hour day, and all arrive and leave at around the same time. While these biometric scanners may function extremely well for shift-based work, proximity clocking systems tend to be the preference of many traditional offices.

Trusted

While biometric systems are completely secure, many employees find themselves slightly uneasy when adjusting to their use. There is often a fear for the safety of personal data that retinal, facial or fingerprint scanning seems to exacerbate – due to the direct physical interaction required and the natural connotation of fingerprints with unique personal and biological information. In reality, no fingerprints or facial or retinal imagery or data is retained. The system maps certain points within these particular features and creates a code that is unique to each individual employee. All traces of fingerprints and facial features are then completely wiped from the system. Be that as it may, however, it’s likely that – as an employer – you will come up against far lower resistance when implementing a fob-based system than you might if you were to install fingerprint scanners in the workplace.

Easy

Because they’ve been around for so long, proximity clocking terminals tend to be easier to maintain than many more complex alternatives, and mistakes are often slightly more straightforward to remedy. A missing card can easily be replaced, whereas if there is an issue with a biometric system, resolving it is likely to prove a little harder.

Find Out More About Available Types of Time and Attendance System

Whether you’ve decided to install a proximity clocking system in your office or you’d prefer to opt for biometric options such as finger, facial or retinal scanning terminals, your next step is to shop around for a product that best suits your needs. ELF Productivity Limited is a great place to start, boasting a wide range of systems that can help to reduce the time and effort spent on management administration and HR paperwork, allowing you more time to develop your company and its products. For further information, get in touch today via 01257 256000 or email sales@elf.uk.com to discuss your requirements with their knowledgeable team.

Advantages and Disadvantages of Biometric Finger-Scanners

One of the most popular types of time and attendance system available is the kind that can be operated using a biometric finger scanner terminal. These systems can collect data from the fingerprints of your company’s employees and then utilise that data as a unique code to allow that individual to clock in or out of their workplace, or to access certain areas of their company’s premises – simply by touching a screen. Below, ELF Productivity Limited – specialises in time and attendance systems – explain the pros and cons of this system and what do do if you wish to implement it within your own place of work.

Disadvantages of Biometric Finger-Scanners

Queues

The only real problem that some companies find with a time and attendance system occurs if only one terminal has been installed. While many firms hire staff that work on a flexible basis, or undertake shift based work, a great many businesses still have employees that are on site for the typical nine to five. That means that multiple individuals will wish to clock in or out at the same time, and this can create a backlog. It’s important to consider this issue if your company regularly has multiple people clocking in and out at the same time, and perhaps opt for more than one finger scanning terminal. Another option is to use a proximity clocking terminal, which is able to process large numbers of individuals at the same time.

Concerns About Data

An interesting issue surrounding fingerprint scanners is the general public’s fear of “Big Brother” – the idea that our data and information is being pried into and utilized by large companies and corporations. For this reason, many people express concern about using a fingerprint scanner and suspicion surrounding the information that it retains. These worries are unfounded however, as you’ll see in the first of our advantages…

Advantages of Biometric Finger-Scanners

Security (Company-Wide and Personal)

One of the main motivations for implementing a time and attendance system is security, and biometric finger scanners provide a superb means of keeping track of who is in the building and who is not. While key codes and swipe cards can be passed between staff members, there is no way of one employee replicating the information collected from another’s fingerprint.

We’ll now quickly refer back to something mentioned in the “Disadvantages” section; namely, the element of unease that some people feel about time and attendance systems “storing” their data. In actual fact, no element of an individual’s fingerprint is retained. When an employee first joins the company or has to register on a new biometric finger scanner, certain coordinates are plotted according to the structure of their fingerprint. The original print is then wiped from the system to ensure personal security and data protection. All that is left is a code that relates to the coordinates that were taken.

Real Time Updates

While you can use time and attendance software to automatically collate and pull reports, the information that is recorded by the biometric finger scanning system doesn’t require any downloading or transferring whatsoever. Everything updates in real time, which means that the system updates every time a new clocking-in occurs. There is no slow transfer of data – all the information pops up straight away.

Site-based Versatility

Biometric finger scanners work in all kinds of environment. It’s easy to convince yourself that they’d be more at home in a spotless office than in a workshop full of sawdust, but that simply isn’t the case. Of course, the reader lens needs to be wiped occasionally to allow it to continue scanning, but these terminals are very tough and can withstand most environments. We recommend avoiding extreme cold (freezers, for example), as the cold can cause conductivity issues, but otherwise you’re able to place your scanners anywhere you wish!

If you’re interested in finding out more about biometric finger scanners or time and attendance systems in general, simply get in touch with ELF Productivity Limited today on 01257 256000 or email sales@elf.uk.com, and their helpful team will be more than happy to assist you and to answer any questions you may have. Opting for a time and attendance system in your workplace reduces the time and effort spent on management administration and HR paperwork considerably so that you can have much more time at your disposal to develop your company and its products as well as attending to the job satisfaction and general progression of your staff and colleagues.

Advantages and Disadvantages of Biometric Finger-Scanners