List of Attendance Tracking System

In this post, we will discuss the different types of Attendance Tracking System.

We will cover the following topics:

• Introduction
• Different types of Attendance Tracking System
  • Manual recording
  • Timesheets
  • Mechanized systems
  • Biometrics
  • Access cards/ Swipe cards
  • Proximity card readers

Introduction

Most employers track their employee’s attendance with great importance than any other activities inside an organization. In other words, there is a direct link between employee absenteeism and the productivity of the company.

If the rate of employee absence increases, the amount of work pending will increase proportionately. As a result, the productivity of the company will be affected negatively.

Attendance Tracking System is an integrated solution that gives accurate and meaningful data to the employer about the attendance data of their employees.

It also provides a clear idea into the workforce of the employee, while securely managing all absence information of employees of a single company in one system.

Directly or indirectly, absenteeism of employees devours up to 30 to 35 % of an organization’s payroll. It comprises direct costs such as salary continuation and the indirect costs of paying absent workers.

Indirect costs include the following activities –

• Overtime pay for employees that are present and need to do the absent employee’s work
• Temporary help
• Reduction in sales and profits due to lost productivity.

No company can avoid the situation when an employee takes a leave of absence, yet the company must overlook this fact and make necessary arrangements so that the work must get done in time.

Most importantly, the absence of skilled employees directly affects the work and therefore, in the end, the business itself.

Different types of Attendance Tracking System

The methods that are widely used for tracking the employee’s attendance with the aid of technology are as follows:

• Manual Recording (Muster Roll) of In and out time of employees.
• Maintaining the Timesheets (in MS Excel or web-based)
• Mechanized Systems
• Biometrics
• Fingerprint Reader
• Face Reader
• Voice Reader
• Retinal recognition
• Non-Bio-Metric
• Punch Card Reader
• Smart Card Reader
• Proximity Reader

Manual recording

This is the most commonly used attendance tracking method, even before the age of technology. It is a method of recording the employee’s incoming and outgoing time in a Register or in an MS-Excel or in Book etc.

The muster roll register which is usually used for the manual entry of employees is available in stationary stores.

Now, as we have adapted to an automated solution, this method has been outdated. The complexities and requirements are increasing day by day. Manual recording of employee’s incoming and outgoing timing is no longer a simple solution.

Since it is manual recording, it may lead the employees asking for favours to go out and come back often.

Timesheets

These sheets track the start and end of the tasks given to an employee. Thus, the employer will get a detailed breakup of the tasks accomplished by an employee throughout the total work. This information is used to determine estimation and time management.

These timesheets are widely used online. Some companies provide web-based services for these timesheets. Therefore, the employee’s working hours can be tracked effectively.

The main advantage of tracking the employee’s working time is that first, it will lower the costs. So, the employer can determine the exact time to finish a job/task after considering the timesheet of a similar job/task done by the employee.

Second, the time spent on a particular activity by an individual can be examined and compared. Consequently, an employee’s role can be rearranged based on their work outcome.

Timesheets also provide employee’s productivity in a company. This will also reduce the administrative work to a considerable extent.

Mechanized systems

When the inputs are provided to the system, it automatically generates a record having in and out timings of employees.

A person need not check every time an employee goes in and out of the organization, as the employee has to swipe/register every entry into the office and exit from the office in a day.

However, an automated system of tracking the employee’s attendance would be more effective than others. Thus, the manual work that needs to be done here is less, and it is more reliable compared to other methods.

The advantages of using this system include:

• Faster processing of data
• Accurate records, minimal supervision
• Less manual work
• Report generation
• Easy to integrate with a payroll software

Biometrics

It provides Verification and Identification of the employee to the employer in an organization.

The template is captured either on a smart card or database for the verification purpose of the registered user (employee). As a result, Identification of users is done from the biometric characteristic alone without using smart cards, usernames or ID, etc.

All the records in a database are compared to the template and the closest match score is returned. Therefore, authenticating the closest match within the allowed threshold.

There are two different classes in biometrics:

• Physiological
• Behavioural

Physiological biometrics include capturing and comparing the fingerprints, hand, face, iris, etc., of the person. The most widely used physiological biometrics is Fingerprints.

Behavioural biometrics relates to the behaviour of the person which includes recognizing the voice, signature, and keystrokes, etc.,

Accordingly, biometrics are used in an office for physiological verification of Fingerprints and Retinal recognition.

Access cards/ Swipe cards

These cards are used to provide access to the user after swiping the card. It stores the data on a magnetic stripe, and it is also called a Magnetic stripe card.

Proximity card readers

They are contactless integrated circuit devices used for secured access.

Proximity cards/ proxy cards have a range of 0-3 inches, and it allows the user to leave the card in a wallet or purse, etc. Therefore, this technology is used in applications such as ID cards, key cards, etc.

A system is not too good or too bad for any organization. Consequently, all the systems have both a positive and a negative side. All the attendance tracking systems generate a record that has the employees’ in and out timings, through which the salary is calculated.

Thus, based on their resources and no. of employees, any method of attendance tracking system can be selected by the company.

We have come to the end of the post on the Attendance Tracking System.

Refer to our blogs:

• Types of Biometric Attendance: Meaning & Advantages
• Benefits Of Payroll Software
• Workplace Guide To Avoid The Spread Of COVID-19

let us know about your views and opinion on this topic in the comment section below.