A Case Study: Elegant Touches
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Elegant
Touches is a full-service decor and rental resource with 10
employees and is based in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. Its
owners were looking for a time tracking system to replace
its current method, using a plain piece of paper to write
down hours worked. Since management was not present at all
times, there was no way to check the accuracy of employees’
time and attendance. They wanted a system that would make
staff accountable and honest.
Problem:
Elegant Touches was looking for a time tracking system for
all of its employees. It has full- and part-time staff with
different working hours and days. Employees had been using
plain paper to record when they came to work and when they
left. Time tracking worked on the honor system and not
having one of the owners there at all hours made it
difficult to question any of the employees’ time sheets. The
company was looking for an affordable, easy-to-use and
accurate time and attendance system.
Solution:
Company owners found Lathem Time’s PayClock EZ system at
their local Office Depot store. They returned to their
office, researched Lathem on the web (www.lathem.com) and
registered for Lathem’s beta testing program for
TouchStation™, Lathem’s new biometric timekeeping system.
Being selected as a beta test site for TouchStation™, they
were able to track employees’ in-out periods with 100
percent accuracy. “With the biometric system, it forced the
employees to be more honest with their time sheets because
we were able to proof it against the report that PayClock
2005 provides,” said Bill Lomax, one of the owners. “It also
eliminates the ‘buddy punch’ on the time card system that
other companies use. After talking to other company owners
who use that style of system, they ‘know’ it goes on, but
cannot prove it. Using this system no one else has your
fingerprint pattern, which has made everyone a lot more
honest.”
TouchStation connects to a computer and comes with Lathem’s
PayClock EZ software that automatically calculates worked
hours including overtime, tracks sick and vacation time, and
provides 22 standard time and labor reports. The system will
export hours directly to most major payroll providers
including ADP and PayChex. It also offers seamless
integration with the latest QuickBooks accounting products
for a complete “touch-to-paycheck” solution. An optional
remote finger sensor, allows employees to clock in and out
at their own computers across a local area network.
At Elegant Touches, some employees expressed privacy
concerns with fingerprint technology. After bringing this to
the attention of Lathem, Lomax said he was
“pleasantly surprised” to learn that the TouchStation system
does not take an actual fingerprint. The TouchStation uses
pattern matching, a different fingerprint matching method
than that used by law enforcement, so the fingerprint
templates that are stored cannot be used by a police AFIS
(automated fingerprint identification system) for
identification purposes. Fingerprint templates contain
unique patterns only and not an actual image of a
fingerprint that can be displayed or reproduced.
“The TouchStation system was designed to make employee time
tracking convenient and secure,” said Lance Whipple,
director of marketing for Lathem Time. “However, employees’
concerns about privacy, especially these days, is
understandable. TouchStation is an ideal solution since it
balances managements need for accountability without
compromising their employees’ privacy.”
Lomax is more than pleased with TouchStation and said he
would recommend it to other business owners. “If you are
looking for a payroll tracking system with 100 percent
accuracy, this is the system you need,” he said.
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