Article
Biometrics: Changing the way QSRs log in?
Fingerprint readers improve security, offer more reporting functions.
November 3, 2008
Buddy punching and fraudulent product giveaways through employees' inappropriate use of manager codes or keys can be big problems for quick-service operators. While the adoption rate is still low, more operators are turning to biometric devices to reduce fraud or simply to increase efficiencies.
The devices read a fingerprint or handprint as part of the employee log in process and eliminate the need for punch cards or key codes. The technology can run the gamut of a simple clock in and out feature to being integrated into a store's point-of-sale system for employee identification.
Given the expense of rolling out the system as well as employees' privacy concerns, it begs the question if biometric devices are worth the investment.
Macie Mackey, a single-store Dairy Queen franchisee inBeaverton ,Ore.
Not only did she get a dependable system, but the added benefits were more managerial control and new reporting capabilities that allow her to see all of an employee's transactions and discounts.
With the new biometric reader, employees are identified in the POS system by placing their forefinger on the reader. Cashiers log on at their terminal, and their name appears at the bottom of the screen. When an employee steps away from the terminal, he logs out, but if he forgets, the system is timed to log out after a short period of inactivity.
"It's easy for (employees) to use, it's secure, it tracks every function that (cashiers) bring up, and you have a trail," Mackey said.
Before implementing the system, employees were sometimes logging in under another employee's number, including manager codes — and using the override to bring up inappropriate discounts for customers. The biometric reader eliminates the possibility of such fraud.
Managers like the higher level of security the biometric log in provides — and no longer needing keys for overrides, Mackey said.
"Keys would often get left around, but with this there's no keys. It's all in the finger," she said.
Invasion of privacy or elimination of fraud
As biometric devices have attracted media attention, some news reports have focused on employees' concerns about invasion of privacy. David Straub, director of operations,North America , for enterprise applications provider MICROS Systems Inc., downplays those concerns.
The MICROS system, for example, doesn't store actual fingerprints but a series of numbers "based on a recognized format of the finger," Straub said. "So it's not like we're capturing fingerprints and passing them on to other people."
Victor Lee is a senior consultant with New York-based International Biometric Group, a consulting and technology services firm. He said the key to a successful biometric system deployment is addressing employee fears upfront. Proper training on the limits of the system, including letting employees know their fingerprints aren't being shared, are essential to the devices acceptance.
"It's a general problem with biometrics that people have a very Hollywood-ized conception of what biometrics are that is sometimes misleading, and sometimes causes an issue," Lee said. But with guidance and education from the provider, operators "can actually find that their deployment can be very effectively deployed and also well received."
Eric Eskander, director of operations with Cadete Enterprises, a 53-unit Dunkin' Donuts franchise based inBrockton ,Mass.
"It's not like I can print out a copy of their thumbprint," he said.
ROI: Enhanced features, loss prevention
Cadete installed Count Me In's Timecard Monitor biometric system in most of its stores three years ago. The system replaced the stores' standard time clocks and time cards and offers several new features, including a variety of reports, such as variance reports comparing hours worked to hours scheduled.
The Timecard Monitor is used solely for attendance. Employees clock in using their thumbprint via a reader posted on a wall in back of house. The readers are tied into each store's back-office computer.
The biometric log-in system has cut down on employees clocking in early for a shift and eliminated buddy punching, Eskander said.
Eskander said he compared the biometric system to a time clock system that would automatically accumulate hours. The biometric device cost twice that of the time clock, but the biometric system's loss prevention and reporting features won him over.
"We paid double the price, but when you weigh out the benefits of each, it was well worth it," he said.
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Straub said QSRs implementing biometric devices see a return on investment in the form of payroll savings and fraud control. Efficiencies are also improved as log ins and manager approval response times are faster.
MICROS' biometric readers typically cost less than $100 per terminal, and can be mounted to a POS terminal or attached via a USB dongle. The software is built in and carries no extra charge.
IBG's Lee said that misperceptions rather than cost typically keep operators from implementing a system. Some are concerned the system may not live up to expectations or be unreliable.
But today's biometric devices are vastly improved over the biometric employee log-in devices introduced in the mid 1990s. Current systems have benefited from technological advancements as government security systems have implemented biometrics, he said.
As a result, more operators are upgrading to biometric readers. But Lee warns against installing biometrics for the sake of having the latest technology.
"In other words, people should not go and deploy a biometrics system for the sake of deploying biometrics," Lee said. "Do it because you have a clear need and know you're deploying the right technology and (are) able to explain it."
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