We talked before of the different employee time tracking methods I had personally experienced with the businesses I’d been involved in. Swipe-cards, whether magnetic or bar-code based may be easily copied. And password-based time keeping can also be prone to fraud, as employees simply had to share their username and passwords to willing colleagues who can then time in or time out for them.
Some companies are now using more sophisticated means of tracking employee time. One of them is biometrics—which involve scanning uniquely identifiable body parts such as fingerprints and iris signatures in the eyes. The other is RFID, which involve miniscule electronic devices that emit radio waves.
Fingerprint and iris scans are very difficult to foil, as they require the exact prints or iris patterns to be present to indicate an actual match. So unless one’s finger or eye is cut off (quite a discomforting thought), then his prints will be difficult to copy. As for RFID, this can be even more invasive. RFID tags can be attached or inserted into an ID card, and are detected by RFID transceivers or receivers. If the signal is strong enough, and with adequate tracking devices, employers or managers can even monitor the exact location of their employees at any given time, especially if they are within the same building or within the vicinity of the office, for instance!