As an HR Business Partner across any organization, particularly ones which considers employee attendance as a critical parameter of its performance and a primary variable in the payroll process, it’s imperative that this data stays as accurate as it can get, which is fine! Technology such as biometric attendance systems, Access Cards, Web-Login has been made available to ensure this happens. However, all these methods are highly dependent on the infrastructure available (power source, WiFi, LAN, Smartphones etc.) bringing us to the question, what if I have no such infrastructure, can one still be able to offline attendance tracking?
Bless this world for sumHR, we’re here to the rescue. Nothing is impossible! Our research and technology are focused on both Online/offline companies with employees deployed at mines, oil-rigs, basements and other zero or minimal connectivity zones.
Here are 9 Offline Attendance Tracking App Features:
1. Geo-Tagging App:
No constant WiFi, No constant GPRS, No Problem. Employees can log into sumHR app and log their attendance. We will store the punch and push to the cloud once they are in the network range.
Pros: No need for internet all the time.
Cons: All employees may not have smartphones + real-time logs will not reflect
Cost: Highly affordable.
2. RFID Chips:
sumHR will provide RFID chips that employees can attach to their phone/ID Card. Punch at a battery based RFID Reader at a zero connectivity zone and with a USB, transfer the data to the nearest setup with the infrastructure to sync with sumHR to reflect the attendance data.
Pros: Offline attendance tracking
Cons: No real-time attendance
Cost: Highly affordable.
3. QR Code:
This method works perfectly if there are multiple points for marking attendance in a zero connectivity zone. We will generate a QR Code for each location. You can take a print of this QR Code and place it at each location. Employees can use their sumHR app to read the QR Code to clock-in/clock-out
Pros: No need for internet all the time.
Cons: All employees may not have smartphones + real-time logs will not reflect
Cost: Highly affordable.
4. Fingerprint Device:
This essentially works for places where employees will be transported by the organization for instance, by buses. All drop off points will have a fingerprint device. There will be a supervisor at each point who will hold this device. Once the employee reaches their respective point, they can punch their attendance to this device. The bus driver can collect this device from the supervisor and deposit at the nearest office.
Pros: Offline attendance tracking
Cons: Slightly delayed real-time attendance, but will work.
Cost: Slightly expensive in case there are many drops off points.
5. GPS Based device:
Again something like the previous case where employees are transported by the organization. We can mount the device on the bus. Employees can mark attendance from within the bus. With the GPS coordinate filters on sumHR Software, we will only accept the valid punches.
Pros: No Need for the internet where employees will punch attendance.
Cons: This technology is under testing and there is only one organization working on it. There’s no TAT on the launch for this yet.
Cost: Slightly expensive in case there are many drops off points.
6. Time difference method
Let there be WiFi/GPRS based biometric devices installed on the bus. Employees can mark attendance in the bus when they enter at the beginning where there is sufficient connectivity. Regardless of what time the employees punch in, we will only consider the attendance time only from the start of their shift.
Pros: Offline attendance tracking around remote areas.
Cons: This will provide a compromise between no internet connectivity at mines and the problem of early clock-ins and late logouts
Cost: Highly cost effective
7. Lay Network Cables:
This method can be implemented if the none of the above methods work. Lay network cables from the nearest network rich zone to the spot where employees are deployed and connect the biometric device to this cabling.
Pros: Employees can clock in at their respective work locations with internet via cables and ensure real-time attendance reflection.
Cons: Increased Maintainance efforts to ensure cabling stays fine.
Cost: This depends completely on the length of cabling required, the climatic conditions and the terrain through which the cables have to be passed.
8. WiFi Repeaters:
Something similar to the previous solution, however with a little less chance of damage and no cabling required. Place WiFi repeaters along the road to the employee work location from the nearest network rich zone at regular intervals to provide internet for WiFi-based bio-metric devices for attendance tracking.
Pros: Employees can clock in at their respective work locations with internet via WiFi and ensure real-time attendance reflection.
Cons: Increased maintenance efforts to ensure routers are fine.
Cost: This depends completely on the distance between the nearest network zone to the work location/
9. Network balloons like Google/Facebook:
To be honest, you need to be a little bonkers for this! Like Google & Facebook internet solutions for remote areas, deploy network balloons above the areas with remote/zero connectivity and provide internet connectivity to the biometrics.
Pros: Employees can clock in at their respective work locations with internet and ensure real-time attendance reflection with offline attendance tracking app.
Cons: You will have to get tons of permissions and NOCs before you do this.
Cost: This will cost you a fortune!
Hope these ideas help you to ‘be in touch’ with your remote but important team!
