Best-in-Class Workforce Management Software from Industry Experts
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Whether you want to improve time and attendance tracking, automate scheduling or simplify management, ATS has a single solution to help with it all.

ATSTimeWorkOnDemand HCM suite helps organizations ensure timely and accurate financial data by integrating forecasting and budgeting, payroll calculation, and on-the-spot employee attendance-with one click. This simplifies the end-to-end workforce management process and increases accuracy. It also helps managers make more informed decisions by providing real-time access to production, sales and labour data. With ATSTimeWorkOnDemand organizations will have everything they need, all working seamlessly including:

A multi-generational application: That converges with AI to accelerate the pace of business, while adapting to ongoing changes and regulations while remaining compliant. With ATSTimeWorkOnDemand HCM suite, you —will eliminate paper timesheets with digital time clocking and save employees up to 30 minutes per month. ATSTimeWorkOnDemand application is accessible anytime, anywhere, and is — used by companies in every industry.

Labour and Payroll Calculations: ATS workforce calculation engine automates regular hours, overtime, and statutory holiday pay to help organizations minimize compliance risks. It reduces payroll errors and eliminates the need for manual reconciliations as approved hours seamlessly flow from ATSTimeWorkOnDemand to ATS Payroll suite for immediate processing.

Time Collection Options: Combined Biometric Iris and FaceScan, Web Punch, Interactive Voice Response System, Online Timesheets and Kiosk App with Facial Verification. ATSTimeWorkOnDemand best-in-class cloud-based application, is fully integrated helping you save time and prevent errors while single sign-on connects employees with the information they need across devices, locations, and services.

Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence (AI) Metrics: ATS real-time dashboard enables managers to obtain daily insights into operational metrics including start and end time, labour, and forecasts and compare them to actuals. This visibility helps managers make data-informed decisions around workforce costs and profitability. With ATS Automation, the system creates real-time data based on previous valid decisions and similar successful work flows that have achieved the goal. In the future, rather than manually carrying out the process, the system will do it automatically.

Streamlining of Approvals: With ATSTimeWorkOnDemand, employees can review and request changes to their timesheets on a daily basis, catching errors before they reach payroll. The manager’s dashboard provides managers with real-time approval access and valuable insight into who’s requesting time-off or punching in and out, taking breaks, and working overtime.

ATS has packaged the experience gained from thousands of deployments into a set of leading practices that pave a clear path to success and are proven to deliver rapid business value. With ATS, you go live in a predictable timeframe — smart, stepped implementations begin with sales and span the entire customer lifecycle, so there’s continuity from sales to services to support.

To learn more, go to our website and download a demonstration. You can also reach a sales representative at (866) 294-2467.

The concept behind cloud computing is actually quite simple in that it lets you access applications over the Internet, without having to buy, install or manage your own servers. Case, in point, to retrieve your company’s payroll and time attendance records, all you need is an Internet connection and your favourite browser.

Companies of all sizes in a range of industries, across Canada and the US, are utilizing ATSTimeWorkOnDemand cloud-based software, platforms, to streamline processes, lower IT complexity, gain better visibility, and reduce costs. ATS machine learning, Internet of Things (IoT), and advanced analytics technologies help turn customers’ businesses into intelligent enterprises. ATS helps give people and organizations deep business insight and fosters collaboration that helps them stay ahead of their competition.

Here are 5 benefits to ATSTimeWorkOnDemand and the next iteration of cloud computing:

Easy upgrades without the headaches: With ATSTimeWorkOnDemand, you are regularly and transparently being upgraded to receive the latest innovations and benefits. These upgrades combine the elasticity and utility of the cloud with the control, security, and performance that responds consistently — to ongoing application demands.

Deployment with expediency: Your organization can be up and running with ATSTimeWorkOnDemand HCM applications, with one or multi-site locations within a few months. Upgrades and maintenance administration take place in the cloud and are managed by ATS, so your organization does not have to spend weekends supervising new version upgrades.

Anytime, Anywhere on any Platform: ATSTimeWorkOnDemand is “always on,” making it easy to grow your business and support remote employees and locations, and which means your people can access the app any time, day or night 24/7 from any browser on desktop or mobile device.

Streamlined Payroll, HR and Time Tracking Process: ATS contactless and biometric data collectors allows employees to clock in/out with embedded workflow approvals — allowing HR, to set rules for single-record or batch time-sheet approvals for time-off requests.

Availability and Optimized Performance: ATSTimeWorkOnDemand software architecture was designed from the ground up for robust network performance, thus delivering, better application-level availability than conventional, on-premise solutions. ATSTimeWorkOnDemand HCM App adjusts to a company’s performance needs and assigning server cycles and automatically adjusting to spikes in your business.

Bottomline: ATSTimeWorkOnDemand lets you focus on your business rather than on your software. You don’t have to use valuable IT resources to keep business systems on life support. And, given the vital role that IT plays in today’s business environment ATSTimeWorkOnDemand cloud computing application continues to change the way that companies operate.

To learn more or to download a demonstration, go to our website. And, to reach us by phone, call: 866.294.2467.

The COVID-19 pandemic, led many businesses to make challenging decisions most of which, necessitated the evaluation of staffing needs after provinces and states across Canada and the United States issued various orders aimed at curbing the spread of the coronavirus. And, in some instances, these decisions have resulted in businesses reducing employee hours or laying-off employees. 

As officials slowly evaluate easing restrictions, some businesses are considering rehiring laid-off employees or returning furloughed employees to their previously held positions. And, for some of these businesses that have hourly employees who previously punched in/out at a time clock, the question becomes, how can this done in a way that does not expose employees to contracting the coronavirus.

ATS offers a variety of employee time clocks that your staff does not need to make direct contact with, to record their hours.

Backed by ATSTimeWorkOnDemand, cloud computing solution, here are a few options to choose to choose from:

MIFARE cards: With a MIFARE Card employees simply put the card up to time clock and it automatically records their time. The time clock will emit an audible beep to confirm that the employee successfully punched in or out. MIFARE cards encryption keys prevent data from being emitted until the MIFARE card and card reader mutually authenticate each other.

Face Recognition Terminals: With these terminals, employees only have to put their point their face towards the unit and it automatically records their start and end time. ATS Face Recognition contactless biometrics supports three modes of identification, including Face, card or face and card and– simply authenticates digital identity through facial recognition, thereby worker health and safety. ATS Face Recognition time clocks have proven to be one of the best biometrics because employees time can be recorded without touching or interacting with the unit.

Proximity cards, RFID cards and Keyfobs: Similar to MIFARE,proximity cards, RFID cards and keyfobs feature also feature encrypted, embedded metallic antenna coil that stores cardholder data. Data stored on a proximity card, key fob or tag can be detected by an ATS time clock, when the proximity card is passed within range.

As businesses slowly bring employees back to their offices with new health and safety measures, in place and whether you are in healthcare, manufacturing or grocery– ATS contactless biometric technologies can help you introduce a hygienic and safe time tracking experience.

To download a demonstration, or to learn more, go to our website. And, to reach an account representative, call 866.294.2467.

The use of biometrics at theme parks, airports and in the workplace, has become ubiquitous. However, facial recognition for the purpose of recording an employee time in/out at work, is different than what it is being used at an airport. For example, a biometric time clock, in a workplace will record (for the purpose of payroll) the time an employee clocked in for a day or week-whereas, the purpose of biometrics at an airport will be for security and a range of other purposes.

Installing biometrics in the workplace can help with HR related issues like time theft, buddy punching and payroll errors. However, it is important to let your employees know if you decide to install biometrics for the purpose of tracking time and attendance, especially if your company, have been using paper time sheets to track hours before that.

In a recent article titled, Workers push back as companies gather fingerprints, retina scans by Te-Ping Chen for The Wall Street Journal amoung other publications, an excerpt of the article reads in part;

“As more companies track their workers with fingerprint and facial scans, employees are increasingly challenging firms in court over how that biometric data gets used and stored.

Scores of lawsuits have been filed following a recent state Supreme Court ruling in Illinois, which has the most stringent privacy law protecting such information in the U.S. The suits assert that employees weren’t told what would happen to their biometric data and that it is being put at risk.

Some workers said they don’t see the need for biometrics in the workplace.

“It’s not a secretive place that we work in,” said one worker at a country club outside Detroit, whose employer uses fingerprints to take attendance. She said she was uncomfortable with the practice, adding that she hadn’t been told how her information would be used or stored.

From warehouses to restaurants, the use of biometric data is moving from a niche practice to become a more mainstream way to verify employee hours and check workers in and out of facilities for security reasons. Among companies in the U.S., Europe and Canada surveyed in 2018 by Gartner, 6 percent said they track employees by using biometric data. Europe and Canada surveyed in 2018 by Gartner, 6 percent said they track employees by using biometric data.”

Bottom line: If you decide to explore the many options that a biometric time clock system offers, let your employees know of your intention. Chances are they will be more accepting if they know in advance and you will avoid issues of them not being receptive to it. Afterall, employees are familiar with biometric technology and have likely used them at airports or with their current smartphone.

To learn about ATS Biometric Time Clocks, go to our website. You can also download a demo, or you can attend one of our bi-weekly webinars. And, to reach an account executive, call 866.294.2467.

Speak to any HR manager about the list of challenges they face each day and, hiring and retaining talent is likely to top that list. As an HR manager, have you thought of about introducing fingerprint technology as a tool to help with the recruiting process?

If your organization is interested in deploying a fingerprint solution to streamline the process of hiring, here are some suggestions from an article titled New Fingerprinting Tech Gives Hiring a Hand by Meghan M. Biro of Talent Culture:

“Check the requirements for your field. Depending on industry and state, you may be required to fingerprint your new hires. This includes a number of licenses, public, and private agencies.

For instance, fingerprints are required for those working with pari-mutuel betting and racing. Indian tribal governments may require fingerprinting for anyone who is going to have regular contact or control over Indian children. Private security officers, criminal transporters, adoption or foster-parent evaluators, and school employees may all be subject to fingerprinting. (Fingerprints are processed for a reduced fee for a number of organizations or firms whose employees will work with children.) Other common industries that may require fingerprinting include healthcare, insurance and financial services. Other dependencies include whether or not applicants are located in or out of state.

If You Are An HR Manager Add This Solution To Your Hiring Tool Kit

Don’t expect fingerprinting to do all the heavy lifting. If you think one fingerprint can magically produce everything you need to know about an applicant, think again. For example, a fingerprint may disclose an arrest record, but not a conviction. According to the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), it’s ill-advised to deny someone a position solely on the grounds of an arrest record. A summary of the EEOC’s guidance with regard to conviction record screening policies is provided in HireRight’s white paper, Checking in on Employment Background Checks: Are You in Compliance with the EEOC, FCRA, Federal and Local Requirements?

Keep in mind, the FBI database may not receive a record of all outcomes of all arrests, and in some cases, a state may have chosen not to fingerprint. Certain issues may not even appear on the database, which could cause problems later — including possible litigation.

Use fingerprinting to confirm the identity of your hire. Fingerprinting is the best way to confirm identity. It’s been called the gold standard of identity confirmation — and for a background check, this is the straight line between your potential hire and the FBI database. In terms of employee experience, there are plenty of complications involved in the hiring process already. You can eliminate one by making sure your new hires understand the purpose of fingerprinting. Now that identity confirmation is becoming a new normal, and technologies like biometrics are commonplace, you may be pleasantly surprised by younger generations who are comfortable with fingerprinting — many already protect their smartphones with their fingerprints, for example.”

Fingerprint technologies have been around for a while and are used across many industries to track and report on employee time and attendance. That being said, no two fingerprint technologies are the same-for example, biometric fingerprint technology used to track employee time is different from the ones used by law enforcement.

If you decide you want to use fingerprint technology for hiring employees, make sure you are using a reputable company. And, if your company is unionized, also be prepared to get challenged by either your shop steward or the local President of the union. When selecting a vendor, make sure you choose one that has deep industry expertise, and who is able to clearly espouse the virtues of fingerprint technology, discuss the pros and cons and ally the fears of all stakeholders.

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When biometrics was introduced as a way to avoid buddy punching, and thus, replace time and attendance swipe card technology, many thought these data collectors were part of a futurist Star Trek movie. Fast forward to some decades later and recent news that a company was about to microchip its entire workforce has privacy advocates scratching their heads in frustration.

Will Microchipping Employees Be The Biometrics Of The Future?

Here is a description from the company, who has decided to deploy the technology to throughout its workforce;

“Three Square Market (32M) is offering implanted chip technology to all of their employees on August 1st, 2017. Employees will be implanted with a RFID chip allowing them to make purchases in their break room micro market, open doors, login to computers, use the copy machine, etc.  This program, offered by 32M, is optional for all employees. The company is expecting over 50 staff members to be voluntarily chipped.  32M is partnering with BioHax International and Jowan Osterland, CEO, based out of Sweden.

RFID technology or Radio-Frequency Identification uses electromagnetic fields to identify electronically stored information. Often referred to as “chip” technology, this option has become very popular in the European marketplace. The chip implant uses near-field communications (NFC); the same technology used in contactless credit cards and mobile payments. A chip is implanted between the thumb and forefinger underneath the skin within seconds.”

The reaction to employees being microchipped has been swift with labour experts and lawmakers citing privacy concerns and appealing to HR professionals to proceed with caution. One lawmaker in the state of Nevada has introduced legislation to prevent companies forcing employees to get microchipped as condition of their employment.

So will the idea of microchipping employees gain widespread acceptance? Only time will tell.

Keep current with ATS:

5 Benefits Of A Biometric Time And Attendance Facial Recognition Solution

May 23rd, 2017 | Posted by ATS in ATS TimeWork OnDemand | Biometric FaceScan | Biometric Time Clock | Employee Productivity | ERP | Payroll | TimeWork OnDemand - (Comments Off on 5 Benefits Of A Biometric Time And Attendance Facial Recognition Solution)

Biometrics technology has gained in popularity in the last 10 years. Many of today’s technology companies including; Apple, Samsung and Google, have opted for biometric authentication with their hardware to prevent theft. ATS biometric time clocks are designed to recognize employees’ unique physiological characteristics-and these data collectors include; face shape, iris, fingerprint or hand shape. And, unlike card-based time and attendance systems, employees cannot punch in/out for each other.

When combined with ATS award-winning TimeWork OnDemand or On-premise solution for mid-to large enterprise; biometric facial recognition helps to increase payroll accuracy by eliminating errors associated with outdated manual data collection, reduce administrative time and eradicate employee time theft from tardiness and “buddy punching” (the practice of employees clock in and out for one another), and long  unexplained lunch breaks.

Here are the top 5 benefits of a biometric time and attendance facial recognition solution

Individual tracking: detect an employee based on their individual physiological characteristics

Eradicate time-theft: accurate tracking of employee time, by verifying the identity of those clocking in, thus creating a digital audit trail that cannot be altered. By automating the tracking of employee time an organization, has proof of hours worked.

Reliable and Accurate: Employee biometric templates cannot be duplicated. Managers can remain confident that they are tracking employee’s time and attendance accurately.

 Buddy Punching:  Since employees cannot use the face of their co-worker to punch in for them, you can now say good-bye to buddy punching!

Data Integration: Employee hours easily integrate with your Human Resources Information Systems (HRIS), Payroll and Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP), systems.

Today’s workforce is constantly evolving and keeping pace means using an advanced biometric technology solution to increase employee productivity. An ATS biometric face recognition solution will help to increase payroll accuracy by eliminating errors— associated with manual data collection thus, reducing administrative time and eradication of employee time theft.

To learn more about ATS TimeWork OnDemand, the wide array of biometric time clocks or to register for a bi-weekly webinar, go to our website. To reach an account executive, contact us by phone: 866.294.2467.

The continued rise of technology including; Internet of Things (IoT), robotics, cloud-computing technologies, and artificial intelligence has made the seemingly impossible from years ago now possible. An article by Charles Krome for TLNT HR titled ‘What Happens When Employees Work Out of Their Car?’ raise the eye browse, rightfully so, of many safety experts.

The article reads in part, “It was bound to happen, leveraging the Microsoft Exchange mail and calendar services, In Car Office “knows” about upcoming conference calls, for example, and if you’re in the vehicle, it can automatically dial you in at the appropriate time. Similarly, if other calls are on your calendar, the system also can recognize this and remind you a few minutes before. Or if you’re headed for a face-to-face meeting, the system can automatically set the destination in the car’s navigation system.”

Technology Will Continue To Dominate The Future Of Work

Chances are we are not too far away from this type of technology being deployed by some companies, and of importance is the safety, liability and work-life-balance comes that will feature into this type of technology. The article addresses those concerns with this:

“First off, helping to maintain a safe workplace can be a vital role for HR professionals, so if your employees’ vehicles become part of that workplace, they could become part of your responsibilities, too. Expecting people to be on the clock when they’re in their cars, however, would require resetting that balance — and perhaps rebalancing the company’s books. While it’s too early to know how this would play out, if the time folks spend in their in-car offices is considered “work time,” it could have a financial impact for employers who pay on an hourly basis.”

Will the in-car office ever come to fruition? Only time will tell. The introduction of biometrics some years ago at airports, and in workplaces, coupled with cloud computing technologies were seen as an intrusive tools that did not belong. Today, many companies are deploying cloud-based time and attendance solutions, in large part, to the inherent benefits of boosting workplace productivity and streamlining payroll costs. And, as for biometrics, at airports, they have become so common that consumers go through them without thinking twice.

We at ATS continually espouse the benefits of an automated time and attendance, but we have also stressed that it does not have to be a complicated process. And, while it’s true that an organization with multiple locations, different collective bargaining agreements, and its adherence to regional and federal work rules can increase the complexity and amount of time it takes to install such a system, sticking starting with the basics can make a world of difference.

removing-the-complications-out-of-employee-time-tracking

Here three simple rules to follow once you have decided to deploy a time and attendance:

Reports
Find out which reports are most important to you. For example, if you need a report that shows which or how many hours employees worked on a; daily, weekly and monthly basis, this should suffice as a starting point. Other simple reports may include; exceptions, overtime, daily time in and out and, a few payroll reports to ensure you have the proper information before exporting employee hours to your payroll, CRM, ERP, HR or talent management software. This, however, is not to suggest, you should not explore the full library of reports within a time and attendance system, or look for a solution that has the capability to provide analytics and Big Data tools to support your organizational growth.

Employee Time Clock
When deciding which time clock to use, think about your organizational philosophy and, more importantly, your actual work environment. Would biometric face recognition be better suited or would or a proximity or magnetic time clock avail itself as the better option? These are considerations that should be given once you decide which time and attendance to deploy.

Project Manager
Traditionally this role has fallen to the IT manager or consultant. But, in actuality, HR and/or the payroll practitioner and to some extent, finance personnel are responsible for the management of employee time tracking. So, would it not make sense that such a project be headed by one of these individuals? That’s not to say the role of IT is less important, it just means that the very people who manage the daily tracking of employee hours would know more, than anyone else, about your company’s time and attendance requirements. And, so, it stands to reason, that their role when choosing a solution should be elevated- in short, they are the ones that should be your project managers, with the understanding that they seek assistance and/or guidance from other departments including; IT and other operational managers.

Whether you are moving from paper time sheets to an automated time and attendance solution or merely upgrading to a new solution, removing the complications will help the deployment go a bit smoother.

To learn more about ATS Time and Attendance solutions, go to our website. And to register for one of our weekly webinars, contact us.

The title of this blog references the popular song of the 80’s”Who’s Watching Me” by Rockwell. which brings us to the subject at hand, biometrics in the workplace. It wasn’t too long ago that the mere mention of biometrics being deployed at an organization, evoked fears of “Big Brother” mentality to the point that some employees offered a variety of reasons why they could not use this type of time clock. And, while a biometric time and attendance solution is becoming somewhat of an accepted practice in the workplace, it continues to have detractors, in part, because of misconceptions or because it was deployed in an organization that was not prepared for it.

I’ve Got This Feeling, Somebody’s Watching Me, Really? Who’s Watching You?

An article by CBC Canada, that references Apple’s iPhone marketing campaign states in part; “Biometrics made a mainstream splash with the 2013 launch of the iPhone 5S, which featured a “Touch ID” that uses a person’s fingerprint to unlock the phone. But similar technology appeared in commercial gadgets a decade earlier when Sony introduced a thumb drive with a fingerprint scanner.” The article discusses fingerprint technology and FaceScan biometrics, among others.

If you are thinking about deploying a biometric time clock solution within your organization, we suggest talking to an experienced ATS time and attendance software engineer. Their dept of experience include; different industries with a multitude of pay policies, collective bargaining agreements, across several continents.

There are different types of biometrics and depending on your organization some work better than others. And unlike the biometrics mentioned in the cbc.ca article, ATS time and attendance biometric time clocks are solely, designed, to capture employee hours of work for the purposes of payroll.

To learn more about biometrics, download the white paper on the role biometric plays in the workplace. You can also join the conversation by following us on LinkedIn, Twitter or GooglePlus. And, to reach one of our account executives by phone call (866) 294-2467.

I’ve Got This Feeling, Somebody’s Watching Me. Really? Who’s Watching You?