Most workplaces require employees to carry some form of identification card. These employee badges are pretty standard with name, photo, title, and maybe a company logo. And while this simple format is pretty popular, there are a few more ways to get more for your money with your employee badge.
By simply changing the kind of card stock you use and adding some equipment, you can take your ID card program from “ID only” to “wow, this card does a lot!”. Here are three ways to take your employee badge beyond ID:
1. Turn employee badges into access cards.
At most worksites, there’s some form of security separating the “employees only” areas from the public. For example, workers at an office building may need a key to get in the front door, while employees at retail outlets need to swipe a generic badge to unlock a door.
Instead of issuing physical keys or blank, generic cards, turn your ID badge into an access credential using a tech card and an access control system. Both smart cards and proximity cards can be used to open doors, essentially serving as wireless keys that communicate with a card reader to open a door. These readers are managed using an access control system, which gives the user maximum control over the security of his or her facility.
What’s more, by upgrading your ID badge to an ID access card, you can better control who has access to what door and get reports on the last person who opened a door. You also can keep detailed records of door use and cardholder activity.
2. Keep track of employees by recording daily attendance.
Taking attendance at a job site is a serious endeavor, particularly at hourly organizations. Poor attendance management can lead to billing discrepancies, which costs your organization money. While some organizations will be OK with taking employees at their word, others require detailed records of employee arrival and departure times.
With a card-based attendance system, you can automate employee attendance, increasing accountability at your site. By upgrading your employee badges to feature a tracking feature, like a magnetic stripe or bar code, you can easily institute a new attendance policy by which all employees must scan in and scan out. By putting your card reader at employee entrances and adding the tracking feature to employee ID badges, you can have an electronic record of employee arrival and departure times.
3. Make amenities more accessible for employees.
Some workplaces, like large corporate campuses or multi-tenant office buildings, have a central cafeteria where employees can pop in and grab lunch or a snack without having to go too far. Most will pay with a credit card, some with cash. But what if they could pay with their employee ID badge?
If you use smart cards for your employee badges, you can use a compatible payment system that will allow employees to load money onto their ID badge and use it for payments at the cafeteria, similar to how college students use their student ID cards on campus. Allowing your employees to use their ID badges for payments makes it less likely that they’ll leave their ID badge at home or in the car, and also makes things more convenient for them by eliminating the need to bring a wallet or purse to lunch.
Content for this blog was inspired by Insights by IdentiCard. CM3 is an approved systems integrator for the industry-leading IdentiCard access control product line.