Press Releases & Other News

Biometric Attendance Tracking in the Workplace

Posted on by Quinn James

With companies constantly growing and/or evolving, it has become important to keep better records of employee activity. One thing that’s changed a great deal over the last few years is how attendance is maintained. Some companies use the old-fashioned time clock for employees to punch in and out on paper cards, some use an honor system of recording time in the office on a computer spreadsheet and still others have completely overhauled employee tracking with biometric time and attendance systems. We’ll focus on explaining the ins and outs of that latter group.

Understanding Biometrics

Bio what? Biometrics. Biometrics is a science focused on using physical human measurements to identify individuals. Typical measurements include characteristics of a person’s fingers, hands, eyes or face. These features are generally quite unique to any given person, making them reliable measures of identity. Because these features are largely unalterable on a person, time measurement and attendance scanners can take an initial impression to use over time (be it an image of someone’s retina or fingerprint records) and have it on file as a comparison to verify the person’s identity each time they clock in and out.

Biometric time and attendance systems function by means of an electronic device with a touch sensor to place one’s finger or hand on to record an impression in a database or smartcard. The program will measure the shape of the ridges in a person’s finger or even the pattern of veins in their hand. Based on the identifying feature that is measured for each person (most commonly the fingerprint), individuals can maintain an accurate record of their time spent in the workplace.

Benefits of Biometrics

Biometric scanning is used in a variety of settings, from hospitals to manufacturing facilities to everyday office spaces. The biometric system has several benefits, some of which extend beyond simple time and attendance measures. Some of these perks include:

  • Eliminating Buddy Punching – Unfortunately, it has become common for coworkers to say to one another, “Hey, I have to leave early. Can you clock me out?” Or, “Running late today; mind punching me in?” Using an ID-matching system ensures that the individual clocking in an out is in fact the person in question; coworkers cannot help each other cheat or defraud the company of money.
  • Maintaining Access Control – In offices where security is crucial to business functioning or even when an office is located in a less-desirable neighborhood and safety is a concern, biometric systems are beneficial. Utilizing fingerprint technology, businesses can restrict access to a building as a whole or to a specified area (room, floor, lab, etc.). Only with a verified print will an individual be permitted access to the space.
  • Saving Time and Reducing Errors – Human resources and payroll specialists have extensive duties as it is. Making good use of technologically-advanced fingerprint time and attendance systems frees these professionals up to provide assistance to employees and maintain overall business functioning. HR and payroll no longer have to worry about processing attendance records or miscalculating each employee’s total hours (and earned pay) when there is a digital record of each available.

Biometric systems have allowed companies to maintain a closer eye on employee movements. These tracking systems are advanced, using fingerprints and other markers to establish to identities of individuals, making it nearly impossible for employees to cheat the system. Extended lunches are things of the past, so is clocking your best friend in each morning. Productivity is key, and maintaining accurate attendance and access is a means of achieving it!

Benefits of Online Time Management Systems

Posted on by Quinn James

Keeping track of the workday is a necessity. Knowing what is going on with employees throughout the day helps companies to know what is going on in the organization as a whole. That’s why we all keep records of the time we spend in the office each day. From attendance to productivity, time management systems keep us organized and in-the-know. In fact, we’ve even had a better time of it with the growing use of web-based time and attendance systems. Consider some of the benefits of online time management:

Ease and Convenience

Some companies still live in the Stone Age when it comes to employee time tracking. They use the old-fashioned time clock for workers to punch in and out on, create paper documents that require workers to record their in and out times on with a pen, or require employees to maintain a simple spreadsheet document on their computers breaking down time in and out as well as total hours. Let’s be honest: all of these methods are tedious. Web-based time tracking software is both convenient and easy because workers just log in (in the morning) and out (in the evening) to create records of in-office time. Additionally, the company needn’t worry about the time and energy it would take human resources personnel to double-check and add up written or printed timesheets.

 Affordability

The internet has made life easy in so many ways. The benefit of any online service and particularly online time management is that it is affordable. Think about the popularity of online shopping, for instance. E-commerce didn’t grow simply because we’re all lazy; it grew because customers can get the same products for less money and less time than it would take to buy that little black dress in the department store (think about what you spend on shipping versus gas, for example, or the time and frustration saved by shopping online and avoiding malls and crowds). The same is true of time management tracking, only instead of saving on shipping, you save time, labor and money that would otherwise be spent to pay HR or payroll people to sit and calculate employee hours and wages. There are more beneficial ways for your staff to spend their time.

 Productivity and Billing

Aside from the mundane task of time and attendance tracking, online time management serves the purpose of both assessing company productivity and allowing for accurate billing of clients. Functions within time management software allow employees to note what projects they worked on, how long they worked on each project and which clients the work was done for. This allows everyone to see how much headway is being made in various parts of the organization and also bills hourly clients accurately.

Using time and attendance tracking software aids in the efficiency of employee and task monitoring. Your organization can be a dinosaur or it can be an innovator in running the business. Ease of use, affordability and additional benefits of online time management make good business sense! It’s your choice!

SaaS Explained: Understanding Software as a Service

Posted on by Quinn James

At Sentric, we talk a good deal about our cloud-based total workforce management system. Human resources professionals are often charged with some daunting technical tasks—payroll processing, benefit claims, general data entry, etc. Luckily, programs are available to make these and other duties more doable. That’s where SaaS comes in; that’s where Sentric comes in. But even the best HR specialists aren’t overly tech-savvy, so before they even invest in SaaS, they need to know what the heck it is. The following should provide a better working knowledge of Software as a Service so that you and your human resources group know what they’re investing in.

What is SaaS?

Software as a Service (SaaS) is a way to give users access to software programs in a remote way. When using SaaS services, individuals or organizations can access necessary software from a provider which grants access completely over the internet. For example, Amazon Web Services, Google Apps and HubSpot all fall under the Saas umbrella because all are hosted entirely online.

SaaS Features

SaaS applications often have a number of features that make them appealing to not only human resources but also those in other industries and individual users. The easy-to-use nature of SaaS programs is definitely a perk, and so are these:

  • SaaS applications are hosted online by the provider, which means that they make program updates and changes, not you. This reduces the technical burden on a company.
  • The application provider has access to your information and data. When there’s an issue, trained professionals can troubleshoot the problem, redesign part of the program or implement changes.
  • SaaS providers can track user behavior, a plus because it allows them to see what needs improvement.

Benefits of SaaS

In addition to the above features, SaaS applications have several financial and technical benefits:

  • Application pricing and charges are implemented by charging either a monthly or annual fee.
  • Given that the provider handles the technical aspects of the program by hosting it elsewhere and maintaining it, your company does not have to install or perform maintenance on anything.

Software as a Service is accessible to anyone for just about anything, be it casual email and document creation or software for human resources. Online applications are easier to use than ever before and they’re affordable, making them attractive to companies and individuals. Why not trust your company’s software needs to a SaaS provider? After all, diverting time, effort and energy that would otherwise be spent on navigating software applications will give the human resources department more time to meet employee needs!

Sentric collects gifts for Adopt-A-Family

Posted on by Shannon Dougherty

Pittsburgh’s “pile” of gifts for our special family!

Sentric’s staff is proud to participate in the Salvation Army’s “Adopt-A-Family” program! We’ve “adopted” a family of 10 in our Pittsburgh, PA office and a family of 4 in our Orange County, CA office, and the staff has gone above and beyond buying up every gift on the family’s “wish list”. We couldn’t be happier to help make the holidays more joyous for two families in need.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Charity sale brings in funds for Haitian artists

Posted on by Shannon Dougherty

By popular demand, Sentric hosted a 2nd event on December 7th to sell jewelry and other holiday items made by Haitian artists (www.apparentproject.org). All proceeds went directly to the artists, and the sale was a big success. Sentric’s employees and friends raised nearly $1200 in just three hours. A great event with beautiful hand-made products – it was a great success!

Sentric streamlines carrier connectivity for clients

Posted on by Shannon Dougherty

Santeon Group, Inc. (OTCBB: SANT) and Sentric, Inc., today announced they have partnered to deliver secure, automated electronic benefit carrier communications to the SentricWorkforce client base.

http://money.cnn.com/news/newsfeeds/articles/marketwire/0944031.htm

Sentric is proud to be among the Best Places to Work in 2012

Posted on by Shannon Dougherty

At Sentric, we strive to keep our employees happy, engaged and satisfied, while still having some fun and doing good for the community whenever we can. For those reasons and many more, we’re very proud to announce that our staff, in conjunction with the Pittsburgh Business Times, has recognized us as one of the 2012 Best Places to Work in Western PA! Thank you to every person at Sentric for truly making it a great place to work!

Sentric employees help to clean up downtown Pittsburgh

Posted on by Shannon Dougherty

A few Sentric employees spent their Saturday morning working with the Pittsburgh Downtown Partnership, helping to Beautify Pittsburgh!

Sentric Partners with First Data to Offer “Green” Payroll Solutions

Posted on by Shannon Dougherty

PITTSBURGH (June 5, 2012) – Sentric, Inc., a Human Capital Management software and payroll services firm, announced its exclusive partnership with First Data Corporation, a global leader in electronic commerce and payment processing, to reduce the number of paper paychecks and statements distributed each year to Sentric’s more than 200,000 employees currently under management.

 The BRIO® Service from First Data is a fast, safe and easy way to get paid instantly with the BRIO Paycard and Money Network™ Checks. The program is available now to all Sentric clients.

 ”Our clients, especially those who share our vision for environmental sustainability, can now offer every employee a green option for receiving their wages on pay day,” said Mike Maggs, CEO at Sentric. “In addition to our traditional direct deposit service, our clients can offer their employees, those with and without bank accounts, immediate access to funds on pay day without a fee and with the added convenience of accessing their cash at thousands of locations nationwide using their BRIO Card or using Money Network Checks.

 “Beyond these employee benefits, the BRIO program addresses real business issues of privacy and fraud prevention while reducing the fees associated with the generation and delivery of paper checks. This service offering represents a final and important step in Sentric’s green payroll solutions initiative,” said Maggs.

 Sentric, provides thousands of middle-market organizations across the country with “cloud-based,” integrated workforce management software featuring payroll, human resources, and time and labor management solutions.

 ”Partnering with Sentric further supports our goal to provide consumers with a trusted and convenient solution for getting immediate access to wages on pay day,” said Mark Putman, senior vice president, Prepaid Solutions, First Data. “Users can manage their accounts with features such as checking their account balance online and by phone; receiving balance updates via text or email; and loading funds from various sources including a second job, child support and government benefits.”

 Employees of Sentric clients will have free access to their funds on pay day anywhere their debit cards are accepted including stores, online and over the phone. The Money Network Checks can be used to get cash or pay bills just like any other checks. Funds loaded to the BRIO Card are FDIC insured.

About Sentric Inc.:

When we began operations in Pittsburgh in 1994, our mission was clear: provide state-of-the-art technology with unmatched client service. Since its inception, Sentric, Inc. has evolved into a national workforce management solutions provider to more than 2,500 organizations, featuring rich technology coupled with our client-centric solutions approach to ensuring service excellence. For more information on Sentric solutions, visit http://www.sentric.net/.

 CONTACT: Tracy Null, 412.253.1315

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Sentric Volunteers with the Western PA Conservancy

Posted on by Shannon Dougherty

No one ever said volunteering was easy. And this past weekend, we proved it. For the 3rd year in a row, Sentric employees volunteered with the Western PA Conservancy (http://www.paconserve.org/2/about) to plant a Community Garden in a local neighborhood. This year’s garden was located at the intersection of Lydia Street & Chestnut Street in Carnegie… and was by far our largest garden yet! Even with our group of 14 employees & family members, it was a long, hard, HOT day! We weeded, planted and mulched until our garden was in pristine condition and ready for the world to see. Although the temps in the upper 80′s didn’t make easy work of it, we all were more than happy with the final product, and proud that we were able to help make a local community just a little more beautiful. 

Thank you to all of our volunteers, and their family members, for giving up their Saturday -and a lot of sweat- to make it happen: Bridgette Balogh and her sister Meghan, Melissa Causer and her daughter Calista, Melissa Harris and her boyfriend Tim, Dave Ignaski, Betsy Kleinhample and her husband John, Mike Maggs, Shannon Dougherty-Maggs and her mother Mare and sister Brie, Sally Ritz, and Kim Underwood. 

 

Sentric supports Haitian artists with Jewelry Sale

Posted on by Shannon Dougherty

Visitors had the opportunity to purchase handmade jewelry by Haitian artists, on display in our Training Room from 10 AM – 3PM on May 23rd. All proceeds benefitted The Apparent Project (www.apparentproject.org). Sentric’s employees, guests and visitors raised enough money to feed 50 Haitian artists and their families for a week. It was a fun event for a great cause. And thank you to our Pittsburgh Operations Manager, Cyndi Marszalek who put it all together!

Press Release: Sentric Partners With peopleG2

Posted on by Shannon Dougherty

Exciting news! To add another dimension to the ancillary services offered to our clients, Sentric has partnered with peopleG2 to offer employment screening, background checks and more.

 Click here to read the full press release http://www.hrvendornews.com/?p=4034

 For more information on Sentric and peopleG2′s background and employment check services, including social media screenings, drug testing and more, contact your Sentric sales representative, or email sales@sentric.net. 

 
 

Sentric’s Race to Any Place to benefit the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society

Posted on by Shannon Dougherty

We came, we rode, we… limped all day Sunday. Sentric was a proud participant in the 2012 Race to Any Place, a 6 hour stationary bike race to raise funds for the Western Pennsylvania and West Virginia Chapter of the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. Team SpinSentric gave it their all, biking nearly 140 miles in total during the 6 hour, 12-person relay. Hopefully by this time next year, we’ll be recovered and eager to beat this year’s mileage!

Take a Product Tour of our SaaS HCM with Integrated HR and Payroll + Time & Attendance

Posted on by Shannon Dougherty

Attention Sentric Payroll Clients: Take a tour of SentricWorkforce, our #1 fully-integrated workforce management solution.

Are you currently only utilizing Sentric’s payroll platform? Learn about the benefits of a unified human resource management solution that integrates payroll, benefits, time and labor management, performance management, self-service and more.

Take our online product tour now and be sure to let us know what you think!
http://info.sentric.net/sentricworkforce-producttour/

Learn more at http://www.sentric.net/solutions/workforce-management/.

Download our HR Software Technology Guide eBook

Posted on by justin

The history of HR software technology, like Human Resources itself, continues to evolve.

In today’s world, the capability for employers to leverage HR software technology to drive human performance is often the difference between solid and superior results.

To date, technology features have outpaced adoption and utilization. And many organizations have not yet realized the full benefits of the entire suite of possibilities for HR software technology.

Read more about HR Software Technology in our eBook which includes:

  1. HR Technology Predictions for 2012 and Beyond
  2. HR Software Trends and Drivers
  3. The Business Case for HR Workforce Technology
  4. Workforce Management Solution Best Practices

Download our HR Software Technology eBook.

Volunteering at the Food Bank

 

Each quarter, Sentric employees in both our Pittsburgh, PA and our Huntington Beach, CA office spend one morning volunteering at our respective local food banks (Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank and Second Harvest Food Bank of Orange County). This month, in addition to repackaging bulk quantities of cereal, our Pittsburgh volunteers helped to assemble the bags of food for the Max Starks & Friends Thanksgiving Food Drive, where 300 families in need will receive all the fixins’ for a full Thanksgiving dinner, including the turkey! It was a great experience to be able to contribute to the success of such a wonderful event.

Take the Client Survey!

Posted on by Shannon Dougherty

The best way we can improve is by finding out what our clients want and need from us. That’s why each year, we ask for your input regarding how we are doing. From Sales to Customer Service, from Tax Filing to Additional Products & Services, we want to know whether we are meeting your needs! We need your feedback. And… we’re not above bribing you for it. The survey takes only a few minutes to complete, and all responses dated prior to November 18, 2011 will be entered in a drawing to win one of six $100 Visa Gift Cards. Winners will be announced next month. 
So, what are you waiting for? Click here to begin! And thank you in advance for your valuable feedback.