Clocking plastic saves time for base2stay

Recording staff time and attendance made easy

base2stay, a new concept apartment hotel in Kensington, London, has installed an electronic, clocking system for recording employees' attendance and working time.

Developed by SCM CHIPDRIVE, the system comprises a battery powered 'wireless' clocking terminal and management software for the administration of working time and staff holiday entitlement.

Managing a London hotel is a hands-on operation and every member of staff plays a role in delivering a profitable and therefore sustainable business. Good staff morale is crucial to success in the hospitality industry and base2stay's managers understand the importance of using efficient operational procedures.

As they arrive for work, employees are clocked-in and out by using ID smart cards. These are inserted into the clocking terminal which records the employee's name and the time of the transaction. This function switches automatically between clocking-in to clocking-out, each time the card is presented.

Staff at base2stay work various shift patterns, some are geared to the daily housekeeping routines for cleaning and servicing rooms for new arrivals. Reception is manned 24 hours a day with a duty manager always available. The managers can draw on maintenance personnel and temporary staff to provide additional support during busy periods.

Keeping track of employees' working time is therefore an essential administrative function, not only for ensuring that staff are paid correctly but it is also for holiday entitlement, national insurance and tax purposes.

"The CHIPDRIVE system is far more efficient than the old fashion clock cards," explains Operations Manager, Amie Conway. "Basically the system is a computer application for collecting the clocking data and creating management reports.

"Currently we have twenty-two staff in this hotel and keeping manual records would be very laborious. Smart cards have automated the data collection process, eliminating the time taken for checking manual records, transferring the information onto the payroll and then sorting out queries because of overtime and missed clocking."

"We are a small team and our time can be better employed in looking after our customers," says Amie.

Please see our Chipdrive Time Recording shop for more details.