Converso
Converso Contact Centre
Technology focussed contact centre select Mitrefinch biometric time and attendance
Since 1997 Converso have been taking calls on behalf of companies all over the UK and from overseas and really are experts at talking to customers.
They operate from a state of the art 180 seat Customer Contact Centre based in Southend on Sea, offering inbound, outbound and reception services.
In all areas of their business they believe investing in technology helps them provide the highest level of service to their customers and gives them the edge over their competitors.
The HR team felt that their existing system for monitoring work time was no-longer up to the job and it was time to look at new technologies. Lisa Blinkhorne, HR/Payroll Manager advises: "Our old time logging system was based on swipe cards which were not ideal as they were easy to lose or damage. We constantly had to issue new cards to staff who had forgotten theirs. More seriously, there was the danger that the system could be open to abuse by employees swiping in on behalf of their colleagues, allowing them to claim for time they had not worked"
Converso selected the web enabled TMS Time and Attendance system from Mitrefinch, as they felt it fitted well with the high-tech nature of their operations. They also chose biometric verification readers to replace their old card readers.
Now staff are enrolled onto the system when they join by placing their fingertip on a biometric scanner - this measures the relationship between several points on the fingertip ridges. The relationship is then recorded as a number code. The employees whole fingerprint is not recorded, this helps to reassure staff that the system keeps their privacy secure and their personal data cannot be re-created by a third party.
When staff arrive for work they simply tap in a pin number to identify themselves then place their finger on the reader. The number code generated from their finger ridges is automatically checked against the genuine code for that pin number.
This pin and finger combination provides Converso with an excellent combination of security and fast processing speeds, without any cards to go missing.
When staff have logged on at their computers and are ready to begin work they also clock in using the Mitrefinch .Net browser. They can also use this browser to view their entitlements and request holiday subject to supervisor approval.
Lisa feels that the TMS system has really improved efficiency across the HR and Payroll process: "Administration has been reduced as it is no longer necessary to manually check off anomalies in hours worked. The supervisors are now responsible for ensuring all their absence hours are signed off for their own team, which is ideal as they are better placed to know why a team member's hours do not match their roster. Payroll data is now much more accurate and produced more quickly.
Supervisors have access to a visual attendance planner which allows them to easily spot patterns or problem absence in their team and address it appropriately. It also allows them to commend good performers."
Lisa runs numerous reports for the contact centre management team allowing them to make comparisons, identify trends in absence and act accordingly. She can generate bespoke reports on request using the built in report writer, which can easily be used without any programming knolwedge The speed, flexibility and accuracy of the management data generated could not have been matched by their previous system.
Generally the staff have taken to the new technology very well. They appreciate the improved accuracy of the attendance recording facility as it translates into an accurate record for them each month.
When asked about her experience of the Mitrefinch Support Team, Lisa was very enthusiastic: "They are amazing; I could not cope without them. They help me to use the system as effectively as possible, for example guiding me through setting up reports and can often solve even complex queries within minutes. The support service is definitely worth every penny."
