Employee applications, W-4s, I-9s, paycheck stubs, compliance forms, checklists. At times, the paperwork in a retail environment can become a little overwhelming. While there has long been a trend to move from a paper-based environment to a digital world, some technologies are taking things a step further.

Through the use of biometrics, retailers can now identify employees at POS stations and backroom computers with nothing more than a fingerprint scanner and some software. Eliminating the need for log-ins, key cards and signatures, biometric solutions can show an immediate return on investment by creating efficiencies and eliminating mountains of paperwork.

White Castle recently enlisted the products, software and expertise of DigitalPersona to implement biometric solutions in its 413 quick-serve restaurants. From the application process to health plan enrollment and more, White Castle is leveraging the power of technology to make paperwork a snap.

Founded by scientists from Caltech and MIT, DigitalPersona’s technology is used by more than 90 million people in a wide range of environments because fingerprint scans are a rapid, cost-effective and foolproof verification solution, says vice president of marketing Jim Fulton.

“Fingerprints can guarantee what you are doing, where and when,” he says. “They are unique forms of identity mechanisms that are fast and easy to use.”

While fingerprints can be used as a way of logging into a terminal, they can also be used as an indisputable form of identification. This is exactly what White Castle had in mind when it instituted the technology in an attempt to eliminate some paperwork and move toward electronic forms.

With more than 12,000 employees around the country, White Castle could eliminate millions of pages of documents, as well as the need for signing, copying, faxing/mailing and archiving them. “The goal was just trying to eliminate paper forms and move more toward an electronic format,” says Don Long, director of information technology for White Castle. “We found during the implementation that many forms need signatures so we brought in an electronic signature pad but still needed to take it a step further.”

Solid verification trail
White Castle used DigitalPersona’s software development kit (SDK) to create more digitally secure signatures. It performed a trial run and found that digital signatures, when combined with fingerprints, provide a rock-solid verification trail.

“Our team members can enter information such as their birthdays, team member names and numbers then it will ask them to put their fingers on the reader,” Long says. “When they sign a form, they sign it digitally and use a thumbprint.”

White Castle first implemented fingerprint biometrics via a health enrollment campaign about three years ago. In the past, the company had often experienced employee-generated mistakes on the forms and found that shifting to a digital format almost entirely eliminated errors. Team members would sit down at the backroom computer in their stores, go through the forms and digitally sign the documents; enrollments and payroll deductions would be automatically calculated.

White Castle also is getting ready to go live with E-Hiring, a concept whereby employees will be able to complete all of their hiring paperwork in a digital environment.

From POS registers and time clocks to backroom computers and safes, fingerprint biometrics can be used for numerous applications to confirm the identity of an individual. The technology can provide advantages to both retailers and their employees by creating a seamless work environment that makes constant log-ins unnecessary.

Bye-bye buddy punching
For the retailer, it eliminates the risk of “buddy punching” because employees can not cover for one another. For large retail spaces, it also eliminates the problem of employees punching in near an exterior door then taking a while to get to their station. And, because they usually require nothing more than a plug-in fingerprint scanner and software, fingerprint biometrics solutions are also easy to implement, Fulton says.

Employees gain efficiency because biometrics eliminates the need for constant log-ins and card swiping. And, because fingerprints can not be stolen or used by anyone else, it can create an environment in which all employees are held accountable for their actions. That level of security guarantees who was present at every single transaction and helps prevent fraudulent manager overrides, voids and returns.

Since fingerprint scans are required for everyone to touch a cash register, the technology can automatically generate a reliable audit trail of every dollar that was touched. The accountability of fingerprint scans also ensures employees that they will not be held accountable for others’ mistakes and will always be given credit for their sales.

The best part of the system, Fulton says, is that it requires no learning curve. “Fingerprints are so fast and easy, you don’t have to train people and it actually improves productivity because they no longer have to think about doing it,” he says. “It is just so natural.”

Labor scheduling
White Castle uses fingerprint biometrics for labor scheduling, but doesn’t yet utilize it for its time clocks because a third party handles that function. The company also is working on a “to-do system” that will use biometrics to maintain a running list of the tasks each employee is required to complete.

Instead of using paper checklists and signatures, team members will be able to use a workstation and fingerprints to identify themselves and track the actions they are required to perform on their shifts. White Castle also moved to direct deposit last year, and employees can now sign into a store terminal with a fingerprint to print their check stubs.

“We were still shipping paycheck and deposit stubs to our employees and it was costing a lot of money,” Long says. “They are now able to sign in biometrically and print out their pay stubs in the backroom.”

As organizations face increasing compliance mandates and regulatory requirements, they need to show that they have control of what employees are doing, where and when. DigitalPersona is seeing rapid growth in the retail and restaurant sectors, where fingerprints are viewed as an easier and most cost-effective alternative to cards and passwords.