Interstate Cleaning Ditches Outdated Timekeeping System

When janitors clock into work at St. Louis-based Interstate Cleaning Corp., they don’t use pen or paper, or an outdated punch time clock. They either dial-in their arrival via a landline phone or scan their fingerprint into a biometric timekeeping system.

It’s quite a difference from the timekeeping procedures previously employed by the company, says Phil Gaudy, Interstate executive vice president in charge of retail operations, which required a manual, and often cumbersome, effort.

“We had people filling out time cards, and then the site manager would have to total each time card,” before mailing the documents to company headquarters, Gaudy explains. “We had a staff of about nine that would verify the cards, and then they would have to type it into the ADP system. It was very archaic.”

In 2008, after researching several timekeeping solutions providers, the company settled on a manufacturer that provided a check-in program with real-time analysis. Gaudy says the company was able to shrink its payroll staff by seven employees after it upgraded to the current system.

“We figured we should be able to manage and mechanize the process,” Gaudy says. “We have access to see who is at what location, their totals for the day, a certain time period or a whole week.”

The future has arrived. Building service contractors such as Interstate Cleaning Corp., are turning to high-tech timekeeping solutions to effectively manage employees and save on labor costs.

In an industry with a highly distributed labor force, a timekeeping system can save contractors thousands of dollars. In fact, employment experts estimate that installing a timekeeping system can shave an average of 3 to 10 percent off contractor’s bottom line.

Besides dollar savings, these systems offer BSCs a slew of other benefits, from providing employers with official documents, to eliminating pay disputes, accelerating payroll cycles, and putting a stop to “buddy punching” and time theft. Additionally, Interstate has been able to leverage its timekeeping program as a selling tool to customers.

“Mechanized timekeeping systems are good for BSCs, as well as giving their clients peace of mind,” Gaudy says. “They know they are getting the hours they are contracted for, and it gives us an edge with the customers.”