With news that Three Square Market, a software company in Wisconsin, USA, has taken the bold step of microchipping their workforce, we thought it would be interesting to look into our payroll crystal ball to see what the future of payroll may look like in years to come.
But first…
Let’s take a look at what’s happening in the offices of Three Square Market, a vending machine software developer. Firstly, it’s important to point out that the RFID (Radio-frequency identification) chip they are using is not GPS enabled, so will not track employees, and the whole scheme is voluntary, which lessens the ‘Big Brother’ aspect of the whole saga! The chip will enable employees to perform a number of everyday office tasks, such as unlock and open doors, log on to workstations and use the printer, as well as buy food from on-site vending machines, as you would expect given the nature of their business…
There has been a similar story closer to home in recent times. Sydney resident Meow-Meow (yes, that is his real name) inserting the chip from an Opal card (for all non-Sydneysiders, a top-up card used for public transport) into his arm, enabling him to catch the bus even if he forgets his wallet! What a world.
So, onto payroll…
The thing that jumps out to readers of the story at first glance is “can I be tracked?”, and while in this case no, it doesn’t take too much imagination to picture the world where employees are monitored using microchips to ensure they are where they say they are during the work day. GPS tracking would be especially helpful if you have a large, mobile workforce of unscrupulous salespeople or drivers. If you do, maybe consider a new workforce too…
Clocking in using microchips isn’t too far off reality. At Payroll HQ, we offer fingerprint scanners which ensure your staff are turning up on time and not asking a friend to clock-in on their behalf, but this could go one step further with the use of microchips. Coupled with potential GPS tracking, there may not even be a need to ‘clock-in’, simply walk through your office doors at 8:54 am, and just like that, you’re marked as ‘clocked-in’. Sneaking out at 4:30 on a Friday all of a sudden becomes a bit trickier though…
Paper time sheets are becoming a thing of the past (yessssss!), but microchipping employees will cut out even having to fill in a digital timesheet. Again, just turn up and you’re done! You can’t even forget to scan your fingerprint at the front desk. All the time sheets get sent at the end of the week, your pay is processed, and the money is quite literally in your fingers for the weekend.
Struggling to pin down the new employee to gather their Tax File Number and bank details? No worries, just ask them for their hand to scan – makes onboarding a 2-minute job!
Sound good to you?
Many of the features we have mentioned here Payroll HQ are already equipped to offer to our customers all over Australia, saving them valuable hours each week by streamlining the payroll function. From employee self-setup, paperless time sheets and biometric clock ins, we have the solution you need. Let us be your Payroll HQ so that you can concentrate on the important stuff. Contact us for more information.
