Humanforce Cloud includes a new Kiosk web application with an improved employee clocking experience, supporting offline operation and available on any device with a modern web browser.
This is now available in Early Access.
To learn more about setting up the new Kiosk, review the New Cloud Kiosk Set-up Guide here
What are the features of the new Kiosk web app?
The new Kiosk web application is designed primarily for shift clocking functionality. It doesn't support employee self-service features, due to the expectation that the device needs to operate when offline (if required).
It is browser-based, making it easy to setup, use and support.
Identification via Face Recognition v2
The Kiosks utilises facial recognition to identify users, by using the Kiosk camera to capture a face that belongs to a registered user in that location. Because the identification occurs in an offline sense, if the user navigates to self-service pages (and there is an internet connection), they will be required to authenticate as per the normal cloud login requirements for that user and device.
Face Recognition is fast, convenient and secure, making it the best choice as the primary identification method for the employee clocking experience. However, other identification methods may be supported in the future.
Clocking rostered and non-rostered shifts
Once a user has identified to the Kiosk, they can complete the following tasks:
- Clocking in for non-rostered shifts. Employee will be able to select a Location, Department, Area and Role applicable to the current user. This clocking option will always be available for cases where the latest rostered shifts have not been sync’d down to the Kiosk.
- Clocking in for rostered shifts: Employee will be able to Start Work against the displayed shift. This is dependent on the Kiosk being online at least once every 72hrs to fully download and cache required shift data.
- Clocking out from the Kiosk will be supported once the user has clocked in to the same device.
- Recording breaks during a shift. Provided a user has clocked in for their shift, it will be possible for them to clock in and out of breaks.
- Comments will always be enabled in the Kiosk so that a user can record a note about the shift to accompany the timesheet.
- Declaration form based on an employee's clock-in settings. This provides the ability to display and accept a shift declaration at clock off.
Capture a verification photo of employee to accompany timesheet.
- If this option is enabled, even in offline mode, the Kiosk can capture an image of the user and keep it on the device to be synchronized along with the timesheet data when connectivity is restored.
Important: Users should clock-out from the same Kiosk they clocked-in. Attempting to clock-out from a different kiosk may result in duplicate or incomplete timesheets.
Automatic sync when internet is available
The Kiosk captures all clocking events, holding them until synchronization with the cloud system can occur - as and when a connection becomes available. Users do not need to initiate the sync - the kiosk automatically detects connectivity and pushes data to the cloud in the background (as well as pulling down new rosters).
The Kiosk page will display when it was last successfully synchronized with the cloud servers. If the device is powered off before it has finished sync’ing, it can resume the sync when switched on.
Humanforce recommends the Kiosk to be online at least once a day to sync all the data that is required to perform all clock-in functions when offline. The Kiosk will download roster data up to 72hrs in the future, to ensure upcoming rosters are available for your staff.
Timesheet reconciliation with Cloud
Humanforce Cloud receives a replay of clocking events from the new Kiosks, reliably processing the clocking data as if they happened in real-time. This ensures the timesheets are reconciled to rosters (where applicable) and all timesheet authorisation rules are invoked as normal, including break rules.
In the event of an employee clocking in multiple times across more than one offline device, the system will create duplicate active timesheets, and a manager will need to review those timesheets to resolve possible conflicts.
The event log associated with a timesheet will reflect the clocking actions. For example “Started work (Offline Kiosk, Rostered)” or “Started break (Offline Kiosk, non-rostered)”
Audit images are also supported - ensuring a record of the employee's face is included with each timesheet for extra manual verification if needed.
When would I use offline clocking?
Ultimately it's up to your business to determine if any of your locations might benefit from using the new Offline Clocking support on your kiosks. Here are some example scenarios to consider:
- Stadiums or event locations where 4G/5G internet access can become unstable due to high volume of patron devices overwhelming the network.
- Basement or similar sub-ground locations where the Kiosk cannot find reliable WiFi connection due to large concrete structures and unavailability of wired internet.
- Remote locations where internet availability is intermittent or very weak.