Dollar Stores: When Pennies Matter Retail Adopts Biometric Time and Attendance

Buried in this rather fascinating article on Canadian retailer, Dollarama, is an interesting note on time and attendance. The dollar store model requires firms to operate at the peak of efficiency. That Dollarama uses biometric time and attendance it a pretty good indication that it helps them make money. The whole article is worth reading. The biometric bit is quoted below.

How Dollarama turns pocket change into billions (Globe and Mail)

Most stores are about 10,000 square feet, with annual sales of about $2.3 million. Dollarama has more than 14,000 employees, usually 20 per store, about a third of them part-time. The Dollarama formula relies on paying as little as possible on this front too. Almost all jobs pay the provincial minimum wage—about $8.75. Given its chosen labour niche, this year the company feels compelled to introduce biometric scanners made by Massachusetts-based Kronos Inc. to monitor employee attendance. Unlike a punch clock, these devices can’t be gamed by sympathetic colleagues.