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The number of American adults telecommuting due to the pandemic fell 30% between January and May 2021 (from 23% to 16%), with the largest drop in May. As more and more employees return to their offices, unexpected new challenges hidden in the new hybrid working model threaten to seriously disrupt safety and security.
Consider facial recognition solutions
Another additional complication is that the newly relaxed Centers for Disease Control (CDC) guidelines do not apply to unvaccinated people or do not take into account variations in local or state health guidelines that may be in place, potentially creating a need for organizations identify and track different groups of employees and visitors.
Fortunately, AI-powered solutions exist to bolster in-person workplace safety and improve key elements, from the sign-in process to the enforcement of restricted areas, while also enabling frictionless compliance with health guidelines. .
As the most accurate turnkey biometric solution, facial recognition has the potential to solve many of the looming challenges that offices will soon face when employees return to work. Going forward, workplaces should leverage facial recognition solutions to thwart threats in the new hybrid workplace, strengthen access control, and protect offices from future health risks.
Rediscovering a foothold in the hybrid working model
With office workers returning to workplaces in person as the pandemic abates, one of the lasting outcomes of the coronavirus crisis will be the hybrid work model. According to a recent report from Accenture, 63% of high-growth companies are currently using “productivity everywhere†hybrid workforce models.
As companies implement attendance programs in which workers are only required to enter the office part of the time, poorly equipped security operators will have to guess who can access certain areas on certain days. This prepares workplaces for potential security breaches where bad actors can take advantage of the confusion to bypass security measures.
Through facial recognition, security personnel can eliminate questions such as which employees are present and when to enter secure areas. It allows operators to have conditional and time-specific access control that works at the edge for an instant and accurate view of employee access, as soon as they walk through the door.
Additional complications can arise when employees work in shared spaces and do not have assigned workstations. Facial recognition technology (FRT) can be used in these scenarios to count the employees present and assign them to specific workstations in order to better manage staff. Additionally, FRT can be quickly installed on a facility’s IP cameras and / or workstations to quickly adapt to changing security needs.
Facial recognition solutions can even pair with video management systems (VMS) and send real-time alerts to security personnel based on attribute-specific access control stipulations, such as time of day. day or location. With facial recognition tools, operators can simultaneously reduce personnel and administration costs while ensuring the safety of the hybrid workplace.
Rationalization of access control inside and outside
Inside workplaces, operators can use facial recognition to keep tight areas safe. Adding this biometric technology can be as simple as updating the software of most security and access control deployments that are powered by a VMS that connects IP cameras, door locks and solutions. alert messaging.
FRT can also be used as a login requirement for shared on-site workstations, only allowing employees to access their account with identity verification performed through a workstation’s on-board camera. Plus, facial recognition acts as an added bonus for employees by helping them check in quickly without stopping to scan a card or physically sign, making frictionless entry a reality.
Outside of the workplace, remote workers are probably the most vulnerable to security threats. They can operate from less secure networks or from unsecured locations, and their technology can be hacked or stolen. FRT can be used to combat these threats by providing instant identity verification, including two-factor protocols based on matching a valid ID with a live face image capture. Anti-spoofing solutions allow operators to quickly ensure that any employee working remotely is who they say they are.
Protect the health of employees
At the height of the pandemic, masks simultaneously made it harder to spread the virus and identify employees. Tech companies adapted, creating contactless identity verification solutions that used facial recognition to detect people with a level of accuracy close to that of unmasked scenarios.
As operators seek long-term security solutions, incorporating technology that can adapt and protect against future virus outbreaks will be crucial to maintaining a stable working environment.
Operators can integrate the FRT which is able not only to identify masked employees, but also to recognize if they are wearing their mask correctly around the nose and mouth, when entering the facility and throughout of the day. For another layer of virus prevention, the technology can also be integrated with temperature sensing solutions to provide instant report on employee mask status and health and even alert security personnel to help. In case of problem.
In customer facing scenarios, facial recognition can provide peace of mind for employees and operators to ensure they don’t endanger customers. In the unfortunate event of another viral outbreak, operators can be confident that the security solutions they already have in place can quickly adapt to mask policies and help streamline transitions to and out of metrics. virus attenuation.
Protecting the workplace of tomorrow
Facial recognition and other AI-based technologies will be essential in helping forward-looking operators quickly adapt to the next wave of security challenges. From threats lurking in the hybrid work model, to more complex access control needs, to protecting employees and customers from future virus outbreaks, facial recognition can improve both safety and health. in the workplace with an easy-to-install and highly accurate solution.
With tools like facial recognition in hand, businesses can embrace the new standard with the peace of mind that their employees will be healthy and their businesses will be safe.
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