Why Should Employees Wear an ID Card?

You might think employees working directly with clients, customers, and the public need easy visual identification with an employee ID card. Not only does it offer a name to go with a face, but it lets customers and others know the employees' title, department, and other important information. If customers need help, they want to know A) if someone is a staff member and B) if that staff member is in the right department or position to help them.

A basic employee ID card includes the cardholder's picture, name, title, and sometimes their department. If your employees wear similar uniforms, you can distinguish between various job functions with colored ID badges or other distinguishing features like holographic images.

It's important for someone in a school system or hospital to identify easily who is staff and who isn't. But it's just as important to identify in a corporate environment who belongs and who doesn't. You can do that with employee ID cards.

Here are the top reasons all employees and visitors should wear ID cards, regardless of position or function.

1. ID badges limit access

Whether you're a school system, a hospital, or a corporation, no one should have access to all your facilities. In fact, you should restrict access to reduce risk of violence and subterfuge. Today's world needs ID cards to restrict access to labs that contain volatile substances or to corporate proprietary information. A proximity card restricts access to only those areas for which you clear the cardholder. Nefarious individuals can't get into a college lab that contains hazardous chemicals, nor would such persons be able to gain access to patient rooms and other locations in a hospital—if they don't have the right access privileges.

The first level of security for employee ID badges and cards should be access control. Only allow access to those with clearance.

2. Create a safe atmosphere without overt security displays

Children in school systems secured with metal detectors, security guards, and a plethora of video cameras feel more secure when ID badges stand in their place. Students and staff are easily identified, you can easily restrict access to areas, and they can even use their ID cards for checking out books from the library or buying food in the cafeteria. Since each student and staff member has an ID card, it levels the playing field, making students feel more secure and staff able to identify students by name easily.

This extends to hospitals and companies as well. Metal detectors, security guards, and other security measures don't necessarily make your employees and visitors feel secure. In fact, it can be intimidating. When nefarious individuals can't easily duplicate an ID card or badge for restricted access, staff, guests, and others feel more secure with badges that offer easy visual identification of cardholders.

3. Avoid security breaches

Security is a major consideration at schools, hospitals, corporations, and a variety of other institutions today. For organizations with thousands of patients, vendors, visitors, and more walking your hallways daily, you need to manage who is allowed, where they're allowed, and how you can quickly identify them.

You can easily create a trail of who is on site, where they are, and their classification by using access/ID cards. Software can track who is staff, visitors, students, patients, and more simply through their ID cards. It automatically generates a detailed log of the cardholders identify, their specific credentials, and a date/time stamp of where they swiped or scanned their cards. You can easily limit access and offer other functionality through barcodes or magnetic stripes.

The most important security feature is a color photograph. Photo IDs of all staff, students, and others on-site often can help you identify those approved and those who shouldn't be on site. And when you pair that with an access card, you tighten your security by only allowing those who meet all the above to enter your facilities.

4. Offer multiple services on a single card

Whether you have students, employees, staff, or medical personnel, combining other services with access in a single ID card can be priceless. For example, combine payment services for your organization's cafeteria with access to restricted areas on your facilities. You can add equipment checkout, restricted access to labs with volatile substances, time and date stamping for attendance tracking, and so much more with a smart card.

For example, think how your bank's debit card combined with a library card, an access card to local attractions, and your driver's license—all in a single card—would make life easier. One card does it all.

Final thoughts

Increase everyone's confidence that you've secured your facilities—employees, students, visitors, and others. Not only will you know everyone's name because it's prominently displayed of their ID card, but it offers a measure of identity with your company or brand. Boost company morale through ID cards instead of uniforms. ID cards can accomplish the same standardized code to comply with your company's look and feel without impinging on an individual's style.

Customers know immediately you employees' names and department, so they feel confident approaching someone for help. Employees feel accountable when someone can recognize their name, title, and department. And students learn their peers' names and the names of faculty they may not have in class.

If you need more reasons why everyone should wear an ID card, call an ID Expert at Idesco at 212-889-2530. We'd be happy to discuss your needs and budget and offer solutions to meet both.