New Sign-In System Put in Place for Dining Hall Staff
Every morning, the staff of Elm and Wetherell Dining Halls are busy preparing for the day before most students even get out of bed. They clean dishes, cook meals and work long hours to serve the faculty, staff and students of Exeter. In order to create a more efficient and technology-based environment, the dining hall staff now check in using biometrics authentication, a fingerprint system.
Chief Financial Officer David Hanson explained that the system is not a security system, but rather a method of clocking in and out during shifts. According to Hanson, under the Fair Labor Standards Act, the school must “properly account for all hours worked by any staff member who is paid on an hourly basis” in order to pay employees accordingly.
According to Hanson, the system is a federally required updated version of “inefficient and outdated” forms such as reporting on paper. Dining hall staff go through a two-step process to sign in—a proximity badge identifies the employee and the biometrics prevents staff from “buddy punching.” Facilities Management also included biometrics as part of their employee check-in process. “Using biometrics is not a change for dining services as we are keeping in line with their current system,” Hanson said.
“Some students are super friendly and nice. Others are just quiet. Everybody is always polite. Everyone is genuinely sweet, pleasant and nice.”
Wetherell dining staff member Nicky Jackson explained that hand washing prompts issues with the fingerprint scanner. The staff wash their hands frequently throughout the day and sometimes the scanner cannot identify her fingerprint. “It’s just like with your phone,” Jackson said.
The staff will receive more training on the system in the coming weeks. Wetherell dining staff member Salina Kolias explained that the staff is expecting an addition to the fingerprint scan, but they do not know exactly what that entails. She expressed the same frustration with the scanner as Jackson.
“It is definitely a pain in the butt … especially when you’re working—you can see my fingers are all pruny from the water, so it’s definitely tough to clock out,” she said.
While there are challenges to working in the dining halls and the new check-in system, workers interviewed by The Exonian felt that the positive working atmosphere made up for any difficulties.
Manager of Wetherell Dining Hall Heidi Brousseau noted the difficulties caused by Wetherell’s understaffed state. According to Brousseau, the Academy doesn’t outsource dining hall staffing or operations, and instead hires in-house through the department of Human Resources. When the department is short on workers, they are forced to find temporary workers to cover shifts. “It’s not always reliable, but we work with what we’ve got,” said Brousseau of the system.
Brousseau also highlighted the growth opportunities and resources afforded by the Academy to the food service workers. “One of the things that I’ve liked about this job is that I’ve gotten a lot of career development. I started at the front of the house putting food on the line and now I’m overseeing everything. In that time I’ve gotten training and development,” she said.
Jackson, who is temporarily working in the dining halls having been transferred from the catering department, emphasized the harshness of the labor itself. “It’s very fast paced … It is really grueling work … I’m glad it’s temporary for me because it’s very hard,” she said.
Despite this, she finds joy in her work. “The working conditions there I’d say are very positive and happy,” she said.
Kolias also noted difficulties in her day to day work, but felt that her coworkers were a highlight. “[Working in the dish room is] definitely sticky and dirty but the people make it better, so it’s not that bad,” she said.
Both highlighted interactions with students as a positive point of their work. “A lot of [students] actually will stop by and say hi and what not. It kind of makes our day,” said Kolias.
Jackson echoed that sentiment, saying “Some [students] are super friendly and nice. Others are just quiet. Everybody is always polite. Everyone is genuinely sweet, pleasant and nice.”