ID badges are now essential to the secure operation of many businesses, organizations, and companies both large and small. Employee badges were originally used simply for visual identification purposes, often containing nothing more than an employee’s name and photo. ID badges in today’s workplace are capable of much more, thanks to technological advancements such as proximity and smart card technology that provide ID cards with added functionality and allow them to store a significant amount of information. Here are some examples of industries effectively utilizing employee ID cards:

Government
In government facilities security is extremely important. ID badges are used for such applications as employee identification and access control -- not only for buildings, but also computers and networks. Keeping government-related information, documents, and data secure is a chief concern, and ID cards play a key role in this effort.

Schools
It’s becoming more common for schools to require faculty and staff to wear ID badges. This gives parents confidence that their children are in the presence of only those who have authorization to be on school grounds. The physical presence of the ID badges also allows students to be able to easily identify authority figures if they’re in need of assistance.

Healthcare
In a hospital setting, ID badges are used to identify doctors, nurses and staff. Without a proper identification system, employees and patients are at risk and the hospital is exposed to litigation. Hospital IDs usually include the basics – name and photo – along with additional features such as color coding to designate what specific department an employee works in. This gives patients a sense of security, and helps to prevent intruders from gaining open access to the facility.

Corporations
Large corporations use employee ID badges for a wide variety of applications. Besides personal identification information, the badges are often equipped with proximity card technology for building access control. Additionally, many corporations encode their ID cards with embedded circuit chips. This smart card functionality can be used to grant employees access to company computers and networks.