At first blush, tracking employee time seems simple. An employee clocks in at the start of their shift, clocks out at the end, that number is multiplied by their hourly pay rate, and a paycheck magically appears, right? Of course, time tracking is a bit more involved than that, with work rules, labor costs, compliance, leave exceptions, and more to take into consideration. That’s why so many companies use Kronos’ Workforce Timekeeping solution, as its automated processes help to properly record time and attendance to improve payroll accuracy.
Things get tricky, however, when a business is running different versions of Kronos at the same time, such as when they’ve acquired a new company or expanded to a new location. Imagine how complex things would get if you tried to record half of your staff’s hours using Kronos V7 on-premise while the other half used Kronos 8 in the cloud. Not only would that mean more work for your IT department, but if those differing versions use different modules (and each of those modules had different rules from each other), that’s going to result in a very inconsistent employee experience.
So if you’re ready to consolidate your Kronos Timekeeping systems, you’ve come to the right place. Let’s start with why you need to consolidate.
Benefits of Consolidating Your Timekeeping Systems
Simplicity and Consistency
Consolidating your Kronos timekeeping systems will simplify your payroll process because you’ll be dealing with one incoming payroll file versus all sorts of different files coming in from different locations. Consolidating systems will also improve consistency in your policies and practices because those different versions might also have their own different processes. Finally, supporting only one version of the software versus multiple versions will save your IT team a lot of time and energy (and headaches).
Single Source of Truth
Having all of your data on one platform will give you a more accurate source of truth. Here’s a helpful example—imagine that you need to gather information on the number of sick days your workforce used over the past year. If you’re running different versions of Kronos simultaneously, you’d have to pull a number of separate reports and then manually merge that data to find your answer. But if you’re only dealing with one centralized solution, gathering the information and feeding it into visual reports and dashboards becomes a snap. (And the easier it is to analyze that data, the faster you’ll be able to react to it.)
Reduced Cost
One of the major benefits (especially when trying to convince the higher-ups) to consolidating Kronos systems is the money you’ll save by not having multiple platforms. One system across the board means not having to pay for numerous types of support and maintenance, not to mention the hassle of managing those different contracts.
Employee Experience
Happy employees are productive employees, and one way to increase employee happiness is by providing an intuitive and consistent experience with the tools they use. Using a single platform cuts out the complications and time of training employees on different software, and as an added bonus, this also helps speed up the onboarding experience for new employees.
Best Practices for Consolidation
Confirm Your Policies and Compliance
Consolidation is a great time to make sure that your organization is fair, square, and legal. Review your current contracts, policies, payroll procedures, and compliance so that you can determine what needs to be reevaluated and updated.
Involve the Right Stakeholders
Make sure that you have the right people from across each business unit on this project. Not involving key people (or having the wrong people) from the beginning on a project like this one is a sure-fire way to tank it.
Ensure You Have a Practical Timeline
This tip may sound simple, but many people fail to account for the amount of time it will take to consolidate their timekeeping solutions, (and it will always take more time than you think). On that same note, make sure the people who are involved in this project have the time that they will need to dedicate to it.
Determine If It’s Time to Upgrade
Evaluate your systems and decide whether or not it’s time to upgrade to the latest version of a specific Kronos module or product. Some of our clients, for example, are considering moving to Workforce Dimensions, and if that sounds like you, here’s another article to help you determine if the new solution is a fit for your organization. Regardless of what your specific consolidation project entails, make sure to purchase the modules and other offerings that fit your needs.
Have the Right Partners On Your Side
Finally, one of the best ways to ensure your consolidation project is a success is to partner with the experts. Surety Systems has a team of senior-level Kronos consultants who can help you through every step of the process. Contact us to learn how we can assist with consolidating systems or any other Kronos project.
