Having a single system of record makes it easier for workforces to manage their applications and the integration capabilities needed to make those apps run smoothly. But what do those workforces do when one system no longer gets the job done? Usually, disorganized and inefficient processes and miscommunications between systems and apps follow – but not with the Kronos Workforce Integration Manager (WIM).
Kronos WIM simplifies the process of sharing data between your Kronos application and third-party systems, including human resource management, payroll, and Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems. It makes managing your data in multiple systems a lot simpler with its built-in Kronos Workforce Integration Manager Interface Designer and wide range of functionality to cover all your needs – from the most basic to the most complex. With the Kronos WIM interface, you can have your cake (and eat it too).
Benefits of Kronos WIM Integration
Trying to manage all the data in your Kronos workforce management system and in any external applications can seem like a daunting task. But, Kronos WIM allows you to seamlessly integrate your Kronos applications with other third-party systems with ease and even has the capability to handle your most complex interface requirements.
Let’s take a closer look at a few of the ways Kronos WIM can benefit your workforce.
Streamlines Your Systems
Everyone knows that a lack of connection and communication between business systems can be detrimental to your workforce – not only costing you valuable time, but also quite a lot of money as well. Building, maintaining, and integrating complex systems, applications, and interfaces can be tough, but Kronos WIM simplifies this by providing a way to streamline these systems and processes with ease.
By providing a single integration tool that allows users to design and maintain complex interfaces, Kronos WIM eliminates the need for complex code and and expensive third-party interface vendors, saving you time and minimizing your interface creation and modification costs.
Decreases Your Risk for Error
Unsynchronized systems can lead to inconsistent data, errors in the processing of that data, and, even worse, a lack of security to protect your most valuable and confidential information. Synchronizing your systems is the key to keeping your data safe and reducing errors in data processing, management, or storage – enter Kronos WIM.
The Kronos WIM interface allows users to combine all of their data and separate interfaces into one system, cutting out the need for complex multi-system interface management and constant re-configuration of codes to keep track of important data and where it’s being stored.
Saves You Time
With Kronos WIM, users are able to consolidate their systems, manage and share important data, and eliminate tedious manual tasks – saving them valuable time. The Kronos WIM interface allows data to be automatically extracted, converted, and transferred between your Kronos system and any other third-party applications with no extra headaches.
Regardless of how basic or complex your integration needs are, Kronos WIM has the functionality to automate data management and sharing between systems, allowing you extra time to spend on other things that don’t involve unnecessary manual tasks.
Common Mistakes of Using Kronos WIM (and How to Avoid Them)
If used correctly, WIM allows your Kronos solution to be completely collaborative with other business-critical solutions throughout your organization, which is great, because streamlining the process of sharing workforce data can improve efficiency, save you money, and reduce data errors. However, our consultants have found that clients are sometimes tempted to take shortcuts when using WIM—shortcuts that lead to costly repairs down the road.
Here are 4 common mistakes people often run into when using WIM, as well as how to avoid them:
1) Not Assigning Variables to Fields
One common shortcut WIM users take is not assigning variables to fields. In other words, developers create field definitions for records using position numbers from the source—such as assigning the first field as position 1, which aligns to the column “first name” in the source query—instead of following the WIM best practice of assigning each field a variable like “first name” or “employee number” instead. Why is this an issue? When you’re trying to export data to a CSV file and need to change the position of your columns, fields without variables are going to give you a lot of trouble. Here’s an example.
Let’s say that you need to pull from a table in Kronos, your input is a SQL call, and your output is a CSV file. Your table has 25 columns, and someone wants five of those positions changed—perhaps they’d like the first column to be “employee number” instead of “first name.” If you took the common shortcut of not assigning variables to your field, changing that column is going to take an extensive amount of coding.
We find that people usually only make this mistake once (and spend hours fixing it) before they always make it a habit of assigning variables to fields.
2) Not Using Special Lookup Tables
Oftentimes, a developer working in WIM will create variables that get their values from static text, source fields, calculations, and SQL Queries prior to output. A common shortcut people take in this situation is to run an SQL call inside that variable as a detail type interval. Why is that an issue? Let’s take a look at an example.
Let’s say you want to look up the most recent status of an employee. If they’ve ever taken leave time, that person may have more than one status at your company. Kronos stores all of these statuses as different records, so if you don’t state that you’re only interested in the most recent record, it could pull all of the records. (Now imagine how long your interface will run trying to process 50,000 employees record-by-record….)
That’s why the best practice for WIM when you’re doing anything related to SQL is to use a special lookup table. A special lookup table assigns one value for each employee, and that value will be the same no matter how many records the employee has. Using a special lookup table first will help with the performance of the interface, since it knows exactly what you’re asking it to look for.
3) Putting APIs in One Link
When someone creates an interface in WIM, they have a variety of APIs to choose from. For example, if you have an API for “demographics” and another one for “attendance,” you might consider taking a shortcut by putting both of them in one link. Easier than making two separate ones, right?
In a perfect world, putting both of your APIs in a single link wouldn’t be an issue, but if that doubled-up link ever gives you an error, how will you know which API caused it?
You wouldn’t, which is why best practice for using APIs when creating interfaces is to separate them by logical grouping. (In other words, keeping the “demographics” API in one link and “attendance” API in a separate link.) Doing so may require a slightly larger up-front investment of time, but the grief you’ll save yourself when troubleshooting an error makes it worthwhile.
4) Not Documenting Your Interface
When you open the interface in WIM, there’s an intro section where you can put the name of the person who wrote the interface, date, etc.. Far too often, people don’t enter this information in an effort to “save time” (AKA a shortcut). Not only is that information valuable by itself, but you can also put even more detail about purpose and variables in the intro section of the WIM interface, which means people won’t have to look at the data behind the scenes to identify it—saving you more time in the long run.
A Word doc is a great place to put this sort of documentation so it’s easily shared, whether that’s with someone who needs to make changes down the road, or if you need a consultant to help with your system.
How Can We Help?
Whether you need additional help with your Kronos WIM Integration or an extra hand with your Kronos Workforce Central operations, our consultants can provide support wherever you need it. Our network of senior-level Kronos consultants can assist with integrations, perform system assessments, and migrations (just in case you’re thinking about moving to Kronos Workforce Dimensions, for example). And, to give you a better idea of what to expect when partnering with us, we’ve included a sample profile of one of our high-quality Kronos WIM consultants.
Surety Senior Kronos WIM Consultant
- 20+ Years of Kronos experience
- Strong understanding of Accruals (both front-end configuration and backend)
- Unique blend of functional and technical knowledge
- Strong with both Kronos HRMS and Timekeeper integrations
- WIM expert as well as Kronos HRMS integration tools
- Both inbound and outbound Kronos data feeds (API’s, SQL, Stored Procedures, etc.)
- Strong with Kronos reporting as well as several reporting packages
Contact us today to learn more or get started with us.
