ADP Workforce Now and Kronos are two leading workforce management solutions designed to streamline HR operations, boost employee engagement, and improve productivity. While both platforms offer robust features, they differ in areas like time tracking, payroll integration, and industry-specific tools.
ADP Workforce Now is a cloud-based human capital management (HCM) system that helps businesses manage HR, payroll, talent, and benefits in one place, making it easier to engage and support employees. In contrast, Kronos specializes in workforce scheduling, labor tracking, and compliance, often favored by industries with complex staffing needs.
What is ADP Workforce Now?
ADP Workforce Now is a comprehensive, cloud-based human capital management (HCM) platform and software solution that provides an organizational structure designed to help companies in any industry manage their people processes in one place, making it easier for employees to stay engaged and feel support in their workforce.
What is Kronos Workforce Management?
Kronos Workforce Management offers three separate software solutions, Kronos Workforce Central, Kronos Workforce Ready, and Kronos Workforce Dimensions, to help organizations manage their employees more efficiently, optimize resource allocation across business units, conduct professional services, and increase total revenue in the long run.
Key Components of Each Solution
Here are a few main components and features of Kronos and ADP Workforce software solutions…
ADP Workforce Now
- HR Management: Provides tools for HR managers to manage information for employees, track performance, administer benefits, and monitor compensation practices.
- Payroll and Tax Management: Helps businesses manage payroll processing, monitor tax filing data, and maintain compliance with local, state, and federal payroll regulations.
- Time and Attendance Management: Allows businesses to track employee hours, manage time off requests, and create schedules based on employee roles and availability.
- Talent Management: Helps businesses attract, develop, and retain top-tier talent through recruiting tools, employee development programs, and performance management.
Kronos Workforce Central Software
- Time and Attendance: Helps companies accurately track employee time and attendance, manage and automate schedules, and enforce attendance policies.
- HR and Payroll: Streamlines and manages core HR and Payroll processes, including employee onboarding, time tracking, payroll processing, benefits administration, compliance management, and more.
- Scheduling: Automates the scheduling process and allows organizations to create optimal schedules based on labor demand, employee availability, and other factors.
- Analytics and Reporting: Provides real-time analytics and reporting capabilities to help companies make informed decisions about their workforce, including monitoring key performance indicators (KPIs), identifying workforce trends, and making adjustments to optimize workforce productivity and efficiency across the organization.
Kronos vs. ADP Workforce Now
| Feature | ADP Workforce Now | UKG (formerly Kronos) |
|---|---|---|
| Platform Type | Cloud-based HCM system | Workforce management & HCM suite |
| Best For | Small to mid-sized businesses | Mid-sized to large enterprises |
| Core Strength | Strong in healthcare, manufacturing, and retail | Time tracking, scheduling, labor compliance |
| Employee Self-Service | Yes | Yes |
| Industry Focus | Broad (retail, healthcare, finance, etc.) | Strong in healthcare, manufacturing, and retail |
| Mobile App | Yes | Yes |
| Analytics & Reporting | Advanced HR and payroll analytics | Advanced workforce and labor analytics |
| Compliance Tools | Tax filing, benefits compliance | Labor laws, union rules, wage compliance |
1) Advanced Scheduling and Forecasting
While Kronos and ADP Workforce solutions offer advanced functions to keep track of time and attendance, manage employee schedules, and provide access to vacation and time-off requests wherever and whenever they’re needed, there are a few notable differences between the two.
Kronos offers more advanced scheduling and forecasting features than ADP Enterprise eTime, allowing businesses to create optimal schedules based on labor demand and employee availability. With more intuitive time tracking and scheduling tools, businesses are better able to reduce labor costs and improve productivity across the board.
2) Human Resources vs. Operations Focus
On the one hand, ADP Workforce Now strongly emphasizes Human Resource Management, offering a comprehensive suite of features used to manage employee information, administer benefits, and optimize talent management practices.
On the other hand, Kronos takes a stronger operational focus and provides users with a suite of features for time and attendance tracking, employee scheduling, and comprehensive analytics.
3) Options for Deployment
When it comes to implementing a new software solution, choosing the right deployment option (i.e., on-premise or cloud-based) for your organization’s needs is critical to your success, especially for companies with specific IT infrastructure or compliance requirements.
Kronos Workforce Management solutions can be deployed both on-premise or in the cloud, making it easier for customers to implement their software in a way that best fits their needs. ADP Workforce Now operates primarily in the cloud to simplify implementation practices and allow users to access their system whenever and wherever they need it.
4) Industry-Specific Solutions
Both ADP Workforce Now and Kronos Workforce Management offer solutions for users across various industries; however, Kronos provides advanced features that optimize functionality for organizations in industries where scheduling and labor management are critical operations.
On the other hand, ADP Workforce Now allows businesses with a wider variety of workforce needs, including Professional Services Automation and Finance, to connect their operations and improve process efficiency across the entire workforce.
Core Timekeeping Solutions
While Kronos and ADP both contain the built-in tools and access to comprehensive resources needed to manage your entire workforce, their Time and Attendance functions are what set each solution apart from other competitors.
Here are a few key components and capabilities of each timekeeping solution for customers:
Kronos Time and Attendance
Kronos Workforce Central, Kronos Workforce Ready, and Workforce Dimension combines workforce management solutions with built-in timekeeping functionality to ensure worker hours are entered correctly and employees are paid accurately and on time.
- Built-in Database: Manages and stores valuable employee data, including emergency contact and demographic information, in a centralized source of truth.
- Multi-user Support: Allows companies with employees in different departments and locations to add users, manage system operations, and better track time and attendance data.
- Billing and Invoicing: Automatically generates bills and invoices to keep track of billable and non-billable hours, accurately run payroll, and efficiently manage costs.
- Automated Timekeeping: Eliminates the need for manual entry of hours worked after each shift and optimizes time-tracking processes to give employees more time to focus on their actual jobs.
ADP Enterprise eTime
The ADP Enterprise eTime platform is essentially a white-labeled version of the Kronos Time and Attendance Management software solution, so it functions similarly to UKG products on the backend. Still, it looks like ADP for end-users on the front end.
- Accurate Time Tracking: Provides advanced tracking and reporting capabilities to ensure accurate calculation of hours worked and personalize notifications to stay up-to-date with timecard statuses or approaching overtime hours.
- Effective Scheduling: Allows managers to schedule employees based on individual skill sets, certifications, preferences, availability, and business demand to ensure positions stay filled and employee satisfaction is achieved.
- Personalized Notifications: Automatically send and receive personalized notifications when timecards are approved or edited by managers or other staff members to improve employee choice across business units.
- Absence Management: Simplifies time-off requests and leave administration to track time infractions better and ensure employees are paid accurately for their time.
How Can We Help?
Whether you need help integrating Kronos Workforce Central and ADP within your organization, an extra hand navigating agreements between parties in an ADP Kronos partnership, or additional support outlining the steps needed to automate workforce management processes across the board, Surety Systems is here to help.
Our team of senior-level Workforce Management consultants has the technical skills and functional expertise needed to optimize your Kronos Workforce Central and ADP Workforce solutions and lead your employees to success, regardless of the size of your business or the scope of your project.
Get Started with Our UKG Experts
Interested in learning more about Kronos ADP integrations? Ready to find out where our team of WFM consultants can fit in your organization? Contact us today!
