The "Kronos Guy" Blog

Kronos Timekeeper Can't Solve Every Payroll Problem

Jeff Millard has written about how in many organizations the way employees get paid is not consistent with policy and sometimes not even consistent between different Payroll Clerks. I think about these types of problems often and this particular one continually haunts me. The answer doesn't lie in the policy; many companies are actually quite clear in their intent. Nor is it the Kronos Timekeeper Payrules; they might be well programmed. One might think the Clerk mentioned above is the source of the failure, but they have had proper training. Have they? Yes. But is it too late? I'm beginning the think the actual source of the problem is how we are taught from the very beginning, in grammar school. Memorize, behave, comply. That's the throughline of public education. It's not Connect the dots, make something interesting, ask good questions, become passionate about something. Memorize, behave, comply.

I’m sorry.  Did anyone else have to check their calendars at the release of Kronos’s InTouch touch screen time clock?  For a second I though it might have been 10 years ago. Are we really supposed to consider a 7” touchscreen with a 3 color LED that costs $2,200 to be innovative? This on the eve of Apple releasing its third iPad?!?  And $600 for a fingerprint reader?  I paid $450 for my last fingerprint reader and it came with a laptop, a webcam, and 15” screen wrapped around it.

One of the best things about working for new clients is seeing how they employ essentially the same Kronos software differently to solve very similar, if not identical, business problems.  Over the years this has given our technical specialists a variety of different perspectives—not just on how to get the configuration to work in certain situations but also what it can be like to maintain and change these structures over time.

My father used to ask his young engineer recruits “Where were you when the page was blank?” when they complained about the design of something existing that they had to interface too.  On the face of it the question implies they should have spoken up much earlier. The subtext, however, was usually that since the design often pre-dated the young engineer’s birth he or she may not yet have sufficient seniority to be disparaging other’s designs.  It also reminded people that the original designers designed to the original requirements not to what came along years later with new concepts, methods, tools, or technologies in the mix. So basically if you weren’t in the room when all those requirements were being discovered and decided upon then you probably have no basis to comment.  Until my father’s engineers learned this they weren’t invited to anymore design discussions.

The idea of a Genie, a being that could bring you whatever you wished for, is a pretty cool idea.  Let’s think about it from a Kronos Workforce Central point of view for a minute.  What information do you wish to see as soon as you log in to Timekeeper?  As a Shift Leader, you may want to see shift information; Schedulers would like to see schedule information; Managers, those shift exceptions as soon as the shift is over.  Different people have different wishes.  Kronos Genies allow these information wishes to come true.
 
Different groups of people, via Display Profiles, can have different Genies. Most importantly, each group can start by having a different Genie displayed as soon as they log in.   Too many implementations that I see after they are already up and running, start with the standard QuickFind Genie (did you know these too can be modified?).  QuickFind is nice, but it is singular in its focus, it does not tell you anything right away. When managers log in, they want to see useful information on all their people. in front of them, right away. Make it meaningful, save your managers’ time, give them something they can act on as soon as they log in. Let your Genies grant their wishes!

Why is it that so often people who seem to believe in doing the right thing and convince others they are ethical, religious and/or moral, aren't.

One of the most dangerous comments I hear when analyzing an organization is, "that's not our job". Of course it's one of the most common threads of thought isn't it? What are we really saying with that oft used phrase? 

I hope you all find yourself recovered from the holidays and looking forward to the new year. Most of us are glad to see the last several years go away. "I'd like to forget them completely!" I've heard said. But we all know that with age should come wisdom so let's not forget to learn what we can from this period. In my mind, a few things are paramount:

Welcome!