Kronos launches next generation of workforce management to South African businesses

At an event held in Midrand recently, Kronos launched the latest version of its Workforce Central workforce management suite, the industry's leading solution for helping organisations control labour costs, minimise compliance risk, and improve workforce productivity.

Workforce Central 6.3 includes many enhancements to better serve Kronos' global customer base. Kronos also introduced the latest version of Workforce Analytics, an enhanced labour analytics solution built to deliver instant insights that inform fact-based decisions.

David Hunter, divisional director for Kronos at sole SA distributor Bytes Systems Integration, said there are around 30 Kronos sites in Africa as well as hundreds of sites locally and around 30 million employees using Kronos solutions globally. Bytes Systems Integration is part of the Bytes Technology Group, which is wholly owned by JSE-listed Altron.

“Enhancements in this latest version of the Kronos solution deliver tremendous value to multinational organisations, as customers can now deploy multiple languages on a single server, significantly reducing their IT support costs,” said Christine Paquay, global product manager at Kronos. “New time-off features for hourly, salaried and contract employees simplify the process of managing complex and unique country and regional time-off policies. And built-in approval workflows ensure that employee requests, no matter where they are around the globe, are reviewed and approved quickly and efficiently.”

Paquay also pointed out the company's award-winning Navigator user interface, which delivers new and more efficient ways to work with the solution. The release also introduces a new employee self-service design that makes it fast and easy for employees to check their schedules, request time off, or edit their timecards. And both employees and managers can easily customise the user interface to meet their specific requirements and preferences.

Vince Teso, director of product management at Kronos, introduced attendees to the Kronos InTouch time clock and award-winning Kronos Workforce Mobile applications. During the event, Teso said: “InTouch provides an unrivalled user experience with a colour touch-screen and easy-to-understand graphics that supersede the traditional 'box on the wall' approach to a time clock. In addition to its data collection capability, InTouch provides robust self-service capabilities such as allowing employees to request time off, view and approve their timecards, or view their schedules.”

Teso continued: “Workforce Mobile provides the power to access the Workforce Central solution where you want it and when you want it, improving efficiency and increasing engagement. Managers gain instant visibility into their workforce, enabling them to take action on potential workforce issues while on the go. Employees can request time off, view their accruals, or see what days they are scheduled to work the next week, all in the palm of their hands. The benefit of native applications is that users have the same familiar look, feel and user interface they love, making Workforce Mobile truly simple with no training required.”