Industry Analyst Reviews
Commentary on key issues, Kronos products, and technology
Read what industry analysts are saying about Kronos, our strategy, and our solutions. Industry analysts are neutral, third-party influencers who advise organizations on the purchase of vendor solutions. All reports on this page have been licensed by Kronos.
AMR Research
Workforce Management Gets Strategic Reassignment (275 kb PDF)
Published September 2007
What’s driving enterprise WFM?
Our HCM IT spending study found that, among companies needing to schedule employees (more than 70% of firms in the study), the following are the main factors behind workforce management automation today:
- Better match business demand with labor levels—21%
- Increase employee productivity—18%
- Streamline and reduce overall scheduling process—16%
Cost control issues, which used to dominate IT decision making just a few years ago, came in fourth, with “reduce payroll expenses including overtime” garnering 14%. While the above can be seen as tactical in terms of getting the right workers in the right place at the right time, the first two speak to the greater awareness of enterprises that they must work to incorporate personnel into the overall demands and output of the business.
A Sit Down With Kronos CEO Aron Ain (163 kb PDF)
Published August 2007
It’s rare in the software industry to come across a chief executive that one could classify as mensch. For those unfamiliar with the term, it’s a Yiddish word that represents a particularly good person with the qualities one would hope for in a dear friend or trusted colleague. Simply put, someone you can sit down and have a beer with and talk about baseball. Aron Ain, CEO of Kronos, is one of those individuals, similar in nature to AMR Research’s very own Tony Friscia.
Kronos Goes Private (Equity) (148 kb PDF)
Published March 2007
Kronos is being acquired by private equity firm Hellman & Friedman Capital Partners VI (H&F) and its related funds in a deal worth close to $1.8B. This is a good move for Kronos and its constituents, including customers. The chance for investment in additional firms and alignment with other H&F businesses is significant. This is called for if Kronos is going to capitalize on the significant HCM opportunities.
Workforce Management Landscape: The Right People in the Right Place at the Right Time (426 kb PDF)
Published October 2006
Workforce management tools supporting the alignment of labor with business demand can be the quickest way to directly align personnel activities with the strategic goals of a business. With today's business focus on innovation and productivity, the key asset to leverage for sustained business growth is human capital. This does not, however, mean just finding, acquiring, assimilating, and retaining workers in a company. Workforce management also includes optimizing the workforce once it is in place.
Help Wanted: Automated Talent Acquisition Options (325 kb PDF)
Published December 2006
A recent study on labor issues in the retail workplace found 61 percent of employees are more likely to apply for a job with a company that offers an online application. With "Seasonal Help Wanted" signs still in the windows of many stores, if your organization hasn't considered these Internet-based talent acquisition tools yet, this article outlines the argument for automation.
Kronos to Acquire Unicru: Continues to Build Demand-Driven Workforce Vision (67 kb PDF)
Published July 2006
Kronos, which began as a hardware-centric time-clock vendor, has transitioned into a prominent force in helping organizations increase employee productivity. And at $500M in revenue, it dwarfs other human capital management (HCM) best-of-breed vendors. During KronosWorks 2005, the company formally introduced its demand-driven workforce management message, and indicated that growth would be fueled by a broader set of HCM applications. Acquiring Unicru’s recruiting products — which target hiring automation, selection science, and performance analytics — is an aggressive, significant, and complementary step to reaching its goal. And the purchase caters to one of its core industries: retail.
With Unicru, Kronos gets proven functionality used to predict the quality of applicants through automated selection science to help assure productive associates, and a consistent selection workflow to reduce the time and cost of recruiting. Kronos will initially market hourly recruiting to the retail, hospitality, casual dining, and healthcare industries — the primary focus of Unicru today — but could expand into other industries, which increases its market opportunity.
Forrester Research
Unified Hourly And Salaried Hiring — Reality Or Empty Promise?(135 kb PDF)
Published May 2007
Many companies with a mix of hourly and salaried workers like the idea of having a single solution to support both hiring processes. So it’s not surprising that many vendors are touting this capability through aggressive marketing campaigns. Is it more than just marketing hype? Is there really one product with the breadth and depth required to support both salaried and hourly hiring processes? Not yet. However, vendors are aggressively working to provide this feature set though acquisition and organic development. Savvy HR buyers and implementers can make good buying decisions today if they choose the right processes to automate first and understand their chosen vendor’s product and integration strategy.
Kronos Is A Strong Performer In HR Management Systems For The US Midmarket
Published September 2006
Kronos offers a good human resource management systems (HRMS) product that is aligned with its market-leading time and labor solution. The product is well-suited for medium-size US companies via a licensed, on-premise deployment model, and Kronos has recently begun to offer a SaaS version as well.
Gartner
Retail Task Management and the Integration Challenge
Published 6 September 2007
Gartner estimates that the vast majority of retailers — especially those operating "bigger box," multidepartment stores — are losing 1% to 3% of sales annually from poor execution of critical day-to-day processes in the store. Like it or not, much of a retailer's success depends on its ability to manage its workforce efficiently and to maximize the effectiveness of store execution.
IDC
Kronos Furthers Hourly Recruiting Domination with Acquisition of Deploy (67 kb PDF)
Published November 2007
Deploy is a good match for Kronos on a number of fronts. Deploy had a strong offering for recruiting hourly workers but more importantly, they have a Java-based architecture that is in alignment with Kronos' workforce management product line. The Deploy architecture allows Kronos/Unicru selection science and analytics to be readily integrated. The icing on the cake for Kronos is the newly signed deal that Deploy inked with Home Depot which is slated to go live in January, 2008.
Kronos Moves to Secure It's Future by Going Private (96 kb PDF)
Published March 2007
This IDC flash discusses the announcement that Kronos will be acquired by an investor group led by Hellman and Friedman for $1.8 billion in cash, an example of the escalating market consolidation — which has entered into it's fourth year — continuing to chalk up big deals. This flash looks at the implications of the deal on the human capital management market and what the future holds for industry player and investors.
Kronos Enters Talent Market with Acquisition of Unicru (71 kb PDF)
Published July 2006
This IDC Flash looks at the announcement from Kronos regarding its intent to acquire Unicru. This document looks at the acquisition in the context of Kronos' unique market position and as part of the human capital management (HCM) market as a whole. The acquisition of Unicru is likely to widen the gap between Kronos and other best-of-breed workforce management vendors with added product differentiation and industry depth. The acquisition of Unicru is highly complementary since both vendors have been focusing on hourly workers in healthcare and retail.
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