Aristocrat improves efficiency with Kronos Timekeeper® client server solution

Australian gaming machine manufacturer, Aristocrat Leisure Industries, has significantly increased the efficiency of its workforce management and reduced payroll errors with an automated client/server labour management solution from Kronos.

Aristocrat has purchased the Timekeeper C/S solution to improve reporting and efficiency for its manufacturing division, replacing an antiquated bundy clock punch-card system. The company is the first Australian implementation of Kronos' new client/server solution, a powerful tool which automatically totals hours, calculates correct pay rates and award conditions, and prepares data for the pay office.

Aristocrat's Divisional Accountant, Engineering and Manufacturing, Greg Yon, said the new system, which went live in August 1998, has dramatically improved payroll processes and enabled the company to devolve responsibility down the chain of command.

"Previously our payroll staff used to collect the bundy cards of our 700 manufacturing staff once each week and manually input the data into the computer system. Now this entire process is fully automated with employees using personalised security access cards to clock on and off.

"Not only does this greatly reduce any chance of handling error, but the Kronos system also automatically calculates the payroll and interprets all the various awards in accordance with predefined rules. This ensures consistency and avoids any potential pitfalls of ambiguity in interpretation," he said.

"Our payroll staff constantly operate under critical deadlines for calculating wages, generating group certificates, labour statistics and various management reports. Timekeeper C/S greatly enhances their ability to meet our reporting requirements without losing sleep or going prematurely grey in the process! The stress level in our pay office has been greatly reduced and the system has also enabled us to give more responsibility to frontline team supervisors, who now access Timekeeper C/S to handle their employee rosters and monitor overtime."

Mr Yon said many of the 20 supervisors had never used computers before, but the combination of the system's ease of use and the effective training provided by Kronos ensured they came up to speed very quickly.

"We worked very hard to minimise the number of changes our staff had to deal with initially, preferring to keep it simple and gain a high level of acceptance. Now that we've achieved that, we're taking it to the next level in terms of improving efficiency and reporting, and enhancing our business processes around the Kronos system. Although Timekeeper C/S is still in its infancy at Aristocrat, it's already proving very effective in supporting our Gain Sharing Program, which rewards employees for maximising productivity. Staff use the new system as a tool to monitor their progress and highlight areas of potential inefficiency where they can improve their performance and increase their bonus payout," he said.

Aristocrat chose Timekeeper C/S on the strength of Kronos' solid reputation for frontline labour management systems and the powerful functionality and scalability of the solution. "We were attracted by the fact that Timekeeper C/S operated in the client/server environment, which fitted well with our IT strategy. The scalability and flexibility of the system were also major factors, as was the opportunity to partner with Kronos in implementing a turn-key solution," said Yon.

Kronos consultants worked closely with Aristocrat to scope and implement the project, also assisting with analysis and reengineering of specific business processes to ensure a successful outcome. Mr Yon said there is also potential for the Timekeeper C/S system to be rolled out to other divisions within the organisation to take advantage of the administrative and reporting benefits.

Kronos Project Manager, Crispin Trueman, said the key success factors to this implementation were accurate project scoping, design of a flexible and attainable project plan, clearly defined team responsibilities, and effective project controls to monitor progress. The result was a smooth transition to Timekeeper C/S that minimised business disruption and delivered a fully integrated software, hardware and business solution.