Monmouth University Improves Workforce Efficiency and Minimizes Compliance Risk with Kronos^® Solution

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Monmouth University is a private university located in West Long Branch, New Jersey with approximately 6,000 graduate and undergraduate students. Monmouth has more than 1,300 employees and offers 29 undergraduate and 20 graduate degree programs in eight schools for residential and commuter students.

For twenty years, Monmouth used paper timesheets for hourly employees. Accruals and PTO usage were tracked manually as well. With a single employee entering PTO requests for 600 employees into their Unix-based accrual tracking system, this system presented significant challenges. Maureen Coffey, Director of Human Resources, Employment and Communications at Monmouth, notes the dilemma her co-worker faced, "She had little time to answer employees’ questions because she was so busy entering PTO requests."

Monmouth invested in a Kronos solution to relieve their human resource employees of labor-intensive tasks, improve access to historical employee data, track accruals and leave, and enforce compliance with union contracts and labor laws. Currently, Monmouth uses a combination of Workforce Timekeeper™, Workforce Employee™, and Workforce Accruals^® within the Workforce Central^® suite, and all employees except non-supervisory faculty use Kronos. Student workers may be transitioned in the future.

A completely automated solution improves workforce productivity

Within the first year of implementing their Kronos solution, Monmouth experienced numerous improvements. First, Monmouth designated four timekeepers for administrators, staff, police, and facilities management personnel groups. This helps Monmouth enforce policies on overtime, leave, PTO, and attendance. As a result, managers can focus on more strategic initiatives. "Employees are now responsible for monitoring their own time," Maureen Coffey says.

Another benefit was a drastic reduction in manual revisions on timecards, paychecks, and other paper-driven payroll practices. In addition, the university employed workers under six different union contracts which made tracking various pay rules a tremendous challenge with a manual timekeeping system. With Workforce Central, manual checks are rare, and the various pay rules are followed automatically. "Since our timekeeping information is easily accessible with our Kronos solution, we may get one pay inquiry every three months." Both employee and timekeepers catch errors on the timecards. Timekeepers can locate errors with the Workforce Genie^® views before the information is sent to payroll.

Self-service engages employees while Kronos minimizes compliance risk

Monmouth employees have benefitted immensely from the self-service functionality of Workforce Central. The university created specific time and attendance policies for each employee group, and all employees are trained and educated on their specific time, attendance, and leave rules. "Employees feel empowered with the online self-service feature," Coffey says. "We can now put the onus on the employees to point out any discrepancies on accruals or timecard information."

Managers are better informed about which employees are available because they receive reports about employee time off in advance. They also receive information on late or early times through various employee transaction reports. The one employee who used to key in all PTO requests manually is now the timekeeper for the facilities management group exclusively, reducing her manual entries by 75 percent. This enables her to more closely monitor this group.

Monmouth has also used their Kronos solution to better enforce compliance with various union pay practices and other labor regulations such as the Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA). The four timekeepers can key in any time off for workers compensation, disability, or other leave, and refer back to any historical information instantly. "The Kronos solution was adaptable to all our leave policies and the way we document them," Coffey says.

Kronos support and training services help users take advantage of the system

Monmouth's Human Resources Department opted to take off-site training classes to learn the functionality of their Kronos solution. A number of users found the classroom training extremely helpful, as it gave them the ability to train their colleagues back at the university. Maureen Coffey mentions that the training helped her resolve issues without calling the support services line. "The training really helped us to understand how the system functions. It helped me decipher the right payroll distribution codes," she says. "I was able to verify the information so employees are paid correctly without having to call support services for help."

Monmouth has found Kronos Support Services highly effective. "With Kronos, we always receive a response within 24 hours," says Coffey. Monmouth prefers the online eCase Management feature to request assistance with troubleshooting, but haven't needed to use it very often. "We haven't submitted many tickets to support," Coffey says. "But when we do, they are quickly assigned to an analyst, we get their name right away, and we receive a response within 24 hours. Once I received a call before I finished printing my ticket!"

Monmouth plans to continue their mutually beneficial relationship with Kronos

Now that Monmouth has automated nearly all of their manual time and attendance practices, the university looks to continue to enhance workforce productivity and improve reporting through their Kronos solution. Plans to upgrade to Workforce Central 6 are in process, and the university is also looking to convert 1,200 students from their work study program to the Kronos solution. "We chose Kronos because they are the industry leader," Coffey says. "Kronos has handled everything professionally. Many resources are available to help, and the system was quick and easy for our employees to learn. We have made significant improvements in labor tracking and relevant actions."

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