Kronos® Helps Charleston County Park & Recreation Commission Manage a Diverse Seasonal Workforce
Charleston County Park & Recreation Commission (CCPRC) manages a diverse system of beach and inland recreational park facilities, programs, and services that are spread throughout Charleston, South Carolina's tri-county area. The agency has 300 year-round employees and an additional 650 seasonal employees.
Since Charleston County is located along the Atlantic Ocean in an area prone to flooding and hurricanes, it was imperative for CCPRC to maintain centralized employee data for disaster preparedness situations. And the agency's inefficient, decentralized system for tracking employees' time and labor was not meeting its needs. "Fifty percent of CPRC's support comes from taxpayer dollars," explains Director of Human Resources Jan Coulter. "And we want to be sure that we are efficiently using those dollars."
CCPRC looked to Kronos' Workforce Central® suite for help. "Even though we are a relatively small government agency with a limited budget, our workforce management needs are still complex — and Kronos fit the bill for us," explains Coulter. By implementing Workforce Timekeeper™, CCPRC has eliminated its manual time and labor processes, and is now in the process of modernizing its HRMS processes with Kronos' Workforce HR™ and Workforce Payroll™.
Seasonal swings cause time management headaches
In a few short years, CCPRC experienced significant growth, turning its manual time collection and payroll preparation process into an administrative nightmare. "There just wasn't enough time to key in all that information," says Coulter. "Especially with seasonal swings … when you suddenly had 400 to 500 people come on board virtually overnight … then the one thing you don't have is time!"
CCPRC was so busy, there was simply not enough time to check the accuracy of the paper timecards that were submitted. "Whatever was on those timecards is what got entered," explains Coulter. "We had no chance to total up each employee's hours. We literally had piles of timecards to deal with." And inevitable human error resulted in employees calling HR to have corrections made, which wasted even more time.
It was also impossible for the agency to predict how much staff was needed for yearly special events. Since there was no central database to check how much staff was needed historically, CCPRC would often overstaff events to err on the side of coverage. Employees then had to be sent home when there wasn't enough for everyone to do, which cost the agency money and wasted employees' time.
Kronos proves to be the logical choice
When it came to automating the agency's paper- and labor-intensive workforce management procedures, "Kronos was the logical choice," says Coulter. "The Workforce Central suite represents leading-edge technology that provides centralized data, and also gives managers in remote locations real-time access to the information."
CCPRC recently upgraded to Workforce Central 5 to gain the benefits of the web-based version of the suite, add the valuable functionality of Workforce Accruals® for leave management, and better address the needs of remote employees. The agency is also implementing Workforce HR and Workforce Payroll.
"We are thrilled to be adding Kronos' HRMS functionality, which makes them our one-stop shop for all our workforce management needs," says Coulter. "Kronos is a great company for a small government agency to work with because they understand our environment and issues," she adds. "It's an organization that always wants to know how to make our experience the best that it can be."
CCPRC gains efficiency and better planning capabilities
With Kronos, CCPRC is now able to operate with greater efficiency and provide more cost-effective services. Coulter estimates that by automating and streamlining its processes, the agency has saved at least three to four days of staff time per biweekly payroll preparation period alone. "Plus, the reported hours are exact — and people's paychecks are accurate and on time," she adds.
Overstaffing to ensure coverage for special events is also a thing of the past. With all of its historical time and labor data in one central database, CCPRC can check what staffing levels were in the previous year and make informed decisions about upcoming events. "We can see, for example, if we did not need much staff early in an event and plan accordingly, which saves us from spending money unnecessarily," explains Coulter. "This has been crucial in meeting our seasonal workforce management needs."
Results: better compliance and accessible information
Managers can now run their own reports, even at remote locations, and no longer have to contact the human resources department for access to critical information. If they encounter overtime situations, they can check schedules against the actual time used in each pay period. "Now all managers have the necessary information at their fingertips and are able to edit punches," explains Coulter. "The process is much more efficient and effective. It allows our managers to better manage their employees and track their labor costs to budget."
This is especially important to help ensure compliance with Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) regulations, because CCPRC employs many teenagers as lifeguards and park attendants. Supervisors need to monitor these employees' time closely, especially during the school year when hours are restricted. Additionally, when full-time employees work more than forty hours a week, CCPRC can now be sure they receive the time-and-a-half overtime rate that they are entitled to.
Employees, too, have come to appreciate the ease and convenience of the agency's workforce management system. Merely swiping their badge through a card reader lets them "cross-punch" when they transfer to other departments, or even to another remote facility. This information allows managers to efficiently track and manage their employees' time at whatever facility they are working.
Centralized data in one easy-to-get-at place has also given CCPRC's human resources division simple and quick access to employee information. "This is particularly advantageous when the agency is being audited," notes Coulter. "With the necessary details and backup readily available, we no longer have to plunder through old paper archives and dusty boxes to retrieve the information."
Kronos' HRMS solution brings further benefits
"Workforce HR and Workforce Payroll allow us to easily access benefits information, track our job applicants, and simply generate important reports for our commissioners," Coulter explains. CCPRC is also planning on implementing employee and manager self-service in the near future.
"We are happy to be expanding our partnership with Kronos," says Coulter. "We've had such a great experience with them so far, and know the future holds great promise."
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