Columbia Distributing Increases Time and Labor Efficiencies with Kronos iSeries Timekeeper and Telephone Time Entry
Columbia Distributing is the largest distributor of beer, wine, and natural beverage products in Oregon and Washington, with two main offices and a number of branch offices. The company's business includes its on-premise group that distributes to restaurants and bars where beverages are consumed on site, and an off-premise group that sells to grocery, convenience, and family-owned stores.
About half of Columbia Distributing's 1,400 employees are hourly wage earners, including truck drivers who deliver products to the stores and merchandisers who are out in the stores rotating stock, moving stock from the back room, and organizing stock on store shelves to ensure it is adequately displayed. Managing the time and attendance needs of such a diverse organization presented many challenges.
More efficient off-site time and labor solution
Columbia Distributing was using Kronos' Timekeeper Central®, an older Windows-based application, which worked fine for its on-site employees. Merchandisers, however, are rarely in the office because they travel directly from their homes to the stores and are paid for their time and miles traveled. The time and mileage information they relayed by telephone was often incorrect, days late, or unintelligible if they spoke too quickly or their cell phone signal was weak.
"I knew there was a better, more efficient way to manage our time and labor information," says Anita True, Columbia Distributing payroll manager. "After reviewing a few solutions, we went with Kronos because their expertise is time and labor. We also thought Kronos offered more flexibility, particularly around union rules."
Columbia Distributing selected Kronos iSeries Timekeeper, the time and labor component of the Kronos iSeries Central suite. To address the needs of their remote workforce, their solution also included Kronos' telephone time entry solution, which allows employees to enter time and mileage using touch-tone phones.
Easy-to-use telephone reporting system
Columbia Distributing wanted a telephone input solution because it allowed the company to set up a menu that off-site employees could easily access. The telephone system prompts employees for their mileage information and in and out times. Employees can play back the information and accept or correct it to ensure accuracy.
"It's an easy way for employees to call in their time. We've taught them that at the end of their shift, before they start their car, they should call in their time for the day," says True. The company also created a laminated wallet card that details the steps for calling in time information, which is especially helpful to new employees.
Quality service helps ensure smooth implementation
Kronos iSeries Timekeeper provided a look and feel similar to what Columbia had been using, which increased employees' comfort level with the updated system, and offered additional features, such as emailing reports and sending scheduled reports directly to off-site locations.
During the installation of the new system, True says her Kronos project manager worked closely with her to ensure the system was set up properly. "She helped us understand how and when to do certain things and also made recommendations that helped us save time," notes True. "I really like Kronos service. Although it doesn't happen often, if there is a problem, they get right on the system and help us fix it. They've also been very helpful in setting up instructions for a potential power or phone system failure."
Timely data transfer improves time management
"With the telephone time entry system we don't have to wait for employees to leave a voice mail. Within minutes of their calling in, the information is in the Kronos system, without us having to do anything," adds True. "That has been the best thing."
The system sends a report to each manager by 6:30 a.m. every morning. Managers can quickly see who worked and for how long, knowing immediately if there are problems. If an employee is not listed on the report, the manager can call the employee to discover why his or her hours weren't listed.
"The Kronos iSeries Timekeeper system has removed a lot of the burden. We've been able to give our managers the ability to better manage their employees' time," explains True. "They really like the new system because they can make sure all the information is correct before we process payroll. Employees have a lot of trust in the system."
Enhanced information and accrual oversight
Security has been improved with the new system as Columbia Distributing can control who can view specific information. Keeping track of employee vacation, sick, and other leave time balances is also easier, so employees aren't taking time they have not earned.
The added information available with Kronos iSeries Timekeeper has provided managers with new tools to better manage employees. Managers can verify vacation and sick accruals online to determine if an employee has any hours available if the employee is ill or requests time off. In planning overtime, a monthly report allows the financial team to determine how much overtime must be carried over to the following month. Managers can place comments in an employee's history section, noting doctor appointments and missed days because of weather or vacation time. The information, which is part of an employee's permanent record, is also helpful in dealing with discipline issues.
Interface creates smooth data transfer
The leave management capabilities of Kronos iSeries Timekeeper have been especially helpful in making accurate calculations. "We calculate leave accruals within Ceridian, our payroll product," says True. "The interface is wonderful. We export data out of Ceridian and load it into Kronos iSeries Timekeeper every pay period so we have the most current hourly rate along with vacation and sick hours available balances. The accruals module allows us to enter vacation and sick time as it is used by the employee and the leave balances are updated automatically - managers never 'guess' at what the employee has available."
Calculating holiday pay used to be a challenge, too, but not any more. Now, payroll staff can preset holiday pay rules into the system so employees who work a holiday are paid appropriately. "It's reduced our holiday payroll efforts tremendously. It's much more automatic and saves us valuable time," adds True.
Cost savings and new productivity
Implementing Kronos iSeries Timekeeper has delivered both productivity increases and cost savings. Before, after information was keyed in, reports were run and sent to each branch to be reviewed. Information was often handled by payroll staff and managers as many as three times to ensure it was correct. Errors were still possible if information was attributed to the wrong day or input improperly. The process required intense manual effort. Now, managers no longer have to chase down time and attendance information and can spend more time focusing on business.
The number of manual payroll checks needing to be created has also been greatly reduced, decreasing staff time spent on this activity. With the more efficient system in place, when a member of the three-person payroll staff left one of the main offices, she didn't need to be replaced, and payroll staff at another office could be reduced from two people to one.
The marked improvement that Columbia Distributing has seen in timely and accurate time and labor information and increased productivity with their Kronos solution has them looking ahead. The company plans to upgrade to the next version of Kronos iSeries Timekeeper to further enhance their use of labor information and obtain more information to help managers make more strategic decisions. Whether employees are in the warehouse or on the road, Columbia Distributing managers are confident they have access to the latest, most accurate employee information.
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