Cleveland State Tightens Staff Management with Self-Service App

  • By Dian Schaffhauser
  • 10/01/10

A workforce management system initially begun by Cleveland State University in 2006 has been declared fully implemented by the institution. The 16,000-student university is using the Kronos time and attendance program from a company of the same name. The application, called MyTime, is an on-premise program that integrates with the campus' existing enterprise resource planning (ERP) system and provides for employee self-service in a number of areas.

In choosing Kronos, Cleveland State sought to replace a paper-based system and in the process control labor costs, minimize compliance risk, and automate and streamline timekeeping operations, which were complex.

For example, the university maintains a workforce of about 2,000 employees, a count that can increase to as many as 5,000, as students start and stop jobs through the school year. Cleveland State found its paper-based timekeeping system inefficient in handling the myriad pay rate and timekeeping details of multiple temporary workers. Manual processes led to inaccurate pay, inconsistent policy enforcements, and mismanaged overtime.

Also, as with all states, Ohio has multiple tax jurisdictions. Since Cleveland State has three campuses, tracking tax codes as applied to faculty who were teaching in more than one city was a payroll challenge.

The university also employs union workers whose pay, benefits, and work rules are defined contractually.

"Besides providing far greater efficiency, this new process will also ensure that existing university work policies are applied fairly and equitably to all employees," the university reported to its community in fall 2007, just before the Kronos application went live for the first time.

The Kronos system automatically feeds labor data into the ERP system, a process that previously took three days when it was performed manually. The university uses a Kronos multiple jobs allocation tool to record time-keeping data for students working multiple jobs and under multiple supervisors.

"Visibility and accuracy were lacking in our legacy paper-based timekeeping system, and the executives wanted more control over overtime," said Miro Humer, senior business analyst in the university's information services and technology department. "We needed a solution to automate the process, and Kronos was the best choice, as the timekeeping module provided by our ERP provider required costly customization to meet our unique needs. Kronos, on the other hand, integrates with the ERP system, and helps us enforce policies uniformly and manage budgets effectively."

About the Author

Dian Schaffhauser is a former senior contributing editor for 1105 Media's education publications THE Journal, Campus Technology and Spaces4Learning.

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