Kronos Automates Employee Schedules and Flexible Working Programme at Husqvarna
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3 rd December 2008 : Husqvarna, the global leader in the manufacture of outdoor power products, has selected Workforce Central® from Kronos® to optimise employee schedules, support its flexible working programme and manage the time and attendance of 250-600 staff (peak seasonal production) at its site based in the north east of England. Kronos will automate key administrative tasks associated with managing a flexible working programme such as meeting compliance standards and managing shift patterns. Husqvarna also expects the Kronos system to reduce the level of payroll administration, automate absence management and provide the business with timely, accurate reporting functionality. The company manufactures consumer and professional products under familiar brand names such as Flymo, Gardena, McCulloch and WeedEater.
The move to Kronos began with the introduction of a flexible working pilot programme with two internal departments. The pilot highlighted that the existing workforce management system could not cope with the administrative complexities that a flexible working programme would generate. Keen to roll-out the programme to other teams within the business, Husqvarna searched for an alternative workforce management solution and Kronos was selected based on the company's proven success in this area.
Husqvarna also plans to use Kronos to optimise staff schedules during peaks in product demand. Seasonal demand for garden-care items, for example, significantly increases the number of employees needed to manufacture the products. Yvonne Dockray, Financial Controller at Husqvarna explains: "It's imperative that we are able to manage increased production in the most efficient way with the correct manning levels and most cost-effective shift patterns." Dockray continues: "With labour costs being a significant element of our manufacturing cost-base, the ability to use Kronos to make fast scheduling decisions and calculate risk will optimise our manufacturing capacity and potentially lead to a more efficient cost-base."
Furthermore, Kronos will reduce administration levels by automating the collection and preparation of payroll data and reports, and eliminate potential data entry errors. Husqvarna will also be able to fully utilise the Kronos reporting function to comprehensively analyse and monitor absence.
Anne Dufferwiel, UK HR Manager at Husqvarna commented: "We were manually measuring absence, which, although accurate, was extremely time consuming. Using Kronos for absence management will give us a view into the different types of employee absence, from holidays to paternity leave, illness to consistent lateness. We need complete visibility into absence trends and patterns so that we know who's absent, for how long and why."
Once Kronos is fully implemented, Husqvarna plans to provide employees with self-service terminals to monitor their own working hours. Anne Dufferwiel comments: "Automating time and attendance, particularly for employees involved in the flexible working programme, will allow staff to clock themselves in and out and check their own hours, holidays and absence levels. From an employee relations point of view, giving staff this degree of control is invaluable."
"The current economic climate is increasing pressure on manufacturers, so improving the operational performance of a business has never been more important," said Keith Statham, Managing Director of Kronos, UK. "Control of labour costs, better allocation of the workforce and a comprehensive understanding of absence levels, will help Husqvarna achieve operational excellence and become more agile in order to respond to customer demands, and cost and price pressure."