Time and Attendance System: Project Update & Policy Spotlight

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Kronos Time and Attendance

Dear Colleagues,

Welcome back! I hope you all had an enjoyable and rejuvenating summer. I want to remind everyone that we will be implementing Kronos, our new time and attendance system, this fall. Implementation for all employees will begin on October 19, 2019.

What Does This Mean?

Kronos will replace our current manual and paper-based timekeeping, attendance, and leave tracking processes.

Remind Me: What Is Kronos and Why Are We Doing This?

Albemarle County contracted with Kronos, Inc. to implement an online system that will replace our current tracking processes for timekeeping, attendance and leave for all Albemarle County and Albemarle County Public Schools employees. Kronos will integrate with our payroll system and provide multiple improvements:

  • Leave-eligible employees will gain real-time, self-serve access to leave balances and leave-related benefits, plus faster approval turnaround times for leave requests and the ability to monitor those requests.
  • Hourly employees will benefit from accurate pay for actual hours worked.
  • For teachers, the system offers improved leave reporting.
  • Kronos also offers improved processes for leave administrators and enhanced reporting capabilities for supervisors.

What’s Next?

You can look forward to regular communications about Kronos implementation right here in the Compass. There are a few new changes we wanted to highlight:

Sick & Personal Leave for 10/11-Month Classified Staff
Once Kronos goes live, 10/11-month classified staff will see sick leave and personal leave as separate balances. Sick leave will no longer be used for personal reasons. These classified staff will receive up to two (2) days of personal leave annually and may accrue up to five (5) days in their accounts.

Leave
Non-exempt staff (those eligible for overtime) will record time and leave in 15-minute increments. Teachers will submit leave in half and full days. Other exempt staff will submit leave in full-day increments. While we will continue to use Frontline for scheduling substitutes, leave will be submitted through Kronos.

Timecards
All employees (10/11/12-month exempt and non-exempt) will approve their timecards on a weekly basis to ensure accurate recordkeeping.

Additional Policy Changes
Changes also have been made to standardize on-call, call-back, shift differential, and other types of pay enhancements for non-exempt staff. To further understand our recent policy changes around leave, staff schedules, time tracking, and compensation, please see Policy GCC, Leave Program, and Policy GCJ, Licensed and Classified Staff Schedules, Time Tracking, and Compensation.

System Testing & Training
The project team continues to test the system, document processes, and finalize the training schedule. Most of the training will be accessible through online modules; however, we will offer a few in-person training sessions and lab time for you to practice using Kronos. The training will vary based on your specific role and how you will utilize the system. I will follow up with a subsequent communication as soon as the training schedule is ready!

How Can I Learn More?

Please stay tuned to the Compass for implementation updates. For project details, you can visit the Time & Attendance System Project web page hosted by Albemarle County Human Resources through their Employee Resources website. You also may email questions to time@albemarle.org.

Sincerely,

Lorna Gerome

Lorna Gerome
Director of Human Resources