Agenda

Return

C. 87

To:	Board of Supervisors
From:	David Twa, County Administrator
Date:	December 5, 2017

Contra

Costa

County

Subject:

Kronos Workforce Software Upgrade

APPROVE	OTHER
RECOMMENDATION OF CNTY ADMINISTRATOR	RECOMMENDATION OF BOARD COMMITTEE

Action of Board On: 12/05/2017

APPROVED AS RECOMMENDED

OTHER

Clerks Notes:

VOTE OF SUPERVISORS

AYE:

John Gioia, District I Supervisor
Candace Andersen, District II Supervisor
Diane Burgis, District III Supervisor
Karen Mitchoff, District IV Supervisor
Federal D. Glover, District V Supervisor

Contact:

Joanne Buenger, Deputy CIO 925-313-1202

I hereby certify that this is a true and correct copy of an action taken and entered on the minutes of the Board of Supervisors on the date shown.
ATTESTED: December 5, 2017
David Twa,

BY:	, Deputy

RECOMMENDATION(S):

APPROVE and AUTHORIZE the County Administrator, or designee, to execute a contract with Kronos in the amount of $1,250,427 to provide automated timekeeping hardware, software, professional consultation and staff training for the Time and Labor Management/Hosting Project for the period December 15, 2017 through December 14, 2022.

FISCAL IMPACT:

The contract cost comprises professional and educations in the amount of $117,427.50, which is budgeted under Org #1695 for fiscal year 17/18. Also included in the contract is hosting services in the amount of $226,599.96 per year, or $1,132,999.80 for five years. An appropriation exists for the hosted service and will be budgeted under Org #1695 for the next five fiscal years, supported through countywide interdepartmental charges.

BACKGROUND:

Contra Costa County currently uses Kronos Workforce Central Timekeeper version 3.4, which was implemented in 2003. Kronos Timekeeper is used to collect employees’ time data. The data is manually entered each pay period from all departments, and then interface programs transmit the extracted data to the PeopleSoft Payroll System for the processing of pay. The aging Kronos Timekeeping system is on premise with the County and is becoming unstable. The current version of Timekeeper is no longer supported and the hardware, operating system, and database versions required to support it are no longer supported. The County has recognized that continuing to rely upon unsupported technology puts the County at risk.

The Steering Committee decided to upgrade the timekeeping system from version 3.4 to version 8 and, in addition, to migrate the system from being located on-premises to a hosted solution based on a variety of factors, including cost savings, IT staffing and technical factors. The Steering Committee includes representatives from departments responsible for the administration of personnel, pay, and benefits (the County Administrator, County Finance Director, Human Resources Director, Auditor-Controller, and Director of Information Technology or designee).

Currently, County employees use many different methods for recording time including time cards, time sheets, 3-part forms, homegrown electronic systems, and purchased systems. Often, employees must predict their time near the end of the pay period, necessitating corrections later. Employees do not have easy access to their own data, so they must ask payroll clerks for the information. Managers cannot easily reconcile schedules with worked time or time off or reliably and easily track attendance issues, etc. Payroll clerks are tasked with interpreting time cards and entering data manually into the Kronos system, which is not configured with automatic pay rules — a process that is prone to errors.

Because of competing IT projects, the County has limited resources and has expressed their desire to keep their business processes as close to existing (above) as they are now; but, utilize current technology to mitigate risk. Rapid Data Entry, as developed by the County, is not compatible with newer versions of Workforce Timekeeper. Therefore, the County is exploring third-party options to replace this functionality.

Kronos workforce management solutions provide streamlined, automated tools to help track time and attendance, analyze and diagnose payroll issues, reduce manual administrative tasks, and uncover costs associated with over-payments and system abuse. To meet the County's business requirements, Kronos will:

Implement Workforce Timekeeper v.8 with integration to PeopleSoft, using existing integration as a template, and Cleverant, a third-party, (or internally developed) rapid data entry solution in the Kronos Cloud
Provide consulting to accelerate the testing of the new Workforce Timekeeper solution
Provide training to the County's core project team and system administrators
Provide on-site training to departmental timekeepers

Kronos’ national hosting services provide a cost-effective way for the county to gain the benefits of time and labor management systems and IT capabilities without the associated overhead costs. Contra Costa can focus on our strategic initiatives while outsourcing the vital, nonstrategic business applications to Kronos. Kronos’s hosting solution includes several benefits:

No hardware or software to purchase, which eliminates capital expenses
Rapid deployment without putting a strain on our IT resources
Reduced risk of technological obsolescence

The software and services will be purchased through the U.S. Communities Government Purchasing Alliance, in which the County participates. The County is agreeing to the terms and conditions contained in the contract between Kronos and Harford County Public Schools, Maryland (Lead Agency Contract #14-JLR-003). The software is hosted by Kronos, which means the software and timekeeping data are stored on Kronos’ servers or its third-party hosts’ servers. The contract provides that data will be backed up daily and adheres to industry standards (SSAE 16, SOC 1, and SOC 2) with respect to data security.

In accordance with Administrative Bulletin No 616.0, County Departments are required to obtain Board approval for the purchase of software that costs more than $100,000 (including any related maintenance, licensing and support service). The County Administrator's Office has reviewed this request and recommends approval.

CONSEQUENCE OF NEGATIVE ACTION:

Failure to approve the contract will result in an inability to update the County's current version of its timekeeping system will increase the risk that the County will be unable to process employee Payroll timely and accurately.