Q & A Document

Workforce Central 7 First Look Webinar

1)

Is there an official release date for WFC 7.0?

It can be ordered as of 6/24/13.

2)

Is there anywhere I can download the technical specs for Workforce 7.0?
The Workforce Central Technical datasheet is included in the resource widget within the
On24 console or can be supplied by your sales rep.

3)

Will Workforce Central 7 support the classic view or just navigators?

It depends on the functionality. For example, the color-coding and visibility
enhancements in scheduling are specific to navigator. The new search functionality is
unique to navigator. The activities widget and search is unique to navigator.

4)

Does Workforce Central 7 address the JAVA interface issues?

Kronos developed our current architecture over ten years ago to take advantage of the
rich user interface and functionality that Java enabled us to deliver at that time. We are
continually investigating and evaluating new technologies as they are introduced that
may enable us to improve the user experience. Now that HTML5 is becoming mature
and accepted as a standard our long term strategy is to move to HTML5.
Over the course of the last few months a number of security issues have been
discovered with Java that are raising concerns among our customer base.
Oracle has responded with updates to resolve issues as they discovered, but
considering the maintenance costs and operational overhead required to keep up with
these frequent Java updates, Kronos has implemented a 3 part plan to respond to the
issue and eliminate our dependence on Java.
3 Part Strategy:
Our short-term strategy: In January we implemented new processes and automation in
our engineering organization so we can quickly support new Java updates. We also
changed our Java support policy so we support a new update as soon as it is released.
These two things mean customers are able to quickly roll out Java updates to keep their
environments secure.
Our mid-term strategy is to begin to digitally sign applets for WFC 6.2 and 6.3 in Service
Packs that will be released over the next two months. By digitally signing our applets,
our application code is trusted within the Java Runtime environment, so it can be
differentiated from Malware. WFC 7 will ship with digitally signed applets.
Our long term strategy is to migrate our application functionality to HTML5. Almost all
new functionality in WFC 7 is built on HTML5 and not Java, and over the next couple of
releases we will migrate existing functionality to the new HTML platform as well.

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5)

Does the enhanced scheduling functionality require the advanced scheduler

module?
Yes it does require Workforce Scheduler.

6)

Do "jobs" need to be set up in Scheduling?

Yes they need to be set up within Workforce Scheduler.

7)

Is this within the basic scheduling within Workforce Timekeeper or in the

Advanced Scheduler?
The enhancements are in Workforce Scheduler (advanced).

8)

How extensive will the UI change be in upgrading from 6.1 to 7.0?

A lot of the functionality does require navigator. Many of our customers have already
rolled out navigator seamlessly across their organizations with great success. It is very
user friendly and intuitive for users.

9)

What about scheduling project management tasks to IT staff to achieve resource

balancing?
Workforce Scheduler does not handle scheduling specific tasks at this time.

10)

What enhancements were made in 7.0 that will make Workforce a better fit for
QSR/retail food and beverage locations?
I suggest you contact your sales rep for a retail-specific demo thats geared to your
organization. In general, forecasting and budgeting has become much faster and there
are new tools to manage employee skills (e.g., keyholder). Workforce Central 7 includes
the second major release of Workforce Operations Planner. Improvements mean retail
customers will be able to create and edit sales and labor budgets faster and easier, with
greater precision. Workforce Forecast Manager has been improved to ease the process
of realigning districts and adding stores to growing organizations. With the new
Schedule-to-Skill feature in Workforce Scheduler, organizations are now able to ensure
each job and each location is covered with the right employee skill mix based on
anticipated demand.

11)

Do employees have the capability of entering their availability so that managers

can schedule with that information visible prior to trying to setup?
Yes, they can enter availability for more than 1 day. They can also select their own shifts
as an option through self-scheduling.

12)

Has WFC 7.0 improved: 1.) Mobile scheduling 2.) Call List Sorting and Matching
3.) Employee preference driven matching 4.) Preventing employee groups from
scheduling for more than 30 hours (ACA requirement) 4.) Is Navigator now fully
functional?
Please contact your sales rep for a detailed demonstration of these features in
Workforce Central 7.

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13)

In the construction industry, different projects have different labor costs. Some
jobs are bid to take longer than others. How does this system adapt to labor costs
that differ from project to project?
With Workforce Activities, you create your projects including tasks and subtasks. You
measure actual labor productivity by project, no matter the labor costs. The scorecard
and status views deliver real-time data allowing for faster, better decision making.

14)

Labor Accounting Validation: Does this apply to only accounting values

established in Kronos? Could you please elaborate?
This has to do with labor account values that can be assigned to employees. So when
an employee transfers from one job to another, they are presented with a pre-populated
list of valid jobs to choose from.

15)

We use both the JAVA and HTML platforms. Can time off requests be submitted in
both JAVA and HTML?
There is no change to how time off requests can be submitted. Just what happens if the
submission is for an ineligible request.

16)

With all the recent challenges of the JAVA applets, does Kronos have a strategic
plan to move away from the JAVA platform?
Yes; long term plan is to move from JAVA to HTML5.

17)

How do we restrict that only relevant activities are displayed for employees? Is
this not available in the current version of Workforce Central?
Currently if an employee searches for an activity to select on their timecard, every level
1 activity is returned. With Workforce Central 7, only those that they can select are.

18)

Are there any changes to HRMS or just WTK/Scheduler?

We have added 3 additional languages to be used in HR/Payroll.

19)

Will the 4500 terminals work with this version?

Yes, the 4500 terminals will work with Workforce Central 7

20)

What version do you have to be on to upgrade?

You can upgrade to WFC 7 from any of the earlier versions. Your sales rep can provide
you with any additional information you may need.

21)

Is the Analytics I-pad version available under the standard 'Mobility' license?
No, it's a tablet license.

22)

Is WFC 7 going to be in Navigator for all (managers and employees)?

Yes, for the large majority of features.

23)

Is there a demo of the changes to HR/Payroll too?

We are working on one to post to kronos.com

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24)

When will the software be available and will HR/Payroll be available at the same
time?
All modules in WFC 7 are available now.

25)

Will the new shift "drag & drop" functionality be available in basic scheduling or
just advanced scheduling?
It will be available in Advanced - Workforce Scheduler

26)

If we are going from 6.2 to 7, do the analytics come automatically with the
upgrade?
If you currently have analytics then yes; if not, it would require a separate license for that
product.

27)

Is this a package or can modules be selected individually?

You need the core product, Workforce Timekeeper for time and attendance. All other
modules are separate. You may also want to check out our Workforce Ready solution
for SMBs: http://www.kronos.com/products/smb-solutions/workforce-ready.aspx

28)

Does it have the capability to send an error message if an employee is putting in a

duplicate time off request?
It will not send an error message. The enhancement made in this release will stop the
employee from being able to submit the duplicate request as they try to submit it.

29)

I assume Spanish is one of the languages?

Yes, Spanish is one of the languages.

30)

Has the look and feel of WFC version 7.0 changed much from version 6.3?
In the areas of scheduling and activities, the look and feel has changed significantly. In
the areas of labor costing and global, the look and feel has not changed.

31)

Is the manage in the moment an additional item that would need to be

purchased or is it part of our setup when we upgrade??
Some of it requires advanced scheduler; some requires Navigator.

32)

Is version 7 java based or HTML? If it is HTML, does the accrual balances show
on the timecard or does a report have to be run?
Still java based; moving to HTML is the longer plan. The accrual balances should show
on the timecard.

33)

Are the items highlighted in this webinar found in basic or advanced scheduler
within WFC?
Basic scheduling is part of Workforce Timekeeper, the core product of WFC. It does not
handle things like filling open shifts, scheduling to demand, balancing schedules to skill
mix, self-scheduling, etc. Workforce Scheduler is the module that provides the advanced
scheduling features I mentioned today.

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34)

Are there better features that integrate active training while in the system and
provide better guidance on completing actions through how-to features?
There are no new features at this time.

35)

Are alert and search features available in the basic application or does it require
an additional module (Navigator)?
It's not an additional module, but you would need to upgrade to Workforce Central 7 and
use the Navigator interface.

36)

Is there Visual Studio 2012 support for custom reporting in WFC 7?

No there is not.

37)

Are canned reports enhanced?

No, canned reports were not enhanced as part of this release.

38)

Will employees be able to filter down their shift selections to a specific shift?
Yes, they can select a specific shift when self-scheduling.

39)

You showed how multiple managers can approve timecards but can they approve
employee requests as well?
No they cannot.

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