Overall rating
3.91 / 5 stars
Kronos Workforce Central is a set of human resource and workforce management applications including Kronos HRMS, payroll, time and attendance, absence management, scheduling and more. The Workforce Central suite of tools has been created specifically for industries to help manage the workforce on a cloud platform that is scalable, secure and mobile.
Workforce Central is an automated solution that enables organizations to manage schedules, track time and attendance, manage attendance and leave policies and measure productivity. Additional features give managers insight into labor demands, worker availability and scheduling across the organization. The user interface includes one-click access to frequently used features and a customizable employee self-service portal. Suite-wide reporting and analytics provide managers with visibility into standardized data via alerts and dashboards.
Workforce management dashboard
Benefit open enrollment
HR employee position
Manage by exception
Manager self-service
Taliorable workforce
Overall rating
3.91 / 5 stars
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Showing 1 - 20 of 262 reviews
January 2018
Michael from Lake Michigan Credit Union
Company Size: 1,001-5,000 employees
Review Source
Ease-of-use
2 of 5
Value for money
3 of 5
Customer support
3 of 5
Functionality
3 of 5
January 2018
Overall, a good system, but could improve.
Pros
What I like most about Kronos is it's reporting features within the system. Working in our HR department, we are often times asked to create very specific reports for our leadership team and Kronos allows us to get very detailed with the information we need to generate reports on in the system. Another feature I really enjoy is the timekeeping side of the system. Employees always share with us how simple the process is to record their time, which is nice when you have a large amount of employees to keep track of their time.
Cons
What I like least about the system is that it is often very difficult to understand how a change in one area of the system will have an effect on other areas of the system because their is so much information being stored in so many different ways within the platform. Something as simple as a date change in Kronos can effect so many other areas that you don't realize until you stumble across a problem later down the road. It would be nice to see Kronos make the system more user friendly for those not as ingrained in the system.
Response from Amy of Kronos Incorporated
Replied January 2018
Hello Michael, Thank you for reviewing Kronos! We are happy to hear that you are able to create the reports that are needed for your organization! If I can help you to become more familiar with the system, please do not hesitate to contact me, amy.fafard@kronos.com. There are also some excellent training resources available on the Kronos Community. Thanks again, Amy
September 2017
John from Daedalus Books
Company Size: 51-200 employees
Review Source
Ease-of-use
3 of 5
Value for money
3 of 5
Customer support
4 of 5
Functionality
4 of 5
September 2017
It's ok
Kronos Workforce Central is probably best suited to a large, multi-location corporation. If you are a small business with, say, under 100 employees, it is probably overkill.
Pros
The system is very flexible. It's underlying database is SQL-based, which means it will run on many database platforms, and be accessible to your database administrators and analysts. The timeclocks are very reliable.
Cons
The version 6 user interface is awkward, and because it is written in java, it can require some degree of configuration management of your desktop browsers. With flexibility comes the need for a lot of customization of your timekeeping rules. While it is SQL based, you'll have to invest a lot of time in understanding the table structure if you want to generate reports that Workforce Central can't do. Cost of product is very expensive, as licenses are required for managers, users (if, say, you want your employees to be able to view their own data). Upgrading to new versions is challenging and requires purchasing new licenses.
Response from Sharon of Kronos Incorporated
Replied September 2017
Hi John – Thank you for taking the time to review Workforce Central. It’s great to hear that you find the software flexible, but I’m sorry that you find version 6 awkward especially when trying to create customizations. If you’d like to discuss any additional thoughts on ways we can improve the software, or if there is anything we could do to assist, please reach out to me at Sharon.long@kronos.com. Thank you, Sharon
March 2017
Tom from Calgary Co-op
Company Size: 1,001-5,000 employees
Ease-of-use
5 of 5
Value for money
4 of 5
Customer support
5 of 5
Functionality
5 of 5
March 2017
Configuration Vs Custumization
Kronos WFC continues to listen to the users to develop new and innovative ways to look after business operations. It's the working relationship with their customers that puts Kronos at the head of the pack.
Pros
Configuration vs. Customization. Kronos WFC allows you to configure the system to meet the needs of your business, which allows a large range of options to the company. Customization usually requires a custom build that is not part of the product and can cause issues down the road when changing your business needs or applying an upgrade to the system. Kronos allow the user to learn the system set up and configure the system to meet their needs. This translates to a scaleable software that can easily adjust to changes in your business. Kronos is also a very easy system to learn and manage, both from a user perspective as well as a system support side. The features of the software allow businesses to change on the fly without disruption to business.
Cons
From a cost point, Kronos WFC is a big investment and can sometimes be a challenge to show ROI. As a standalone product the ROI is real and significant, however adding licences for each additional suite product can add up.
October 2017
Juan from Hostmark Hospitality
Company Size: 1,001-5,000 employees
Review Source
Ease-of-use
4 of 5
Value for money
4 of 5
Customer support
5 of 5
Functionality
5 of 5
October 2017
Out of the box, Kronos Workforce Central works just right for our organization!
So far, so good is my experience with Kronos. I enjoy learning new things all the time and I have only the utmost respect for those technicians that, given the right feedback on what we need, they seem to know exactly how to help each and every time.
Pros
I believe the entire suite is satisfactory. Our employees use the Kronos clocks to log their time and enter PTO requests. Managers get the request and approve them as they see fit. KWC has tons of reporting options, lots of ways to view data. And by tons of reports I mean an overwhelming amount that would be great for analysts to use as needed for managerial decision. As an admin I can assign different reporting and security choices to user as needed for the individual to perform their work. A huge plus: their technical support staff always happens to be
Response from Amy of Kronos Incorporated
Replied November 2017
Thank you for your review of Workforce Central. We are glad to hear that your company is benefiting from the reporting and that you are receiving excellent service from our support team! As you continue to become familiar with the product, please keep in mind Kronos Community is a great resource too.
December 2017
Brian from Mercy Health
Company Size: 10,000+ employees
Review Source
Ease-of-use
5 of 5
Value for money
4 of 5
Customer support
2 of 5
Functionality
4 of 5
December 2017
Especially useful for health system payroll management. Convenient for managers and employees to enter, check, and direct hours and PTO.
Overall, the simplicity and accuracy of the product, in addition with its ability to integrate with various clock systems -- whether managing hourly or salaried clinical or professional staff -- are well worth the added complexity of a catchall system.
Pros
Very helpful for managers who have both hourly and salaried direct reports, especially in healthcare professions where clinical and business side employees are managed very differently. Employees love the simplicity, and as a manager, it is very convenient for keeping track of time for hourly and salaried clinical and non-clinical staff alike.
Cons
It is a little complex occasionally. Although the ability to manage several types of employees in one place is convenient, it also means that there is a lot of information that does not apply to each individual. It's a necessary tradeoff for the convenience factor that is nevertheless irritating at times, especially to the individual employees who see no added value.
August 2017
Sue from Heywood Hospital
Company Size: 1,001-5,000 employees
Review Source
Ease-of-use
5 of 5
Value for money
5 of 5
Customer support
5 of 5
Functionality
5 of 5
August 2017
Awesome Software and Support
Awesome system and I would recommend to others.
Pros
WFC is very user friendly. If I do have an issue that comes up their support team is awesome to deal with. They do not just fix the issue, they explain how the issue may have come about and why they are recommending this fix. Everything is much easier in the Cloud and I like the on line ability to open and view my cases.
Cons
I have spoken to many payroll users at conferences and one drawback is the fact that users are not mandated to enter in Comments and/or Notes in Kronos. this would help tremendously.
Response from Amy of Kronos Incorporated
Replied September 2017
Hi Sue, Thank you for sharing your review! We are excited to hear that you are finding Workforce Central easy to use and that our award winning Support team has been helpful! We also appreciate your feedback regarding payroll functionality and will pass that along to our product team. Please know that you can also leave product suggestions in the Ideas section of the Kronos Community! We appreciate your praise and your business. Thanks again, Amy Fafard
August 2017
Karen from Bothwell Regional Health Center
Company Size: 501-1,000 employees
Review Source
Ease-of-use
3 of 5
Value for money
2 of 5
Customer support
3 of 5
Functionality
3 of 5
August 2017
upgrade to 8.0 was a big disappointment as many of the available tabs and views that we had before are no longer working
Pros
Easier than figuring time cards by hand! The system can be configured to pay different shift differentials to different sets of employees.
Cons
I lost the historical view and abilities that I had before. I lost a way to delete a moved amount. I lost the moved amounts tab that only appears when a move is made. I now have a much longer scroll to view just 1 time card since it only show 2 punches per line. I lost the approval tab that shows what manager approved the time card.
Response from Sharon of Kronos Incorporated
Replied August 2017
Hi Karen, Thank you for sharing your experience with Workforce Central. I’m sorry to hear that you are disappointed and that you lost many of the capabilities you had when you upgraded to version 8. If you’d like to discuss in more detail, I’d love to learn more and find a way we can help. Please feel free to reach out to me at Sharon.long@kronos.com Thank you, Sharon
April 2017
Janet from Annin Flagmakers
Company Size: 5,001-10,000 employees
Ease-of-use
3 of 5
Customer support
3 of 5
Functionality
3 of 5
April 2017
Could be better.
I would be unlikely to recommend this product due to the unfavorable experiences we had during implementation and recent upgrade to version 8. I find it difficult to find information on the community site and do not care for the new format. I think support needs to work just a little bit harder to get it right.
Pros
It has a lot of potential to be a great system. It's relatively easy to use. More than one person at a time can work on the same page.
Cons
It doesn't live up to its potential. Although it claims to be, it's not a fully integrated system. It is not consistent in the functionality.
Response from Sharon of Kronos Incorporated
Replied May 2017
Hi Janet, I apologize for your difficult experience with Kronos, this is not what we want for our customers. I would like to encourage you to reach out to me directly at Sharon.Long@kronos.com so I can learn more about your implementation and upgrade experience and see what we can do to help. Thank you, Sharon
March 2017
Erin from HyLife Foods LP
Company Size: 1,001-5,000 employees
Ease-of-use
4 of 5
Value for money
3 of 5
Customer support
3 of 5
Functionality
4 of 5
March 2017
Kronos Reveiw
The product has been a good step up from what we had be before. It is capable of more calculations and automation.
Pros
I like the genie feature for quick reporting and also the complexity that the interfaces we had build have.
Cons
System speed is often an issue. The reporting is very limited and not easy to customize. The genies also have limitation and you cannot combine information from a detailed genie with an accural genie, causing us to have to do a lot more work in excel.
Response time from KGS is slow and case seem to be left open with no resolutions for too long. I find that I have to constantly monitor the case log and send updates asking for meetings or timelines when I can get answers/help.
Response from Sharon of Kronos Incorporated
Replied May 2017
Hi Erin, Thank you for taking the time to provide your feedback, and I’m very sorry that you have not had a five-star experience with Kronos. I encourage you to reach out to me directly at Sharon.Long@kronos.com – I’d like to learn more about the issues that you are facing and see what we can do to help. Thank you, Sharon
September 2018
Mary from FixleyHealthcare Consulting
Company Size: 2-10 employees
Review Source
Ease-of-use
4 of 5
Value for money
4 of 5
Customer support
3 of 5
Functionality
5 of 5
September 2018
Kronos-Helpful Tool for Employees to Record Time and Access Payroll Information
I would recommend this product to larger organizations as it streamlines the payroll process and has robust reporting.
Pros
Especially helpful for managing payroll for employee scattered in the region. I found the tool was very easy for employees to learn and easy for them to document their time even if recording time out of the office. Employees could access their pay information from home and able to print a summary of all the paystubs. It also kept track of their hours earned for PTO and recalculated as they used their PTO hours. This probably worked best for larger businesses such as a 100+ employees.
Cons
Obviously the software cost was a little pricey but the return on the investment of saving time and resources to calculate payroll was quick with a large employee base. It still requires a manager to prompt employees to record their time. It was difficult to make the employee realize that it was their accountability to record their time but even with non-compliance by the employee, it is always the responsibility of the manager to pay the employee. This is more of an business policy then a fault of the software.
March 2018
Camilo from 5280 Staffing Solutions
Company Size: 11-50 employees
Review Source: Capterra
Ease-of-use
3 of 5
Value for money
5 of 5
Customer support
5 of 5
Functionality
4 of 5
March 2018
It is a great software with a great amount of functionalities, but lacks ease of use.
Pros
It has a lot of options and customization tools, it can let you pull all sort of reports with all the employees in the system, also allows to create notifications and reminders for individual employees as well as for group of employees. The reports are customizable and allows to create the different roles to match every need.
Cons
The software lacks depth sometimes needed for approaching specific reports, even thought it has a great variety of customization options some of the lack ability to modified to fit specific needs . Some reports have to be pulled with trial and error since its not clear with the option what results you will be getting. The learning curve is too steep.
September 2016
Michael from Lake Michigan Credit Union
Ease-of-use
3.5 of 5
Customer support
2 of 5
Functionality
3 of 5
September 2016
Kronos Review
Pros
In my organization, we use Kronos as our HRIS system. The best function within Kronos is the timekeeping system, which has allowed us to completely get rid of hand written timecards. Within the timekeeping system, we have also utilized several of the add-on features such as delegate authority allowing managers to delegate their employee's timecards to other managers within their departments when that manager is out of the office or on vacation for approval.
Cons
Having used Kronos for several years now, my biggest complaints is that the system overall is not very appealing to the eye. In recent updates, Kronos has tried to make the appearance a little bit better such as the new tile look for the employee homepage, but this is an area that I believe the system still could use many improvements. Overall, the system is good, but at times the appearance, titles for different functions, etc. could be greatly improved.
July 2017
Jeri from Baptist Community Services
Company Size: 501-1,000 employees
Ease-of-use
5 of 5
Value for money
4 of 5
Customer support
5 of 5
Functionality
5 of 5
July 2017
All solutions with one vendor to manage time, attendance, scheduling, human resources and payroll!
Pros
Ease of use, great customer support from sales to service to global support, able to customize to our needs, easy for our end users to use and understand, having divisions set up by industry, being HOSTED in the cloud saves us time and money!
Cons
The only con I have is our industry post-acute care is usually combined with all healthcare and our needs are very different from a hospital however, Kronos has come a long way in the past few years by dedicating more time and staff to our industry.
Response from Amy of Kronos Incorporated
Replied July 2017
Hi Jeri, Thank you for sharing your review! We are so excited to hear you are experiencing the true value of our software suite for healthcare along with our award winning support. We appreciate the praise and your business. Amy Fafard
March 2017
Robert from Hartford Healthcare
Company Size: 10,000+ employees
Ease-of-use
5 of 5
Value for money
5 of 5
Customer support
5 of 5
Functionality
5 of 5
March 2017
Kronos Workforce Central
I have been a Kronos customer for almost twenty years. The software and hardware provided by Kronos continue to improve and keep up with and exceed industry standards. I would recommend Kronos WFC for any medium to the large company requiring a Time/Attendance, Scheduling, and/or Attestation solution. The customer service is great and they will let you do everything yourself or can provide full support. There are also plenty of candidates to hire with Kronos experience. Incoming employees have often used Kronos at a previous company and get up to speed quickly.
Pros
Kronos does everything you need for a robust corporation. Pricing is a la carte so you only what for whatever products you need in whatever quantities.
Cons
Kronos may not be the right fit for a mom & pop company with limited requirements.
April 2018
Amber from Gordy's Market
Company Size: 201-500 employees
Review Source
Ease-of-use
3 of 5
Value for money
3 of 5
Customer support
2 of 5
Functionality
4 of 5
April 2018
Okay but manual work needed
Pros
The scheduling portion is amazing. It has great reporting capabilities.
Entering time changes, PTO requests, reimbursements etc is really easy.
Cons
We have both systems and they don't talk to each other like we were told they would.
They gave us a temporary "fix" for this problem that only last about 6 weeks.
Calling in for customer service can be cumbersome at times.
Response from Chan of Kronos Incorporated
Replied July 2018
Hello Amber, Thank you for the positive feedback on Advanced Scheduler and Reporting! To make sure you have a permanent fix and be able to get the most out of Workforce Central, can you let me know which system Workforce Central is trying to talk to? We’ve also added additional support resources to help lower the response times. Thanks, Chan Huot, chan.huot@kronos.com
September 2017
Arthur from MGM Resorts International
Company Size: 10,000+ employees
Review Source
Ease-of-use
4 of 5
Value for money
5 of 5
Customer support
4 of 5
Functionality
4 of 5
September 2017
Essential software for keeping control of your workforce.
If one would like to manage one's workforce more efficiently, one would most likely need this software!
Pros
Makes paperwork and payroll editing a breeze. Would not know what to do without this software. Very feature loaded. Allows you to keep glances on payroll, edit pay times, add pay times, keep track of time-in, time-out, EO'd, vacations, etc.
Cons
The amount of keystrokes, shortcuts, and just knowing how to navigate the software in initial run. However, learning curve is not difficult, and pretty much repetitive once we get the hang of it.
Response from Amy of Kronos Incorporated
Replied September 2017
Hello, Arthur. Thank you for reviewing Workforce Central. We appreciate your insights and are happy to hear that it is working well for you! Thanks again, Amy Fafard
May 2016
Janet from WVUH
Ease-of-use
1.5 of 5
Functionality
1.5 of 5
May 2016
Poorly written software
Pros
Best? I'm really unable to come up with an answer to this question. I'm concerned that administrators might rely on reports using this software as a basis for making decisions.
Cons
System unable to make calculations and auto fill in most basic areas. Instead it requires same information to be entered multiple times in multiple places increasing opportunity for error. This system not ideal for healthcare scheduling applications. Multiple glitches requiring necessity of Payroll Dept writing supplemental checks for employees.
System frequently freezes and requires clearing of Java and restarting.
Vendor charges extra for any and all customization.
Response from Lynne of Kronos Incorporated
Replied June 2016
Janet, I appreciate your feedback and am very sorry to hear that your experience with your Kronos Workforce Central® solution has not been a good one. In Workforce Central 6, we had similar feedback from customers, especially around issues with Java and some awkwardness in the user experience. In response to customer feedback, we have made many improvements to Workforce Central. It sounds to me like your organization is using an older version of our software. The latest release of Workforce Central 8 has a reengineered user interface that makes tasks much simpler and more intuitive to carry out and with fewer clicks. We streamlined the configuration of the system to further improve data accuracy and reporting. The scheduling application it sounds like you are using has also undergone significant improvement: there are new scheduling rules to minimize fatigue, easier tools to fill open shifts and quickly rebalance staff based on workload and patient intensity, and many other changes. I would welcome further discussion with you and your team to work toward a solution to the challenges you are facing. We have thousands of healthcare organizations similar to yours using Workforce Central successfully every day, and feel that we can improve your company’s experience with Kronos products. We work very hard and take great pride in listening to our customers’ needs, and strive to continually provide improvements based on customer feedback to make our customers’ lives easier. Please feel free to reach out to me directly, or contact your Kronos representative. Sincerely, Lynne Levy Workforce Central Product Management Lynne.Levy@Kronos.com 978-947-4249
July 2017
Rebecca from Supply Chain Services International
Company Size: 201-500 employees
Ease-of-use
3 of 5
Value for money
3 of 5
Customer support
5 of 5
Functionality
4 of 5
July 2017
Easy to learn yet complex system
Pros
System was easy to learn. Clear options on features. Allowed for multiple reports and ability to not only look at raw attendance data but transform it into costs analysis.
Cons
Could get confusing on running reports. Setting schedule patterns was extremely difficult. It proved an issue every time in getting it to line up with other associates of a same department.
Response from Amy of Kronos Incorporated
Replied July 2017
Thank you for your review Rebecca. We are happy to hear that Workforce Central was easy to learn overall and that you’ve found the reporting functionality useful. Please let me know if you would like me to have someone contact you regarding setting scheduling patterns – I can be reached at amy.fafard@kronos.com. We appreciate your review and business! Thanks, Amy Fafard
April 2018
Allie from `New Jersey Infrastructure Bank
Company Size: 501-1,000 employees
Review Source
Ease-of-use
1 of 5
Value for money
1 of 5
Customer support
2 of 5
Functionality
1 of 5
April 2018
The nightmare started with the conversion and continued for 5 years....then we chose a new vendor.
Again, I would never use the Kronos products...none of them. Also, their support group could not fix a lot of our problems...instead they would give us a work around.
Pros
The time and attendance product does have a lot of features. However, the products costs a fortune to set up and it takes a ton of tweaks to get it to work. Even after all of the tweaks we had a ton of work a rounds because Kronos could not fix out issues.
Cons
The whole system. We were told that the HRIS and the payroll were one system, but that is not true. They are two separate systems and you have to update the system every night in order for both programs to have the same data. The HRIS system never worked correctly. The reporting did not work. The ACA set up was wrong and we were not able to submit the electronic part of the ACA at all. The timekeeper had a lot of work around's. At times, the timekeeper lost information and no one could tell us why. Basically, it was awful...I would never recommend this product.
Response from Chan of Kronos Incorporated
Replied July 2018
Hello Allie, Thank you for your honest feedback. It’s through feedback like yours where we can look to improve our process. We’re always striving to provide the best experience for our customers. I was disappointed to hear about your experience through the implementation and configuration of your system. Five years is a very long time for you and your company to invest time and resources only to go to another vendor and I can certainly empathize. Although it’s been a while, I would still love to hear from you and talk about some of the details. If there’s a chance we can make this right – I would like to make sure the solution and implementation team are the right fit for you and the New Jersey Infrastructure Bank. Kind Regards, Chan Huot
January 2017
Tracy from Valparaiso University
Company Size: 1,001-5,000 employees
Ease-of-use
2 of 5
Value for money
2 of 5
Customer support
4 of 5
Functionality
4 of 5
January 2017
Kronos is great for some industries, but not so great for others
Kronos has a lot of whistles and bells, so if you have deep pockets and a need to manage timekeeping for a large number of employees in different locations with unique needs by location, Kronos may be a good fit. If your timekeeping policies are not strict (i.e., you allow employees to flex, work from home), I would recommend a less expensive, simpler tool for timekeeping. You may get more bang for your buck if you also use Kronos HR and payroll modules (we do not).
Pros
The software has been around for a long time and is not buggy. Most of the issues we have observed are due to the configuration. The implementation folks were very knowledgeable. We are using the latest version of Kronos (v8.0.11)
Cons
Configuration is VERY complicated. We did the majority of it on our own to save cost (Kronos charges $180/hr), and the set-up and roll-out to over 1,500 employees took over a year. The interface with our ERP is also clunky and a bit of a black box. Kronos changed their customer support portal in October 2016, which was right in the middle of our launch, and they did not migrate all of the documentation until a few months later. That was not fun.