"The Star is certainly entitled to implement reasonable modifications to any time-keeping system that controls costs while protecting the sanctity of the contractually regulated 40-hour workweek,'' the Indianapolis Newspaper Guild told Executive Editor Dennis Ryerson in a letter yesterday. But, the letter says, "we definitely OBJECT to any type of finger or thumbprint imagery-based system. We are NOT AGAINST computerizing the time-keeping system, but why the company is fast-tracking an initiative before seeking input from the staff seems unclear to us. And any system needs to be applied fairly and logically."The system at issue is a Kronos-brand time-management system that Star management says is used by other Gannett papers. The Guild's letter doesn't identify the specific Kronos technology, but it sounds like one of the company's 4500-series data-collection devices featuring "biometric verification capabilities."
On its website, Kronos acknowledges that some employees worry about the notion of their employer storing hundreds of fingerprints in databases that could be breached. "While the benefits of biometrics are well documented, employees are raising concerns about the way this technology could affect their privacy rights."
Among the Guild's concerns, according to yesterday's letter, posted on the group's website:
- Employees will waste time trying to make sure they are “on track” and aren’t being shortchanged or aren’t “going over” as they progress through the 80-hour pay period.
- Employees will deluge paraprofessionals or supervisors in their respective departments to adjust times at various points during the week, since this is a new system and they aren’t accustomed to the punch-clock concept -- particularly if they take a lunch and forget to clock back in.
- How do you improve efficiency if you still have a manual-entry paperwork system for Guild-covered employees outside of the main office?
- Other Gannett papers vary, just like Indianapolis, in how they keep records.
[Hat tip, blogger Ruth Holladay]
Does your worksite use a Kronos system? How do you feel about it? Please post your replies in the comments section, below. To e-mail confidentially, write jimhopkins[at]gmail[dot-com]; see Tipsters Anonymous Policy in the rail, upper right.
We've been using Kronos for over two months, and it's universally deplored. The dumbest part of the new system is that so many employees who used to work extra time, at no cost to the company, now are forced to just up and leave in the middle of something, so as not to accrue any overtime. Why would a company want to discourage hard-working employees from putting in extra time? Also, it only works in 15-minutes intervals, so you can clock in at, say, 8:07 and it says you clocked in at 8:00; or you can clock in at 8:08 and it says you clocked in at 8:15. Excellent technology, as usual, from Gannett.
ReplyDeleteWe have Kronos and the clocks keep losing time, so you may not be on time even if you are. Plus, I know I'm not the only one who has swiped out (mustn't have unapproved OT) and then returned to my desk to keep working.
ReplyDeleteThat's one of the scariest, stupidest things I've ever heard of.
ReplyDeleteGannett sure as hell isn't getting my thumbprint. I barely trust those bastards to get me my paycheck every two weeks.
And how does this system apply to people who, say, check their e-mail, remotely log into their voicemail, return a few calls and scan the headlines online at home before coming in to the office? That lets them get started faster than the people who wait to do that until they get to their desks - more efficient, right?
Or to the Moms producers/moderators who check comments and keep threads going around the clock?
Or even the reporter who goes to a 9 a.m. assignment leaving from her house instead of going into the office first, because she lives closer and wants to save a little gas?
And do you require the sportswriter covering an evening game and filing his story via wifi from the pressbox to return to the office just to clock out before going home to have his thumb scanned and be "officially" off the clock?
This isn't efficiency. It's a clusterfuck waiting to happen, brought on by management jackasses who think that because they can see their worker bees busily scurrying around in the newsroom, that means Work Is Getting Done.
Stupid fucking Gannett. Jesus Christ.
We have Kronos at my work site and the editorial department immediately arranged for a system where some reporters don't have to use it because they put in so many hours outside the office. This, of course, created a massive bookkeeping headache for our office managers because they must now enter employee hours by hand.
ReplyDeleteAt a time when the company is trying to save money, it seems ludicrous that they would employ a system that actually creates a heavier workload for office staff. Beyond that, people do indeed work fewer hours because they are now being accurately tracked and overtime is a no-no.
1:23 -- After all the layoffs, etc., it boggles the mind that you would give the company free time. Do you have some sort of illusion that the company will some day pay you for money you haven't earned? Gannett wanted Kronos, let them live with the ramifications. You need to either stop what you're doing and leave or let them pay you for the OT and explain why it happened. It is illegal for Gannett not to pay you for time worked.
Bottom line: The Indy union should be kissing GCI's feet and begging them to install Kronos. Reporters will get more overtime or, if smart, work shorter hours. With this system the "work without pay" era is over ... unless folks like 1:23 purposely try to short change themselves.
I am an independent Kronos consultant and I can easily say that the system will lower the cost of timekeeping and payroll costs.
ReplyDeleteThe biometric feature of the electronic timeclocks is not required but guards against "buddy punching" and other instances of employee fraud. Key to a successful implementation however, is that the company continually review their practices and adjust the configuration of their Kronos system so as to NOT penalize diligent employees while encouraging beneficial work practices and ensuring accurate time keeping with high efficiency.
We've had Kronos for over 3 years. At first it was a nightmare, but the hourly folks have figure it out. They figure out all kinds of ways around it if they want to. Interesting. But it's not horrible for anyone. We've also managed to move a number of folks to exempt status - most of who are happy with that, go figure. It really can work just fine and if employees want to work more they'll figure it out.
ReplyDelete3:58 -- Kronos may lower payroll costs for companies that did not have systems in place where employees were regularly working unpaid overtime, but how will it lower the payroll costs of a company like Gannett that is the beneficiary of thousands of hours of unpaid work every quarter.
ReplyDeleteYou can see from one of the posts here that some employees are still willing to "cheat the system in favor of the employer." This boggles the mind, but I've ssen it happens as well, with an employee declaring that he/she had to go clock out because he/she was about to go on OT. Then it was back to the desk for more work.
It seems to me that if even 50% of the employees who were working free OT start clocking in and out dilligently, the company will lose either productivity or see its payroll costs increase. Am I missing something?
I found a "work for free and you'll be rewarded" culture when I worked for Gannett. It was such a different place than a previous employer that actually had a very strictly enforced policy about working off the clock. It was the philosophy of my non-Gannett employer that the company paid 40 hours for 40 hours of hard work. That employer had management that was very tuned in to how many hours it took to do the job, though. I didn't find that my managers at Gannett had a clue about productivity, or how long it really took to produce quality work. Thumbprint-based clocks and other gadgets aren't going to change the work- for- free culture at Gannett.
ReplyDeleteI have Kronos at my site. Kronos says it doesn't store a fingerprint. Rather, it stores information about the fingerprint.
ReplyDeleteI'm inclined to believe them because I have successfully punched with a different finger than the Kronos clock asked me for.
My main beefs with the system:
1) the clocks are made of cheap plastic. So when someone uses too much pressure on the buttons (or gets frustrated), they can break it.
2) the clock's finger scanner is an add-on that hangs off the bottom of the clock. So if you push too hard, you can disconnect the finger scanner.
3) I think the Ethernet cable slips out of the back due to people punching. Sonthen the punches don't get reported.
4) The clocks are supposed to be in sync, but they are not.
5) If the finger scanner gets too oily, it won't work until you clean it.
6) if your hands are naturally cold in winter, your fingers won't scan until you are warm enough.
We've had Kronos a number of years. Some people's fingers don't scan, different clocks have different times on them, and every once in a while, they just stop working for a day.
ReplyDeleteWhy does the company put them up, giving up all that "free overtime?" Because sooner or later, some dingdong decides - after he gets fired for something else- he'll create a severance package by suing the company for unpaid overtime. Why do you think the furlough rules are so draconian? It's the same reason you have to sign your timecard to indicate that the card shows a truthful record of your work hours. Lawsuit prevention.
As far as forgetting to punch: People learn things real quick when you make it their responsibility to learn. Not knowing how to turn your machine on isn't an excuse, or punch in a door code.
And seriously? People are worried about their thumbprint being stolen? You can't even do anything with a thumbprint, but consider: You gave up your social security number and birthday to get hired. You gave up the ssn and birthday for everyone in your family to get insurance. The company has your bank account and routing numbers to pay you. And they talk to the IRS.
The only real reason to be so against an accurate record of your time - especially when so many people say they got screwed for working too much for free - is that there are some people who are gaming the system, and they don't want to change.
Imagine the perception this gives to potential new hires. This, I believe, speaks volumns about how the company sees its employees. Maybe I'm wrong and maybe people are used to using this kind of recordkeeping. I'm not. Never will be.
ReplyDelete8:30 -- Good points. I can't even see reporters fighting Kronos because they want to job the system. It's plenty easy to do that even with Kronos in place. Maybe lawsuits are the only reason they were installed. I just don't see how the machines could save a company like Gannett any cash.
ReplyDeleteOddly enough, if people continue punching out and then continuing to work -- and I've seen managers allow this to happen -- the lawsuits will come anyway.
Make the CEO and the board members flop a finger to get in the annual meeting. See how they like being treated like a criminal.
ReplyDeleteRemember, us old farts remember how things used to be. Today's kids went though metal detectors everyday just to go to school.
ReplyDeleteHaving a job in the print industry is a luxury today. Speaking from one grateful to still have my job, I can understand why people will work around the system to get their jobs done.
ReplyDeleteThat said, I believe Gannett asking employees for a thumb print is wrong. Either you trust your employees or you don't. If a staff is doing a good job, the employers shouldn't have to worry about documenting their time in such a negative fashion.
I worked on a local-government Kronos implementation, and the application does not store any actual fingerprints. It stores a hash calculated from a finger scan that cannot be used to recreate a readable fingerprint. The government agencies involved wanted to have the biometric option available to reduce/prevent fraudulent time entry by hourly employees. Their intent wasn't trying to avoid paying people for actual time worked, but wanting to avoid paying people who worked fewer hours than they were claiming.
ReplyDeleteI've also worked with AFIS Live Scan technology, and there is absolutely no equivalence between the way Kronos uses a finger scan and the AFIS system stores actual fingerprints.
If the clocks aren't accurate or aren't reliable, blame your IT department. That's who is responsible for those kinds of routine maintenance tasks.
the system will lower payroll costs? yep by stilling 3 min every day.
ReplyDeleteWe just went to Kronos. It is horrible. We are told we can't have one minute over, or leave one minute early. Time clocks aren't near wher eyou work, so you have to drive across campus or find one, then stand in line till your time go leave. We end up losing valuable work time. plus, by the time we log out, drive to the cafeteria at work or walk back to our work buildings, your lunch is half over. About the time you get to lunch, you have to turn around, and walk the two blocks back to the time clock. Its ridiculous.
ReplyDeleteThe easiest solution to all of the problems I have read on this is to go and purchase a timesheet management software for the employees. It makes life so much easier. We use it where I work and I think it is fantastic.
ReplyDeleteKronos is just a weak attempt by employers to avoid paying overtime. They don't realize they are still liable to pay OT for time worked even if the employee is 'clocked out' due to the duress and intimidation placed on the workers by management. Employers should just try to be ethical for a change, the ROI for fair treatment of employees is solidly documented.
ReplyDelete