Likelihood to Recommend Frontline is well suited for an organization such as a school district where teachers sometimes need to put in for a substitute at the last minute or especially early in the morning. The system also helps with substitutes in picking up the jobs when a teacher puts in an absence.
Read full review This product was marketed to us as a school and several schools in our area use the program. However, the implementation team we were set-up with had limited school experience and we are still working on the best way to do some of the timekeeping issues where I know that could have been handled better. That being said from a payroll and reporting side it has been great to capture so much data (at times almost too much) and have the system do automatic allocations of salaries and general ledger reports. The reporting takes some getting used to, but overall I've been able to run reports to see and track just about anything I want. Our employees also love the self service compared to our previous products where they can make W4, direct deposit and other updates on their own without having to get HR involved.
Read full review Pros Easily submission process. Select the day you need to schedule on the listed calendar, mark the type of request, and submit. Works on different digital devices including phones, tablets, and computers. Easily track your balances by looking at your account history. Delete requests you have already submitted. Read full review I personally feel like timekeeping is very well thought out and has some powerful tools built in. There is a bit of a learning curve but with strategically placed SMEs we were able to get the use and functionality we needed out of the system. Workforce planning has been crucial in planning operational support in our retail and customer service centers. It is also editable and modifiable as needed. Read full review Cons Teachers cannot cancel their own absence. We have to ask the office staff to do so. This is irritating when an absence must be canceled (Due to a canceled professional development, for example). Sometimes absences go unfilled. It would be great if AESOP could have a roster of qualified substitutes to cover absences. You cannot assign your absence to a particular substitute if you know he or she is available and a good fit for your absence. Read full review Reporting - some of the reports' names do not coincide with the data that is pulled from the system System errors - the system crashes regularly on us with no real explanation why Punch accuracy - sometimes the punches from the timeclocks do not feed into the system Read full review Likelihood to Renew Long time customer with Frontline Absence Management. Product support has been excellent, integrations easy to work with, & suite of products mesh together well.
Read full review Now that the system is installed and operational, the "pain is gone"...therefore we see no reason to change to a different application. There is no functionality that is missing from the system that would drive us to consider another solution at this time. Maintenance support from Kronos is sufficient and updates occur regularly.
Read full review Usability While we have had minor issues logging in as our organization has its own login page, the site and its application are very easy to use. So long as members of a group log in through the appropriate page, navigating and using this site is quite easy. With the transition from Aesop to Frontline, the page also seems to have worked through any glitches found with the previous page and its app.
Read full review Reliability and Availability There have been several times the system was unavailable. When there has been an issue, Frontline HAS NOT notified us....which has been disappointing.
Read full review Performance No issues reported by end users of slow or not loading pages.
Read full review Support Rating Internal support is provided by EDU Staff based out of Grand Rapids. Whenever I have had an issue they are very responsive to my needs. For instance, there may be conflicts in the amount of money that was listed for the contract. There may be questions about the length of an assignment such as 1/2 day, full day, or early dismissal. The school will sometimes enter the wrong information. Very good IT support, but sometimes you are on hold for 5 to 10 minutes because they do not have enough workers in their Call Center
Read full review Having no experience with Kronos prior to using it in March 2016, their customer service team taught me how to use it the right way after my initial training at work. I am well-versed in data analysis using Excel and Access primarily, so once I discovered that Kronos had a reporting feature built in, I've used the feature quite a few times to help our properties evaluate their production costs and make good labor decisions. I give Kronos a 10 because once a person takes the time to learn how to use the software, they'll realize that Kronos is far more effective than most, and gives users more ways to access their information where and when they want to.
Read full review In-Person Training Our Implementer/Trainer was a product line expert. He (Connor) walked us through every step with confidence and explained everything in detail. Frontline provided written documentation, cut-n-paste emails to staff, and a test environment for us to play in. We were able to test unique scenarios without actually sending emails, notifications, alerts to staff. This was very useful.
Read full review Implementation Rating Our Frontline implementer was an expert in the field & knew the product in & out. We had very little issues going live.
Read full review Alternatives Considered Frontline seems to be the industry standard for this software in the education industry. I am not familiar with any competitors or what was evaluated prior to implementing Frontline. For it to be the industry standard, I would assume that its cost is fair in relation to competitors and that the onboarding process is simple.
Read full review Kronos and Dayforce are the two timekeeping systems I’ve worked with in recent years. Kronos feels a little more comprehensive and is my primary timekeeping tool both for myself as well as my staff. Kronos is a great tool for a wide range of shifts, working locations, and pay codes. In this context, I would pick Kronos over Dayforce. On the opposite side, Dayforce is extremely user-friendly and has a “cleaner” user interface if that is a contributing factor for anyone. Also, for managers who oversee large teams (30-50 team members) then Dayforce is a bit more simple to approve time cards, hours, and leave. Kronos is a bit clunky with all the clicks, and managing large teams of hourly employees would be a huge time suck to go in to review/approve all.
Read full review Scalability Our district has approximately 300 substitutes & 1,800 employees. Size has never been an issue with Absence Management. There are other districts much larger using Absence Management with no problems
Read full review Return on Investment It's given staff direct access to inputting their absences and secure coverage quicker, whereas before they had to make a call to a person. That person had to secure coverage for the entire district at different levels. Sometimes that person was absent or unable to provide coverage. Read full review Kronos is much more expensive than the previous systems we were using, so at this point the ROI is negative. The idea is that it will allow us to scale and grow the company more easily so time will tell if that is the case. Read full review ScreenShots