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April 29, 2015
Empcenter was deployed across the entire organization. We implemented SAP from a legacy system and due to the complexity and diversity of our hourly work rules, we needed a time and attendance system that was more agile than SAP to change rules. We researched half a dozen different products and landed on Empcenter as the best fit. We have 33 distinct payroll areas that had different rules to be applied. Due to aggressive acquisitions in the past, the company had those business units grandfather their rules when they were purchased. We need the flexibility of Empcenter rule writing to accommodate that diversity of rules. We also had very robust reporting requirements which were in part satisfied by their "canned" reporting but was extensible via the crystal reporting that was included.
The entire selection through implementation lasted about 18 months with a good solid year on the implementation. We used Workforce as our implementation partner to help us configure everything. They did the majority of configuration but worked with us in the knowledge transfer moving forward so we could make changes as needed in the future. Overall the system performed as we expected and were quite happy with the implementation and functionality. We purchased 150 physical time clocks as part of the package and we had very little problems getting them deployed across the enterprise. I would say that the only thing that was surprising was their internal table structures made it difficult (not impossible) to create custom reports at times. Our staff was used to writing query statements but some got quite involved when getting a lot of disparate data. This can certainly happen in other systems as well.
Overall our users took to the system quite well. They were used to coming from a system that had been highly customized for them so we were afraid of some change management issues. However, the old system was more green screen like and since we lost little if any functionality, the training and change management went quite well.
The entire selection through implementation lasted about 18 months with a good solid year on the implementation. We used Workforce as our implementation partner to help us configure everything. They did the majority of configuration but worked with us in the knowledge transfer moving forward so we could make changes as needed in the future. Overall the system performed as we expected and were quite happy with the implementation and functionality. We purchased 150 physical time clocks as part of the package and we had very little problems getting them deployed across the enterprise. I would say that the only thing that was surprising was their internal table structures made it difficult (not impossible) to create custom reports at times. Our staff was used to writing query statements but some got quite involved when getting a lot of disparate data. This can certainly happen in other systems as well.
Overall our users took to the system quite well. They were used to coming from a system that had been highly customized for them so we were afraid of some change management issues. However, the old system was more green screen like and since we lost little if any functionality, the training and change management went quite well.
- A lot flexibility in configuration of the system
- works well with other systems. We were able to collect data from another time system, Avaya phone systems and even a point of sale system with not a lot of difficulty.
- They know their product and integration points. They were able to troubleshoot problems with hardware time collection devices quite quickly. We found the devices they sold to be quite durable.
- Out of the box they have more reports than I would have anticipated. Creating new reports was sometimes a task if it was complex but there were usually similar reports you could use as a starter template
- Specifically I am not sure it is possible but the table structure was complex and hard to create complex reports
- The configuration is not intuitive. However, making it more intuitive would probably add a considerable amount of overhead for processing
- I thought that some of the screens could be combined in certain cases.
April 08, 2015
EmpCenter was implemented across our entire campus to serve as a time keeping system for all employees. This system allows for us to keep time electronically and load the reported work hours into our payment system. Previously we were using a home grown timeclock program for parts of campus and only some employee types, student employees. This has allowed us to move away from paper processing of time sheets to an electronic web based system.
- EmpCenter is accessible from many platforms, such as, web based computer interface, physical wall clock units, and smart phones and tablet products; making it convient and accessible from many different work locations and operational needs.
- The product is customizable so it can be made to work with different needs and desires of a company. For example we have some employees who clock in and out for lunch and some who do not. We have employees who report work hours and some who only report leave time used. Being flexible in this way allows the program to address the many different employee types we pay.
- The display is user friendly, organized and easy to follow. EmpCenter's main Dashboard screen breaks down the different activities one may want to do into catagories, time sheets are able to be displayed in three different views and printed with different information included or not depending on the users needs and wishes. Reports are available in four different print formats. Most activities are able to be customized by sorting, view type, format, etc.
- EmpCenter's report features need improvement. While it is nice that the user has several options for the format to receive the report in and with a recent update reports can be scheduled to run and be printed or emailed to the user or someone else of their choosing on a regular basis, daily, weekly, monthly. The reports never seem to have all of the information you need on one report and need a lot of manipulating to get the results you actually need. For example we have reports with employees names that show total hours worked, but don't include rates of pay or the job title. When employees have more than one job or rate for the work they are preforming you don't get that breakdown of information with their total hours worked. Another report includes three ways of reporting the same total hours but don't all round the same so, for example the total clocked hours may show 34.3 hours and the work study hours on the same report that should match round to 34.2. We have asked for certain data to be added to certain reports such as a supervisor name and it seems to be such a task for that to be provided and a high cost we are not getting these request met.
- Management of time sheets when a supervisor has many employees is difficult. EmpCenter only allows for one manager to be named for each employee. In most settings this may make sense but in our environment in particular with student employees we often have more than one person who oversee different aspects of that employees work and both need access to their records. In our Housing and Dining department we have three managers who are together overseeing several hundred student employees. One manager may be primarily responsible for the employees pay rates and evaluations while another scheduling and they may not all be working at the same time. Because only one of them can have access to an employee’s time sheet if that person is not in and an employee needs assistance with something in EmpCenter the other managers can't help them. Also the display only shows up to 500 employees or assignments. We have some units who have up to eight different assignments for one employee. These areas will have several employees each with several different assignments which means several individual time sheets. This all will result in more than 500 and the supervisor has to use a search feature to get to the employees who do not display in their more user friendly list. Also this many assignments results in many time sheets and the clock times report separately for each and do not combine into one larger complete time sheet so each must be managed separately. It would be nice if there was a view that combined all hours into one time sheet view. Finally on this note when a supervisor is approving time they can only approve one time sheet per employee at a time so they have to do mass amounts of approvals and ultimately simply don't approve time sheets when they are dealing with so many.
- Probably our largest problem is that when we do have programming that is not working properly or aspects of the system that we would like improved it is difficult to get those corrections made and made in a timely manner. I do not work directly with the company, but it has taken a few payroll cycles to get programming fixed for some things causing a lot of manual work in my area to pay employees correctly. If anyone is looking at purchasing this product I advise that they be very clear and detailed upfront with what they are getting and what is included in the cost they are being quoted. Because this is a customizable program you buy an off the shelf basic and the company works with you to price what programming will be done from there. Things we thought were covered we are finding are not and it is very costly to add other programming to our contract. I often feel it is not a high priority for them to resolve problems we are experiencing however it is very important for us and the work we are trying to do.
- We also have problems with access to the system in different ways and needing more roles. EmpCenter has a role for a user who only has access to certain activity such as reporting their time and requesting time off, a role as a manager who can approve time off and time sheets and see their employees records, and a super user role who has more administrative access to override things and handle some of the errors and issue we may experience. in my role I am an administrator for several different areas of the campus and need to access the system at a higher level to assist employees and managers but can only have the manager role but with wider access granted. So by this I mean that I see the features a manager sees but am seen as a manager of all employees in several areas on campus where the other manager role is restricted to just that managers employees alone. In this sense I suppose this is a fourth role the system allows, but I can't do any more actions than a manager can i can just see more people. The super user role is not granted because it is at such a higher level that they can actually effect programming and this role is highly restricted so that users don't inadvertently corrupt the program. I feel there needs to be one more layer in between the super user level and the manager level. I would like to be able to delete time when employees have clocked in by mistake and simply want that removed or when there are more minor problems with a record that I can't correct. Also when a manager is out and has not delegated their employees to someone else to manage I would like to be able to make that delegation so that someone in the unit can review, correct and approve time in place of that supervisor who is gone.
- Overall we have had many problems with things not working right and trying to get the system to calculate properly, finding ways to get information we need from it, and managing and using it. I am sure these are general growing pains anyone would have when transitioning an entire university to a new electronic system, but it has been a difficult first year. If you are thinking of implementing this program have a good communication plan, someone who is the lead and will get things taken care of when they need to be, and clear roles and responsibilities lined out so that everyone knows who does what and who to go to when there is a problem.
April 08, 2015
Corporate implemented EmpCenter in order to make timekeeping smoother for payroll processing. The software has been rolled out incrementally throughout the company. EmpCenter is a more user friendly software allowing employees the ability to record their own time as needed. This means workers who are called in on a weekend may better ensure their time is entered rather than relying on payroll personnel. In addition, payroll administrators are better able to track employee hours and ensure that when an employee is missing a clock in/ out, for example, that the error is corrected and the employee is paid accurately.
- As stated EmpCenter is more user friendly making time entry smoother and sometimes faster.
- EmpCenter allows managers to track their employees time and address any issues they may see - for example patterns of tardiness.
- Employees are more empowered with the software because they can now take ownership of their time.
- One feature I would like to see on EmpCenter is a vacation calendar that monitors all vacation requests for all employees within a group.
- EmpCenter is not wholly compatible with other softwares and there are occasions when time data does not properly translate.
- Moreover, I would like EmpCenter to automatically provide timekeepers with delegations from managers. This way if a manger does not want to grant the timekeeper authority it is easier to rescind, rather than tracking down all managers to grant timekeeping privileges.
Until a year ago we still used paper time sheets and each month hours were manually entered into Banner for our University to pay our employees. We decided it was finally time to start using an electronic system for employees to keep track of work time and paid leave.
We began using EmpCenter about 1 year ago and rolled it out over 6 months to all of our employees. Our payroll is confusing because we have Classified (Union) employees, Faculty, Students, etc., so many types of employees with various levels of eligible leave and overtime rules. We had to find a system that work for all of these types of employees but was still affordable (we are a State university) and easy for our end users and worked with Banner.
So far EmpCenter has been a work in progress. Many of the things we thought would be easier have become easier over time. Although the implementation has not been as smooth as we wanted and some of the items we were told would be easy to program have not been as easy as we thought and have cost us more money. Although, overall, it has been a system that is more accurate in recording time than our previous paper time sheets and makes us more compliant with things like overtime eligibility.
We began using EmpCenter about 1 year ago and rolled it out over 6 months to all of our employees. Our payroll is confusing because we have Classified (Union) employees, Faculty, Students, etc., so many types of employees with various levels of eligible leave and overtime rules. We had to find a system that work for all of these types of employees but was still affordable (we are a State university) and easy for our end users and worked with Banner.
So far EmpCenter has been a work in progress. Many of the things we thought would be easier have become easier over time. Although the implementation has not been as smooth as we wanted and some of the items we were told would be easy to program have not been as easy as we thought and have cost us more money. Although, overall, it has been a system that is more accurate in recording time than our previous paper time sheets and makes us more compliant with things like overtime eligibility.
- Requesting time off.
- Recording of time.
- We have many different employees with different eligibility for leave and overtime pay and it has not been as easy for us to set all of these different employee up.
- The log in screen is tiny, could be larger for easier viewing.
- For employees that have more than 1 job or change jobs from term to term or throughout the year there are some difficulties with those transitions.
- Instead of Enter My Hours, it should say My Timesheet. Most of our employees are salaried and only used EmpCenter for leave requests for time off. If they want to view their time sheet Enter My Hours does not seem like the appropriate name.
WorkForce Suite Scorecard Summary
What is WorkForce Suite?
WorkForce focuses exclusively on the workforce management needs of today’s complex enterprise, including time and attendance, employee self-service, time capture, scheduling, pre shift health screening, labor forecasting, workforce analytics, employee productivity and labor tracking and absence leave and accommodation management. Whether employees are global, unionized, full-time, part-time, mobile, or seasonal, the WorkForce Suite is designed to make managing a workforce easy, more rewarding, and less costly.
Categories: Workforce Management
WorkForce Suite Competitors
WorkForce Suite Technical Details
| Operating Systems: | Unspecified |
|---|---|
| Mobile Application: | No |
Frequently Asked Questions
What is WorkForce Suite?
The EmpCenter suite from Workforce Software headquartered in Michigan is a workforce management for managing complex time and attendance needs integrable with Core HR and payroll systems.
What are WorkForce Suite's top competitors?
ADP Workforce Now, Ceridian Dayforce, and UKG Ready (formerly Kronos Workforce Ready) are common alternatives for WorkForce Suite.
Who uses WorkForce Suite?
The most common users of WorkForce Suite are Enterprises from the Oil & Energy industry.