ARRA Brings Opportunity

May 2009 , Sponsored by Kronos Incorporated

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) of 2009 will present great opportunities to state and local governments. It also will bring tremendous responsibilities. While ARRA will provide economic stimulus to create jobs and aid financial recovery, it also will require unprecedented levels of transparency, oversight, and accountability as to how government agencies spend the funds.

State and local governments - and educational institutions - will need a higher level of information tracking and reporting. But how will organizations respond? How quickly? How can they track new workers and efficiently report - with the appropriate level of detail - how funds are being spent? These are key questions that must be answered.

Because of this urgent new challenge, state and local governments need a comprehensive workforce management system that helps control labor costs and minimize compliance risks while improving transparency and accountability.

Kronos has been providing these kinds of solutions to government organizations for years. Working with Kronos, government agencies have found a solution that's completely automated, centralized, and dependable. It's less expensive than other methods and can be deployed quickly. The solution provides high-quality information, improves workforce productivity, and brings substantial cost savings.

Centralized control and automation greatly reduce administrative time. And the Kronos solution helps ensure that workers are not over-allocated to a certain project, are paid correctly, and are granted accurate leave and vacation time. Kronos also helps managers plan for future staffing levels, overtime, and other workforce issues. By streamlining processes in workforce timekeeping and reporting, Kronos helps an organization focus on its core mission. And it can be a critical enabler in tracking and reporting how ARRA funds are spent.

A Good Fit

More than 40 percent of state and local operational budgets pertain to labor costs. And with ARRA creating or saving more than 3.5 million jobs over the next two years, new employees will be added throughout government agencies and contracting organizations.

Kronos helps track new workers, controlling labor costs and numerous other key areas that are critical to ARRA success for state and local governments. These include reporting on time and effort related to grants, having detailed visibility and control of the workforce, and providing transparency and accountability.

Prior to ARRA's passage, state CI Os polled by the National Association of State Chief Information Officers had already named their priorities for 2009. Many of those priorities touched on the same issues raised by ARRA. These include consolidation and centralization of technology, controlling costs, meeting budget goals, and improving transparency. Meeting these goals will be much easier with a solid workforce management tool.

Kronos also is popular with educational institutions. That's because as much as 80 percent of operational budgets for K-12 and higher education are tied to labor. Education needs the same assurances as state and local governments that funds are being spent properly, and labor is a big part of that.

The strength of the Kronos system is its focus on automation and centralization. Complete automation eliminates paper and manual work, and speeds processes. It aids compliance with union contracts, and with laws such as the Fair Labor Standards Act and the Family and Medical Leave Act. Centralization puts the data in one place, where it can be easily viewed, analyzed, and reported.

Four Key ARRA Challenges

State and local governments must use and track ARRA funds wisely. Following are four crucial concerns:

Track New Workers and Control Labor Costs: Governments need to control costs, and labor significantly contributes to those costs. Kronos can accurately track and report on employees, giving a complete view of what the workforce is doing. It helps manage overtime, reduce over-scheduling, and comply with rules and regulations.