Kronos leverages social media in new workforce management platform
Kronos has launched a new workforce management tool that, among other things, allows healthcare providers to put social networks to work in the search for new employees.
Workforce Acquisition 8.7, unveiled Tuesday during the HR Technology Conference & Exposition in Chicago, includes several new tools in a platform designed to help healthcare providers configure hourly and salaried hiring. Along with targeted metrics, the solution allows HR departments to configure requisitions, job sites and online applications with Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter accounts.
The use – and abuses – of social media in the healthcare industry have been the subject of much conversation in recent months, as healthcare providers seek to make use of the rapidly growing communications tool and ensure that it can be managed properly. Earlier this week, the Mayo Clinic formed a center for social media to discuss how the technology can be used to promote healthcare, and the topic came up in no fewer than three educational sessions of the American Society For Healthcare Human Resources Administration’s 46th annual conference & exposition in Tampa, Fla.
“Until now, organizations that hire a mix of both hourly and salaried employees have had to choose between the ease-of-use functionality required for high-volume hiring and the features and complexity sought by corporate and field recruiters,” said Bob DelPonte, senior product line director for the Chelmsford, Mass.-based vendors, in a Sept. 29 press release announcing Kronos’ new product. “While some vendors claim to offer the functionality required in a unified solution, they often do not possess the domain expertise to turn potential into reality. As the first vendor to bring to market hiring technology for the frontline workforce, Kronos is yet again re-inventing talent acquisition systems.”
“Even in today's difficult economy, the demand for talent remains a high priority in many industries. This new version of Kronos' Workforce Acquisition solution gives recruiters access to the tools and metrics they need to build their talent pools and optimize their recruiting spend and talent acquisition strategies,” added Madeline Laurano, a principal analyst with Bersin & Associates, in the same press release. “It also offers new salaried functionality providing an easy‐to‐navigate dashboard and putting the information recruiters and hiring managers need at their fingertips.”
At the same time, Kronos announced the availability of version 6.2 of its Workforce Central suite, designed to help healthcare providers and other organizations control labor costs, minimize compliance risk and improve workforce productivity.
Enhanced tools in this suite, according to officials, deal with HR and payroll functions, absence management, time and attendance and labor tracking, labor analytics and forecasting and scheduling.
“One of the reasons that we elected to upgrade to this next version of Workforce Central is that it is even easier to use and makes us more efficient,” said Elizabeth Krahn, payroll manager at the San Diego Hospice and The Institute for Palliative Medicine in San Diego, Calif., in a press release supplied by Kronos. “We have better visibility into overall labor performance and payroll administration, while managers get meaningful guidance to improve efficiency, quality and productivity."
