Performance Support System is “an optimized body of integrated on-line and off-line methods and resources providing what performers need, when they need it, in the form they need it in, so that they can perform in ways that meet organizational objectives” ( Villachica and Stone, 1999) The goal of using a performance support system is expert-like performance from day 1 with little or no training. With the issues facing Brown County in regards to employee time card fraud, the Brown County Board of Commissioners consulted a group of external change agents to do a cost benefit analysis and needs assessment on if a performance system would eliminate the problems facing the Brown County and if so, which system would fit best with the workforce.

After extensive research, Brown County decided to implement the Kronos System. The Kronos System is a business process integration tool, that is a completely automated time and attendance solution to reduce labor costs by enforcing pay and work rules; consistently and accurately across the organization. It provides labor-intensive timecard tracking, data entry, and approval processing is simplified. Which will reduce the administrative time associated with attendance exceptions and employee inquiries, all while minimizing overpayments and compliance risk.

Having a time clock solution that simply tracks employee punches is only the first step, not the final destination, for reducing payroll inflation and manual errors. Kronos® iSeries® Timekeeper is the next generation timekeeping system that will inable Brown County to see, plan, and manage employees’ time, while allowing them to: control labor costs with a consistent application of work and pay rules; reduce compliance risk by enforcing and tracking complex compliance requirements, such as FLSA and union rules; an improve workforce productivity by reducing manual and timely administrative tasks and freeing your staff for more value-added activities

Building the performance support system around the Kronos System that will address the employees of Brown County’s resistance to being ‘micro managed and untrusted’ we will have to employ learning; guidance and tracking; task-structuring support; knowledge management; and communities of practice, tools and motivation.

Learning “refers to changes in the declarative, strategic, and procedural knowledge that people store in long-term memory and demonstrate in performance”. (Jonassen, Beissner, and Yacci, 1993) In today’s workforce continued learning is a fundamental job requirement. The Brown County employees must be made to believe in the new software system and it’s benefits to the county as a whole. We will work with the employees to upgrade their skills, while responding to feedback to the changes. To implement the Kronos System we will provide e-learning employees can do on their own time as well as instructor led courses, mentoring and coaching.

During the implementation process we will offer guidance and tracking of the employee’s understanding of the Kronos System, while also monitoring the learning process. The guidance and tracking component will be used to track the most frequently requested resources, areas of employee concerns, while also monitoring user’s progress. The Kronos System software offers user interface, which allows them to see and interact with the input data and control the operation of the software. The Kronos Systems flow matches that of day to day processes of the employees job, minimize novice training and ensuring experts’ ease of use. INPUT SCREEN SHOTS HERE The sequence of screens, displays, windows, fields and buttons that appear on the Kronos System match the natural workflow and logic of the Brown County employees job. Users will see only the pertinant information and menu options that apply to the task at hand and their individual profiles. This will eliminate wasted time searching for commands and input options, easing the employees’ hesitation with the new process.

Before the Kronos System, payroll staff manually checked and calculated timesheet information before keying in data. Yet, department summary sheets didn’t always match timesheets, or handwriting was illegible, requiring clarification. Knowledge management aspect of a PSS “is about capturing and disseminating intellectual capital and expertise, especially in environments characterized by change or when key workers are leaving and taking vital knowledge with them.” (Gary Dickelman, 2004) Knowledge Management includes searching databases and the collection and dissemination of best practices. The Kronos System is completely automated and easy to use. Because it delivers the high-quality information Brown County needs to make better decisions. The automated processing and self-service tools give employees access to up-to-date time, attendance, and leave information, greatly reducing calls to payroll. And multiple pay rules are automatically and accurately applied, helping ensure that employees are paid correctly. Time previously spent manually calculating timesheets is now devoted to analysis and oversight. The next step in building the performance support system around the implementation of the Kronos System would be to develop a community of practice. A community of practice is a group created to capture and share expertise, methods, tools and techniques around the Kronos System. “Members are generally self-selected and share an evolving culture, language, vocabulary, stories, and agreement on the best practices. (Pershing, 2006) This will provide a platform for informal learning and give a positive voice implementation of Kronos to the workforce.

The Kronos System provides tools within the software to reduce or eliminate routine, time consuming tasks, while freeing up the employee to do what they are hired to do. INPUT SAMPLES OF NOTEPADS, CALCULATORS OR OTHER KRONOS TOOLS
Having well designed tools can eliminate or reduce the required training on the new software along with increase proficiency exponentially.

With the employees of Brown County resistance to the implementation of the Kronos System, motivation is the final and most important component of the performance support system implementation. “Users must actively choose to perform their job tasks, persist until they are completed, and invest the appropriate level of mental effort to complete them to standard.’(Condly, Clark, and Stolovitch, 2003) Appropriate performances need to be reinforced in meaningful ways so they will continue to occur in the future. If implementation of the Kronos System can show the employees positive benefits for its use, while not seeming to micro manage or mistrust employees actions, they will be motivated to participate in its success.