Kronos(R) Innovation in Biometrics Leads to Tangible ROI; Kronos 4500 Touch ID(TM) Terminals Eliminate ''Buddy Punching'' and Provide Enhanced Self-Service Functionality

CHELMSFORD, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--July 18, 2005--Nucleus Research, an independent research organization, has discovered what Kronos(R) Incorporated (Nasdaq: KRON) customers already know -- the Kronos 4500 Touch ID(TM) terminals deliver significant ROI. Nucleus Research found that these kiosk-like terminals help organizations save, on average, 2.2 percent of gross payroll annually, by using innovative biometric technology to eliminate "buddy punching". With the use of employee self-service through the terminals' unique Smart View(TM) transactions, they also are able to help organizations save as much as $210 per employee per year. More than 1,000,000 employees from organizations such as Chicago Public Schools, Cox Enterprises, Fossil, and Montefiore Medical Center use a Kronos 4500 Touch ID terminal everyday.

"Since this is the first study that has been conducted to determine the ROI of biometrics, we were unsure as to what the results would be," said Ian Campbell, chief executive officer at Nucleus Research. "However, we were able to easily determine that biometric technology, when added to Kronos' data collection terminals, delivers significant ROI across the enterprise. Based on this and other ROI reports, we know that Kronos delivers innovative solutions to help customers quickly reap the benefits of implementing workforce management technology."

“Like most organizations, we knew we had a problem with buddy punching, but we had no way to prove it. We also knew that if we didn't take immediate action to solve the problem, our budget was going to suffer”

Eliminate buddy punching

"Buddy punching", or employees inappropriately entering time and labor data for each other, is a problem that many organizations face but are unable to prove or determine its financial ramifications. Nucleus Research found that 74 percent of organizations experience payroll losses directly related to buddy punching. To overcome this problem, organizations are using the Kronos 4500 Touch ID terminals. These terminals eliminate the costs associated with buddy punching, which, for an organization with 5,000 employees, can account for more than $4 million annually.

"Like most organizations, we knew we had a problem with buddy punching, but we had no way to prove it. We also knew that if we didn't take immediate action to solve the problem, our budget was going to suffer," said Mike Edwards, deputy chief fiscal officer at Chicago Public Schools. Chicago Public Schools, with more than 65,000 employees, installed the Kronos 4500 Touch ID terminals across its organization to overcome the issue of buddy punching. "With the use of the innovative biometric technology offered by Kronos, we are able to ensure we are getting work for the hours we're paying and that our budget money is being spent on providing quality education for our students," continued Edwards.

Engage employees with self-service functionality

While employee-self service is typically reserved for professional workers, many organizations are providing this functionality across the enterprise. These organizations have found that providing their entire workforce, including hourly employees, with self-service functionality that was once reserved only for those with access to a PC improves efficiencies, increases productivity, and enhances employee satisfaction and retention.

Nucleus Research found that automating work-related processes such as viewing accrual balances, schedules, timecards, and even time off request directly from the terminal, can save employees an average of 15 minutes per month; managers an average of three hours per employee each year; and HR an average of five hours per employee per week.

Embrace technology innovation

In addition to the Nucleus Research study on the value that the Kronos 4500 Touch ID terminal delivers, it also was honored with the BiometriTech Product of the Year award for the past two consecutive years. This award recognizes the year's most significant new product releases and honors those that played key roles in the advancement of the biometric security solutions industry.

Another innovative feature of Kronos 4500 Touch ID terminals is the use of standard HTML Smart View transactions to deliver self-service capabilities to organizations. Employees can view accrual balances, schedules, and timecards; request time off; and access pay-stub data, messages, surveys, and upcoming events from other business applications. And because Smart View transactions are pre-configured, they reduce the time and effort that IT might normally need to dedicate to automating these processes. The terminal's seamless integration with the workforce management solutions available in the Kronos Workforce Central(TM) suite also reduces total cost of ownership.

"Incorporating biometric technology and self-service capabilities into our data collection devices is just another example of our commitment to leveraging innovative technology to constantly provide more value to our customers," said Peter George, chief technology officer at Kronos Incorporated. "Until recently, these features were viewed as futuristic. However, employees and organizations are realizing the many benefits of incorporating this technology into their every day lives. And, based on the fact that more than 30 percent of our data collection terminals are sold with the biometric option, we know acceptance of this technology is growing rapidly."

For more information regarding Kronos solutions call (800) 225-1561. For more information regarding Nucleus Research, please visit www.nucleusresearch.com.

About Kronos Incorporated

Kronos Incorporated is the most trusted name in workforce management. Kronos helps organizations staff, develop, deploy, track, and reward their workforce, resulting in reduced costs, increased productivity, better decision-making, improved employee satisfaction, and alignment with organizational objectives. More than 20 million people use a Kronos solution every day. Learn more about Kronos' high-impact enterprise solutions at www.kronos.com.

(C) 2005 Kronos Incorporated. Kronos and the Kronos logo are registered trademarks and Workforce Central, Kronos 4500 Touch ID, and Smart View are trademarks of Kronos Incorporated or a related company. All other product and company names mentioned are used for identification purposes only and may be trademarks of their respective owners.