TheCo-operative
groupis to use a new workforce management
system in a major project to enhance operational efficiency in its
2,200 UK food stores.
The
Kronos system will record the working hours of 55,000 staff
using
biometric data collection terminals, which will be installed in
stores in a rolling programme over the next two years.
The fully automated time and attendance system, which uses
finger scan verification, will replace the current system used by
the group's food retail operation that requires some information to
be keyed in at store level.
The key benefits of the new system include faster and more
efficient management of store staffing requirements, which can help
reduce costs, as well as giving managers in the field and at head
office easier access to important information on longer-term
staffing trends and patterns.
The system will also reduce the time spent on manual activities
such as time capture, employee scheduling and absence management,
and ensure compliance with legal requirements on break rules,
maximum weekly hours and minimum rest times.
Mark Hale, the group's director of food retail information
services, said, "We wanted a system that would be able to handle
efficiently and accurately the huge amount of information that
needs to be processed, and the Kronos system fitted the bill."
The Co-operative group is currently half-way through a
multi-million pound food store refurbishment programme.
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