Kronos is a leading global player offering workforce management solutions via cloud. The company has a footprint across 100 countries and provides cloud-based workforce solutions which help industries control labour costs, minimise compliance risk, and improve workforce productivity. In an interview with tele.net, Ashok Saxena, managing director (MD), Kronos, India talks about company?s services portfolio, challenges facing the company and its growth plans.
Edited excerpts?
How has been Kronos journey in India? How important is the Indian market for the company?
India is a key market for Kronos and this is evident from the fact that we have seen double-digit growth in the country over the last few years. This has been a factor both of our thorough approach to evaluating the Indian market as well as the fact the country is still at an early stage of growth within the global workforce management industry. The company is on track to grow its footprint in the domestic market, focusing on the manufacturing, retail, and service industries. Kronos is tapping business opportunities offered by these industries through innovative business models and aggressive client acquisitions.
How has the landscape for workforce management solutions in India evolved in the past few years?
India as a market offers transformational opportunities for companies operating in the realm of workforce management solutions. The country is at the forefront of technology adoption as it is currently using digital technology disruptors like the cloud, big data, and the internet of everything and their underlying applications to create real interventions that spur economic growth efficiently and accelerate social inclusion equitably. However, a key challenge is that we have too few skilled laborers, thanks to decades of neglect in training, workforce management technologies and best practices. As a country, India has always celebrated knowledge and intellect instead of skills – the primary driver of manufacturing growth.
India?s traditional offshore model that played its labour arbitrage advantage to great success is now a thing of the past. Companies today prefer an outsourcing model that includes a mix of knowledge, high-quality service delivery capabilities and low costs and mostly in that order. The other alternative for companies that want to enter markets where automation is not feasible, or those that don?t want to make large capital investments, is workforce management technologies. Indian companies, particularly, in the manufacturing, healthcare, and services sectors are increasingly embracing the benefits of using workforce management solutions, using solutions that control labor costs, minimise compliance risk, improve workforce productivity, and provide visibility into labor-related metrics. Such agile organisations can yield a three to five per cent savings in payroll costs.
With a labor force of 467 million workers within organisations that typically rely on manual processes to manage the time and attendance process, India represents a tremendous opportunity for companies to revolutionise the way they manage their workforces, streamline costs, and derive greater business value with labor being one of the largest controllable expenses for organisations, representing as much as 60 per cent of their budget.
What are some of the innovative cloud-based work force management solutions being developed at Kronos India?
Kronos today globally has over 14,000 customers using the company?s cloud solutions. Kronos India research and development (R&D) centre is closely integrated with global R&D, and has helped to generate innovative, cloud based solutions solving complex workforce management problems. Some products that have been developed in collaboration with the global team are Kronos flagship products such as Kronos InTouch time clocks, a new user experience and analytics applications delivering the various functionalities by enabling complete automation and easy to own devices.
What challenges are faced by the company while doing business in India?
Complex regulations often make companies fearful of expanding labour because it will cost too much to deal with the overhead. Though we have seen many organisations becoming more serious about addressing the growing cost of skilled labour in India, in terms of policy there has been no significant development on creating a progressive environment that encourages investment in workforce management solutions. However, India is at an inflection point regarding the adoption of workforce management solution in an environment where managing employees involves lot of complexities, not due to issues regarding wages, but on account of the absence of a progressive regulatory environment.
What are the company?s growth and investment plans for its Indian business in the near future?
Kronos has established its new R&D facility in Noida, representing the company?s culture of inspiration and innovation. The new state-of-the-art Kronos facility at Okaya Blue Silicon in Noida can accommodate 800 Kronos employees. The new workspace supports Kronos? continued growth in India, with space to accommodate highly skilled software engineers and services professionals.
