Today we celebrate the 35th anniversary of Kronos.  If you'd like to learn more about that history, click here to check us out.   You can read the latest and greatest from our press and bloggers here.

Here are my top 5 reasons for continuing to come to work here every day:

  1. My Team - hard workers and a pleasure to work with - every one of them!
  2. My Colleagues - the culture of this company is one of teamwork, first and foremost.  I rely on and learn from my coworkers every day.
  3. My Boss - Smart, results-focused and a sense of humor.  My kind of guy.
  4. My Work - variety, intellectual challenge and the opportunity to impact the success of the company.  I'm as engaged as I could possibly be.
  5. They didn't fire me on my first day - On my first day at Kronos I was late - TO A TIME & ATTENDANCE COMPANY - and nobody gave me a hard time about it.

Happy anniversary, Kronos.  And thanks for having me.

This week's cartoon is hitting home for me.  It's performance review time at Kronos and we're using two new tools to pull it off.  I don't keep track of employee feedback on my hand currently, but am still a bit daunted by applying new tools to an already significant project.  I try my best to coach and comment throughout the year, and I keep track of items I want to include in these reviews.  There's no doubt about it, though, I will always dislike applying a number to someone's performance, especially if it has to comply to the bell curve.

If you are involved in workforce planning, or even just an interested bystander, our board member Sue Meisinger has sent along the current draft of a standard, written by a taskforce of HR professionals and experts, that will help employers determine future hiring needs. The standard includes guidelines for workforce planning governance, process, metrics, and data that HR professionals can use to help run their organizations effectively.  Visit here to view and comment on the workforce planning draft standard.

Our board member David Creelman shared this  McKinsey video on using big data to drive decisions.

Great Kronos customer case study in the news - Cavender's Boot City.

From the world outside of Kronos...

Interesting SuccessFactors survey on social media, talent acquisition challenges, and intergenerational differences in the workplace (we boomers are the least demanding, FYI..make love not war!)

The UK is looking to improve employee engagement proactively.

Watch your Tweets - they could get you fired!

Want to be the boss? Don't smile The theory is that by witholding approval you project authority.  I don't buy it. ;-}

Looking For Future-Proof Employees http://ow.ly/eF6ln via @hrbartender

For Older Workers, Here Is Where the Jobs Will Be http://ow.ly/eF6K5 via @WSJ

#Halloween Can Be a Career Builder http://ow.ly/eF76M via @WSJ

Bosses Boost Productivity, But In Surprising Ways http://ow.ly/eF6Ti via @WSJ

#Social Resources: It's all about the People http://ow.ly/eHfXu via @RobinSchooling

Leadership Loop: 1 in 4 Workers Will be Over the Age of 55 by 2018 http://ow.ly/eI59c via @blogging4jobs

Kronos Tweets of interest this week:

Social Support and Mister Splashy Pants http://ow.ly/eI67a via @SmarterCafe (You have to read something with "Mister Splashy Pants" in the title, don't you?)

#Kronos Announces #KronosWorks12, the World's Largest Workforce Management Event Ever: http://ow.ly/eFyD0

[CASE STUDY] Valley Power Systems Extends #Kronos #Cloud-Hosted, #Mobile Solution to Manage Field #Workforce http://ow.ly/eHd4d

This was a big week at Kronos.  We celebrated our 35th year in operation at our headquarters in Chelmsford.  You can read our press release about the festivities or check out what the  local paper, the Lowell Sun, had to say.

The Presidential debate was in the news this week.  Mitt Romney generated a new meme "Binders Full of Women". Our board member, Ruth Bramson, was quoted this week in an Associated Press story on this topic: "The way it worked was not quite the way it was described last night," said Ruth Bramson, who was hired as Romney's chief human resource officer after her resume was spotted in a binder. "He was half-right.  Governor Romney was a tremendous proponent of bringing women into the state. There's no doubt about it," Bramson said. "But the impetus for this was not Governor Romney, but this other organization, MassGAP." Ruth was CHRO during Governor Romney's administration.

That we're still discussing the need for focus on women's unique issues in the workplace is a constant reminder that there's still work to be done.  Some companies, like PWC, are taking creative approaches to addressing those needs.  Check out this post on their  Mentor Moms program.

Other items of interest this week:

Good article on the Workday IPO - and why enterprise business software remains complex to sell, even in the Cloud.

The holidays are coming and the associated seasonal hiring is beginning!

Temporary staffing demand is expected to hit historical highs in 2013.

Lots on employee engagement this week.  Maybe the rising Dow is causing more restlessness than usual?

http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/10/15/workdays-ipo-the-incumbents-are-not-prepared/?emc=eta

And from my fellow Kronites:

Evelyn and Kim: http://ow.ly/eAIx2 via @SmarterCafe

Oversharing: http://ow.ly/eAIEq via @SmarterCafe

It's a Small World After All...http://ow.ly/eAIJI via @SmarterCafe

Technology Touch in Vegas http://ow.ly/eAIPR via @SmarterCafe

It's a matter of judgment…http://ow.ly/eAIVx via @SReeseRNMBA

No Hot Dogging. There is more to business than just showing up. http://ow.ly/ezI1W via @TheCurveInsider

Connect to your peers at #KronosWorks12! Opt-in to the brand new Event Connection http://ow.ly/exVlw

We're having a big week here at Kronos.  It's our 35th anniversary as a company this week, and over 160 of our international sales and marketing employees are here to kick off our new fiscal year.  My colleagues Michele and Chris and their teams did a fantastic job yesterday creating opportunities for the 1000+ employees in our Chelmsford location to meet their colleagues from around the world.

We had a grand opening for our newly-decked-out Kronos Technology Center with our Governor, Congresswoman and a variety of local dignitaries in attendance.  This was followed by a fair hosted by our international colleagues with food and mementos of their home countries.  That's me sporting a ceremonial hat and bindi below.

Especially as a technology company, we spend a lot of time connecting with each other via technology.  It's awfully nice to have the opportunity to meet in person once in a while.

Of the interesting articles we've come across this week, this one really made me stop and think.  In his blog post from Harvard Business Review titled  Do Your Employees Make You a Better Manager?,  Michael Schrage asks Which employee had the biggest positive impact on who you are today? Schrage is making the point that managers are influenced by the people they manage, and that they should be more proactive about asking for feedback from employees that will help them develop their leadership skills.

I've been managing other people for almost 20 years, and I've learned something from each of them.  Whether that was enriching my domain knowledge (Leo, Amy, Jay, Jack, Wendy), encouraging me to slow down and digest the details before deciding (Barry, Tim), or corralling customers spinning out of control (Ted!), I've become a more effective business person for having known them.  And Terri, pictured here at HR Tech this week, taught me the fundamentals of services marketing many years ago at Lotus.   She allowed me to fake it till I made it - which opened up new worlds for me.  Thanks to all of you!

Here are more clips for your reading pleasure:

The Craziest Excuses Workers Use When Calling In Sick http://ow.ly/eoPae via @TLNT_com @johnhollon

#HREOnline: Maximizing the Value of Frontline Leaders http://ow.ly/eoAG2 via @SueMeisinger @HRExecMag

Too Many Geezers? Companies Hire Young Workers to Change Brand http://ow.ly/eozbn via @blogging4jobs @MikeHaberman

More People Over 65 Are Still Working http://ow.ly/eoPJl via @WSJ

Attention Employers: Don't Sleep On Workers' Insomnia http://ow.ly/eoQsb via @TIMEBusiness

And from my friends at Kronos:

Workforce Management Maturity Evolution Part 4 - Innovate: http://ow.ly/eoOnx via @fmoreno44

Here, There, and Everywhere: http://ow.ly/eoOsF via @SmarterCafe

Sales Kickoff Serendipity: http://ow.ly/eoOvV via @SmarterCafe

New Time Well Spent #Cartoon: http://ow.ly/eoyCf #Cloud #CloudComputing #KronosCloud

Check out our pictures from #HRTechConf: http://ow.ly/eoIN1

It's been raining all week here in the Boston area, but the sun is finally out today and the BLS says unemployment has dropped to 7.8% - a 3 1/2 year low. The main thing I'm thinking about as this week draws to a close is my trip next week to Orlando.  No, I won't be visiting the divine rodent, but I will be enjoying our annual sales kickoff with several hundred revved up members of our field organization.  We had a great FY12 and all signs point to an equally successful year ahead.  Higher employment is good for everybody, but especially if you make your living in workforce management.

Interesting stuff on the radar this week:

We think of using customer testimonials to get new customers…but what about to inspire employees?

Finding a link between HR and the history of tuna fish is no small feat.

Regardless of who you were rooting for, the presidential debate on Wednesday night was all about jobs - and who considers who a “job killer”. The Kronos Retail Labor Index came out this week and showed that hiring remains sluggish in the retail industry - at least for now.

SHRM is doing a cool video series. This one has an interview with Tom Brokaw about generational differences in the workplace, a topic we've talked about in the past with Meagan and Larry Johnson, authors of Generations, Inc.

Technology: Finding the Better Way http://ow.ly/e7GMM via @Ray_anne @blogging4jobs

More jobs for class of 2013 than class of 2012 http://ow.ly/e9udE via @TodayMoney

The Technology Storm: Where We Learn http://ow.ly/e9v0g via @Ray_anne @blogging4jobs

RT @HRTechConf: Build your daily #HrTechConf schedule, browse sessions & exhibitors. - ow.ly/dmllv

RT @williamtincup: Thanks to the #hrtechconf sponsors: @Globoforce @Peoplefluent @RandstadSRUS @UltimateHCM @KronosInc @HireIQinc @Dayforce @Decusoft

What Does It Take to Create a Successful Company: http://ow.ly/ebrBG via @hrbartender

RT @williamtincup: #hrtechconf - Speakers bit.ly/QZ9rIl - Sponsors bit.ly/UPyB0c - Exhibitors bit.ly/Pfwz6X

Employees Make It Clear: Here's What They Need to Really be Engaged ow.ly/ebv97 via @TLNT_com

Survey: 75% of Workers Are Accessing Social Media While on the Job http://ow.ly/edqCa via @TLNT_com

In tech jobs market, data analysis is tops http://ow.ly/edtNF via @USATODAY #bigdata

Check out my fellow social(media)ites at Kronos:

Stop by the #Kronos booth (820+822) & learn more about our solutions for #logistics http://ow.ly/e9tur #supplychain #CSCMP2012

New Time Well Spent #Cartoon: http://ow.ly/e9to2 #Cloud #KronosCloud

The Forecast is Cloudy - and That's Good http://ow.ly/e9vd5 via @WF_Institute #Cloud #KronosCloud

The Times They Are A-Changin' - Part 2 ow.ly/e9vik via @SmarterCafe

#Kronos Announces Latest Version of #TeleStaff Public Safety #Scheduling Solution: htt://ow.ly/ebwKb

A miracle doesn't occur after a training course to produce business results. http://ow.ly/ebJhz via @SmarterCafe

Fewer People Applying For #Jobs In The #Retail Sector http://ow.ly/edqLe

New from @TheCurveInsider: Don't Bring a Pillow to a Knife Fight http://ow.ly/edq3K

Cloudy Dayz - The latest reports and predictions: http://ow.ly/edr8b via @ToddBlackHRMS #Cloud #KronosCloud #CloudComputing #HRTechConf

Joyce Maroney at Lunch with DriveThruHR 10/04 by Wempen and Tincup | #dthr #hrtech #saas http://ow.ly/edD58 @WF_Institute

I had a good chat with William Tincup today on DriveThru HR Radio today.  We talked about what's new at Kronos (lots of Cloud).  With HR Tech and KronosWorks on the horizon, it's a  busy time of year for us.  Given how much time I've spent at industry conferences, I shared some insider information about what we vendors hope to get out of these shows.  You might also want to check out these tips from Naomi Bloom about how to make the most of your time at these events.

If you want to learn more about the hairdo part of this post, you'll have to listen in here:

http://www.blogtalkradio.com/btrplayer.swf?file=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.blogtalkradio.com%2Fdrivethruhr%2F2012%2F10%2F04%2Fjoyce-maroney-at-lunch-with-drivethruhr%2Fplaylist.xml&autostart=false&bufferlength=5&volume=80&corner=rounded&callback=http://www.blogtalkradio.com/flashplayercallback.aspx

Listen to internet radio with Wempen and Tincup on Blog Talk Radio

Kronos customers like Coca-Cola bottling company are putting their trust in us to manage their Kronos environment for them in the cloud.  As has always been the case with technology solutions, organizations need to be clear on their own objectives and priorities before moving to cloud solutions, but increasingly that's what they're deciding to do.  Most organizations' IT staff are operating under a crushing burden of bread and butter maintenance work, and welcome the opportunity to exchange these  prosaic duties for more exciting projects.

Cloud,  SaaS, PaaS, IaaS - these are all newfangled terms for work I was doing in 1983 for Control Data Business Information Services.  I was a Systems Engineer, responsible for developing business applications for insurance companies and banks that we hosted on our network of mainframe computers in Ohio.  Customers accessed their systems through super-cool-futuristic acoustic modems like the one pictured here that delivered data at a whopping 300 KPS (kilobytes per second) .  In fact, we actually used this Anderson Jacobsen model.  The "portable" computer and modem I carried to customer sites to do demos weighed about 50 pounds.

A lot has changed for me and my Cloud in twenty years.  Then, I was stomping around in skirted suits, closed-toe pumps with 3-inch heels (no "toe cleavage" allowed per the employee manual) and sporting shoulder pads like those pictured below on Princess Diana.  Those shoulder pads that look so ridiculous now made our hips look smaller and gave us the confidence to believe that we really had "come a long way baby".  Now, the shoulder pads have given way to pants, flats, and mobile devices that weigh a fraction of my old Anderson Jacobsen modem and give us secure access to everything from books to banking in the cloud.

I don't miss those slow dumb dinosaurs we used to access the network, but you know those shoulder pads weren't all bad.

linkedin facebook pinterest youtube rss twitter instagram facebook-blank rss-blank linkedin-blank pinterest youtube twitter instagram