Q&A for Employees
Kronos Employee Self Service
Q&A for Employees
Updated February 12, 2013
What is Kronos ESP?
Kronos ESP is a system to manage staff schedules that enables staff to access their schedules, request time off, swap shifts and more from any Internet connection. The schedules are built and stored online. For managers, it produces reports to help identify shifts that are over or under staffed, impacts of overtime, and more. The system is intended to help ensure schedules are based on a work unit’s requirements, on collective agreement rules and on staff work requirements, like vacations or extra shifts.
What is Kronos ESS?
Kronos ESS = Kronos Employee Self Service.
What can employees do in the Kronos Employee Self Service (ESS) System?
Employees can view the unit schedule, request shifts off and request and approve shift swaps. You can also set up your unavailability, and review your profile (phone number from SAP) and banks such as vacation (please note SAP is still the source system for banks and if there are any discrepancies between the systems, SAP is the system of truth).
What happens when Kronos ESP and Kronos ESS “go live” on the unit?
- Employees will use Kronos Employee Self Service (ESS) to submit shift swaps, time off requests and availability.
- Managers will use Kronos ESP to manage unit schedules.
- SharePoint, or as at the IWK, the current Kronos system, will no longer be available for use as a scheduling tool.
How do employees access Kronos Employee Self Service?
Access to Employee Self Service is available via each organization’s intranet.
What if I can’t log in?
If you’ve successfully logged in before, reboot the computer, log back into Windows and retry logging in to Kronos. If you haven’t logged in before, call the IT Services. They will first check to see if you have the same user name as another user in the province. If this is the case, your password will need to be reset, which may impact other systems that may use your windows login username and password (there is an IT change process for this that will ensure your username is changed for all systems).
If you get a pop up blocker when you try to login, click “always allow.” If you get an ActiveX error, call IT Services, they will address the set up of the computer.
Can other employees view my schedule?
Yes. All unit staff can see the unit schedule. The unit schedule includes who is working what shifts.
Can employees do multiple shift swaps?
Yes. You can do multiple shift swaps through Kronos Employee Self Service as long as you are swapping a shift for a shift within the six-week time frame of the unit schedule and it is within the % days for submission. The swaps would have to be approved by the manager or delegate in sequence to allow for this to happen. At times there may need to be a swap then and approval before the next swap can be entered.
What is a relieved shift?
A relieved shift is an extra shift that you have picked up or a shift that has been swapped.
Will employees only be paid for what they are scheduled or will there still be a need for smoothing?
If you smoothed in the past to always be paid your standard hours you will continue to smooth. What you will not see is the old smoothing shift on your schedule.
Can I change a vacation day to take an extra shift or OT shift?
If you are on vacation or holiday and scheduled to be off you are off and will not be in the call listing for shifts. You cannot move these vacation days to pick up additional shifts or overtime. Other employees may have been denied vacation or holiday due to unit limits for the number of staff off.
What can managers do with the ESP system?
Managers can view unit schedules, and approve off requests and shift swap requests. They can also run reports to help identify such things as shifts that are over or under staffed and impacts of overtime.