Accelerating your Workforce Dimensions™ success with the right training at the right time is vital for many organizations to successfully deploy Workforce Dimensions and have a positive product experience long term. Chad Leavell of Community Systems Inc. (CSI) has experienced this firsthand. We’ll hear more from him in a moment, but first, let’s talk about Kronos KnowledgeMap™ Live.
Kronos KnowledgeMap Live is an online education portal providing anytime, anywhere access to learning and performance support resources. KnowledgeMap Live offers the flexibility to send functional and technical core team members to virtual hands-on training led by a Kronos-certified instructor during each phase of the deployment project and after go-live. In addition, with KnowledgeMap Live, you gain access to change management tools in the User Adoption Resource Center. KnowledgeMap Live is available to all Workforce Dimensions customers based on a yearly subscription for named users.
Hear from Chad Leavell at Community Systems Inc. (CSI)
Chad Leavell is the director of IT at CSI — a family of nonprofits that operates in Massachusetts, Connecticut, Delaware, and Virginia. The organization provides support for individuals with intellectual disabilities in a variety of different settings. CSI is currently live with Workforce Dimensions HCM for approximately 1,200 employees; CSI was an early adopter of Workforce Dimensions HCM in February 2018. The organization was live with Timekeeping by the end of September and rolled out the rest of its entitlements shortly thereafter.
What does Chad have to say about KnowledgeMap Live?
KnowledgeMap Live was an instrumental part of our training during implementation, and we will always subscribe to it for ongoing refresher training and onboarding of new employees.
Q: How long have you subscribed to KnowledgeMap Live?
A: We have had KnowledgeMap Live since the beginning, so early 2018.
Q: How many licenses do you have today?
A: We currently have 25 named users using KnowledgeMap Live.
Q: Who is the audience for KnowledgeMap Live?
A: Our main audience during the implementation was our project team. These users included the following:
- HR directors from each state
- Finance directors from each state
- PR team from each state
- SMEs from each state
- Director of IT
- CEO
Now that we are post-go-live, our audience is still the same as the list above, but the concentration is more on refresher training and the onboarding of new employees.
Q: How did you utilize KnowledgeMap Live during your deployment?
A: We used KnowledgeMap Live as the primary training for our core project team. We followed the KnowledgeMap Live training plan, which is broken down into three phases: initiate, collaborate, and adopt. It guided us to take the courses at the right time during implementation and helped educate us on topics so we could make informed decisions on the configuration of the system.
We previously used Workforce Central®, and honestly, the change from Workforce Central to Workforce Dimensions was not difficult for most of our users thanks to the training available in KnowledgeMap Live.
Q: What did you like best or what did you find most helpful about KnowledgeMap Live during deployment?
A: Regardless of your role, everything is laid out in a way that is easy to understand. Whether you are in payroll or HR, KnowledgeMap Live presents materials that are pertinent to your role. Also, each course is identified by phase, so you know what training you need to take at all times. KnowledgeMap Live also identifies self-paced training you can take before moving to the instructor-led training. Another great feature is the reporting aspect. KnowledgeMap Live gives you reporting of the pieces of training that users have already completed.
Q: Why did you renew KnowledgeMap Live, and how are you using it post-go-live?
A: We have experienced turnover in some of our locations, so we use KnowledgeMap Live for new hire training. I can tell someone how to do something in Workforce Dimensions until I am blue in the face, but everyone learns differently.
I have learned that there is no one right way to do things. Someone might do something one way in Workforce Dimensions, while another user may do it another way. With KnowledgeMap Live, users can repeat pieces of training as often as they would like. Having this training available and the ability to access it whenever needed is huge for employees. Being able to go back and focus on certain areas and having the freedom to do so is the reason we renewed.
Q: Is there a memorable class you found beneficial?
A: There are a number of valuable classes in KnowledgeMap Live. One course we found beneficial when we were migrating from Workforce Central to Workforce Dimensions was on business structures. Business structures in Workforce Dimensions are very different from the labor levels in Workforce Central. So, before we started to design our organization’s business structure, which is the backbone of Workforce Dimensions, we prepared ourselves by taking the training on business structures. This course was excellent and provided an abundance of information regarding this feature and allowed us to understand what business structures are capable of before designing our own system.
Q: Has anyone in your organization utilized New Feature Training in KnowledgeMap Live?
A: Yes, I have instructed our users to go into this area to learn about the new features when a new release comes out. This is an added value of KnowledgeMap Live. In addition, KnowledgeMap Learning Live allows you to get a deeper understanding of the system.
Q: If you found out a customer was choosing not to renew their subscription to KnowledgeMap Live post-deployment, what would you say?
A: I would say that would be a mistake because of the many features and functionalities in Workforce Dimensions. Having the opportunity to go back and retake a training after you’ve gone live allows you to learn more about the system, get a deeper understanding, and refresh your skill set when needed.
KnowledgeMap Live is a lifesaver when it comes to those once-a-year tasks. Having the training readily available allows employees to reeducate themselves on topics they do not use on a regular basis. This is not only a time saver, but a huge relief to most employees.
KnowledgeMap Live benefits summary
Chad and his team have found great value in KnowledgeMap Live as a tool to assist with deployment and as a long-term investment. To summarize our interview, here are Chad’s main takeaways:
- The training is well organized.
- Reporting capabilities provide insight into who has completed training and when.
- Courses are categorized into three phases of deployment (initiate, collaborate, adopt), making it easy for the project team to know what training to take and when.
- Subscribing to KnowledgeMap Live post-deployment is great for training new hires as well as for employees who need to refresh their skills in a certain area.
Curious if you’re a KnowledgeMap subscriber? Email [email protected] for help. If you’re interested in getting a glimpse of KnowledgeMap Live, register to take a tour and see what it’s all about. For questions, please join education experts and your peers in the Workforce Dimensions group in Community.