Recommend approval to award a contract for an Electronic Timekeeping System to Work4orce Systems Group/TCP Software (formerly TimeClock Plus) for up to $471,196.

The City of Savannah sought a qualified vendor with extensive local government experience and a proven track record to provide an electronic timekeeping system for the City in accordance with the Office of Human Resources’ Strategic Plan. As noted in the Strategic Plan, Initiative 3.5 is to “implement an automated timekeeping system.” Approval of this contract will fulfill this commitment and align with the City’s goal to maximize technology for more efficient government practices.

For an organization our size, calculating time and payroll manually is a difficult task, a significant liability, and thus the probability of errors increases. Under this contract, the vendor will provide an electronic timekeeping platform with auditing capabilities to accurately track and manage time, attendance and Fair Labor Standards Act law requirements to eliminate liability on the City of Savannah.

Benefits and features of employing an electronic timekeeping system will automate the following manual processes:

1. Employee Timesheet Approval As a best practice, most organizations require employees to review and approve their hours prior to submission. To eliminate the waste and frustration of chasing down paper timesheets, TimeClock Plus clocking tools all provide a navigation-friendly, electronic approval process. Employees can review and approve their hours for the day, week, or pay period, using the timeclock system. Once approved by the employee, managers are immediately notified of their pending approvals. Additionally, employees can enter shift notes to the manager directly on their time segments. Employee Attestation Statements can also be created, which automatically prompt the employee to acknowledge the accuracy of their time/hours prior to proceeding. All Employee Timesheet Approvals automatically generate an electronic authentication that is stored in the system and easily accessible if required for review, approval, and audit reporting.
2. Automated Employee Time-Off Requests The employee time-off request process is simple and takes just a few button clicks from start to finish. Employees can view leave balances and make time-off requests using any of the time collection devices. Employee time-off requests generate automated notifications (email, text) to the appropriate supervisor(s) as a call to action. Likewise, employees are automatically notified of all status updates.
3. Employee Dashboard City Employees also have access to defined Employee Dashboards. Employee Dashboards grant simplified access to approved activities, such as to review and approve timesheets, messages and schedules, and make time-off requests. The Employee Dashboard is accessible via any clocking devices implemented.
4. MobileClock app and Kiosk Mode module include these administrative options:

• Geo Tracking – Tags and maps the GPS location of each mobile clock transaction performed
• Geo Fencing – Establishes GPS areas/zones where mobile activities are allowed and restricted.
• Photo Capture – Captures a pic of the employee performing the clock operation. (via device camera)
• Use of the MobileClock app can be limited to specific employees, locations, departments, etc.

5. Advanced Scheduler Designed to support Law Enforcement, Fire, and EMS staffing, the straightforward swap-and-drop abilities and automated shift management processes. The cutting-edge technology employed in Advanced Scheduler will guide the City in creating high-level rules, policies and protocols that will govern scheduling activities. Furthermore, it ensures fairness, efficiency, and scheduling is automatically guided by policies that mitigate fatigue, stress, and excessive Overtime.
6. Time Collection To accommodate diverse City environments and budgets, TimeClock Plus supports time collection from a variety of sources, including PC/Web browser entry, mounted time collection devices, and mobile applications. TimeClock Plus operates in real-time, with no lag time, polling, or push/pull hardware technology. TimeClock Plus will allow employees to use any clocking device at any location for clocking activities, however may be limited when necessary.
7. Payroll Integration TimeClock Plus will deliver bi-directional dataflow specifically for the needs of the City of Savannah. TimeClock Plus has experience working with Lawson customers across the country.
8. Audit Logs (for FLSA compliance) Adherence to the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) is also a major concern, as Department of Labor wage and hour lawsuits have become more prevalent. The City recognizes the necessity to protect and mitigate any hint of impropriety where managing employee time and pay is concerned. To this end, the TimeClock Plus Audit Logs store every employee time related action occurring in the Time and Attendance system, for easy, audit-ready reporting.
9. Reporting Features 80+ built-in reports that are user configurable, making employee time and attendance information easily accessible to managers. Saved reports can be scheduled to process at pre-defined times (such as daily, weekly, or monthly), and be delivered automatically* to selected recipients via email.
10. Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA) Management The FMLA Case Management tool is designed to improve communication and streamline the FMLA case management process. The FMLA leave process is initiated by an employee’s time off request, and then follows the eligibility and processing workflow. The tool makes it easier to manage requests.
11. Benefit Status Monitor Report (ACA eligibility) The Benefit Status Monitor (BSM) assists with determining and verifying employee Affordable Care Act (ACA) eligibility based on the City’s defined measurement periods. The report creates automated alerts and notifications (email, text) to warn City management when an employee is within “x” minutes (or hours) of reaching the pre-defined measurement period threshold.
12. Compliance TimeClock Plus has the tools required for the City to establish and enforce the labor management rules and policies that comply with government regulations. TimeClock Plus also provides the detailed tracking and reporting tools needed to verify your labor compliance if the City is audited or requisitioned.
13. Leave and Absence Management TimeClock Plus supports the creation and management of an unlimited number of Leave Codes, including standards such as Vacation, Sick, Holidays, PTO, Military Leave, Funeral Leave, Jury Duty, FMLA, Comp Time and more. Using the City’s Leave policies, TimeClock Plus handles all aspects of the accrual and use of Leave time. TimeClock Plus self-service tools also gives City employees convenient access to their own current Leave usage and balance totals. As the system of record, TimeClock Plus provides managers and employees with real-time access to both current and forecasted Leave balances, for truly informed time off planning.
14. Extra Duty and Supplemental Pay For those with ancillary paid duties, TimeClock Plus alleviates the frustration of recording and calculating time accurately for employees working in multiple departments, performing extra duties outside of normal job duties, earning supplemental pay, or earning a different wage rate based on their job duties. TimeClock Plus replaces inefficient manual, paper, and spreadsheet processes with tools that accurately track, calculate, and report employee supplemental pay data.
15. Overtime and Exceptions Management Within TimeClock Plus, the City can set up an unlimited number of pay and attendance rules and calendars/schedules, assigning them per individual employee, employee group, location, department, etc., and statewide. All rules, including Overtime and Shift Management and Shift Premiums, are completely configurable within TimeClock Plus. Overtime calculations process in real-time.
16. Timesheet Workflow TimeClock Plus employs a multi-tiered timesheet approval process. The timesheet approval workflow configuration follows the City’s existing approval progression, and can be configured for specific departments, locations, supervisors, job codes, employees, and other segments. After employees approve their time, hours are automatically routed to the appropriate manager for review. TimeClock Plus also supports multiple approver hierarchies and the ability to delegate timesheet approval authority to fellow supervisors. Managers can review, and approve employee time from their Dashboard or the TimeClock Plus Mobile Manager app.

The City of Savannah has 328 pay codes and processes approximately 7,500 pay checks on a monthly basis for 2,421 employees. Employment of an electronic timekeeping system will mitigate legal liability, minimize the margin for timekeeping errors and streamline the overall workflow from employee time entry to payroll processing. The electronic timekeeping contract will be for one year, with four renewal options available. Proposed pricing will remain firm throughout the contract, not to exceed $705,200.

The method used for this procurement was the request for proposals (RFP), which evaluates criteria in addition to cost. The proposals were evaluated on basis of proposer’s qualifications, experience and support capabilities, description of services, references, fees, DBE participation goal and Local/Savannah First.

A total of six applicants submitted proposals for consideration. A carefully identified and representative selection committee reviewed the proposals and assisted with narrowing the applicant pool to a short list of three candidates. This short list included the following vendors:

1. NovaTime/Andrews Technology

2. Kronos

3. Work4orce Systems Group/TCP Software (formerly TimeClock Plus)

The above list of vendors presented their systems to the selection committee and were narrowed to the following finalists:

1. Kronos

2. Work4orce Systems Group/TCP Software

The finalists were selected in this order, based on presentations and final demonstrations to the committee and qualifications, experience, technical ability, references and fees as outlined in the Request for Proposals.

1. B.P. Workforce Systems Group/TCP Software (Atlanta, GA)^(D) – Estimated total for 3 years $704,196 (includes estimated timeclock hardware purchase of $266,696) Estimated Year 1 Cost = $471,196

The software and maintenance cost is an annual fee for the life of the contract and inclusive of the licensing fees, which are calculated based on a total number of users/employees with an approximate cost of $116,500. The hardware cost listed on the fee proposal is a per clock fee, based on 106 timeclocks totaling $266,696. The installation of the system and the Advance Scheduler is $88,000.

2. Kronos Incorporated (Lowell, MA)^(D) – Estimated total for 3 years $1,536,452 (includes estimated timeclock hardware lease costs of $173,799) Estimated Year 1 Cost = $642,854

Considering the City of Savannah’s current needs and the committee’s selection, Work4orce/TCP Software is recommended for the electronic timekeeping contract.

(D) Indicates non-local, non-DBE business.

Local vendors notified via the supplier portal: Yes

Total sent: 844

Total received: 6

Approval