New enhancements in the latest version of Workforce TeleStaff , an automated public safety scheduling and notification solution from Kronos Incorporated , are designed to further empower first responders to succeed in their mission-critical jobs. Enhanced functionality helps employees gain more control over their schedules; access greater means to communicate with each other; and make changes to their own shifts with minimal supervisor involvement.

Workforce TeleStaff is used by hundreds of corrections, emergency medical services, fire, police, and sheriff departments to meet their unique staffing needs to optimize communication, schedules, and deployment of personnel. The solution also helps these departments manage compliance with evolving labor laws, union mandates, and department policies as well as increase workforce productivity.

New enhancements include added business workflows that make it easier for employees to trade or cancel their shift trades based on organizational rules, without the need to first inform supervisors. These added benefits will help employees feel even more empowered and engaged in their jobs, while their departments will continue to maintain accountability to effectively serve their communities, according to the company.

"Our officers really value the transparency and equitableness in processes that Workforce TeleStaff offers," says Sgt. Rodolfo Padilla of the Las Vegas Department of Public Safety. "With this solution, manual errors are minimized and seniority is always honored. Also, our officers can see updates on their schedules from mobile devices, making their lives that much easier. Workforce TeleStaff also ensures that no one works beyond a certain limit, minimizing employee fatigue. The solution has played an important role in empowering and engaging our workforce."

Lt. Todd Bernard of the South Portland (ME) Police Department is also happy with the solution. "When our supervisors have to respond to incidents, they are able to use Workforce TeleStaff to identify additional personnel to respond to the scene from the field," Bernard says. "No matter what they're doing, they cannot be as effective if they are tied to their desks. Workforce TeleStaff has enabled our officers to spend more time managing incidents at the scenes, while establishing consistency in processes. The solution has also helped reduce payroll processing from four hours to five minutes."

"Increasingly, public safety organizations are rethinking how they manage their workforces, taking into account two key issues, which are a growing multi-generational workforce consisting of millennials who demand more transparency and the efficiency today's communities expect in public service," says Rock Regan, director of the public sector practice group at Kronos. "The workforce will always be at the core of a public safety organization's success and the latest version of Workforce TeleStaff offers technology to truly empower and engage today's workforce."

For more information, visit www.kronos.com .