Changing the Database and/or DB Passwords for Kronos Workforce Central 5.2 / 6.x

So should one do a complete reinstall to make sure all the little tiny bits are set right or simply make changes to the systems settings and ODBC settings? That's the question I've heard often enough lately that I decided to post it here. I suppose you think, despite what you've seen in previous posts that I'm actually going to answer that question. Well, yes and no, because like so many other things the answer is, "It depends!"

1. If you have a clean, zero problem installation then we choose the settings change option. How many people can claim that though? Still it's fast and easy. Try it in TEST first.
   
2. Perhaps you want to use this as an excuse to reinstall so that you can ferret out the gremlins. We are talking Kronos Workforce Central here so this is often a good idea.
   
3. You have a version before 5.1. This is easy. Reinstall and use the opportunity to upgrade to 6.x, or at least 5.2 to get the infrastructure improvements.
   

So the rest of this article is really just screenshots of the appropriate places to modify the setup. They are posted in a SlideShare here for your viewing pleasure. Ping me back with any ideas to improve this and I'll update the SlideShare for you.

Change The Wfc Db & Password

View more presentations or upload your own. (tags: kronos timekeeper)

Below are a couple of password change and system account links on the Kronos customer support site that might prove helpful.

How To Update Tkcsowner And Suprkron Passwords In Workforce Applications?

How To Change The Password For TKCSOWNER (Oracle)

Database And System User Accounts In Workforce Central

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Twitter - Do You Tweet?

This is reprinted from our newsletter so you can respond more easily - Do you Tweet?

Visions of Tweetybird seeing a puddy tat aside, do you Tweet?

Social networking has become the "in" thing. MySpace (or Facebook for us older types) is rapidly becoming the way to keep up with family and friends. Business social networks like LinkedIn are impacting the way recruiters find people, people find jobs, and groups with a common cause unite.

Recognizing the power of social networking, the Obama campaign was heavily invested in social networking sites, including Twitter. In fact, their grassroots campaign was effective in raising money, organizing local support, and getting out the vote using new technology in an unprecedented way.

It's been noted that he now has a database of literally millions of users with whome he can instantly communicate, mobilize on issues, and keep active and engaged. The best part? It's all mostly free.

I've been looking at Twitter as a means for us to brand Improvizations and our Kronos services. I'm curious - do any of you use Twitter for business contacts? How do you use it? Has it been helpful or is it a timewaster? I'd really love to hear your thoughts/input. Email: news@improvizations.com or reply to my post to the kronos-fans blog. Thanks everyone!

Amy "The Improv Marketing Chick"

"Aker Philadelphia Shipyard Achieves 110% ROI with Kronos HR and Payroll Software"

I just read this article. As you might know, I'm one who goes in and does pre and post implementation audits for HR/Payroll and related software. My company focuses on Kronos Workforce products implementation, best practices and support.

So as you might imagine, I'm often interested in numbers such as are in this article. Part of my job is creating or validating them. Still, one must ask when presented like this, "Who says there is a 110% ROI and how were those figures calculated?" In my experience ROI is such a soft number that it's really only useful for internal slapping on the back. Not that I doubt the ROI numbers. They're just not useful without detail. Same thing for reducing payroll error by 90%. My first question isn't about the validity of the number it's more, "Why not 100%?". Yea, call me crazy, but I think Payroll should be right, all the time. So scream at me cause you've got 30k employees and how can it be!

It can.

It should be.

It's math, processes, training and math. Put in the proper effort and it will be.

Kronos Layoffs, Unemployment, and Networking

Kronos is laying off 8% of its workforce. Nationally, the unemployment rate is running a little above 7%. Scary? Yep, it can be terrifying – especially if you don’t have practices in place already that can help secure your current job – or help you find a new one.

What type of best practices do you follow today to make yourself memorable? How many recruiters know and remember you personally? How many hiring managers think of your name when they have a question or better yet – an open position? Do you have to start from scratch every time your contract ends? Or if you are laid off?

I remember an IT Project Manager that I interviewed once. Why do I remember him in particular? Because he is the best networker I have ever met, bar none. Once we met personally, I became part of his network. He periodically sends out emails to his network with updates about his current job, job openings that he knows, or – when he was laid off – about his job search. He asks for help when he needs it and offers help when he can. He's the first guy I call when I'm looking for a certain skillset or if I come across a position he might want to know about. Now THAT’S the kind of network you want to have.

Those of you who read this blog and are part of Kronos-fans already have a built-in network. Are you using it? Here are a few quick networking tips that I hope you find helpful. As always on our blog, comments and questions are welcome!

• It takes a long time to build effective professional relationships. Start now.
• Find the people who know lots of other people. I don’t need to know 50 Kronos programmers – I need to know 2 or 3 excellent Kronos programmers. They know (and can refer) everyone else to me.
• Stay in touch with people you like and respect even if they can't help you immediately. Don’t let the next time they hear from you again be when you desperately need something.
• Have business cards and give them out. If you have a specialty or a niche, make sure it’s on your card. And yes, it IS worth the extra few dollars to make sure your card stands out. For example, if I’m at a networking event, I may come home with 20 or 30 new business cards. The card that says “John Doe, specializing in Kronos Time and Attendance installations” is the one I’ll remember.
• Be consistent. Sending out one email won’t get the same results as sending out a monthly or quarterly status email. Attending an industry networking meeting once won’t get you the same recognition factor as showing up for several meetings.
• Join networking clubs and/or associations related to your job and volunteer so you can establish yourself as a subject matter expert. Can you write a column, prepare a presentation?
• Join linked in . It’s an easy way to stay in touch as well as a great place to find groups related to your career. I have one good friend who now recruits exclusively using his linked in network.
• Set aside dedicated time each week to maintaining your network. It might only take an hour every Friday afternoon but the long-term results are worth it.
• And remember, if it were easy EVERYONE would do it. I won’t lie. It’s not always easy. It will take time, persistence and dedication. Nevertheless, in this uncertain economy the strength of your network might make the difference between being employed or being between contracts/jobs for a very long time.

How do I disable Java Update during installation?

OK. I'm on a roll. Here's the detail. JRE installation packages are built using InstallShield Developer 7. The JRE installation executables include built-in support for silent (unattended) installations. In the command line we can do all sorts of fun stuff, but let's focus on topic. Here's a command line sample.

j2re-1_4_2_06-windows-i586-p.exe /s /v"/qn IEXPLORER=1 ADDLOCAL=ALL UPDATE=1 /L C:\jre.log"

Here is the command for silent installation, turning off automatic updates:

.exe /s /v "/qn[ADDLOCAL=jrecore[,extra][,other_US] | ALL] [IEXPLORER=1] [NETSCAPE6=1] [MOZILLA=1] [INSTALLDIR=:\] [REBOOT=Suppress] [JAVAUPDATE=0] [EULA=1]"

The options are described below.

• .exe is the single executable installer for the JRE
• ADDLOCAL is either jrecore[,extra][,other_US] or ALL
• IEXPLORER=1 indicates that the JRE should be registered with the Internet Explorer browser
• NETSCAPE6=1 indicates that the JRE should be registered with Netscape 6 or later browsers
• MOZILLA=1 indicates that the JRE should be registered with Mozilla 1.1 and later browsers
• INSTALLDIR specifies the drive and path of the installation
• REBOOT=Suppress indicates that if locked files are encountered the computer should not be rebooted
• JAVAUPDATE=1 indicates that Java Update feature is enabled
• EULA=1 indicates that End User License Agreement will be displayed on first use and not during installation

See all the details for installation options at the Java web site.

Chelmsford’s Kronos cuts jobs

Anyone notice this article ? I've been hearing for months that sales have gone on well despite the recession. What have you heard? Realignment? Removal of dead wood? Reduction of sales?

Java stuff - the beginning

What a great holiday! I feel so invigorated after a few days off. Luckily it doesn't take much.

So I’m thinking about Java these days as I’ve recently been performing so many implementations and upgrades in dramatically different environments. Below are my notes from all over including Kronos.com, Kronos-Fans and all my friends and work buddies.

So what version of Java do we need?

Firstly, well, I’m not going to answer the first question because it’s changed so much over the years. Hopefully someone out there has created a little table and will post it here. I can point you to the latest bulletin I’ve read though so we’re all on the same page. ‘How To Set Java Plugin Settings in WFC 6.0.8 for a Mixed Environment of JRE 1.5 and JRE 1.6’. This will actually answer both questions. Workforce Central 6.0.8 supports JRE 1.6.0_5 or higher.

Can we run more than one Java Client version on a machine?

Yes! Some sites may not want to push Java 1.6 to all clients. Instead, they will have a mixed environment to allow more flexibility while clients migrate to the latest Java Run Time environment. How can the Java plugin settings be changed to allow Workforce to use JRE 1.6 if it is installed, but otherwise use JRE 1.5?

Firstly, the site MUST utilize the Family Class ID system as outlined by Sun Microsystems. This system and its implementation were described in this Technical Advisory.

Note that only ONE version of the plug-in can be resident in memory on a client at a time. This means that when 1.6 is used for a non-Kronos application, and the user wants to open WFC, they must close ALL browser windows on the client, then open a new browser for use with WFC. This will ensure that the 1.5 plug-in can be loaded into memory and used with Workforce.

Rich asked in Kronos-Fans, “I went in and updated the Java Plugin settings as indicated below and when I try running with 1.5 and then on another PC with 1.6 it seems to actually load a lot quicker for both versions of Java. Have you tried this at all? Is it safe and does it make any difference do you know?”

He was reading from the document mentioned above from customer.kronos.com. I’ve not tried it yet but I’ve gotten confirmation it’s safe and works well. What I’m unsure about is that my notes show this particular CLSID to be the Universal one. It will use the latest version of Java installed on the client. Therefore, if JRE 1.6.0_5 or later is installed, it will launch JRE 1.6. In all other cases, it will use JRE 1.5.

In answer to the speed question, again because of Rich's findings, I’m stumped. It seems to me that if we point to the specific instance we want to use, such as the JRE 1.6.0_7, it should be faster, but that’s not what he is finding. Anyway, here’s what you do if you want your Kronos apps to use this.

Log in to Workforce, on your TEST system, as a SuperUser and select Setup-->System Settings-->Java Plug-in Settings. Edit the site.java.plugin.CLSID.familyVersion to be:

clsid:8AD9C840-044E-11D1-B3E9-00805F499D93

Click Save, logout and back in to test.

This next set of settings, to put the above mentioned one in context, is for JRE 1.6.0_7

site.java.plugin.installer: jre-6u7-windows-i586-p-s.exe

site.java.plugin.version.minimalVersion: 1.6.0_5

site.java.plugin.CLSID.familyVersion: clsid:CAFEEFAC-0016-0000-FFFF-ABCDEFFEDCBA

site.java.plugin.type.familyVersion: 1.6.0

site.java.plugin.version.installVersion: 6,0,070,0

Check out the related article: How To Configure JRE 1.6 Support in Workforce Central Suite Service Pack 6.0.8 (6C4-JW2-0U2-79I)