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Susan Rossnick, center, is vice president of engineering for Kronos. She runs a cross-functional meeting about the launch of a scheduling product for the fall. (Globe Staff Photo / Pat Greenhouse)

Helping companies manage employees leads to good times

1. Analogic Corp. 2. State Street Corp. 3. BJ's Wholesale Club 4. Charles River Labs 5. Yankee Candle 6. Staples 7. Gillette 8. TJX Cos. 9. Kronos 10. Investors Fin. Svcs.    The 2003 Globe 100    All the charts

here is money to be made in the business of helping organizations manage their employees.

Kronos Inc. (KRON) scored ninth among top-performing local companies, rising from 14 in 2002. The Chelmsford-based firm grew amid the downturn in recent years by selling employee-management software to customers seeking to boost employee productivity and overall operations. Revenues in calendar year 2002 increased more than 16 percent to nearly $356 million, and its profit margin grew more than 28 percent. And Kronos kept hiring when the rest of the tech industry was going bust: It has nearly 2,300 employees worldwide, double its employment in the mid-1990s.

"Our business is accelerating at a time when that's very unusual in the tech software business," said Aron Ain, chief operating officer. "That says the formula we're following -- one based on customer service, great products, and taking care of our employees so they stay here -- is really working. That's what I think the magic is as to why we're so successful." Ain has been with Kronos 24 years.

Founded in 1977, Kronos became a dominant market player by selling technology to help employers keep track of their employee scheduling and hours worked. In recent years, its product expanded to include everything from payroll and benefits administration to sorting resumes from job applicants.

Kronos said 40,000 employers in many industries are using its technology, including Shaw's Supermarkets Inc., which uses software to ensure the right numbers of checkout lines are open at the right times of the day or week. Every time Home Depot opens a new store, new employees begin logging their hours via a computerized badge reader as they enter and leave work.

"We're all about managing the life cycle of an employee in an organization," said James Kizielewicz, marketing vice president and 22-year Kronos veteran.

KIMBERLY BLANTON

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