HRAET Stakeholders Meeting Summary

Are there activities you do that are not represented in our current assessment?
No – 14
Comments: 1. Have their own version of a Personnel Action form that standardizes the nature and types of data submitted for each transaction. 2. She has been using the new Employee Transaction Change Forms in her area and they are working effectively. 3. She had not seen the interim Employee Transaction Form so I reviewed it with her and sent her the website for the active transaction form. She was very happy to see it and thought it would be most useful. In fact, she is planning to try it with h She thought the workflow chart looked good. 4. In general, most of her transactions would flow through one of her colleagues. She would obtain approvals from the President on those changes of interest to him, but in a verbal way. Then, her documentation would be turned over to her colleague for processing. 5. Is vacation carryover accurate? There are issues with vacation transfers from one department to another. Should the box say vacation transfers rather than carryover? 6. The department copies of personnel action forms do not seem to be mentioned in the "Current & Interim" Flowchart. They could be added to the very bottom box of the diagram, which starts with "Copies (pers. action or term form) sent to Payroll..."
Are there any further bottlenecks or concerns you would add?
No - 10
Comments: 1. Added all the same bottlenecks we have discussed; inconsistency in letters; unsure when things are processed 2. She thought the workflow for the interim process was pretty straightforward. She liked the idea of data being captured at the source which would mean less potential errors. Again, she would not be the one implementing the changes, but she thought this collection vehicle would work well. 3. Only if someone in the process is out for any length of time, no designation for backup. 4. She expressed concern about conversion issues for employees moving from different payroll categories, i.e., staff to support, support to staff, SRS to admin. Mainly concerned about benefits changes. 5. The biggest bottleneck we have experienced in the current system is turnaround time for personnel actions. 6. Today she does not know where things are in the process. She wants to know. Today she can only see current info in the data warehouse. She wants to see history (she is a daily warehouse user). If she had that historical data she would not maintain a shadow system. 7. Trying to keep a handle on vouchers and temporary appointments. Our department is running over the 1,000 hour rule. How does a department keep track of these appointments for budget purposes. Where are the guidelines for these types of appointments being managed? 8. Would just reiterate there is little consistency in how actions are processed. Sometimes its a memo, somtimes its an email
Comments on Interim Process:
Comments: 1. Challenging. It would help if there was an approval process so she could see a new Administrative staff position and all Academic positions. She feels like she is losing control of keeping track of FTEs. 2. Current process is working fine for Alumni, but this looks like it would cut down on paperwork. 3. Eliminates paperwork 4. Interim process seems to work well. Looking forward to even more improvements. 5. Looking forward to the consistency 6. Looks good. Been working with ETCF. Could be improved and expanded, but a step in the right direction. 7. Looks like it will be a big improvement. 8. Looks timely and makes good sense. 9. Medical uses their own version of an employee action form 10. no 11. Not using 12. He continues to note (as he did in the pilot group for the ECTF forms) that there is no good way now to handle vacation balances for transfers.The old manager/AO knows the vacation balance, not the receiving AO. He says that the old manager/AO might inititate sending vacation balance info to the HRO, rather than having the HRO have to contact the old manager/AO for this information. 13. So far OK. She has used it a 1/2 dozen times. It is working for her. Transfers- moving to work done by incoming rather than outgoing department she is not sure about. HR should develop a form to collect vacation balances for transfers. 14. works and is an improvement
Comments on Desired Future State
1. Backlog possibility at the Sr. Officer approval box. Her understanding was that all appropriate place. She suggested that rather than an approval routing option, that the system simply send notification to the Sr. Officer about the final transaction. 2. Bottleneck would occur at Box #2 if approvals had to go through Sr Officer (Pres) for electronic approval. She would not advise. All her approvals would be in place before she got to the transaction processing. Every transaction online, in real time. 3. Hope that we can make it happen even sooner 4. I'd like to see every transaction be created and approved flawlessly online. 5. Letters should come from DLC's as this is where the action in initiated 6. Likes the idea of receiving a confirmation and being able to look in SAP to see it's been done. 7. limited errors integration of information from her through payroll. 8. Looks good - it provides the consistency and it appears it will provide the data elements that are needed for each action. 9. Looks helpful. 10. Looks helpful. 11. She asked about vacation carryover - where did it go on the AET future state? 12. There should be some way for the home department to release an employee before they transfer to a new department on campus. 13. What are the guidelines referred to in Steps 1 & 2 of the "Future Process Map"? 14. Work on entering data pushed out to department. What is involved in entering? She only wants to enter what is changing no more. How will it work as far as getting appropriate job code from HR to department?
Comments on our draft future process
1. She did say that the system guideline checks are important. In some instances, simply to be sure typo errors do not get put into the system. She indicated that she could foresee a variety of checks built-in, i.e., maximum of levels, account validity 2. Hope that SAP will do what it is supposed to do. 3. Hopefully it will come to pass. Don't know how much we can hang our hats on SAP improving things. Let's see how it works and how it's accepted in the community. 4. If we can get SAP approval here at Lincoln (still a big if, or so I understand), it will make life easier for everybody. 5. She thought this chart looked a lot more complicated at first glance. She agreed that having electronic approvals route through the senior officers could cause a bottleneck. She would not want this to happen. She liked the idea of built-in guideline verifications to avoid any errors. She did not like the idea of simultaneous notifications to a/o, supervisors and the employee. She said that she believes it is important for the supervisor to present an official notification personally to an employee. Automating all of these would be "automation for the sake of automation" and would take the personalization out of the moment which should be a rewarding one between supervisor and employee. 6. less double checking for errors 7. looks good and would work 8. Looks like it will prompt you for the information so you don't forget something. 9. Need template letter to print out and give to employee as a confirmation of the change. 10. Need to be able to check that info is correct. #12 on future map might be a good place for this. 11. Our current process in the Controller's Office is for the HRO to review proposed salary actions prior these proposals going to the Controller for his review and approval. The Controller - our group's senior officer - wants to know that HR is in concurrence with a proposal before he approves it. However, in the future process map, it looks like HR is in the loop only after the senior officer approves the transaction. We believe that it should be an option for HR to review transactions involving dollars BEFORE the senior officer approves it. Theoretically this could be done outside SAP, via review of a proposal memo, but it might be more efficient to have an electronic method. 12. See above. The simultaneous notification in block 12 does not work for her. She would want the notification to go back to her and then she would get back to the immediate supervisor. Her reasons were twofold - 1) to ensure there are not errors and 2) 13. Timing of the rollout should not be at a time of the year when departments are really busy. Example, beginning of academic year. 14. What reporting capabilities will there be in SAP?
Would this work?
yes - 12
1. She thought that this all made sense. She again said that her colleague would be the one with the "authorizing approvals" for her area. 2. Communication between HR, Payroll, and initiator is crucial 3. With the provision that there is a way for HR to review salary action proposals PRIOR to senior officer approval.
What do you do that is unique and not represented in this process?
n/a or no - 10
1. Almost everything seems to be represented (although at a high level). Don't see anywhere in the diagram to indicate accounts that will be charged - she would like to see this and HR info on one form. Who will set up new hires? 2. Dealing with Promotion cases. We would still be required to submit a case as it is known today. This could not be simplified with one form. 3. dual appointments at support staff level, some shift work, and temporary positions 4. How to address extended sick leave on a transaction form? 5. Medical has a variety of Non-employees paid by the Procurement system or by voucher such as Physicians, medical techs, etc that need
Do these changes we are collectively proposing make your work simpler?
yes - 8
1. If we can ensure the consistency of the process and have the checks and balances discussed then yes. The ability to see where the transaction is in the process is a great value add. It will be an important part of the process to build the trust. 2. It's better than using paper. 3. Letters generated elsewhere are not valued. Either provide managers with templates or give some e-message. The former is preferred 4. The typing is about equal, but we won't have to worry about paper being lost or sitting on someone's desk 5. Would be nice to see a SAP demo. 6. If we can truly get the online process to work
What else goes through your mind as we talk about this?
7. She suggested that alerts be built into the notifications. For example, if someone is moving from support to admin, there could be some standard notifications like notice of a change to their benefits, when they will get their first paycheck, info on 8. How fast will the turnarounds for personnel actions be in the new system? As noted above, the turnaround on pers. actions is a key bottleneck of the current system. 9. How will this process deal with employees that are going from Administrative Staff positions to Support Staff positions? How will the sick time be calculated? 10. If the manager authorizing or sending the information on to other Sr. Officers or HR can have a place on the screen to write the justification for the action, it will save additional time for managers. Managers won't have to type memos and the justification follows along with the transaction with little chance of the information being lost or misplaced. The consistent process seems to minimize the time a manager needs to process the action, the time to wait for it to be enacted. Want to make sure that actions triggering benefit changes and other pay related changes is automatic and the department doesn't have to contact benefits like today. This will be a great time savings for mangers and employees alike. 11. Make a way to easily attach a job description for promotions. 12. Make a way to easily attach a job description for promotions. 13. Medical is thinking ahead and would value a module of SAP to manage the regulatory information they are required to manage. 14. The current letters for part-time appointments are unsatisfactory to her. She recommends that part-time letters state the employees amount based on the percentage of effort, but then also includes what the annualized salary would be because the ranges ? 15. The future solution should not have a lot of screens. Make it an EASY process. Focus on required fields for Academic appointments. Then process. Capture additional fields later. This is part of the reason she thinks TAPS did not succeed - the team was trying to cover too much. She does find the brief comments field on the Academic appointment for valuable. 16. What about bonuses? Could that be done through this method? 17. Will there be any place to annotate information for foreign scholars? Ex. Visa status When dealing with new salaries, is there a way to round the salary to the nearest $50. 18. would like to see exit informational meetings through benefits similar to orientation and information on term form for supervisor comments/review
Does the Sr. Officer in your group need to approve certain actions or does he/she need to know it is occurring?
yes - 5	4- no
1. Only when creating new positions, promotions (Admin) or significant salary increases. 2. Provost for increase to headcount nothing else if decision is made before process starts 3. Senior officer needs to approve Admin. Staff positions. 4. She has eight departments. Dean doesn't see anything. Sharon does and will want to see all of it. 5. Sr. Officer approves all promotions, transfers, raises, terminations. 6. Sr. Officer (the Director of Facilities) only signs exceptions or additions to headcount. Same for the VP. But it would be very useful to have some reporting capability that can summarize the information for the Sr. Officer to show trends, results, etc. 7. The approvals that she need from the President are done in a meeting, one-on-one. 8. The Controller approves salary actions (promotions, interim increases, bonuses etc). Routine actions such as title changes, vacation carryover, change in hours, the Controller does not need to see or approve. 9. This would be done verbally with her supervisors (when, required.) 10. John Curry needs to see additions to headcount and increase in effort but most things just go directly from her to HRO
What do they need to know and describe what that would look like?
1. A report describing the types of actions & the outcome would be great 2. Sr. Officer really just needs officially notification that the change has been done. 3. First a verbal conversation for approval, then a formal letter of justification along with a job description. 4. Letters generated by depts are preferred - electronic message would be second preference 5. must be seamless 6. Needs to know what is changing and why. 7. online status is fine but should be accessible by her and her supervisor 8. Same things they need to know now. Who, what, when, where, why and how much? 9. Same things they need to know now. Who, what, when, where, why and how much? 10. Talk on the phone, send letter of justification, Sr Officer and HR concurs. 11. The Controller needs a justification for the proposed action -- why someone should be promoted, or given an interim increase or lump sum. Right now this is done via a memorandum, but it could easily be done via a form. 12. They want to capture vouchers and temps for approval for budget and headcount approvals. 13. What the duties are, what the position entails, supervisory duties, etc.
If they need to approve certain actions but not others, this would be useful to know.
1. Additions to headcount, and new program positions - such as capital positions are what Director of Facilities and VP need to see. 2. Changes for support staff such as salary increases and changes in hours don't need the approval of Senior Officer. Anything related to Admin or SRS staff needs approval of Senior Officer. 3. Changes for support staff such as salary increases and changes in hours don't need the approval of Senior Officer. Anything related to Admin or SRS staff needs approval of Senior Officer. 4. Don't need to approve promotions or salary increases as long as they are within budget. 5. Don't need to approve terminations, raises within 5%. 6. her supervisor would prefer not to approve anything 7. She wants most transactions to go through her HR Coordinator. She would like to see some additions to headcounts and all academic. 8. most things 9. President is involved with decisions around his direct reports. Approvals would be verbal. Kathryn is closely involved, but this also handled verbally with Nancy. 10. Senior Officer takes an active role in reviewing all actions. Everything is discussed with Senior Officer before submission to HR for both support and staff.
What would a confirmation look like for a manager?
1. a letter is important in cases where a change occurs 2. An email is fine and would be useful 3. Could be the notification just forwarded through e-mail, but should not be done simultaneously with the justification to the initiator. to 4. E-mail will suffice. 5. If the notification was sent electronically to Nancy, than she might forward it to the manager. She believes that a personalized letter would still need to be created for the employee for presentation by the supervisor. 6. Initiating managers can receive e-message stating what was done to an employee record 7. Just want to see what was actually changed. 8. Just want to see what was actually changed. 9. She would like to see 2 different types of confirmations. First, a history of activities on her people. Also where the transaction is in the process (she would like to be able to see this for a month back).. 10. She would like to see the same information that is on a current action form. 11. Simple e-mail confirmation will do. 12. Some sort of notification via e-mail that the action was approved at a particular point. 13. Something electronic that could be modified and would be flexible for different units. 14. status online or via email is fine, but must occur. Employee needs paper copy of changes to salary, appointment, and title. 15. Wants an e-mail acknowledgment.
Would seeing the status of an action in the system be sufficient notice for you?
No - 2	4 - yes
Three respondents: Want something to print out to give to the employee. 1. No, notification electronically would be effective. ? 1. She would like to see effective dates on title changes. She doesn't see the correct titles in the directory today. 2. That would be great. What would be even better is some sort of e-mail notification if you are a stakeholder. 3. 4. Wants a confirmation (maybe distrust of current system/if she was entering data and it wasn't being retyped by other she might feel better about a status notice). 5. Would LOVE to see this. 6. Would still like to get a confirmation that the action is complete and on what day. 7. Yes, as long as there is a notation/reminder to review the action 8. yes for her but not for staff although she would be willing to print it off the web
Conclusion
1. a reduction in errors will be an improvement 2. Anything would be an improvement to our current system. 3. Employees should get a letter - templates for managers would be fine. The letter should trigger the manager to confirm the action with the employee and have a conversation. 4. How will the new Transaction form address joint appointments? 5. Improvements to the Rank List process - Electronic/just plug in end dates for RLII and RLI. Changes happen a lot - don't want to wait as long as the current process to effect changes. She would rather control the generation of confirmations (letters) herself. 6. Increased security, perfection of the process. 7. Letters - She needs promotion letters. She uses letters as a paper file. If she could have access to history she wouldn't need paper file. Still needs letters for salary changes. Doesn't need letter for the president. Promotion letters for example mean more to employees with the Dean's signature. The system should generate standard letters. People who want special letters should do it themselves. 8. looks foward to seeing changes 9. Nancy also expressed a concern about confidential salary material being forwarded through e-mail, because in some cases admin asst have access to their supervisor's e-mail, when they do not have access to confidential salary information.

Sally Wright - Medical

She Dolan, Information Systems

She Mersky, President's Office

Ken Hewitt, Lab for Nuclear Science

Donna Ticchi, Center for Learning and Memory

Lynn Hyams and Joanna Hills, Media Lab

Rolf Engler, Urban Studies & Planning. Lynn Hyams and Joanna Hills were present from the Media Lab

Jacquie Granville, Alumni Association

Ann McNamara, Environmental Program and Risk Management

Bill Fitzgerald - Lincoln Fiscal Office

He Honiker, Mgr of Administrative Services, Controller's Accounting Office

Patricia Kennedy

Chuck Munger, Dean's Office for School of Science

She Capone, director of Organizational Performance and HR/Dean of Student Life

Mike Fitzgerald - Endicott House

Sharon Bridburg, Special Assistant To The Dean For Human Resources/Dean for Undergrad

Robin Deadrick, Libraries

Nancy Kelly, President's Office

Steven Dimond - Copy Technology Center

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HRAET Minutes 10/10/01