• Long-Term Care

• Medical

• Legal Services

• Wellness Credit

• Vehicle

• Uniform

Base Benefits Dependents/Beneficiaries
• Child
• Employee
• FostChild
• Grandchild
• DPAdult
• Dom Partnr
• DPChild
• Other
• OthQ Dep
• Stepchild Child
• Spouse
• ExSpouse
(Provide any manuals or reference procedures if applicable)
I am sure anyone who has conducted informational/discovery sessions will have information and questions to add to this blog. Please feel free to send additions or comment.

4. Does the time collection system allow time entry for groups of employees or for one employee at a time?
5. Do you have staff, such as timekeepers, who collect and post time? Please provide details of the process of collecting time and who collects and posts time.
6. Is there a restriction on who can enter hourly employees’ time versus salaried employees’ time?
7. Can employees enter their own time?
8. Can employees inquire and view their entered work hours?
9. Is time approved? If so who approves time? What is the procedure for approving employee time? Can time be approved electronically?
10. How is time capture for both electronic and paper timecards: hours per day or punch time ins and outs or are employees paid a standard schedule and only exceptions are captured or all three depending on the employee?
11. Currently, where is time entered corrected if there is an error? At the data entry level or is it corrected in the payroll process?
12. What is the input of incremental time, such as half days for vacation, etc. currently allowed?
13. If standard hours are used, what are your employees’ standard hours?

14. If time capture differs for different employees, explain the business process on what determines how the employees’ time will be captured.
15. Can retroactive time and labor adjustments be made once a time period has ended? Describe any situations that require you to pay employees hours and/or amounts from the prior period.
16. How are new employees set up for reporting time? Please describe the business process for “enrolling” your new hires in your existing time management system.
17. What are the beginning and end days of the time period? How does this relate to the payroll cycle?
18. What are the beginning and ending times for a 24 hour period?
19. Describe all of the specific time codes that are used in recording time in the current system, including any recorded hours for unpaid time, such as Unpaid Sick, Unpaid Vacation. Does the present system track absences or tardiness?
20. What are the Public Holidays offered to the employees? Are the same Holidays offered to all employees’ or are there different Holiday Schedules for different employees.
21. If more than one Holiday Schedule, what determines which Holidays are offered to an employee?
22. What are the specific business processes that must be adhered to for time reporting, such as Education leave must have at least 1 hour keyed to a maximum of 8 per year?

23. Aside from capturing hours, do you also record data elements such as dollar amounts or units? Such as flat dollar bonus amounts or units like 30 cents per mile.

Cost Allocation, Schedules and Shifts Processes
1. Is your timekeeping system used for allocating costs? Do you define how and/or where an employee time is spent? Are there certain tasks that are grouped together? Please describe how your costs codes are structured and how they are assigned to the time reported by employees.
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2. Does the organization use Work Orders to capture information about labor costs? How is the information used?
3. Do your employees work shifts? What are they?
4. Is an employee assigned to one shift or are they allowed to work multiple shifts? Can they work multiple shifts in a day and/or in a week?
5. How many shifts make up a workday?
6. Are shift employees paid a differential? How is the differential calculated?
7. Describe your FLSA processing requirements? What days constitute the definition of your workweek? (E.g. Mon – Fri, Sun – Sat). Are FLSA requirements union driven?
8. Do all employees work the same schedule or are they flexible work schedules? Please describe all the different schedules that employees work.

9. Are employees allowed to work several jobs in the same week? In the same day?
10. If an employee is working out of his/her job classification, is their different rate of pay and how does the timekeeper or payroll representative determine the rate of pay?
11. Are employee’s represented by Unions/Bargaining unit(s)? If so, how many Unions/bargaining units?
12. When do these unions bargain? What are the bargaining seasons?

Time Administration Processes
1. What are the time processing rules currently used today? For example: How is Overtime calculated, only hours worked or does the calculation included Vacation, Holiday etc? Is it overtime after 8 hours in a day or after 40 hours in a week? Are these rules the same for all employees or different for each class of employee? If so, please describe each rule being used.
2. Are leave balances maintained at time entry level? If so, list all types of leave that are maintained.
3. If leave balances are maintained at time entry, describe what happens when the employee’s leave requested is greater than the employee’s leave balance or are the employee’s allowed to carry a negative balance?
4. If employees work flexible schedules, are the hours paid for vacation, holiday and sick based on the flex schedules.
5. How is the entered time validated? For example, if total time entered exceeds standard hours, does the current system provide red flags for the approver to review?

6. List any reports that are used to validate this time. Please submit an example.
7. Are control totals used to reconcile employee time entry? Describe the process. Please identify and give an example of any reports used for reconciling.
8. What are the mechanisms for correcting error data? Please describe the business process for correcting data that your time collection system has invalidated.
9. Do you have any audit needs regarding who has changed or approved time?
10. What employee information is available for time entry personnel?

Compensatory Time Management Processes
1. Are Client employees allowed to report Compensatory Time (Comp Time)?
2. How is Comp Time earned? Can the accruals be recorded in the existing time collection or payroll systems?
3. How do employees take their Comp Time?
4. Are Comp Time balances maintained automatically by the existing system?
5. Are Comp Time balances adjusted at the end of the year? How is that adjusting done? Manually? Electronically?

6. Can Comp Time expire? What are the conditions under which Comp Time would be considered to have expired?
7. Can Comp Time be bought, sold or donated? How are these transactions handled?

Time and Labor Integration with Payroll, Human Resources, and Projects
1. Is the timekeeping system electronically integrated with an automated payroll system? Please describe the process of integrating the two systems.
2. Which system calculates the time rules, such as Overtime, shifts and such?
3. How often is time collected and uploaded to payroll? Do the time periods, used for capturing time, follow the payroll period?
4. What is the current deadline that time must be entered and calculated so payroll can be processed in a timely matter
5. If time does not load to payroll, what are the procedures for investigating, rectifying, re-approving and paying for that time?
6. Describe how your Time and Attendance business process integrates with human resources and payroll? Does your existing T&A system interface electronically with your payroll and HR systems?
7. Aside from Payroll, does your current time keeping system interface to any other system (internal or external)? Such as a Project or Funds. Please list those interfaces and describe what they do.

Reporting/Outbound Data
1. Are there reports generated to balance and prove employee time entry?
2. Are time reports generated to be sent back to time originators/collectors?
3. Are time reports generated for managers to approve time?
4. Please list and describe all time reports that are generated from the current system. Please submit an example of all the reports.

Policies and Procedures
Please provide any policies and procedures manuals and desk references currently being used by your department for time management.

Interfaces
Please define the interfaces used for the following:
• HR
• Position Management
• Compensation
• Labor and Employee Relations
• Training and Licensing process
• Workforce Development
• Please define any reports that may be generated that were not addressed above.
Elimination / Changes
1. What would you like to eliminate and/or change within the current HR process?
2. What would you like to eliminate and/or change within the current Position Management process?
3. What would you like to eliminate and/or change within the current Compensation process?
4. What would you like to eliminate and/or change within the current Labor and Employee Relations process?
5. What would you like to eliminate and/or change within the current Recruitment and Applicant Tracking process?
6. What would you like to eliminate and/or change within the current Training and Licensing process?
7. What would you like to eliminate and/or change within the current Workforce Development process?

Policies and Procedures
Please provide any policies and procedure manuals and desk references currently being used by the HR department.

8. Describe how employees are identified within your current HR system. (By social security number, assigned employee id).

• If by employee id, is this number system generated?

• Is this standard practice throughout the organization??
9. Describe the current process used throughout the Organization to terminate an employment?
• Is this standard practice throughout the organization?
10. Describe how employee changes are processed; e.g., pay rate changes, promotions, suspensions.

• Is this standard practice throughout the organization?

11. Describe how leaves of absences and returns are processed.
12. Describe in detail how other leaves are processed.
13. List and describe personnel actions available in the current system.
14. Describe the approval process for personnel actions.

Position Control
1. Describe how the organization identifies positions within the current HR system. (Numeric, alpha-numeric). Is the process centralized or decentralized?
2. Define the different statuses for a position. (Frozen, proposed and approved).
3. Are positions numbers re-used when the employee leaves or is a new position re-created?
4. Describe how positions are funded. (Is funding done at the department or position level).
5. Does the organization use commitment accounting?
6. Describe in detail as to how the organization currently organizes jobs?
7. Are Job Codes used throughout the organization?
8. Please attach or provide a list of all the Job Codes currently used.
9. Are all employees assigned a position?
10. Do you have multiple head count in a single job?
11. How does the organization currently use FTE’s?
12. Does the organization have multiple headcount in a given job/position?
13. Is job sharing currently practiced or allowed?
14. Do you have employees with multiple jobs?
15. Does the organization currently allow job sharing?

Compensation
1. Define your current salary plan structure.
2. Define the number of salary plans
3. Describe how salary plans are maintained.
4. Describe the process to create a new salary plan.
5. Define the different Salary Grades and Steps.
6. Describe how employees are moved to the next step within a salary plan.
7. Define the components that make up an employee’s salary.
8. Define the following employee types:
a. Number of hourly employees:
b. Number of salaried employee:
9. Define the percentage for each group.
10. Describe the criteria used for grouping employees.
11. Does the organization have contract pay?
12. Describe how contracts are defined?
13. Describe the varying frequencies and payment terms in detail.
14. Describe the process for any mass salary increase.

What might be some of the over arching questions that must be asked at the beginning of an implementation and what are some of the things you want your project team thinking about as they start on their adventure into implementation? Certainly a knowledge of the organizational structure is critical to understanding how the system might support the organization. Also, this is a time for looking hard at the organizational structure to envision where changes might make it more effective or integrated.

In terms of process your team members must have the ability to conceptualize and verbalize what they envision as the future state. Who will be doing what in the new process, what are the roles going to look like as the organization moves into the future? Where are the boundaries in the process? Is there a boundary between recruitment and workforce administration? Are they different systems which would require an interface? Where do processes begin and end?
What are the pre and post conditions? For example, after a termination there are actions that must be taken such as Cobra communication. This would be a post condition of the termination process.
Finally what are the business rules that must be followed in the process and are there any government regulations that will impact the way the process is implemented?

Wow, that seems like a lot of information and yet it is only a small part of the information that you must gather during project initiation.

What might be some Points of Discussion that you want your team to consider?
Investigate their pain points in the current process and how they might want to change that going forward? On every project there are pain points in the process such as dual data entry, manual processes, hand delivery rather than electronic. I am sure you can add to this list.
Are there points in the process that could be eliminated? Would automated workflow improve the efficiency of the process? If so, how and where would workflow be critical?

Are there manual processes that you would like to have supported by the system? Again, analyzing the process often uncovers areas that are still being especially where there are hand offs in the process or boundaries to cross.

Finally, what changes are most frightening in the organization? Uncover the areas of fear and trepidation and communicate the value of the new system. Enlist change agents to carry the positive message forward to the entire organization. Where are the pockets of resistance most apparent?

These are just a few of the overarching questions and concerns at the beginning of an implementation. In future blogs, discussion will center on the questions you might use in your initial questionaires.

Please comment and contribute as we all can benefit from the insight of others.

The requirements are in place but often not well understood.  The project is ready to go and it is necessary to gather information for the blueprint.  Who has a template for a Blueprint?  Seems they are all quite different and each application has many versions.  There are Blueprint’s that are completed in Excel and those that become incredibly long, profuse documents.  Personally, the excel works for me because it seems to be more efficient. 

Gathering information for the Blueprint requires reviewing all the requirements.  Just as you draw up blueprints for building a house, it is necessary to draw up blueprints for an implementation.  Who will manage the project, who will design, build, and ensure requirements are being met?  Much as you look at building construction with its myriad sub-contractors, you can translate that approach to building an implementation. 

Questionnaires help to gather information to help understand what will be built, the timing and how the process will work at a high level.  The implementation that is the 9.1 PeopleSoft implementation is using questionnaires for Core HR, Benefits/Ben Admin, Payroll, Time and Labor to establish some fundamental information that will be used not only in the blueprint, but also in the process as it is drilled down, the design, the build, the testing, the training and in the quality assurance to ensure the requirements are met. 

Finding the questionnaires and adding information is much more difficult than a visit to google search.  Questionnaires become specific to an organization where you are working.  Is the project in a commercial, public sector, or education sector?  Currently I am seeking a questionnaire template for Pension so any help that anyone can provide would be greatly appreciated.  If you are in need of questionnaires, leave a comment and we can exchange some information.

Some information that has been gathered includes some facts:

It is the third release since the acquisition

It has 1350 new features approximately

It has 28,000 or more page enhancements

It has Web 2.0 Capabilities

Approximately 300 new web services

And a large number of industry specific enhancements

Like many new releases, there is a new look and feel to the product. You still have the My Favorites area and in addition there is a recently used area on the menu.  In addition the navigation menu is only visible when pulled down.

9.1 also includes mouse over functionality on the menus.  In going through some of the changes and talking with clients one of the features they seem very happy with is the ability to use zoom grids for more working space with drag and drop, grid scrolling and column locking capability.  The grids are also sortable.

Some of the other items include an updated style sheet, a rich text editor, mouse-over pop ups as mentioned previously and an instant message capability with Yahoo and Beehive.

Some other features include out of the box role-based dashboards and reports.  The fact that it uses PeopleSoft  security is not a change.

There are some nice HR analytics dashboards including: workforce profile, Recruitment, Leave and Absence, Learning Management (a favorite mine), HR Performance, Compensation, Retention and Workforce Development.  Some of these are new and some enhanced.

So why would you want to upgrade?  Well, if you are on 8.8 you are going to have to get extended support which certainly is a financial reason to upgrade.  Others are increasing the effectiveness of your workforce by ensuring compensation rewards top performers and you have pay for performance capabilities.  Making sure that you have a strong pipeline for key talent is critical to any organization and maintaining this internally is a cost saving for recruitment.  Nine one will provide executives with the ability to make better informed decisions with metrics available.    Eliminating interfaces could reduce IT expenses and eliminating customizations during the upgrade usually results in cost savings and additional efficiency.

Some links that will provide additional information include:

http://www.oracle.com/education

Http://www.oracle.com/pls/psft/homepage

http://www.oracle.com/applications/peoplesoft-information-portal.html

If you are interested in some great decision trees, read this article from Gartner, it is packed with good information and would be helpful in deciding if you want to go to 9.1.

When customers are planning a new installation of PeopleSoft, Gartner suggest to implement version 9.0. “Gartner believes that v.9.1 will be released during 2H09, but most customers will not want to be the first to take on a new release. If you need the newest functionality right away (such as compensation management or succession management in HCM), then implement v.9.1 as soon as is practical for your organization. If you don’t need the new functionality, then implement v.9.0 until v.9.1 has more market traction and proof points, which Gartner expects within 12 to 18 months of release.”

Read the full article.

Source: Gartner (July 2009)

This year Oracle released new versions of PeopleSoft (8.50) and Applications (9.1). Will customers start upgrading to 9.1 in 2010? If customers follow Gartner they will wait. My opinion is that the evolution steps between the PeopleSoft versions aren’t that big. Loads of fixes, patches, bundles and maintenance packs from previous versions have been included in this new release. Big functional changes haven’t been made in 9.1. The risk between upgrading to 9.0 or upgrading to 9.1 isn’t that big. If your customers are multi language users, you might want to consider the upgrade to 9.1 as it is unclear when the language pack will become available.

Do you have the Deltas?  Have you started implementing 9.1?  Add Comments or follow RSS.

Putting down the Cluetrain and listening to the morning news brought forth another enlightening concept. A camel is a horse that was developed by committee. Any team has to have a leader and if everyone is the leader you will have a beautiful Camel. This does not mean the leader has to be “Controlling” because that is NOT true leadership. They do have to lead the team in the direction of the results expected and provide guidance and direction while listening to suggestions. It is so easy to put together a group that goes off in every direction believing that each of them are the “in charge” person. If you are building a Camel…look around and find a leader, or be one!

Command and control are outdated and just enhance bereaucracy and power as well as a culture of paranoia. Don’t talk to the CEO as it will only result in TMI for them. Don’t skip levels in the heirarchy or power will be lost to your superior. Hah, and Dah, these no longer apply. Most communication failures can be traced to command and control.

Correct me if I’m wrong, but employees want access to corporate information and not just in a brochure or an annual report. Employees want to know what the strategy is, where the corporation is going, the mission and results. How do they fit in the corporate culture and how many ways are they contributing to the results.

Cluetrain points out a new kind of organizational conversation between and among workers. The conversation is making them smarter and more productive. Isn’t it time for your organization to join the conversation?

Many consultants express frustration with sending resumes that seem to go into a black hole and they never get a response. It is important that recruiters understand that even with many, many applicants, it is important to respond to them whether the response is positive or negative.

Employers may have made promises they find impossible to keep when finances aren’t available to meet bonus or salary increases. Integrity is either meeting those obligations or communicating with the employees to ensure they remain confident in the integrity of the company executives. Often this is not the case and the employee is left wondering and waiting for promises to be kept. The longer they wait the less confidence they have in the company or executives and begin to look for other opportunities. Given the market conditions, it is still very costly to replace good employees who contribute to the success of a corporation.

Integrity involves honesty and trust. You must work together as a team and reward team members for their work. Do not reward manipulative behaviors or those individuals who are political in assuming credit. Finally, respect each other and always be honest with yourself. Do you meet obligations? Achieve results? Give credit to others? Meet commitments? Respond and communicate? You will find answers to Integrity in a down market in the answers to those questions. A friend on facebook wrote: “always check (and review) your motives and expectations. If they’re from love and caring, then it’s all good. If they’re from self-interest, it’ll blow up in your face…every time.” Be sure your motives are based on Integrity.