Let’s see, where were we…ah yes discussing change in organizations. Are you in an organization that understands their strategies and core values? Do they remain fixed while practices adapt to change. There are times when strategies must be adjusted and practices will change, but the core values are the foundation that remains the same.
There is a difference between what should never change and what in the organization should be open to change. To understand the vision of an organization it is imperative that you understand the core values or ideology and what the organization is seeking in the future. Core values and core purpose are those fundamentals that do not change and tells you where you are. The future is where you may be going and that can change as the world and economy changes. Can your organization demonstrate core tenets this well?
Can you articulate the core values of your organization? Living in Orlando provides an example or core values in an organization that is demonstrated to the world daily. Not only can employees articulate the value but anyone familiar with Walt Disney Company’s core values have a clear understanding of imagination and wholesomeness, product excellence and service to the customer.
Let’s ask your employees what core values do you personally bring to work? These core values are values you would communicate to your children, hold regardless of the rewards and will continue throughout your work and home life. Will these values be as important 100 years from now as they are today? If you were in charge of your organization, what core values would you espouse?
So it has been established that we need to clearly articulate our core values. Next let’s talk Core Purpose. An organization has a core purpose and that is to reach for a star but never quite get there. The purpose of an an organization lies in it’s reason for being. Well of course it is to make money and provide value to shareholders. Hmmmm is there more to the purpose of your organization than that? If it wnt away tomorrow what would the world miss by not having your organization exist? Keep asking why and you will begin to discover the purpose of an organization. A hospital might indicate we have an ER, why? We pay our nurses a percentage more than any other hospital in the region, Why? We provide educational opportunities for the community, Why? Keep asking the why questions to identify the purpose.
An organization can demonstrate competence just as an employee can but purpose provides what your organization stands for at the end of the day.
In conclusion, if it isn’t core, it can be changed. So what will you change and how will you foster that change. Answer all these questions as you begin any change process or initiative in an organization or implementation.
It seems there is relatively very little experience in renewing organizations. People have to be motivated to change and well over 50% of companies fail in motivating their people to change. Why is this? Perhaps one cause is lack of leadership in organizations or trying to implement change at the wrong level of the organization.
What is the difference between a leader and an executive.or a leader and a manager? A leader can demonstrate the status quo seems more unacceptable than changing. It is necessary to convince at least 75% of the leadership in an organization that continuing the “as is” is unaccpetable. A leadership team is needed to communicate the value of change. You may be able to communicate the “need” for change but what is the value to the organization?
So what are some of the things that are needed to transform an organization. There must be a vision and a sense of urgency to change. Once you have the vision, how do you develop strategies to achieve that vision? How do you communicate that vision and teach the new behaviors that will be necessary to achieve the vision?
A leader will plan for short term wins and focus on improvements. Hire employees, promote employeyees and reward employees who can implement the vision. Ensure performance is evaluated on the ability to support change within the organization. There must be a strong line of leadership and trust in that leadership. This means having a clear vision of the future you want to instantiate. Transformation will dissolve if there isn’t a clear and communicated vision.
Can you communicate the vision of the organization in 5 minutes or less? If you asked each employee, would they be able to articulate the vision? Without credible communication employees will never participate or support change. Remember new approaches are subject to erosion and managers who do not support the change and make demands inconsistent with the new culture will ensure failure. Requirements for appraisal and promotion must change to support the new vision.
Where are you in the change process? Are you winning or losing the battle for a new culture. Cultural change is very difficult and does not take place overnight or with one implementation. Stop today and see if you can articulate the vision of your organization and where you fit in that vision.
Consultant “Do you have your processes documented?” Client: “Of course, let me show you the ringbinder where we keep them. I had to use them the last time we did an upgrade and they are somewhere here. Oh yes, here it is the red ringbinder in the back of the overhead on my cubicle. What? Do the executives review them…you have got to be kidding.”
Consultant: “Can you show me how they cross all the organizational boundaries? Where they start and where they end? What are the results and who is the owner of the process? Who is getting value at the end of the day?” Client: “Huh?, I just keep the binder of the visio documents, I don’t know who uses the process documentation.” And so on, and so on.
Process is not something to keep in a binder on the shelf, but something to review on an iterative basis. Do your processes remain static? Are the roles always the same, do they change? If so, how and who integrates the change into the organization to ensure it is accepted? It is important to identify the stakeholders, the change agents, the processes that change and how they change. Is the change a result of a policy change, a change in the system, a role enhancement, a performance concern either system performance or performance of an associate? There is an impact to the organization which will effect systems, people, process, procedure outcomes or results that must be addressed.
Who owns the process? The process owner is the person who gets value at the end of the day. What does that mean? It means the highest level ownership in the organization, the role that ensures that part of the organization is achieving the results expected and the results that support the organizational vision and direction. I wonder how many associates can explain how what they do will impact the direction and strategy of the organization..in fact, how many can articulate the vision or strategy of the organization?
Process is the absolute foundation of the organization and determines where any implementation or upgrade will go and whether or not it will be successful. It is the foundation for system, customizations, training, testing, and ongoing support of the organization so again I ask…where are your processes? In a binder on the shelf, or in the forefront of organizational and strategic discussions?
Process, Process, Process. How many times have you worked with organizations who insisted they wanted to improve their processes? Hours were spent analyzing the “as is” and the “to be”. Requirements were identified, opportunities, and efficiencies evaluated. Improvements were possible in system, process, policy and performance and the road to the future was determined.
And then, it stopped. It was time to address the system and ensure the technology was upgraded but what happened to the opportunities? The opportunities were sacrificed to ease of technological implementation, to the ways we have always done it and to meet the “go live” date identified. Bring it up as “vanilla” as possible and move on. Who would look to the policy decisions that needed to be addressed, how would people be trained to improved performance and when would the “to be” processes be tested and documented? My guess would be never or perhaps the next time someone realizes things are going awry.
Managing your processes constantly is a key factor in navigating the problems that arise in the organization. Managing process helps to manage change. Change is not an option but a daily reality. Whether organizations want to change or not…they will. Organizations must make investments in process and change. What investment has your organization made in process and change? A few weeks of process analysis or an ongoing strategy to evaluate process and change? Only with change will new organizational capability be present in an organization.
Ability to perform and the capacity to scale is a task that needs to be addressed in the process analysis process. How many databases do you have with the same data, but no integrity? How do your processes link your stakeholders to the business? Have you even determined who your stakeholders are internal and external to your organization?
It seems Business Process templates are used on every project with varying degrees of success.I have used Rational, Visio, PDF’s, and templates that have been developed to encompass a modified Rational approach.
The current project is reviewing all the delivered processes and using them as a basis for the development of the “to be” processes for the implementation. New projects always result in a search of the “PeopleSoft” now Oracle website to find the delivered processes and each time it is a matter of wading and searching to find them.
Daniel, who is one of our business analysts on the project found this link which has provided an excellent resource for our process development work.
Oracle also has a PDF of the 9.1 processes. Let us know where you are in your business process work and how you developed your “to be” processes for your implementation.
The purpose of this document is to provide a foundation for discussion, decisions, and definition of your system This document defines the current Time and Labor business practices of the Client along with ideas for the forthcoming implementation.
Question and Answers
Time Collection Process, Time Period and Time Reporting Code
1. Do you electronically track employee time worked? If so, what technologies are used to enter time?
Internet
Intranet
Electronic Timesheets
Clocking systems (Kronos)
Swipe card (i.e. Employee Badges)
Other (please describe)
2. Do you have employees or groups of employees who record time on paper-based time sheets? If so is there a need to print new timesheets?
3. Is employee time entered centrally or is time entry decentralized?
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.
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:
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.”
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.
Projects need to have a governance model and the project team needs to understand the model and agree to work within it’s construct.
How this activity works:
By reviewing the standards of the methodology you are using. Will it be Compass, Rational, or some similar project methodology. Many groups are looking to Agile to implement or upgrade faster. This might be a good methodology if your technical team is also solid in understanding the functionality associated with the application.
Reporting relationships will be identified and how status reporting will take place is important to the success of your project. Do you have a status report template so all reporitng is consistent.
Determine status reporting responsibilities
How often will you require status reports? Daily? Weekly by team rolled up once a month by Project Manager? Discussed at weekly meetings?
What is the format or template that will be used for your status report? How can you determine at a quick glance the status of the project.
Who should receive the status reports? How will they be distributed, posted?
• Define project filing system/repository or project diary to maintain all information in a central location.
• Determine meeting schedules and format
• Determine issue resolution procedures
• Determine change request procedures
• Determine configuration management procedures
• Determine quality review procedures
how often
who will perform
what will they review
Management Procedures
Objective
To determine the tools for tracking the project and how we will measure progress and budget
Overview
How this activity works:
This discussion is about the collection of input, processing and reporting of project information and what tools will be used for these activities. Examples such as Excel, Project, Word, Powerpoint for progress presentations (standard project template, logos etc..
It begins with the your methodology standard as a “straw man”.
Additional Materials
Distribute methodology standards
At the conclusion of this activity the team will develop the five to ten performance measures that they will recommend to management as the criteria by which this project will be measured. These measurements should support the project’s objectives and provide high level direction to all project activities and tasks.
How this activity works:
This activity is done as a single group. The group will discuss which factors are critical to the success of the project. Using the 10 to 15 factors that were developed in the discussion, have the team evaluate the pros and cons of each of the proposed measurements.
The team needs to explore the possibility that for any existing project measure its value may be different now than it was when it was first used due to changing business conditions.
Once the initial performance measures have been compiled in a list, the activity leader will give each person a copy of the compiled list.
Each team member will rank the performance measures as to its importance to the company. Once everyone has completed the activity, the totals and averages should be calculated for each measurement. The top five become the team’s performance measurements. Then ask the team how they feel about the top five as it relates to their own function and provide opportunities for small group and large group discussion. Each team member should be prepared to rank the team’s priorities and to establish how that fits with their priorities for the project or the priorities of their department. Ask each team member to discuss how the measurements will relate to their function on the team, and in the organization.
What will a deliverable look like?
Project Measurements Questionnaire
Importance to YOU
Measurable Factors
Importance to Bus. Unit
None>>>>>Great
None>>>>>Major
1
2
3
4
5
Deliver project completion faster than competition
1
2
3
4
5
1
2
3
4
5
Increase sales productivity by 15%
1
2
3
4
5
1
2
3
4
5
Reduce cost of inventory stored in warehouse by Date
1
2
3
4
5
1
2
3
4
5
Decrease accounts receivable days to 48 by a certain date
1
2
3
4
5
1
2
3
4
5
Deliver self-service access for all HCM activities by a certain date
1
2
3
4
5
1
2
3
4
5
Increase on-time deliveries to 93% by Date
1
2
3
4
5
I am sure you can think of many more items for this list and your teams will surprise you with their contributions.
Let’s talk about some of the roles that you might want to consider for your project. Depending on the size of the project, you may or may not need all of the roles but someone will have to assume the responsibilities.
Client Executive: The client executive is responsible for the overall relationship with the customer. This is the role that would address and resolve issues that cannot be resolved at the vendor level. They keep the customer aware of new products, services, and software updates as they become available. They are also the ones who look for opportunities where they can add value to the customer’s business.
Program Manager: The Program Manager may support the Client before and after their software acquisition, especially on large complex projects. Sometimes called the Enterprise Manager, they would be a part of the Client’s Steering committee and should help shape the project success through the use of best practice, project and business practice.
The Enterprise Manager participates on the Steering Committee, and helps drive the project through to success. They use industry best business process and practice. They provide advice that will minimize risk and accelerate the implementation or upgrade. Many organizations use the engagement manager and project manager interchangeably, however, their responsibilities re significantly different.
Project Manager: The individual in this roles provides the leadership for the project team and produces the status reports, plans, budgets and formal methodology (such as CSC, Compass, Rational) and resourcing. The Engagement Manager supports the Project Managers both client and consulting in all aspects of project planning and control, and supports the design,development and deployment of a strong quality program. The Project Manager is responsible for the “care and feeding” of the consulting and client project team members and for supporting the client Project Manager.
Process Specialists (Functional and Technical)Functional specialists are charged with guiding the project team through those steps that require detailed applications functional knowledge and related industry best practices. This consulting-sourced role is usually a full-time member of the project team.
The Technical Specialist executes the technical steps by providing support in the design and management of databases and in tuning the system and architecture. This is a consulting sourced role working in lock step with the client role.
System EngineerThe System Engineer designs and creates technology solutions in response to business requirements. They are brought into a project when the solution requires some specific knowledge in the emerging technologies. Skills include: Workflow, Electronic Commerce; Security including OLAP, Multi-dimensional modeling, compare report decisions, eApplications and solutions to customization requests.
Education RepresentativeThis person is responsible for working with the customer to make sure they use the education resources available to them in the most effective manner.This includes executing training plans, setting up on-site classes, and making the customer aware of alternate training formats including stand up training, interactive training, webinars and other venues.It is also the responsibility of this role to have a clear understanding of the business processes used and reflect those processes in User Productivity Kit or Tutor development.
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