HRMS Blog Archives

News

Positions Being Updated This Week: The programs to freeze or inactivate positions will be run by the end of this week. Positions that haven't had an active incumbent in job data or additional pay for one year (and that aren't a current job opening) will have the Position Status field changed from Approved to Frozen. The Status field will change from active to inactive.

Positions with a Position Status of Frozen for one year will be changed to Inactive. The Status field remains as Inactive.

News

Temporary Services for Clerical, Financial, and Legal Work: Every five years the University competitively bids its agreements for temporary staffing services. As a result of the most recent bidding process, the University has signed agreements with two temp services to provide clerical, financial, and legal help, effective July 1:

• Russell Tobin & Associates: Russell Tobin is a targeted business, and the U is pleased to begin a new partnership with them.
• Kelly Services: Kelly has been a trusted U contractor for five years.

The University no longer has an agreement with Adecco. Departments with a current placement from Adecco may continue to use that resource until the end of the existing purchase order.

If you need temporary services, please use one of these two providers. Both Kelly Services and Russell Tobin offer contracted rates. (Keep in mind that all legal work should be coordinated with the Office of the General Counsel.)

For staffing issues or questions, please contact 612-624-UOHR or ohr@umn.edu. For information about the U-Wide agreements or creating requisitions for this work, please contact 612-624-1617 or controller@umn.edu.

Training

Workshops on HRMS Reports and Queries Set Through September: If you have staff who are unfamiliar with HRMS reports and queries, be sure to tell them about our HRMS Reporting Workshops in August and September. Each class offers an overview of HRMS reports and queries and covers all modules. The workshop also includes a high-level overview of the HR Data Warehouse tables for those who want to build their own queries. Each session covers the same material, and we have both classroom and WebEx workshops available. Here are the dates:

• Tuesday, August 8:
  1:00-4:00 p.m., Room 543, West Bank Office Building
• Tuesday, August 15:
  1:00-4:00 p.m., Room 543, West Bank Office Building
• Thursday, August 17:
  1:00-4:00 p.m., WebEx
• Wednesday, September 13:
  8:30-11:30 a.m., Room 543, West Bank Office Building
• Thursday, September 21:
  8:30-11:30 a.m., WebEx

To attend, sign in to ULearn and search "HRMS Reporting Workshop."

Reports

Accessing PeopleSoft Queries: As a best practice, we encourage units to access PeopleSoft queries from the Reporting Center instead of Query Viewer. Several public queries in Query Viewer are outdated and incorrect. PeopleSoft Query Viewer will still be available, but be aware that queries not listed in the Reporting Center have not been validated for accuracy and are not supported by OHR Operations.

News

Instructions for Merit Increases: Recently the Board of Regents approved the proposed 2% merit increase fund for fiscal year 2018. All increases should be entered in the system by Wednesday, June 28. To help with that process, we've created a brief set of instructions with information on:

• How to enter merit increases
• Effective dates for entry
• How to provide increases to employees above or below their salary range
• What to do with employees on unpaid leaves

Holiday Reminder

One-Day Payroll Close June 29: There will be a one-day payroll close on Thursday, June 29, due to the banking and mail holiday on Tuesday, July 4. The deadline for sending in Payroll Updates will be Thursday, June 29, at 1:00 p.m. The Wednesday, June 28, time and absence and job data deadlines will not change.

We will do our best to accommodate Payroll Updates for merit increases that were not able to be entered by the job data deadline of 4:30 on Wednesday, June 28. Due to the limited timeframe, however, we will need to prioritize other Payroll Updates and process late merit increases as we are able.

System Improvement

Fiscal Year End: Sponsored Payroll Encumbering: In past years, on the last pay date of the fiscal year, all payroll encumbering was suspended until the start of the new year on July 1. We do this to facilitate the closing of the fiscal year for non-sponsored chartstrings, but it results in a short gap in which users can't see sponsored payroll encumbering data on financial reports.

As recommended by the Payroll Accounting work group, enhancements have been made that will allow sponsored payroll encumbrances to continue during this period. On June 21, only non-sponsored and cost-share payroll encumbrances will be zeroed out. Payroll encumbrances for sponsored chartstrings will continue to be available on reports throughout the fiscal year transition. All non-sponsored and cost-share payroll encumbering will resume on July 1.

Reminder: No daily payroll encumbrance adjustments will be available between June 21 and July 7.

System Improvement

Changes to Undergraduate Fringe Charges: Currently, an employee's primary job determines whether they are eligible for fringe charges. While undergraduate job records are not typically assessed fringe, it can still occur if an undergrad employee has a primary job record that is fringe-eligible. As recommended by the Payroll Accounting work group, we have made changes in the system to ensure no fringe is charged to a job record with an employee class of UND, regardless of primary job setting. The change will begin with the first pay period in fiscal year 2018 (pay end date 06/25/17).

Reminder

2017 Personal Holiday Expires June 30: Employees eligible for a personal holiday can use their FY 2017 accrual until June 30. Personal holiday accruals do not carry over to the new fiscal year.

FY 2018 personal holidays will accrue on July 1. The Absence Management system won't accept an absence request for the FY18 personal holiday until it accrues. As a result, employees who want to use their personal holiday right away in July should discuss that with their supervisor and then submit the request to the system after it has accrued on July 1.

Training

Workshop on HRMS Reports and Queries Set for July 11 and 20: If you have staff who are unfamiliar with HRMS reports and queries, be sure to tell them about two upcoming "HRMS Reporting Workshops." The class offers an overview of HRMS reports and queries and will cover all modules. It will also include a high-level overview of the HR Data Warehouse tables for those who want to build their own queries. The instructor-led session will be held on Tuesday, July 11, from 1:00 to 4:00 p.m. in Room 543 of the West Bank Office Building.

The webinar version of the course will be held via WebEx on Thursday, July 20, from 1:00 to 4:00 p.m. This session is limited to 10 people. 

To attend, sign in to ULearn and search "HRMS Reporting Workshop."

News

Payroll Accounting Distributions for FY 2018: On Sunday,June 11, Accounting Services completed the payroll accounting distribution roll for fiscal year 2018. All current and future-dated payroll accounting distributions were automatically copied forward into the new 2018 entry and are now available for review.

Reminder: If any distribution changes are needed for the 26th pay period that should also apply to the first pay period in 2018, distribution changes must be made in both 2017 and 2018.

Reminder

Remember to Enter Valid Terminal Degree Dates in PeopleSoft: We'd like to remind units how important it is to include the correct terminal degree for faculty members. In many cases the data seem to be incorrect or missing. Please refer to section 5 of the Appointment Entry: New Hire Checklist job aid for instructions on how to enter terminal degree information, which is important for many reasons, including 1) producing data used in the uniform faculty salary equity review process, and 2) complying with the Higher Learning Commission's increased scrutiny of faculty credentialing.

You can also run a report to find records with missing degrees for your unit. In the Reporting Center, look for the query Empl - Missing Degree Info. The report lists active employees whose employee class requires a degree but the degree information is missing. The query is also listed in the new job aid Queries and Reports for Appointment Entry.

Training

Payroll Forum Webinar Now Online: We had a good turnout at last week's Payroll Forum, with more than 50 people in the room and another 55 online. If you missed the forum, or want to refresh your memory on key topics, the webinar is now available online. You'll find the link on the OHR website's Payroll Administration page, under More Resources. You can also view or make a copy of just the PowerPoint presentation from the meeting.

Reporting

Automated Step Increases Now Available for AFSCME Health Care: Entering step increases just got a little easier for bargaining unit 4, the AFSCME Health Care Unit. A new system enhancement allows HRMS users to run automated increases. The report is called UM Step Increases and can be found in the Reporting Center via this path: Reporting Center > Reports Run for Me > HRMS Reports. The report can also be found in the Reporting Center by searching for "UMHRAE002."

Here are more details:

• The program can be run in report-only mode or update mode. In update mode it will apply increases to Job Data. 
• It will be set up on an automatic schedule to run on the 15th of every month. It will look for records with an eligible progression anniversary date for the following month.
• The first report run will be scheduled for June 15, which will produce data increase information for July eligible step increases.
• The report and update processes cannot be run for past dates, so June increases will have to be entered manually, as they have been, by Central OHR.
• By running the report-only option the unit can identify eligible records so they can notify the employee of their pending increase. (By request of units, unlike the clerical program this group option does not send automatic emails to the employee.)
• Corrections can be made if a record is found on the unprocessed/error portion of the report.
• Note: Units or the Workforce Data Management team will need to review the error report.

Training

Reminder: Next Payroll Forum Set for May 25: The next quarterly Payroll Forum will be held a week from Thursday, on May 25, from 10:00 a.m. to noon at the Humphrey School of Public Affairs. If you have a suggestion for an agenda item, please send it to Heather Kidd at kidd0029@umn.edu. The remaining meetings for 2017 have also been scheduled. They'll take place from 10:00 a.m. to noon on Tuesday, August 1, and Tuesday, November 7.

System Improvement

Job Search Site Is Adding an Education Filter : As a result of usability testing on the job search site, we are adding an education filter on the job search web page. The new filter will allow applicants to search for jobs by entry, intermediate, and advanced education levels.

Beginning in early June, unit recruiters will designate the education level of a position before posting a job opening, which will allow the job opening to appear in the filter for applicants. We are updating training and job aids to reflect this addition and will share them with you soon.

System Improvements

Several Changes Installed to Improve Position Management, Payroll Accounting:

• Budgeted Position field for student positions: Student and temp/casual positions no longer require the Budgeted Position field to be checked in Position Management. The Add/Update Position Information page will now have Budgeted Position unchecked for job codes 2xxx, 95xx, 0001, 0003, 0007, or 0011, which are not considered for position budgeting in Finance. This field does not impact the encumbrance calculation. We have centrally updated these positions.
• Fixes to payroll encumbering—additional pay proration and leave of absence: Corrections were made to the payroll encumbrance process to more closely align with payroll actuals processing of additional pay and leaves of absence (including sabbaticals): 
  • Additional pay will now be prorated when an appointment ends or begins in the middle of a pay period.  
  • We will no longer prorate for employees whose additional pay ends or begins in the middle of a pay period but their appointment does not. 
  • Use of unpaid earn codes like TUP and SLU in additional pay will now reduce encumbrances.
  • Leaves of absence activity entered in Absence Management will now be considered (including sabbaticals). 
  • Unpaid leave activity will reduce REG earnings.
  • All full or partially paid leave activity will be reflected using the LVL or LVP earnings code rather than REG. 
• Ability to delete direct retros after submission on the Review/Approval page: Retros can now be deleted after submission as long as no workflow action or system processing has occurred. A delete button is now displayed on the UM Retro Distribution Review/Approval page.
  • A direct retro can only be deleted by the person who submitted it.
  • Auto-approved retros can only be deleted before system processing. 
  • Retros pending CA or effort approval cannot be deleted once an approver has completed a workflow action (approve or deny).  
  • Retros with a status of complete cannot be deleted.

Reminder: Processing of direct retros in an approved status now occurs twice a day, at 11:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m.  

• Unsubmitted direct retros no longer available on the Review/Approval page: Previously, if a retro preparer failed to submit a direct retro, the retro ID was still returned in the search results on the UM Retro Distribution Review/Approval page. This caused confusion when viewing the direct retro, as all accounting detail was highlighted yellow due to the missing information. Now when searching on the Review/Approval page, the unsubmitted direct retro will no longer appear in the search results or will display a No Results Found message. Preparers will need to return to the UM Retro Distribution Entry page and submit the direct retro.

Training

Workshop on HRMS Reports and Queries Set for April 25 and 27: If you have staff who are unfamiliar with HRMS reports and queries, they can attend an upcoming HRMS Reporting Workshop. The instructor-led class will offer an overview of HRMS reports and queries and will cover all modules. It will also include a high-level overview of the HR Data Warehouse tables for those who want to build their own queries. The sessions will be in Room 543 of the West Bank Office Building on:

Tuesday, April 25: 8:30–11:30 a.m.
Tuesday, April 25: 1:00–4:00 p.m.
Thursday, April 27: 8:30–11:30 a.m.
Thursday, April 27: 1:00–4:00 p.m.

To attend, sign in to ULearn and search "HRMS Reporting Workshop."

System Improvement

Introducing Midday Direct Retro Processing: As a result of feedback from the user community, we will now be processing a midday run of direct retros Monday through Saturday between 11:00 a.m. and 1:00 p.m., beginning today.

All direct retros eligible for the midday processing must be approved before 11:00 a.m. Any direct retros approved after that time will be processed in the nightly batch starting at 5:00 p.m.

Please note that although the direct retros will be processed midday in HRMS, they will not be available on UM Reports until the following day.

Training

Summer Appointments Instructions Enhanced: As a result of the 2017 summer appointments forum held April 4, we have made some enhancements to the instructional materials. Highlights of the enhancements involved additional pay and graduate assistance information. To view the newly published materials, visit the A-Z Material List web page and click on Summer Teaching and Research Appointments (Includes May Sessions)—2017 Reference Manual.

Reminder

Reconciling Past 'Needs Approval' Time: Payroll Services has reached out to many of you to review time from past pay periods that remains in a "Needs Approval" status. Thanks for taking the time to review that data and respond to us. We'll be processing the corrections you've sent back to us over the next two to three pay periods.  

We also want to share a couple of best practices that will help you to monitor time in previous pay periods that remains unapproved.

1. On the Timesheet Summary page, when pulling up employees' time, supervisors and Unit Time Administrators should always select All Time Before in the View By field. That will display all reported time that needs attention, not just time in the current pay period.  
2. Use the Time and Labor queries noted below that have just been moved to the Reporting Center. In particular, the "Time—Needs Approval by ZDeptID or College" query allows you to pull approval status for your college or ZDeptID for a selected date range.

Beginning with the pay period ending 4/16/17, we will mass-approve the two most recent pay periods rather than just the single most recent. That will avoid building such a backlog of reported time in Needs Approval status.

Resources

14 New Queries Now Available in Reporting Center: To help HRMS users find information faster and easier, Operations has added several frequently used queries and reports to the Reporting Center:

Additional Pay Audit: Shows PeopleSoft users who have updated the Additional Pay record for a given EmplID

Additional Pay for Active Employees: Lists all active additional pay for active employees in the selected DeptID or ZDeptID

Employees/Positions Who Report to Vacant Positions: Shows Employees/Positions who report to vacant positions for the selected ZDeptID

Employees Who Report to This Position/EmplID: Shows employees who report to provided EmplID or position number

Expected Return Date Audit: Audits employees with expected return dates in next 30 days

Absence Leave Entry (Pre-Upgrade): Shows leaves taken for a given employee in the 8.9 system; from 12/29/13 through 04/05/15

Time—Compare Schedule to Std Hours by DeptID: Shows time and labor schedule and standard hours in job data for employees in a DeptID

Time—Missing Punches by Dept: Lists employees missing punch data

Time—Needs Approval by ZDeptID or College: Shows time that needs to be approved in prompted time range, and ZDeptID or College

Time Approval Status by Dept: Lists timesheet approval status by EmplID for timesheets between the dates prompted for a specific department

Time Reported by College: Shows the time reported by employees in the prompted college

Time Reported by ZDeptID: Shows the time reported by employees in the prompted ZDeptID

Time Reporter Schedules by DeptID: Lists employees’ workgroup and schedule information for employees in a specific department

Time Reporter Schedules by EmplID: Lists employees' workgroup and schedule information for up to three employees

Hiring

Transition for Hiring Finance Professionals Set to Begin This Week: As we mentioned last week, Talent Acquisition is streamlining the recruitment and application process for filling Finance Professional 1 and 2 positions. The new process will combine job openings from across the University into a single job posting, allowing applicants to submit one application for all positions.

We will begin transitioning to the single job posting this week, with an advertising "blast" starting on Friday. Here is a link to the ad copy, with the job opening ID. We encourage you to share this ad with your colleagues and networks.

Beginning this week, we will no longer post unit-specific job openings for Finance Professional 1 and 2 classifications. If you have an opening, it will be included in the University's single job opening.

If you have an existing job opening posted, it will be incorporated into the University posting on Friday. Please work with your unit or central recruiter to see the applications that come in from the advertising campaign.

More information on the new hiring process is coming soon, including:

• An email to all employees in the Finance job family about the change
• A web page on Finance Professional hiring
• Tools for hiring managers and HR staff about the revised process

Hiring

Hiring Entry-Level Finance Professionals Made More Efficient: As part of the Human Resource Continuous Improvement efforts, Talent Acquisition is streamlining the recruitment and application process for filling Finance Professional 1 and 2 positions. Set to begin at the end of March, the new process will combine job openings from across the University into a single job posting, allowing applicants to submit one application for all positions. 

The new approach has advantages for hiring managers too. Rather than each hiring unit posting, advertising, recruiting, and collecting applications for their specific openings, those processes will be handled centrally. Hiring managers can take advantage of a shared applicant pool and have access to candidates within two days of their request. The process will help retain top candidates who might have have been turned away once a particular job was filled. 

Some highlights from the project's implementation:

1. Information on these changes will be sent to all employees in the Finance Job Family before the program starts.
2. A web page is being created specifically to showcase finance professional positions.
3. We are working to produce a robust pool of well-qualified applicants. The University-wide job posting on the job search page will be accompanied by a variety of recruitment actions, communications, and advertising.
4. We are preparing detailed communications and tools for hiring managers and HR staff about the revised process. 
5. We will continue to work closely with a FinMAC subgroup and unit HR managers to ensure a smooth implementation.

Resources

Summer Hiring Packets Coming in April: With many units already thinking ahead to their summer hiring, Operations is putting together an updated information packet on teaching and research appointments for summer session. Due out in early April, the packet will offer tips, general guidance, and step-by-step instructions on summer hiring procedures for teachers and researchers, including position management, appointment entry, action/reason codes, additional pay, and much more. We'll keep you posted as the packet nears completion.

New Procedures

Stop Pay Online Workflow Rolls Out Monday, March 13: Next Monday, March 13, Payroll's Stop Pay/Direct Deposit Return Request form will be replaced with the online workflow in PeopleSoft. Unit Security Contacts have given us user information for each area, and user access will be in place for Monday's rollout. The current link to the PDF form will be replaced with a link to the online workflow on the OHR website.

This online workflow will let users see the status of a stop pay or direct deposit return request online. It will also send email updates when a status changes. The workflow will aid users by validating the data needed to process a stop payment or direct deposit return.

If you are a new user and have questions about using the online workflow, the OHR Contact Center at 4-UOHR (612-624-8647 or 800-756-2363) will be able to help.

Training

First Payroll Forum Well Attended: Thanks to all who attended last week's Payroll Forum. There was a great turnout, with a good discussion and exchange of ideas. We look forward to future gatherings and will get the dates out to you soon. Here's a link to the presentation.

Communication

What Should Be on a Proposed OHR Operations Website? Tell Us in This Survey: OHR Operations is considering starting its own website where our HR unit customers could find the information you need to do to your jobs efficiently and effectively. The site would also offer news and updates on the work we're doing centrally to support your efforts. We're interested in your feedback on what you would like to see on an OHR Operations website. (OHR Operations is made up of HRMS, Payroll, the Contact Center, and Workforce Data Management.)

Please take a few minutes to complete this short survey on a new website. Thank you for your help in enhancing our communication tools!

System Improvement

Position Searches Made Easier : As a result of user feedback, you can now exclude "inactive" positions when you search for positions. Previously, the Add/Update Position Information page had options to search by Position Number, Description, Position Status, Business Unit, DeptID, or Job Code. We have now added another search parameter, Effective Status, that allows you to search on either active or inactive positions.

Issue Resolved

Units Can Once Again Edit Position Descriptions for All Reason Codes: Last month Operations temporarily suspended the ability of unit position managers to edit position descriptions because a system error didn't alert Compensation to review those changes for proper classification. The error has now been fixed. That means position managers can once again edit position descriptions for all reason codes. Compensation will be automatically notified for a quick review and approval. Thank you for your patience as we worked to correct the issue.

Training

New Job Aid on Entering Performance Reviews into HRMS: Many employees at the University take part in annual or probationary performance reviews. Once the reviews are complete, they should be entered into HRMS. A new job aid can walk you through the few simple steps for entering employee reviews in the system.

Update

Additional Summer Faculty Earn Code for Research: In response to requests from the Finance user community, we are providing an additional earnings code to help distinguish between research and instruction for summer earnings. Earnings code SSS is renamed to "Summer Session Instruction." The old earnings code SMR is active again and will be used for "Summer Session Research." These earnings codes are meant to be used only for summer session. More information about using these earnings codes will be included in the summer appointments instructional packet that will be distributed in the spring.

Update

Year-End Payroll Adjustments: As part of the normal year-end process, Payroll Services runs an abbreviated year-end, off-cycle payroll to make year-end adjustments and check adjustments or reversals that affect employees' 2016 year-to-date amounts. This payroll was run Monday, February 13. As a result, you may see an additional UM Payroll Verification Report for your department in the Reporting Center. (You won't see an additional report if no employees in your area had year-end adjustments.) These payroll entries will be posted with an accounting date of 02/15/17.

Communication

New Quarterly Payroll Forum Meetings: Payroll Services will begin hosting a quarterly meeting with unit payroll colleagues later this month to create a forum for discussing ideas, exchanging questions, and sharing best practices. The agenda will include topics specific to payroll, time and absence reporting, and employment eligibility compliance. We will share more information on the first agenda soon.

The meetings will be held on the following dates from 10:00 a.m. to noon at the Humphrey School of Public Affairs, Room 50B: 

• February 27
• May 8
• August 15
• November 7

Processes

Payroll's Stop Pay/Direct Deposit Return Form Will Be Going Electronic: The Payroll Services team is excited about a new innovation that will replace the Stop Pay/Direct Deposit Return Request form with an online work flow within PeopleSoft. This project is a collaborative effort between HRMS, OIT, the HRMS Advisory Group, and Payroll Services. The online work flow will roll out Monday, March 13.

This electronic form will provide users with the ability to view the status of a stop/return request online. It will also provide email updates when the status of a submission changes. The work flow will aid users by validating the data needed to process a stop payment or direct deposit return. An important step in rolling out the new work flows is to create a security role for users of these forms. We're reaching out to Unit Security Contacts to identify users in their area who will need access to this work flow.

We will share more information as we get closer to the implementation date. The next phase of this effort to move to online work flows will focus on the Off-cycle and Payroll Update request forms.

Data Security

System Best Practices for Sending Sensitive Files: In OHR we handle sensitive information all the time, which means we need to be extra careful when we send that information to others. Whenever we exchange a file with someone, the best practice is to put the file on a network drive and let the recipient access the file from the drive, rather than sending an email attachment. Email attachments are not secure, and you have no option to recall the email if you send it to the wrong person. Following this best practice is essential if the file contains sensitive data like social security numbers, payroll data, or personally identifiable information such as addresses, phone numbers, email addresses, and so on.

OHR has three storage drives you can use to send information:

• UMN Box Secure Storage: Use this for private, highly restricted data
• Shared drives and Google drive: Use these for private, restricted data and public data

If you're the sender:

1. Follow IT guidelines to determine which network drive best suits your needs.
2. Post the file on the drive.
3. Let your recipients know how to access the file.
4. Delete the file after the recipients have accessed the file.

If you're the recipient: If someone tells you they are sending you a file, tell them to use a drive. Feel free to share the instructions above with them.

Please contact Technology Help Service Desk if you need more information with the storage options.

Training

HRMS Workshop Teaches Ins and Outs of Reports and Queries: If you want to increase your understanding of HRMS reports and queries, register for the HRMS Reporting Workshop conducted by Training Services. All HRMS modules will be covered to give participants an idea of the helpful reporting tools available. Participants who are comfortable building their own queries will also get a high-level overview of the HR Data Warehouse tables (DWHR). Registrations are now being accepted via ULearn, and two spots remain for the interactive, instructor-led session, which will be held February 14 from 8:30 to 11:00 a.m. Alternate session dates, including April 11, are also available in ULearn.

System Update

System Improvements Made to Payroll Accounting: As a result of feedback from the user community, a number of improvements have been made to the UM Retro Distribution Entry pages and the UM Inactive Combo Code Report. 

UM Retro Distribution Entry
These changes are meant to provide users with more information about the salary expenses they are moving, to clarify processes, and to prevent common processing errors at the point of entry.  

• After selecting Get Distributions on the Direct Retro Distribution page, the grid that displays will now show pay period range information for each employee record, earning codes, and combo code distribution line. New fields have been added to display first pay period begin date and number through last pay period begin date and number. This will make it easier to see which specific pay periods will be affected when adjusting a particular line.
• Pressing the Get Combo CD button on the Direct Retro Adjustment page will now function the same way it does on the Distribution Entry page. Previously, the Direct Retro Adjustment page presented a Multiple Combo Codes Found error in situations where the chartfields entered were correct but other optional chartfields existed. Now, chartfields with no value entered will be interpreted as a blank rather than a wildcard when retrieving the combination code.
• Users will now be prevented from entering a retro for a person whose corresponding job code, position, or department ID is inactive for the date range in question. The message will say "The line you have chosen has an inactive job code, position number and/or HR DeptID." Before proceeding, the underlying job code/position number/DeptID must be activated for the affected time period. Contact HR to resolve the issue, and then the retro can be entered normally.

UM Inactive Combo Codes Report
The goal of these changes is to ensure that the report returns results only if action is needed in distribution entry to prevent future payroll activity from distributing to the department's suspense chartstring (program 21853). The updated report is a useful tool to monitor invalid distribution data throughout the fiscal year, including the fiscal year–end transition. To access the report in HRMS, navigate to the UM Payroll Accounting folder and select UM Inactive Combo Codes Report.

This report is available to all users with the following roles: Distribution Entry, Retro Distribution Entry, and Certified Approver. As a reminder, users who do not perform one of these functions but still need to view Payroll Accounting data in HRMS may request the Payroll Accounting View role through the online ARF process. This view-only role allows users to see submitted retros, distribution information, the UM Invalid Combo Codes report, and various other payroll accounting informational pages.

Training

HRMS Workshop Teaches Ins and Outs of Reports and Queries: If you want to increase your understanding of HRMS reports and queries, register for the HRMS Reporting Workshop conducted by Training Services. All HRMS modules will be covered to give participants an idea of the helpful reporting tools available. Participants who are comfortable building their own queries will also get a high-level overview of the HR data Warehouse tables (DWHR). Registrations are now being accepted via ULearn for the interactive, instructor-led session, which will be held February 14 from 8:30 to 11:00 a.m. in Room 543 of the West Bank Office Building. Alternate session dates are also available in ULearn.

Reports

UM Reports Outdated Data: Some non-Finance UM Reports may have outdated data due to a failure with PeopleSoft source data over the weekend. Data loads that did not run on Monday will be executed on Tuesday morning. Please check the upper right corner of reports to verify the data as-of date.

Process Improvements

Improvements to Hiring Process Are Launched: The changes made to streamline the hiring process, from creating a position to posting a job opening, are now available to use. As a reminder:

1. Units are able to approve their own positions and postings. Unit position managers can now approve all positions, and unit recruiters can approve postings. Central OHR's role is in the Compensation Department’s review of classification and salary for certain positions described in #2 below.
2. Positions that need review by the Compensation Department. To make sure positions are classified correctly and at the appropriate salary level, the OHR Compensation Department will still review new positions and existing positions that have a significant change in job duties (more details will be coming soon) before a position or posting can be approved. The only exceptions are cloned positions of jobs that already exist. In those cases, no central OHR review is necessary.

The PeopleSoft HR system has been modified to reflect these changes. The training and job aids are updated and available for viewing through the HRMS Instruction web pages, including job aids on the Recently Updated Materials page. In addition, we will be hosting three training labs to help position managers and unit recruiters with the new process. These will be held in room 543 on the fifth floor of the West Bank Office Building:

• Tuesday, January 10, 1:00–4:00 p.m.
• Wednesday, January 11, 9:00 a.m.–noon
• Thursday, January 12, 9:00 a.m.–noon

All

Resources

Old Benefits Help Line Number Retired: As of January 3, the outdated Benefits phone number 4-9090 for University employees is retired. The Benefits team can still be reached at 4-UOHR (612-624-8647 or 800-756-2363), option 1.