![[Currents header graphic]](/homeart/currents_header.gif)
February 8, 1999
In Human Resources, several initiatives are under way to improve computer systems in ways that will benefit employees across the campus. Some changes will update antiquated systems, while others will streamline processes or enhance reporting capabilities. Here are highlights of some of the changes.
In Academic Human Resources, project manager Nancy Degnan has led an effort to create a database to make the salary histories of academic employees accessible to academic personnel coordinators in the divisions.
The new Filemaker Pro database improves reporting capabilities, makes sharing information easier, and provides shared access to information that is not included in the Payroll Personnel System. It will also eliminate some duplication and allow some changes to be made centrally rather than by individual divisions, explained Degnan.
"The different divisions have different degrees of automation," said Degnan, noting that when discussions began about a year ago, representatives from each division, as well as from Human Resources, were ready to improve their systems. That readiness helped participants identify their needs and agree on their priorities for change.
The divisions contributed to the purchase of a new server and other equipment that was necessary to build the new database, and a demonstration last November went well. "So far, so good," said Degnan, adding that she expects to train division personnel in the new system this July.
Kathy Beattie, academic personnel coordinator for the Division of Natural Sciences, which is the least automated of the divisions, called the database effort a "great project" that she's confident will make her job easier.
Future projects will streamline processes for managing academic personnel reviews and make it easier to share information with curriculum leave analysts and business offices in the divisions.
One of the primary changes to the Payroll Personnel System is designed to make the inquiry functions of the system more user-friendly, according to projects manager Celena Allison. When the campus implemented online entry procedures for payroll/personnel data in 1995-96 as part of a systemwide move, it enabled units to enter information directly into the system and made the Payroll Action Form obsolete.
To improve on those changes, a systemwide committee has developed prototypes for a new Web-based "graphical user interface" with enhanced point-and-click features that would make the system easier and more appealing to use.
"People in the service centers doing personnel and payroll entry use the system all the time, but we're hoping to make it more user-friendly so that other people, like managers, will use it to get information they need, too," she said.
"We've shown the prototypes to people who use the current system, and they all thought the changes were great," said Allison, who helped design the prototypes. The designs have been forwarded to a technical committee to determine whether a vendor or in-house programmers will make the changes, which Allison is hopeful will be available by the end of 1999.
On a related front, Allison reports that the campus will adopt only a portion of the systemwide online payroll time-reporting system. A campus committee evaluated the system last year and concluded that it would actually increase the workload of people in the campus's service centers rather than ease it.
The online modules that will be implemented are those used to make adjustments for payroll, including late pay and additional pay, she said.
"We will not be going to online payroll time sheets," she said, adding that representatives from service centers, payroll, and Human Resources all took part in evaluating their options and agreed on the final decision. However, Allison hopes the Office of the President will consider improving the online payroll time-reporting system and that a full implementation will be advantageous in the future.
One other change that's in the works is in response to employee complaints regarding the Postauthorization Notification (PAN) System. A systemwide group will soon begin meeting to consider ways to improve current procedures, which generate an unwieldy volume of difficult-to-read notices.
PAN notices are generated automatically every time employee changes are entered into the Payroll Personnel System; the idea is to ensure that changes are reviewed by a "second set of eyes," said Allison. Internal controls like PAN are a good idea, but the systemwide group will be considering ways to streamline the process and make it more user-friendly, she said.
Also targeted for change is the internal system used by Human Resources to track job applicants. Called the Applicant Tracking System, the current system is an antiquated mainframe computer system, said benefits and employment manager Julie Putnam.
Although it can handle the basics, like sending notices to job applicants, it lacks the ability to generate ad hoc reports, which severely limits the analysis that managers can perform, said Putnam. It will also require modifications to comply with year 2000 standards.
Putnam and others are in the initial stages of exploring their options and are evaluating products that are currently on the market. Ideally, Putnam would like to find software that would mesh with current processes while allowing the unit the flexibility to "migrate" toward different processes in the future. "We might have to develop a product to suit our needs," said Putnam.
Ideally, Putnam envisions a day when people could apply online and when units could requisition employees electronically. In the meantime, she is eager to get a foundation in place that would make such innovations more than a dream.