We are very pleased to report that the HR Direct application went liveon Mondaymorning (5/4/09). The Human Resource staff was the first to enter the new system and spent Monday validating and updating data as needed.Beginning Tuesday (May 5) employees who perform timekeeping can begin using the new HR Direct 9.0 application. Employee Self-Service will be rolled out after the first payroll and will become available on Friday, May 15th.

With any new system, we do suspect there will be some issues and we are prepared to address those issueswith a multiple tier support process. This includes a full team of developers and application specialists working in the President’s Office in Shrewsbury. On campus we have our Human Resource, Information Technology (Enterprise Systems; Security; Training and Help Desk), and the A&F Administrative Systems staff all fully engaged in providing necessary support to you and the entire campus user population. As issues are identified you can be assured they will be investigated and you will receive a response from our campus team.

AsHR staff and departmental timekeepers beginworking in HR Direct please remember the following:

• There are drop-in support labs being staffed this week and next, so please stop in if you need any personal assistance.See schedule.
• Login using your UMass Lowell email credentials ‘ no more LFLAST login names
• Contact the Help Desk at x4357 (HELP) if you have issues logging in or any desktop issues (popups, trusted site, etc.)
• Contact our HR Go Live station at x1804 for functional issues (finding employees, data issues, navigation missing, etc)
• You can see your own employee self-service functions, but the full campus population won’t access HR Direct until May 15^th

As we go through our cutover process, we learn a bit more about the application and functionality. Here are couple quick updates:

• UPK will not be accessible from within HR Direct at go-live as there is a technical issue UITS and the vendor have not been able toresolve. The work around is for you to go directly to the UPK via the training web page. Once this is available from within HR Direct we will let you know.
• HR Direct will timeout after 60 minutes of inactivity — we have mistakenly been stating it would be 20 minutes. There will be no warning on the logout.
• See the login schedule to know when you should begin using HR Direct. NOTE: Student Employees do not get access until summer or fall.

Emailedfrom Rich Conley to campus HR Users (4/27/09)….

The University of Massachusetts is pleased to announce the HR Direct 9.0 application will Go Live on Monday, May 4, 2009. This communication outlines key information regarding the HR Direct Go Live.

Conversion Process/System Availability

The conversion process will begin on April 29, 2009 after the payroll process is complete. The conversion process will run until May 4, 2009. Members of the campus HR office will be involved with the Project Team during the cutover window to ensure data is converted successfully to the HR Direct application.

The e*mpac HR 7.6 application will be shut down for any further data entry at 2:00 PM on Tuesday, April 28, 2009. On Wednesday, April 29, 2009, the e*mpac HR 7.6 application will switch over to read only access for all those with access to the 7.6 application.

HR Direct (9.0) Application Go Live
An email notification will be sent out once the system is available for you to use. The planned dates for campus access are as follows:

• Monday, May 4 — Human Resource office staff
• Tuesday, May 5 — Decentral users including timekeepers
• Friday, May 15 ‘ Employees (excluding student employees) will access self-service

We will provide the login link once the system is ready. Furthermore this link will eventually be posted on the campus HR Direct web page.

NOTE: The HR application login process has changed from 7.6 to 9.0. Campuses will now leverage campus accounts to login to the HR Direct 9.0 application. See the HR Direct Login Information for more details on how to login.

Training and Support Information

During training, you were introduced to the UMass Productivity Kit (UPK), which offers both online tutorials and printable training materials (manuals and job aids). UPK is available through the campus HR Direct website at anytime http://www.uml.edu/hrdirect. We also encourage you to use UPK after Go Live via the Help Link in the HR 9.0 application.

In addition to available training tools, there are also drop in labs scheduled. These offer a great chance for you to perform data entry task with the comfort of having staff available to assist you. Jose Guerrero has provided you the schedule for these support labs.

Timesheets and other Forms

Coinciding with the rollout of the new HR Direct system, there are also new timesheets available. Information about new timesheets has been posted on UML Today and Senior Management was informed of this during a meeting in early April. Timesheets and other HR forms are on the Human Resource web page. http://www.uml.edu/hr/forms.html

Further Updates

Additional communications will be sent throughout the Go Live process. You can also access the HR Direct website for fact sheets, presentations, and more information about enhancements to the HR Direct functionality. http://www.uml.edu/hrdirect

Please contact me with any questions: Richard_Conley@uml.edu (x4794)

Thanks

-Rich

• Southwick 302 North Campus 9am-12pm
• O’Leary 300B South Campus 3pm-5pm

Wednesday, May 6th

• Southwick 302 North Campus 9am-12pm
• O’Leary 300B South Campus 1pm-4pm

Thursday, May 7th

• Southwick 302 North Campus9am-12pm
• O’Leary 300B South Campus 3pm-5pm

Friday, May 8th

• Southwick 302 North Campus9am-12pm
• O’Leary 300B South Campus1pm-4pm

Monday, May 11

• Southwick 302 North Campus9am-12pm
• O’Leary 300B South Campus 2pm-5pm

Best Regards,

Jose Guerrero, Trainer
Information Technology (Olsen 100)
P: 978-934-4768
F: 978-934-4012

Jose_Guerrero@uml.edu

As we get ready to go-live with HR Direct in a couple weeks there are just a couple things most employees should expect to change right away:

1. Timesheets — Although mostly aesthetic there are new timesheets for those employees who currently complete them. Visit HR Forms to download the most recent version. The layout of this new form will assist those who perform the data entry of reported time.
2. Employee Self Service – This optional tool is meant to introduce employees to self-service functionality — there is no requirement to use this for any HR business. Employees will still receive a paper pay advice on the appropriate Friday’s using the same distribution process in effect today.

Employees who have previously done data entry into empac HR, have all been invited to training and most have completed it.

Employees with any question about Human Resourceand Payrollbusiness processes should be directed to the Human Resource office at x3560.

Through this project website and blog we are attepting to keep the Lowell campus users updated and informed about the changes occuring with the HR system upgrade. If you have any suggestions, commments, or questions please post a comment to this entry.

When the HR Direct system is live, you will be able to accessyour datafrom anywhere you can connect to the internet. All you will need is your campus email user ID and password to securely connect. More information is available in this short fact sheet.

HR Direct Login Fact Sheet.pdf

Be sure to update your email password to comply with campus policy if you have not done this already. http://www.uml.edu/it/shared/Password_Change.html

OnFriday, March 20th – there will be a presentation introducing the new Timekeeping functionality to our campus staff who perform this function. If others are interested in attending, you are certainly welcome. Email invites were only sent to existing HR system users.

Meeting Details:

• Friday, March 20th
• O’Leary Library – Room 222
• 10:30am – 11:30am