IP&O Insights Newsletter May 2024 issue

ServiceNow

As we approach our fifth month of using ServiceNow to process all 17 employee transaction-types, it has not come without its challenges. As mentioned in the last newsletter, we recognized areas of improvement and four of our 20 plus requested improvements have been implemented:

1. We have removed all check-list notifications that have been sent to internal users and watchlist monitors. 
    
2. We have incorporated standardized messaging in the form of “Response Templates”. The “Response Templates”will be used when providing information to our internal users and watchlist monitors via the “Comments” section of ServiceNow.
    
3. We have incorporated standardized messaging in the form of “Quick Messages”. The “Quick Message” templates will be used when sending responses via the ServiceNow email portal.
    
4. We have activated the ServiceNow “Bell” notification system. This will notify Employee Services agents that an internal user has left a comment pertaining to their case. Until now, we were not notified that a comment had been left for the Employee Services agent, unless the agent opened the ServiceNow case.
    
5. It is our expectation that these improvements will support both our Employee Services staff in processing transactions as well as our IP&O Colleagues who are requesting any of these 17 transactional services:
    

Because each of the 17 transactional type activities have unique process steps often requiring different forms, Employee Services has been busy developing standardized “Standard Operating Procedures (SOP)” for each of the 17 transaction types. This document has been broken into four sections: 

• Section 1: Recruitment
• Section 2: Existing Employees
• Section 3: On-Boarding
• Section 4: Off-Boarding

Sections 1 and 2 are complete and are used by the Employee Services staff.  We expect to have Sections 3 and 4 completed by the end of June.  Ultimately, an SOP will be developed for Hiring Mangers and Supervisors who need one of the 17 transactions processed by Employee Services.

A few tips when requesting service in ServiceNow:

• Do not submit a duplicate ticket for the same transaction request.
   
• If you are an Internal User or a Watchlist recipient in ServiceNow, do not email Employee Services staff using their Outlook Email. Instead, use the case email link to correspond with the Employee Services Agent.
   
• If you are an Internal User or a Watchlist recipient in ServiceNow and want an update to your case request, consult the email string.  The email provides you with the status of your case. If you haven’t received an update from the Employee Service agent, this means that they are waiting for information from any number of UHR offices.
   
• In an effort to minimize confusion in regards to multiple cases for a Job Posting request, basically filling a vacancy, do not submit a new case using the Sub-Category New Hire. Our goal is to keep one active case for these two transaction types. We request that our Hiring Managers and Supervisors inform Employee Services agents who their finalist is within the original Job Posting case.  Employee Services agents will process that finalist within the original case. We have changed the backend of this process to accommodate this change. 

In addition to ServiceNow, Employee Services continues to lean on technology to support and streamline their work efforts which fall outside of the aforementioned 17 identified transactions.  Robert Perez, our Data Analyst, is the backbone of this effort. Here are a few examples that have supported both our IP&O Colleagues as well as our Employee Services Staff:

• The I-9 Project: UHR provided Employee Services with a list of 400 IP&O staff members who were required to provide an I-9 employment eligibility documentation by May. In many cases, there was no record of an I-9 paper or electronic record. Robert was able to establish the bookings schedule Using Microsoft Bookings. This allowed IP&O staff to schedule their own appointments and complete this compliance requirement, saving Employee Services from contacting their 400 colleagues individually. 
   
• The Oracle Cleanup Project: UHR has requested that we correctly align our PeopleSoft supervisor and staff lists. Instead of manually correcting the data, Robert is using data processing techniques to identify the incorrect People Soft data against our Kronos Payroll data, the source of truth, ultimately providing UHR with accurate information.
   
• I-9 Reverification Project: Select IP&O employees must renew their I-9 to be in compliance. Robert will use various data analytic tools to identify individuals, their expiration dates, and supervisors so that Employee Services can ensure that these individuals are complying. This measure will ensure that staff is not automatically terminated if one’s -I9 is not complete by the respective expiration date.
   
• Position Replacement Report:  Historically, twice annually, Employee Services has had to reconcile positions with incumbents and new hire information. This has been an extremely time-consuming manual process. Robert has created a visual dashboard using several data sources for the Budget staff to quickly identify the required information needed for budget position reconciliation. 

Robert has several additional Employee Services data projects underway which will streamline Employee Services activities and support our sister departments to work efficiently and effectively. 

Look for ES updates and progress in every newsletter article. We welcome any feedback and ask that you email Sarah DiFrancesco, Assistant Director, Employee Services, with your suggestions and or concerns: sarah.difrancesco@rutgers.edu.