Overview
Why is the Cardiff People Programme Necessary?
In today’s fast moving, technology focused world, we all expect instant access to view and update our information. We want interaction with service providers to be straightforward and their processes to be transparent and well thought out. We expect answers to our questions to be easy to find and when we are asked to do things, we expect clear instructions and systems and processes that are intuitive and fit for purpose.
The University aims to be one of the world’s leading universities with an academic community recognised for its international distinction and impact. Rapid and efficient HR processes and enhanced use of business intelligence in decision making have been identified as key enablers in achieving this objective.
We recognise that as a function we a need to adapt and develop and so have identified a programme of activity to help us deliver the kind of service our staff have told us they want.
What will Cardiff People deliver?
Central to the Programme’s success is the use of technology to automate the delivery of our services. Two IT systems have been purchased and will form the basis of the Cardiff People changes.
An eRecruitment system will be the first to go live in early 2012 providing full lifecycle online recruitment from vacancy identification to hire. The solution will enable recruiters to manage the end-to-end process via the internet including vacancy approval, advert post, multi panel shortlist, interview score, candidate selection and new starter paperwork.
Candidates will search and apply for jobs online in either English or Welsh and can even book their own interview slots. A suite of reports will be available including key metrics which will inform future recruitment enabling Human Resources staff to provide informed advice to managers. We will even be able to test the efficacy of certain job boards or publications via the automated job-posting tool.
The second major investment in IT is the HR and Payroll system. This will integrate with the eRecruitment solution to provide the University with a single, consistent approach to people management. Bringing these three functions together will eliminate duplication and reduce the potential for error and offers a unique opportunity to review our entire range of HR and Payroll services. Go live for this system is planned for late 2012.
A Lean review is underway to ensure that the new systems and processes are truly aligned and offer the best functionality and service possible. The review aims to streamline processes and identify better ways of working. Representatives from across the organisation are involved in this review so that outputs are representative of customer need and workable for all. This work is being undertaken in partnership with School and Directorates ensuring that outputs are reflective of customer need and workable for all. For details of the people involved please see the meet the team section.
What will Cardiff People mean for me?
In addition to making your interaction with the HR and Payroll teams more straightforward, the major development for staff will be the introduction of self service.
For staff that means employee self service or ESS. ESS is a secure online portal, accessed with your network username and password where you can view and update your personal information. A wide range of activity will be available in ESS from requesting annual leave and checking your holiday balance to viewing your career history, updating your bank account and contact details, requesting a training course and adding your comments to your appraisal. View the key features page or further information about the key features that will be available in ESS.
In addition to ESS, managers will have the Manager Toolkit. Accessed in the same way as ESS, the manager self service which is known in new HR / Payroll system as the Manager Toolkit will allow line managers (and those with proxy access such as personal assistants) to manage their staff online. Features will include approval of holiday and timesheets, request and approval of terms and conditions changes (e.g. change of hours or change of cost code) completion of appraisal documentation, development needs identification and reporting including a tool for budgeting.