HRIS Configuration Milestone - HRIS Overview

This article explains the best practices and the steps implemented during a HRIS Overview call for an Implementation Consultant.

OVERVIEW

The Namely HRIS implementation and corresponding configuration includes the following meetings and milestones:

  • HRIS Overview

  • Onboarding & eSignature

  • Company Holidays & Time Off

  • Workflows

  • Roles & Permissions

  • Performance & Goal Management

After the HRIS discovery call is complete, the next HRIS configuration call with the client is the HRIS Overview. The purpose of this call is to navigate HRIS with the client, provide insight into the reporting engine for data validation and to begin to touch on the features available to the client for further customization in Company Settings.

 

BEST PRACTICES 

Implementation Consultant (IC):

  • Lead the call and refer back to client’s HRIS Design Guidebook. The HRIS Overview call takes place once the HRIS Employee Data has been imported.

  • Confirm that the client has completed the associated Namely Learning courses.

  • Set the agenda for the call and review key takeaways.

  • Guide client following the agenda set for the call - the client should share their screen so they learn to navigate Namely.

  • Answer and ask any outstanding questions that either the client or consultant may have.

  • Reference recorded resources to prepare for the call and understand what the discussion should entail.

  • Leave the call knowing that the client feels confident in navigating the platform.

 

Project Lead (PM) optional to attend:

  • Support the IC and the client as needed on the call. 

  • Answer and ask any outstanding questions that either the client or consultant may have.

 

Namely Project Team (DSC / BAC / PC / TC):

  • Does not need to attend the Overview call, but should be aware that it is occurring.

 

PROCESS STEPS

Implementation Consultant (IC):

  • Refer back to the HRIS Design Guidebook and review the agenda for the call:

    • Site Navigation: Home / People / Teams / Company

    • Home: Employee vs. Admin Springboards

    • Home: Company Newsfeed & Date Widgets

    • Home: Reporting, Data Analytics

    • People: Directory, Org Chart, Employee Profile Updates

    • Teams: Org Units, Custom Teams

    • Company Settings - General: Company Info, Invitations, Resources, eSignature, Home Page Updates, Admin Reminders

    • Company Settings - Employee Data: Profile Fields, Termination Reasons

    • Company Settings - Organizational Structure: Groups, Job Titles

  • Encourage the client to log into Namely and share their screen once they have logged in.

 

Site Navigation: Home page​​​​​

  1. Start with the Home page and highlight the logo.

    • Briefly mention that the logo and the background image on the login page can be updated (this will be mentioned in more detail when you explain the Company tab.)

  2. Discuss the Employee Springboard and the Admin Springboard on the Left hand side of the page.

    • The Employee Springboard allows you to access the following:

      • View Tasks

      • View your Performance

      • View Calendar 

      • View any company-wide Resources available

      • Request Time Off

      • Review any requests to update your profile information (that may require approval) via Workflows

    • Under the Admin Springboard, visit the following (priorities are indicated with an asterisk*):

  • Manage Time Off - Explain that this enables managers to approve/reject time-off requests by their team.

  • Profile Status - For clients with Payroll, if we are missing any information that would prohibit employees from flowing into Payroll (from HRIS) the missing information would be present here.

    • Anything blue indicates that the information is missing from the HR side, anything green is missing from Payroll.

  • *Reporting - Explain that this report should be pulled in every auditing phase to have the client confirm/sign off on data.

    • From the Home page, under Admin Tools click Reporting > Create New Report > Choose Report type (give Name/Description as needed).

    • Create an ad hoc report through Reporting Engine together to show the functionality.

    • Profile Default report can be created to show as many or little profile fields at a time.

    • Once in the report, show how to add columns, rearrange columns (by drag/drop), and use filters, targeting Active Employees.

TIP: 

If the client is looking to compare stats over time, the best practices if to download the report with the date listed in the title since the reports are pulled in real time and not by a specific date.

  • *Analytics - Review the functionality by covering filters, time zone/settings, and exporting in PDF/CSV file.

    • Analytics is great for sharing useful information with the C-Levels looking for a quick overview.

    • View the High level Headcount, Attrition, Salary, Job/Salary Changes, Diversity, Anniversary, Birthday, Time Off, New Hires and Tenure by Month.

  • *Exporting Data - Explain that this is the easiest way to audit all the HRIS data to ensure accuracy when auditing.

    • Under your Admin Tools Springboard > click Export.

    • Best practice is to do this for the client and upload the data to Support Files for them to review when you are asking for sign off.

      • The Export can be found in the Performance section under Export Reviews. 

  • Audit Reports - Review functionality showing any major changes to the following items in HRIS: Access Role/Permissions, Allocations, Employee Access Roles, Field Group Bundles, Manager and Org Unit Changes.

  • Onboarding - Explain the process of entering new hires into Namely (once site is launched/live).

  1. Talk through the Namely Newsfeed. We'll discuss newsfeed capabilities when we touch on Roles and Permissions, but the following roles are set up as best practice: 

  • Admins can post to the feed and email their announcements to all employees to ensure that important updates are seen. 

  • Anyone under Admin level would generally be able to post, but not have the option to email their announcement. Toggle over to the Appreciate tab within the feed to show appreciation for your team - a badge will be displayed and it can also be visible within the Performance module. 

  • With each post, each role down to the employee level will have the ability to post comments and likes, unless you take that privilege away from any access role. 

  • On the right hand side, a field displays Birthdays, Work Anniversaries and Recent Arrivals. These fields are visible so that these events can be recognized by the company. (If an employee is sensitive about their birthday, they can remove visibility by going into the settings in the drop down menu and checking the box to Hide Birthday).

  1. At the top of the home page, highlight the following: 

  • Notification Bell icon

    • The number in red indicates the new notifications 

  • Dropdown menu 

  • Question Mark icon

    • This takes you to the Help Community

  • Search bar 

    • Allows you to easily search for an employee.

  • It is important to discuss the settings to show where the employee’s updates can be made to hide their birthday, disable notification settings and change their password.

    • Note: the employee has to change their own password themselves.

 

Site Navigation: People and Teams tab

  1. In the People tab, you will see the directory of all Active employees. 

  • Use the filters on the left hand side to narrow down your search. Active employees will show first, but you have the option of viewing Any Status or Inactive Employees. 

  • Highlight the example of creating a new employee.

    • Explain that while a client is in implementation, once their initial data is imported, any new hires (before the site is launched) should be added manually using this option.

  • The required fields are: First/Last name, Email Address (Company Email), Start Date, Access Role, Employee Type and User Status.

  • Toggle to the Org Chart to view direct reporting relationships within the organization (this can be displayed in a org chart view or a list view.)

  • If the direct reporting relationship is incorrect, click on an employee profile in question from the Org Chart and update their manager in the Org Units and Teams > Teams tab on their profile.

  1. In the Teams tab, find your Org Units created during initial setup and any Custom Org Units that have been created.

  • This includes Office Locations, Departments and Divisions (if applicable.)

  • Since the org structure of the Teams is handled outside of the org chart, you will need to ensure that any organizational changes are outlined in the Teams section as well, via the Org Units.

  • Team Goals can be created and aligned with Individual and Company Goals.

 

Site Navigation: Company tab

The Company tab is where most of the configuration occurs, only the Admin roles: full Administrator, HR Admin, IT, etc. will have access. The Reports sub-tab includes company reports that provide a general overview of recent updates made in your organization. These reports are not customizable and cannot be individually exported or printed in data sheets.

  • Company Reports—There are six types of company reports: 

    • Headcount: A graph and written summary of total employees, growth percentage within the last 30 days, recent arrivals, and departures.

    • Arrivals: A list of employees by name, title, office location, and start date. List can be sorted by each of the above criteria.

    • Open Positions: All open positions that have been created within custom teams. Details include—job title, team name, open date, compensation, type, requisition number, and date to be filled.

    • Performance Level: A graph summary of employee performance ratings as well as a list details on current performance level for each employee. Name, Title, and Office location are also included.

    • Experience Level: Employee tenure in days. List includes—employee name, Title, and Office location.

    • Salaries: Current salary levels filtered by employee. In addition to the Title and Office location, the list also includes Rate and Frequency (pay period).

    • Credential History: The Credential History Log displays employee login attempts to Namely.

  • Company Vitals: Company Vitals provide a general overview of teams, site utilization, performance levels, hires and departures. This report is not customizable and cannot be individually exported or printed in data sheets.

TIP:

You must have the “Company can view reports” global permission to access company reports. For more information, see Definitions of Access Role Permissions.

  • Teams: Provides a snapshot of how many teams your company has.

  • Utilization: Advises on the percentage of employees who use Namely.

  • Hires and Departures: Displays growth and attrition on a line graph.

  • New People and Departures: Reports on the last 30 days.

  • Allocated People: Provides a count of employees with a team allocation.

  • Performance Levels: Provides a pie chart of performance levels for your headcount. 

  • Goals: This sub-tab is one of the two places that can create Company wide goals that your Teams and Employees can align their goals to. Goal Setting will be explained in further detail on the Performance call.

  • Settings: This sub-tab allows you to configure the Company Info. In Company Info, update the Company Name, Time Zone, and upload your logo and login page background images. Once you make a change just remember to click Save.

  • Invitations: When you are ready to launch the Namely HRIS site, with either a test group or all employees, go to Company > Settings > Invitations. Select by individual, or en masse (all at once). Once you click Send Invitations, a date will populate next to that employee’s name which indicates the last date an invitation was sent.

    • Only 1 invitation can be sent out per day.

    • Once the employee logs in, their name will disappear off this list.

  • Importing Data: Use the company email in imports as the Unique identifier. The next step allows you to map the fields in the file to the correct field within Namely HRIS to ensure the data is going to the right place. Preview the information you are about to import, so if anything looks incorrect, you can cancel the import, go back, correct the file before actually importing.

    • Types of Import: 

      • General Import

      • Performance Import

      • Salary History Import

      • Payroll Employee Import

      • Banking Information Import

      • Bonus Import

      • Reports To Import

      • Time Off Balance Import

      • Time Off Request Import

      • Goal Import

    • For Org Unit Updates, you will use the Import Data (Beta) option, where you can add or modify existing Org Units and Class information (for benefits).

  • Resources: Upload files and links that are available company wide (no PII within these files.) Popular uploaded documents include their employee handbook, benefit plan information, and a link to a welcome video (if applicable). These files can be referenced easily by employees and can be included in your Onboarding process.

  • eSignature: Where we house the integration between Adobe eSignature and Namely HRIS. This is specifically used for Onboarding, when you need documents signed or filled out, and can also be used for existing employees for form updates.

    • Go to Adobe (outside of Namely) to upload a new template, once it is uploaded, add it to your onboarding template and/or send out a file to existing employees via Manage eSignature.

    • Sending documents through Namely allows Admins to view any documents signed by that employee at a later date.

  • Home Page Updates: As a best practice for Namely HRIS, this should all be enabled from the beginning, following our best practices for Namely HRIS. There are warnings for disabling features, such as New Arrivals, Birthdays and Work Anniversary, since all comments and likes on the disabled posts will be lost and cannot be recovered.

  • Notifications: As a best practice, enabling the notifications on all avenues for things like Time Off requests ensures that it will not be missed.

  • Login Page: Anyone in a Admin or IT roles will have access to this section to set up Single Sign On. The options here are Password and Google, Google only or SAML.

  • Calendar: This is set up to show anything relating to a date field (already enabled). Custom profile fields associated with dates can also be visible on your company calendar as well.

  • Admin Reminders: These should not be activated until the launch, otherwise once those specific events occur, notifications will be sent out to include those that may not have logged in yet. Further information will be provided in the HRIS Final Walkthrough call to ensure that reminders are enabled and ready for launch.

  • Trusted Contacts: At Namely, the security of the company’s data and operations information is paramount. When someone from the organization reaches out to the Namely for help, it’s important for us to know they are an individual who has been authorized to discuss what could potentially be sensitive information.

    • When Namely reaches out with information on upcoming releases, scheduled maintenance, or other important communications, we want to make sure the info is getting to relevant contacts at their organization. Someone who works primarily in Human Resources, for example, may not need to know about a new payroll update.

    • Becoming a Trusted Contact for Your Organization in the Help Community allows up to 10 individuals at the organization who are authorized to discuss Service cases, access the Help Community, and receive communications about specific product features. 

  • Profile Fields: Under Employee Data, Profile Fields allow you to update/create profile fields.

    • Be mindful when making any updates to this section that you should never delete a profile field unless you have already ran a report to make sure that no data currently exists there. When you delete a profile field, you lose any information tied to it.

    • Change the order of your profile fields by dragging and dropping that field to the desired placement.

    • Create a new block if you need a new section of profile fields. Click Save Order once any changes are made within this section.

  • Job Tiers and Titles: Job Tiers are similar to Job Leveling—Job Tiers are a way to assign a relative value or location in a hierarchy to a job across an organization. A job tier can be used to compare all jobs assigned that tier.

    • Job Tiers allow you to compare the salaries of all managers at a company, or study the gender breakdown of an executive leadership team.

 

Final Steps and Follow Up items

Refer back to the HRIS Design Guidebook and review the follow-up items for the client:

  • Review and audit data imported into Namely HRIS System via Reporting and Analytics for accuracy.

  • Ensure Employee Profiles in HRIS are kept up to date and New Hires are added.

  • Set up HR email address and Adobe eSignature account via Company Settings > eSignature.

  • Review HRIS Basics Namely Learning Course.

  • Review Onboarding and eSignature Namely Learning course ahead of next call.