Inside Iowa State: Iowa State University

INSIDE IOWA STATE
September 14, 2001

Employee information is online

by Linda Charles
Need to know how much vacation leave you have? How much you've paid in taxes so far this year? Get on the Web.

University employees now can access information online about their pay, and vacation and sick leave accrual.

It's all part of assistant vice president for human resources Carla Espinoza's goal of providing as much employee information as possible online. Not only is online information easily accessible to employees, it frees human resources staff to deal with non-routine issues.

"This has been in my head for the past five years," Espinoza said. While recent budget cuts accelerated the process, Espinoza said the real impetus for putting employee information online was to get information to employees more efficiently.

"Efficiency of action translates into doing things well at reduced costs," Espinoza said.

PIN needed
Accessing all that information will be as easy as calling up the Access-Plus Web page (http://accessplus.iastate.edu) and entering either your Social Security or University ID number, along with a personal identification number (PIN). (If you've forgotten your PIN, take your University ID card to the ISUCard Office, 129 Memorial Union).

"We can't force people to use AccessPlus," Espinoza said, "but we're hoping that they will see they can get answers to their questions immediately, rather than having to leave a message or stand in a queue."

A click away
New this fall on AccessPlus is a category called "Employee Information." There, employees may view their pay, vacation and sick leave, and year-to-date earnings. Pay info includes details about W4s, benefits, taxes, other salary deductions and year-to date earnings.

Employees also may change office and home address and phone number listings on the ISU directory.

Departments across the university worked together to provide the information that is online now, said Vicki Brubaker, manager of the human resources recruitment and employment department and a key player in the online project.

More online offerings are en route. Brubaker said she hopes that sometime this month, employees will be able to register online for courses offered by training and development and the Instructional Technology Center. Eventually, there could be one place online for employees to register for all courses, Brubaker said.

Brubaker and others across the university will be working on an automated online process for hiring that will take employers from the notice of vacancy to the final approval needed to hire. The plan could be tested by next July.

Challenges ahead
Web-based information is convenient for those who work in offices and have computers on their desks or nearby, Espinoza said. But some Merit employees, such as those in facilities planning and maintenance, don't have personal desks and computers.

Espinoza said one solution might be to install kiosks for employees around campus.

Another challenge is to get those who are used to contacting human resources directly to think about checking online first. New employees will learn what information is available online during their orientation sessions, Brubaker said.

Comments about current online services or services employees would like to see online are appreciated, Espinoza said. Comments should be e-mailed to hrs@iastate.edu.