Onboarding Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ's)

GLOSSARY OF TERMS:

1. AHC – Academic Health Center

2. BGE – Baccalaureate & Graduate Education

3. COM – College of Medicine

4. ESS – UC Flex Employee Self Service

5. HRPB – Human Resources Business Partners

6. HRSC – Human Resources Service Center

7. “Locked Record” – Initially, a new employee’s HR record will be marked as “locked”. This will prevent the employee from being paid until all compliance requirements are met. The employee’s record is “unlocked” once these requirements are met.

8. Onboarding – All activities from the point of when a candidate accepts a position to the point when the new hire becomes a productive university employee.

9. Orientation – A session conducted every week by Human Resources to:
a. Provide a warm, welcoming and interactive introduction to the University for new staff employees.
b. Meet compliance requirements of the I-9 and DMA forms.
c. Provide new employees with resources and information to help them become productive members of the university.

10. Unlocked Record – Compliance documents are received and record made available to be paid by payroll.

 
GENERAL FAQs

1.  Who must attend Orientation?
All new STAFF hires, or rehires following a service break of more than 30 calendar days, are required to attend.

2.  Will Departments be responsible for any aspects of Onboarding?
Yes. Departments will be expected to help orient the new hire and make arrangements for acquiring access to such items as keys, IDs, email, and Blackboard.

3.  What about Organizational Units that resist the Onboarding process?
There are several methods to be used to address individuals who have difficulty understanding the importance of the Onboarding process. Audit reports will be run to evaluate compliance with the procedural steps.  Non-compliance issues will be shared with the Dean and divisional Vice Presidents on an ongoing basis.

However, it is important that organizational units understand that individuals cannot begin to work for the university until compliance requirements are met.  

If the new processes are not followed and compliance documents are not provided, the university is in violation of the law.  In addition, the new employee’s record will remain “locked”, and the new employee will not be paid, until compliance requirements are met.

4. Will there be a new hire check list? If so, how will the employee access it?
Yes. There will be a check list accessible on-line. The welcome letter/offer letter will reference resources available to the new hire and contain information on how to access it.

5.   Is direct deposit mandatory?
The University of Cincinnati does not have a mandatory direct deposit policy, however, information regarding the benefits of and the steps as to how an employee can enroll in direct deposit will be available on the new hire website. 

6.  How will temporary SSNs be handled?
Departments should continue to enter in all “9’s” for individuals without a Social Security Number.  System audits will be done and individuals contacted if they have not obtained a true Social Security Number within 90 days.

7. Will the Department still have the employee’s new hire paperwork?
 No.  Responsibility for this function has been assumed by Human Resources or by authorized individuals at Clermont, Raymond Walters, International Services or the Academic Health Center.

8. What are the “Required Documents” for compliance?
i. Form (DMA) – Division of Homeland Security form used to self identify assistance to terrorist organizations
ii. Form I-9 – Employment Eligibility Verification Form for US Citizenship and Immigration Services
iii. Form SSA-195 – Statement Concerning Your Employment in a Job Not Covered by Social Security
iv. OPERS Student Waiver (optional)

9.  What is the rule for rehires?  Do they have to attend New Hire Orientation when they are rehired? Is there a timeline rule?
Former employees who are rehired as staff following a break of 31 days or more are required to attend New Hire Orientation.  For employees rehired with a break of 30 days or less, New Hire Orientation is not required although these individuals are welcome to attend (this may be important if the employee is hired into a different employee subgroup (e.g., rehired into a unrepresented position and was previously represented, etc.).

10. Are rehires required to complete new hire paperwork (I-9, DMA, SSA 1945, etc.)? Is there a timeline rule?
Former employees who are rehired following a break of 31 days or more are required to complete NEW new hire paperwork; these individuals must follow the new ‘onboarding’ process.  Individuals rehired with a break of 30 days or less are NOT required to fill out new hire paperwork.

11. Are Affiliated Faculty, Volunteers and ROTC faculty hires required to complete the I-9, DMA and SSA 1945 form (i.e., participate in the Onboarding process)?
Yes.  Any individual receiving any type of remuneration (including e-mail, bookstore, parking, etc.), must complete the Onboarding process and submit the required new hire paperwork.

12.  Will the collection of the I-9’s for these new hires be monitored on same basis as ‘paid’ employees?
Yes.

13. I know that I can look in PA20, Infotype 03 to see if my employee’s payroll record is locked, however, is there an easier way for a department who has multiple hires to be able to tell which of their employees’ records are locked?Unfortunately, at this time there is not an easy way to do this; however, the Business Core Team is working on a BW report to provide this functionality.  Once this is possible, you will be notified by the HR website, HR Connections and/or general staff e-mail.

14.  Some of my student’s parents won’t let them have original copies of their documents.  Are original documents required for I-9 verification?
Yes.  Copies are not acceptable.

15. What is the process for using the remote I-9 and who can use it?
The remote I-9 process is detailed on the HR website.  International hires are not permitted to use the remote I-9.

16. We have several newly hired faculty members (effective date of hire is 9/1/09) who won’t be on campus before first day of class.    Does the 3-day clock for I-9 compliance start on 9/1/09 or the first day of class (9/23/09)?  
Faculty new hires are required to submit their I-9 on or before the first day of employment but no later than three (3) business days of the effective date of hire.  If the hire date is 9/1/09, the I-9 is due within three (3) business days of 9/1/09.

Faculty new hires are welcome to come to University Hall during normal business hours or to the new HR Hire Center location located in the Pavilion (when open) for purposes of submitting the I-9 and other required documents. 

If appropriate, the newly hired faculty member can use the remote I-9 process (see question # above).

17. A newly appointed faculty member is unable to begin work on the previously agreed upon start date.  How do I go about changing the start date and what are the ramifications of doing so?
In order to change a start date, you should contact your HRSC Generalist who will initiate the process for you.  A change in the start date may impact the new hire’s benefit eligibility and effective dates as well as his/her first pay date.  New hire paperwork must be completed within 3 days following the new start date.

 

MANAGER FAQS

1. How do we access the policies, procedures and material related to Onboarding?
Information regarding Onboarding will be located under the  “Manager’s Toolkit” heading on the Human Resources website at www.uc.edu/hr.

2.  What is included in the “Manager’s Toolkit”?
The “Manager’s Toolkit” contains such items as:
• Link to New Hire Web site
• Link to PeopleAdmin
• Instructions on how to complete new hire forms
• FAQs
• Policies
• Onboarding and Orientation procedures
• HRSC services and contacts

3.  Who will be trained to conduct the Orientations and how will they be identified?
Orientation presenters will be identified by Human Resources and selected from members of the Human Resources team.

4.  Who will attend the Onboarding training sessions?
Training sessions are targeted towards those acting as a hiring manager, HRPB Managers/Administrators and anyone involved in the distribution or collection of new hire paperwork. Upcoming communications announcing the Onboarding process will be sent out during the month of May and include dates, times, and locations for training.  College and org unit business managers are currently assisting in identifying individuals to be invited.

5. Since all staff new hires start on Monday, this may change the time when benefits are effective.   A new hire in February might not have benefits until April.
Benefits will be effective on the first day of the month following the 28th day of employment.  Departments will need to carefully review this with selected candidates.  Additional information regarding how to determine a new hire’s benefit effective date will be included in the “Manager’s Toolkit”.

6.  Will there be supplies of forms on hand if the new hires forget to bring them?
Yes. Extra copies of all necessary forms will be available in the New Hire Center, Human Resources Information Center, and in the New Employee Orientation session.

7. Will the remote I-9 and DMA forms be available online?
These forms and their instructions are currently available online on the Employment Services page of the HR Web site.  This information will also be available in the “Manager’s Toolkit”.

8. Will the offer letter templates include the information from the third page of the I-9 (which types of ID are acceptable)?
Yes.  The offer letter will state what the new employee must bring along with a reference to an online checklist.

9.  Will locking and unlocking of records be a manual process?
Yes.  Data Operations will “lock” an employee record once the record is entered into UC Flex and will “unlock” the record once the required new hire documents have been received.

10. Will the manager be able to see that a record is locked?
Yes.  Entering Info Type 3 in the Info Type field on PA20 in UC Flex will show whether or not the record is locked.

11. Who will staff the New Hire Center?
Qualified HRSC Staff will support the New Hire Center.

 
ONBOARDING STAFF EMPLOYEES

1.  How is Staff defined?
For the purposes of Onboarding, staff positions are defined as  anyone who is not a Faculty member or a student.

2.  What about Post-doctoral Fellows and Research Associates, Scientists, Fellows and Assistants?
Individuals with these titles are considered Staff and therefore must attend Orientation and have a mandatory Monday start date.

3.  Will accommodations be made for handicapped employees and non-English speaking individuals? 
Yes. The University of Cincinnati abides by ADA requirements.

4. Can managers send employees to Orientation prior to the first day of hire?
No. Attendance at Orientation constitutes the first day of employment and the employee will be paid for this time.

5. What if the new hire doesn’t come to Orientation on the scheduled date?
The hiring manager contact will receive an e-mail notification from the HRSC that the candidate did not attend.  It is the hiring manager contact’s responsibility to contact the candidate to either extend an opportunity to attend the next Orientation or to rescind the job offer.
 
6. What about an organizational unit that allows hourly staff to begin work before they are in KRONOS? Are there consequences?  
Financial Policy 2.7.2 located at http://www.uc.edu/af/documents/policies/timekeeping.pdf, states that all hourly paid employees must be able to clock in/out for themselves. Others in the org unit, such as the hourly paid employee’s timekeeper, supervisor or org unit staff who clock attendance for the hourly paid employee may face disciplinary action up to and including termination.
 
7. How will 2nd and 3rd shift employees be accommodated?
The day that 2nd and 3rd shift employees attend Orientation, which is held during 1st shift, should be scheduled as their first workday. They should not be expected to report to work until the next day at their regularly scheduled time.

8. How will the volume of Staff hires be handled so that documents are processed efficiently and Orientation begins on time?
The new Onboarding process actually facilitates more Orientation sessions by having them occur each week rather than every other week as they do currently.

In addition, HR will oversee the new hire Orientation scheduling process and will ensure that adequate HR Staff members are available to review and certify items.  HR will also review room and equipment availability to accommodate any increase in demand.

9. Is the Onboarding process the same for International Staff?
No.  ALL International hires MUST report to the International Services Office prior to beginning work. The International Services Office is a department who will be authorized to review and collect new hire paperwork.
 
10. What is the timeline for international Staff employees who need to go to the International Office?
International Staff employees will need to report to the International Office prior to attending Orientation.  This means that if you want the individual to attend Orientation on Monday, they will have had to see the International Services Office on Thursday or Friday of the previous week.

11.  If a biweekly employee clocks in late due to the amount of time that he/she  spends in the New Hire Orientation “check in” process, who is responsible for going into Kronos to make the adjustment to his/her start time?
It is the department’s responsibility to make the necessary adjustment to the Kronos time sheet.  If the delay is greater than 30 minutes the department orientation contact will receive an e-mail from the HRSC.

12.  How is my newly hired employee to get his/her ID badge?
It is the responsibility of the hiring department to ensure that the newly hired employee goes to the Pubic Safety Office (Edwards 3) to obtain his/her ID badge.

13. Can a newly hired staff member attend orientation BEFORE his/her start date?
No.  


ONBOARDING FACULTY

1. Are Faculty required to attend the staff centralized Orientation?
No. However, Faculty should receive some type of Orientation within his/her department or through college Orientation sessions scheduled.  All compliance paperwork must be completed before the individual begins to work for the university.  The employee’s record will be locked until compliance requirements are met.

2.  Are Faculty required to begin work on a Monday?
No. At this time there are no restrictions on begin dates for Faculty, however, they will need to visit either University Hall Human Resources, the New Hire Center at One Stop, or one of the authorized business facilities to complete compliance documentation. 

3. Do these changes include both full-time and part-time Faculty?
Yes.

4.  How will emergency Faculty hires be handled?
All newly hired employees must complete compliance paperwork (I-9, DMA and SS 1945) on the first day of work. The Information Center on the 3rd floor of University Hall is available to accept compliance paperwork Monday through Thursday, 7:30 a.m. to 6:00 p.m., and Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. During peak hiring periods, the New Hire Center will be open at the same times in addition to the Welcome Center.

5.  How will Faculty who are not in Cincinnati complete the necessary paperwork?
A department may use the Remote I-9 process to ensure remote Faculty complete the Form I-9 no later than the first day of the appointment. The DMA form may be downloaded from the New Hire Website, completed and faxed to the Human Resources Department no later than the first day of the appointment.
 
6. How will Adjunct Faculty who teach distance learning courses submit forms?
Complete instructions for this process can be found at on the HR Website at http://www.uc.edu/hr/documents/forms/employment_svcs/Remote_I9.pdf.

7. Adjuncts are hired all year. How will they be given an Orientation?
Adjuncts will be given the opportunity to attend the Monday Orientation sessions even though their attendance will not be mandatory. They will also be invited to attend the Faculty Orientation sessions scheduled in the fall, however, it is expected that the hiring department provide some form of an Orientation to Adjuncts.

8.   Will locking and unlocking of records be a manual process?
Yes.  Data Operations will “lock” an employee record once the record is entered into UC Flex and will “unlock” the record once the required new hire documents have been received.

9. Will the manager be able to see that a record is locked?
Yes.  Entering Info Type 3 in the Info Type field on PA20 in UC Flex will show whether or not the record is locked.

 
ONBOARDING STUDENT EMPLOYEES

1.  Are student workers required to attend Orientation?
No.

2.  Are Graduate Assistants considered Students?
Yes.

3.  How will the volume of Student new hires be handled so that documents are processed efficiently?
New student hires can have new hire paperwork verified at two locations: 3rd floor University Hall or the New Hire Center located in the University Pavilion at the One Stop Center. HR Staff will be available at the New Hire Center during PEAK hiring times (two weeks before and after the start of each term). The New Hire Center will be open the same hours as OneStop; however, it will not be open on Saturdays. Central HR, located at University Hall, is open from 7:30 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. Monday through Thursday and from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. on Friday.

Additionally, new student hires at Raymond Walters College and Clermont College will be able to have their new hire paperwork certified at their respective regional campuses.  International Students MUST be seen by International Services prior to beginning work.

4.  How will the New Hire Center at One-Stop deal with large numbers of graduate assistants all starting on the sameday? Graduate Students will have the ability to submit their required new hire documents at the HR Information Center at University Hall or the New Hire Center at One Stop. Advance notice would be appreciated if a unit will be sending a significant number of GA’s on the same day (over 30) so that appropriate staffing can be planned in advance.

5. What about an organizational unit that allows students to begin work before they are in KRONOS? Are there any consequences?  
Financial Policy 2.7.2 located at http://www.uc.edu/af/documents/policies/timekeeping.pdf, states that all hourly paid employees must be able to clock in/out for themselves. Others in the org unit, such as the hourly paid employee’s timekeeper, supervisor or org unit staff who clock attendance for the hourly paid employee may face disciplinary action up to and including termination.

6. If a student is terminated, will he/she have to complete new forms? 
Yes. Students will follow the same process as everyone else if terminated and rehired after a break of more than 30 days. 

7. What is the OPERS waiver process for student workers that are not taking classes at UC?  Does this create any systemic problems? 
The optional exemption from OPERS contributions is available only to UC undergraduate students taking at least six (6) credit hours and graduate students taking at least five (5) credit hours.  Participants in the cooperative education program are not eligible for exemption during their work terms. 

Individuals who are not UC students (e.g., an NKU student or high school student working for UC) while considered a ‘student employee’ are NOT eligible for the OPERS exemption. In the event the ‘student employee’ is given an F-3 Form in error and the waiver is input in UC Flex, the system will recognize the waiver as invalid. 

8. UC International Services sent out an e-mail that incoming international students should attend one of their pre-determined check in sessions each quarter.  What if my student is hired after the pre-determined session occurs?International students applying for employment outside of the normal “pre-determined” sessions are instructed by the International Services website to go on line and complete a request form for a 1:1 meeting.

9. How long after the hire date will a student’s record be separated if he/she never shows up for work?
It is a department’s responsibility to separate a student who doesn’t show up for work.  The HRSC will only automatically separate staff candidates who do not report for New Hire Orientation.

10. A newly appointed student worker is unable to begin working on the previously agreed upon start date.  How do I go about changing the start date and what are the ramifications of doing so?
In order to change a start date, you should contact your HRSC Generalist who will initiate the process for you.  A change in the start date may impact the new hire’s first pay date.