During a RECONNECT Dive Deep, Robbin Velayedam, Senior Director of PeopleSoft Product Strategy, shared the PeopleSoft HCM update and roadmap. He began by explaining best practices (indicated by checkmarks below) and suggested actions (indicated by boxes below).
Robbin explained that most customers are within two PeopleTools releases, but to mitigate risk as much as possible, you should plan to stay current with the technologies on the application side by staying current with PeopleTools. Selective adoption between Tools releases is advantageous, as is deploying Fluid. Most customers aim to hit these four checkpoints regularly. They are table stakes for getting the most out of your PeopleSoft.
The next steps are suggestions that you may or may not be doing at the moment, but that can significantly impact your organization in very advantageous ways.
Kibana Analytics
Kibana Analytics is a new way to render visualizations that represent data in PeopleSoft. Utilizing a modern palette of data visualizations, Kibana performs better, is secured by PeopleSoft, and is easy to use for leaders making strategic decisions. You can create tiles and related content from Kibana, and it requires no additional licensing.
On the roadmap for Kibana are alias support and real-time indexing. Alias support will allow you to mask technical jargon with terms that make sense to layman users. Real-time indexing will allow you to see data updated in real-time.
To get started with Kibana, review the Kibana Analytics section on peoplesoftinfo.com, pick a delivered Kibana dashboard to show to your leadership, pilot one or two dashboards to a group of analytic users, evaluate replacing manual report(s) with Kibana, and upgrade to PeopleTools 8.58 or 8.59.
PeopleSoft Intelligent Conversational Interface
According to Gartner Top Technologies and Trends Driving the Digital Workplace, 2019, 70% of office workers will interact with conversational platforms on a daily basis by 2022. Another study by PSFK—published in May of 2020—showed that 74% of consumers prefer chatbots when looking for instant answers. These statistics are great support for the PeopleSoft Intelligent Chat Assistant from Oracle, or PICASO.
PICASO delivers:
- Single conversational interface across all PeopleSoft applications
- Single digital assistant made up of a combination of delivered skills with abilities to
- Extend them
- Create your own
- Ability to add corporate FAQs and other non-PeopleSoft applications
- 24×7 online access to data, processes, and other apps
As illustrated in the image below, a user can ask PICASO a question from one of several fields and PICASO will interpret the question and route it to the appropriate skill.
PICASO is the original Chatbot, but it has evolved both in branding and in a new route for accessing the skills and actions.
PeopleSoft continues to invest in the solution to make it easier to use and all-inclusive in one environment. Seamless routing occurs, as shown below.
PeopleSoft plans to deliver multiple Digital Assistants (DA) with specific Skills associated with each one:
- Employee Digital Assistant (available now)
- Benefits
- Payroll
- Absence
- Employee Directory
- Requisition Inquiry
- Expense Inquiry
- Personal Details (roadmap)
- Time Inquiry (roadmap)
- Supplier Digital Assistant
- Supplier
- Applicant Digital Assistant
- Recruitment
To get started with PICASO:
- Review Chatbot section on peoplesoftinfo.com
- Show PICASO to your leadership
- Collaborate with others in your organization who will benefit from chatbots
- Meet the minimum requirements
- PeopleTools 8.57.07 or higher
- HCM #31, ELM #20, CRM #18 or higher
- License Oracle Digital Assistant
- Pilot one skill to a group of users
- Partner with a PeopleSoft Chatbot consultant
- Engage with the PeopleSoft Chatbot Workgroup
Oracle Cloud
When it comes to Oracle Cloud, you have options, time, and control. There’s no pressure to shift. Cloud is where resources are being invested, and it’s the direction of the marketplace, but you do not have to make the move. You can choose if, when, and how to shift to the Cloud.
There are a number of customers who have shifted their PeopleSoft environment to Oracle Cloud Infrastructure. Others have chosen to transition to Oracle Cloud HCM Applications to take advantage of the technology available. A third option for customers is to extend their PeopleSoft with Oracle Cloud Solutions.
If you want to learn more about Cloud HCM, take a look at the webinar series PeopleSoft and Cloud Webinar Series.
Another aspect of Cloud is Oracle Data Science, a Cloud-based service that enables predictive analytics. Illustrated in the slide below, Data Science supplements PeopleSoft data with external data for intelligence and reporting. It integrates valuable data for Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning processing and leverages the value of the ElasticSearch repository. In the long term, you may be able to use this technology within HR to figure out the odds of your top performers staying or leaving.
Oracle Guided Learning
Oracle Guided Learning is in-application guidance to train your users on the system. It can be used to:
- Accelerate your Oracle enablement
- Train power users
- Coach casual users or new hires
- Meet training compliance requirements
Leverage Configurations
It’s advantageous to use configuration frameworks to retire, reduce, or avoid customizations. These frameworks can automate manual functions and improve the user’s PeopleSoft experience. They are listed below.
- Page & Field Configurator
- Drop Zones
- Event Mapping
- Activity Guide Composer
- Acknowledgment Framework
- Attachment Framework
- Questionnaire Framework
- Page Composer
- Delegation Framework
- Approvals Workflow Engine
- Fluid Simplified Analytics
- Kibana Analytics for Elastic
- Navigation Collections
- Fluid Tile & Dashboard
- Fluid Branding
- Fluid Workcenters
- File Integration Framework
- Chatbot Integration Framework
- HR Notifications
- Forms & Approval Builder
- Related Content & Actions
With the Questionnaire Framework, you can survey your employees. This functionality is available today. You can show the survey as an activity guide and offer single choice, multiple-choice, ranking, and open-ended questions. Then you can share a pool of questions and answers. Pre-defined common answers are available, as is the ability to create or group questions on the fly. You can randomize questions or answers and anonymize survey results.
On the roadmap are the abilities to create surveys independent of the PeopleSoft activity guide, notify employees of the survey via notifications with hyperlinks, and provide survey results with analytics such as Kibana visualizations.
PeopleSoft HCM Roadmap Features
2020 challenged PeopleSoft to rethink priorities. While the roadmap is usually built out 18 months ahead of time, the team rearranged focus points to meet the needs of the workforce as it exists today. With that in mind, PeopleSoft developed the following plan:
- Increase awareness of Health & Safety
- Humanize work and working conditions
- Define a new normal of operations
- Enable the workforce
- Value agility over predictability
- Re-evaluate / re-prioritize the roadmap
Luckily, they use an agile development process that allowed PeopleSoft to make changes in these directions.
PeopleSoft HR – Remote Worker Enhancements
Remote Worker is a feature that will be available in Image 40. It allows employees to put in a request to work remotely. The employee fills in an activity guide from their own device.
PeopleSoft is waiting to enhance the feature until they get feedback for the current version. However, one enhancement already planned is the ability to view employee remote status on multiple PeopleSoft pages. You’ll also be able to utilize Kibana visualizations to see where your employees are working from.
PeopleSoft HR – Employee Wellness
This is another feature that was moved to a top priority. PeopleSoft created a way to allow customers to track vaccinations and test results for employees. This is available now if you download it as a PRP to be deployed in your environment. There is Employee Acknowledgement for the organization to store this data, as well as an approvals process.
Some things to support employee wellness include administrator-level Kibana analytics for vaccination and test results, and Manager Self Service to enter Health & Safety Incidents, COVID-related or not.
PeopleSoft HR – Gender Identity & Employee Self-Identification
This feature allows customers to capture and track employee birth gender, current gender, and gender identity. It allows for a preferred pronoun(s). The optional feature is configurable by region.
More HR Features to Come
- Profile Management
- Configurable Order of Fields
- Employee Self Service – Acknowledge Profiles
- Ordering Control of Fields Displayed
- Onboard/Offboarding
- Simplified, Fluid checklist
- Support for pre-boarding activities
- Kibana analytics for status and tracking step completions
- Fluid I-9 with supporting documentation
- Person Data Modernization
- PeopleSoft PICASO – Employee personal information
- Configurable enhancements for Company Directory and Personal Information
PeopleSoft Time & Attendance – Scheduling Calendar
This provides a complete view of the entire team on any given week. You have the ability to take action from this screen. It’s an exciting feature that leverages Fluid.
PeopleSoft Time & Labor and Absence Features to Come
- Absence Management – Forecasting Enhancements
- Fluid Self Service Absence pages update
- Improve Payable Time Approvals Creation
- PeopleSoft PICASO – Time inquiries
Payroll for North American – “Pay Me Now”
There is a trend toward workers—especially those in the “gig” economy such as on-demand drivers—to expect to be paid the moment that their task is complete. Additionally, the stress of paycheck-to-paycheck living could be removed with a more immediate pay option.
Even if your organization does not currently support this type of option, it appears that the marketplace is moving in this direction. You may even need this in the private sector in order to recruit new employees.
Details of this roadmapped feature are illustrated below:
More PNA Features to Come
- On-Demand Calculation for On Cycle Paysheets
- Enhanced Options for Direct Deposit (one of the highest requested ideas on IdeaSpace)
- Remote Worker Payroll Auto-Enrollment for Tax Distribution
- Fluid Paycheck Modeler
Benefits Features to Come
- Benefits Plan Comparison
- Configure Benefits Confirmation Statement
- Self Service HSA worksheet calculator
Performance Management – Modernization
There are several exciting plans for Performance Management. A new Fluid design improves usability for the manager and the employee, and it’s optimized for the casual and mobile user. Enhancements include:
- Ratings and progress during checkpoints
- Peer feedback request by manager or employee
- Peer feedback during the performance year
- Easier corporate goals and business objectives that can be aligned and cascaded
- Quickly review and use performance notes
- At a glance ratings
- Easy tracking of positive feedback provided throughout the year (kudos, accomplishments, etc.)
- Ability to exclude goal ratings in the performance rating calculation
- View Fluid version of the employee’s career path
Texting Capabilities
The recruiting team has been on the forefront of pushing for texting. The capability seems to have the most value for hiring managers or recruiters and applicants. Notification through text has been available. Moving forward, text notifications will be available for internal candidates with an increased number of notifications supported by text. There will also be a chance for applicants to text back. Tracking of all text communications in Applicant notes will be available, as well as text notification for Bank Account and Net Distribution Changes – Global Payroll.
HR HelpDesk
HR HelpDesk will soon deliver Image 20 with the first HR HelpDesk Image on Tools 8.59, meaning all 8.59 functionality will be available. You’ll see Kibana dashboards for Agent Backlog, Manager Backlog, and Performance Insights. It’s a great dashboard for triaging cases. There will also be approvals for solution authoring.
While there wasn’t enough time or space to discuss all of the features on the roadmap for PeopleSoft, this post explained the most highly-anticipated features and enhancements. As always, the features mentioned are covered by the Safe Harbor statement. For more info, go to peoplesoftinfo.com.