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This guide describes the steps to create/set up an instance for a district new to Employee Self Service.  This page assumes no dependency on Kiosk for any processes. 

Installation Steps

  1. For those districts who host with the MCOECN, please refer to the VRA installation documentation provided by the MCOECN.

  2. For those district who host locally, please refer to the /wiki/spaces/rtd/pages/333283367 to walk you through the setup of the Employee Self Service application.

    1. NOTE: If your districts currently do not have a workflows engine (they are not using USAS requisition approval or USPS onboarding), ESS is dependent on workflows if districts plan to use the leave request approval system or timesheets in ESS. The ESS Installation Guide provides information on how to set up workflows.

Post Installation Steps

The following are

...

recommendations post-installation.

USPS

  • In USPS, please verify the following:

    • In Core>Codes, you will need to ensure Building Code Types' Building IRN contains a valid IRN for each building they wish to filter on in ESS. If there are obsolete building codes, those can be ignored and not updated.

    • If you have districts that never updated SSNs to EMPIDs in Classic (prior to migrating to USPS-R), you have the ability to mass load them in USPS. Please click here for further details.

    • If your district intends to use Timesheets in ESS, the ‘Timesheet Required' checkbox must be enabled if the employee’s position is a timesheet position. Also ensure the timesheet position has a supervisor assigned to it. Please refer to USPS Mass Load chapter for details on how to mass load these fields

ESS

  1. Ensure the following is reviewed/set up under System>Configuration:

    1. Application Configuration: Ensure the instance type ‘Production’ is selected as well as both ‘External Notification enabled' and User Job Execution Enabled are both selected.

    2. ESS Functionality Configuration: Ensure the district’s desired functionality options are selected. NOTE: These changes made will not take full effect until the page is refreshed

    3. Email Configuration: If the district is using Leave Request in ESS, the email configuration must be configured in order for users, approvers and other roles to receive email notifications.

    4. Employee Profile: If the district would prefer certain fields be displayed under to hide specific fields from displaying under the Employee Profile record, deselect the fields the district does not want displayedthey do not wish to display.

    5. Forgot Password Configuration: Change default settings if desired. NOTE: Affects local authentication only

    6. Job Status Configuration: Determines the employee’s positions displayed in various areas of the application.

    7. Leave Balance Details: If the district would prefer certain fields be displayed to hide specific fields from displaying under Leave Information, deselect the fields the district does not want displayedthey do not wish to display.

    8. Leave Expenses Configuration: If district is using Professional Leave Requests and would prefer certain fields be displayed to hide specific fields from displaying under Leave Expenses area on the form, deselect the fields the district does not want displayedthey do not wish to display.

    9. Leave Time Configuration: If district is using Leave Requests in ESS, ensure the leave time increments are set correctlyconfiguration aligns with the district’s preferences.

    10. Leave Type Configuration: If the district is using Leave Requests in ESS, ensure the Leave leave type configuration is set up correctly for the districtaligns with the district’s preferences.

    11. Password Expiration Configuration: Ensure the password expiration is set up correctly for the districtconfiguration aligns with the district’s preferences.

    12. Payslip Configuration: If payslips are enabled, by default all USPS payslips, including archived (classic) USPS payslips, will be included. If district does not want wish to include archived payslips included, deselect 'include archived payslips”.

    13. Position Details Configuration: If district would prefer certain fields be displayed to hide specific fields from displaying under Position Details record, deselect the fields the district does not want displayedthey do not wish to display.

    14. Registration Configuration: If ALL your users authenticates externally (i.e. Active Directory) in the district, ensure this flag is selected. If so, their user account’s ‘external authentication’ will be checked by default. Ssytem> other optionsWhen a users account is created, it will be automatically be flagged for external authentication.

  2. Ensure the following is reviewed/set up under the System menu

    1. Organization: Enter the district’s organization information.

    2. Test Connection: Testing the connection between ESS, USPS and Workflows is part of the post-installation procedures from the /wiki/spaces/rtd/pages/333283367. Please ensure the connections are successful.

  3. ESS user accounts must be created. You have two ways (or a combo of the two) of handling this:

    1. RECOMMENDED: You can have each user self register and it Recommended: Local, 2FA or External Auth Users may self register, especially those who do not need additional roles. It will create their ESS User account (automatically pulling their USPS info ) with and assigning the default User role. Each user will need to ) NOTE: In order to self register, each user must be notified ahead of time of the district’s username format (i.e. first initial last name) and their the user’s USPS employee number. This option will allow the user to create their

      1. NOTE: If your district uses External Authentication, please ensure your ESS username matches your External Authentication username and ensure the ‘externally authenticated’ box is selected during self-register process.

      2. NOTE: For those that do not use External Authentication, self register process includes creating your own permanent password for ESS.

      However, if

      2. NOTE: If the user needs additional ESS roles assigned to their account, the ITC (or district

      user in charge of maintaining user accounts

      1. staff with Admin or District Manager role) will need to

      modify existing ESS User accounts to

      1. add the additional roles (either manually via User grid or via

      mass load

      1. System>Mass Load).

    2. ITC (or district user in charge of maintaining user accountsstaff with Admin or District Manager role) can create all user accounts prior to making ESS available publicly to the district. A CSV spreadsheet can be created and mass loaded staff. (Local, 2FA or External Auth ESS user accounts can be added manually via User grid or a CSV spreadsheet may be used to mass load users via System>Mass Load).  The Please refer to the User Import Criteria required to successfully mass create User accounts is included in the Mass Load chapter. Once in the Mass Load documentation for CSV format requirements. Once the user accounts are created, an additional step must be completed to create temporary passwords for each user. This doesn’t apply to external auth… please contact admin..

    3. Allow users to create passwords using 'forgot password? User

      4. Bulk Reset Passwords - they have so much time to do this… Please refer to the ESS manual for information on how to bulk reset passwords (Users chapter) for new users and optionally mass change ESS usernames (Mass Load chapter) if so desired

      local and 2FA users. Temporary Passwords can be created by:

      1. User creating the temporary password via 'forgot password link on the Login page. Forgot Password will then allow them to establish a permanent password.

      2. ITC (or district staff with Admin or District Manager role) can use Bulk Reset Passwords option from User grid. Please refer to the User documentation on how to bulk reset passwords.

  4. System>USPS Data Sync: Once user accounts are established, run the Position and Leave Balances Syncs and ensure they complete successfully. NOTE: When syncing positions, it will automatically sync employee data as well.

  5. Set up Groups/Group Chains

    1. Recommendation: Supervisor….

      1. NOTE: Supervisor must be in USPS Position record and supervisor must have ESS account (with Leave Approval Role and Supervisosr for Staff role)

    If using Leave Request Approval Workflows in ESS, email configuration needs to be setup in order for users to receive email notifications regarding leave request submittals and approvals. NOTE: It will use the email address listed in the user’s User record.

  6. System>Configuration>Email Configuration: Configuration menu to enable email notifications

  7. System>Test Email: May be used to send a test email to an ESS user to ensure email notifications work for their leave request submissions/approvals

    8. System>Configuration>Leave Request Workflow Configuration: May be used to customize the verbiage on the default emails sent during the leave request workflow approval process

    1. If the district is initializing Leave Requests (and/or Timesheets) in ESS, under the User menu, Groups and then Group Chains must be created in order for leave requests/timesheets to flow through a workflow approval process. Please refer to the User chapter for more information on how to create Groups and Group Chains.

Timesheets:

...

USPS

...

  • More information on Timesheets is provided here.

  • Please refer to the November 2024 SSDT Newsletter for a list of mini recordings demoing the ESS menu based on a certain role(s). It may be helpful to share these recordings with new users of the software.