Where in the World is Becky Hsu?
University
Reporter 
Institute
for Community Inclusion, A National Center,
To Move To UMass Boston
Russert
to Speak at Commencement
Fulbright
Scholar Aids
Environmental Management in China
WUMB
Debuts New Station at WNEF 91.7
Educator
Inspires Beacon Leadership Students
Technology-Enhanced
Classrooms Open for Spring Semester
Reality
Check Conference Examines Gap Between Income and Housing Costs
“Happenings
@ UMB” Column New to University Home Page
Center
for Social Policy Researchers Recognized for Work on Issues of Homelessness
in America
Celebrating
Black History Month: How Academics and Athletics Led to Success
Best
Practices: Nursing Students Connecting with Communities
Annual
“Teaching for Transformation” Conference Held at University
Revealing
and Celebrating a Great Poet
PeopleSoft:
Where in the World is Becky Hsu?
By Kevin Dolan
That is the question! In spanning the geography of Massachusetts, it seems that Becky Hsu, director of payroll and the campus lead on the implementation of the new Human Resources/e*mpac System, has been just about everywhere, including Amherst, Boston, Dartmouth, and Lowell. But her primary home-away-from-home has been Worcester, where people from each of the UMass campuses and the President’s Office are working feverishly to put the finishing touches on the new system, which is scheduled to be implemented on March 4.
Much of the hard work of designing and building the new system is nearly complete. In January, Hsu was involved with running mock data conversions, and ensuring that the payroll data produced in the new system matched data in the old system. February will be used for final information sessions, training on the new forms, and practice sessions for users.
When the new Human Resources/e*mpac System is implemented, UMass will utilize the same administrative software system, PeopleSoft, that the rest of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts now uses for its human resources and payroll activities. The new system will also provide greater on-line access to information, creating less need for hard-copy reports. Data accuracy will also be improved, with more drop-down menus that already contain data values. Unlike the present system, which contains only current data, the new system will be able to store both future and historical data. With on-line access to reports and the system’s ability to keep history, users will be less dependent on creating their own “shadow” systems for such purposes as tracking employee transactions.
In addition to promoting organizational efficiency, the new system will also benefit employees directly. Each staff member will now be able to have his or her paycheck deposited in as many as four different bank accounts, including credit unions. Likewise, benefited employees will now accrue vacation and sick time each pay period rather than at the end of each month. These accruals will be accessible sooner, and the system will allow a more precise accounting of time that employees have earned and used. In addition, the new system will assign employee IDs. By eliminating the need for an employee to use his or her social security number as an employee ID, the system will increase the security of personal information.