The new training and appraisal functions are now live on Staff Connect. You can already use Staff Connect to view your payslip and view and change your personal details but the additions of training requests and the recording of appraisals (RPDs) extends the benefit of the system significantly.
You can now request a reservation on a training activity run by the Learning & Organisational Development (L&OD) team, which will be automatically forwarded to your line manager to authorise.
As well as booking on to training courses, you will be able to securely record your Appraisal (RPD) within the system. All staff will have a record made when their Appraisal (RPD) discussion has taken place. Having a clear and agreed organisational record that these discussions have taken place is a significant step forward and will enable managers and leaders to monitor and ensure that high quality appraisal discussions are taking place in line with the University’s commitment to staff. Having the option to save appraisal paperwork within the system will also provide a strong safeguard for this important personal data. More information is available on the RPD website.
Line managers will also be able to set up “delegations” in Staff Connect, enabling other members of staff to approve requests on their behalf. They can nominate different delegates for different people management processes, e.g. their PA for training course requests, and another manager for appraisals (if this reflects what happens in practice). User guides for both managers and staff regarding delegation set up and management are available on the Staff Connect Delegation page. Managers will be able to delegate other people management responsibilities as they become live in the system (eg authorising annual leave from early 2019).
Line managers will now have the ability to view reports on training and appraisals. In addition managers will have access to reports on the organisational hierarchy and post reporting structure, as appropriate to their position. This will help managers to identify any discrepancies in the structure which they should then notify to hrsysplan@kent.ac.uk for correction.
If you have any questions about Staff Connect and the launch of this new module, there is guidance, including a frequently asked questions section, on the Staff Connect website.
To find out more about using Staff Connect to book on to L&OD training courses and to record Appraisals (RPDs), please come to one of the demo and drop-in sessions available for all staff and line managers. Please go to L&OD Staff Connect information to find out more.
This is the latest update in the Staff Connect Phase 2 project. The new staff absence and the recruitment modules will go live in early 2019. If you have any questions about the project, please contact staffconnect@kent.ac.uk