The Staff Connect Steering Group met last week and considered the implications of a planned autumn launch. It was decided that in light of a number of factors, the scheduled launch date should target January 2017.

This decision takes account of business as usual priorities that go hand-in-hand with the start of a new academic year, when the focus of our work is on the arrival of new students and many new colleagues.

It also reflects a belief that we can better ensure that staff are prepared for the launch of the system in term time, rather than over the summer break when many of you may have periods of leave.

Despite the new target, the work of the project continues unabated, with final user acceptance testing (UAT) of the Staff Connect system currently being completed by Payroll and Pensions, and now being overseen by an experienced UAT manager.

To ensure that staff feel confident using Staff Connect, a number of support resources have already been developed by the Project team and are currently being tested by members of the Staff Connect Advisory Group. In addition to these, all staff will have the opportunity to attend one of many demonstrations of the system that will be offered throughout the autumn term.

As well as these demos, the Project team will continue to provide updates on the work of Staff Connect over the summer and into the autumn term.

Should you have any questions, do contact Su Westerman, Staff Connect Employee Engagement and Communications Manager.

Sent in by s.westerman@kent.ac.uk