SHARP-Shooter June 2003

Fiscal Year End: Vacation Overage

In the current SHARP 7.02 environment, the use of Favorites is a quick, convenient way to jump from panel to panel without the need to follow a specific path each time. In the new version of SHARP, the ability to create Favorites continues to be available. In fact, the pages that you can set as favorites is expanded in v8.0. Favorites you have set up in SHARP 7.02 will not convert to SHARP 8.0.

If you have surfed the Internet you are probably familiar with using Favorites to jump to various websites without typing in the web address each time you wish to visit the page. In SHARP 8.0, you will set up your favorites in the same manner as you save your favorite Internet sites. You can select to add specific pages that you visit often or you may set up a specific menu from which you can manually drill down to specific pages.

To add a page to your list of favorite pages

Log into SHARP.
Drill down to the specific page or menu that you want to add to your Favorites list.
On the Favorites menu, click Add to Favorites.

Type a new name for the page if you want to.
If you are adding a Menu then you will need to rename the page, otherwise if you add another menu page with the same delivered name it will overwrite your previously saved menu page.

Notes

This will place the page or menu view at the bottom of the list in your favorites.
You may find it beneficial to organize your favorites by creating a folder in which to store you SHARP favorites. (See instructions below.)
To open one of your favorite pages, on the Favorites menu, click the page or menu that you want to open.

To organize your favorite pages into folders

As your list of favorite pages grows, you can keep it organized by creating folders. You might want to organize your pages by topic. For example, you could create a folder named Recruit Workforce for storing all the pages or menus that you utilize in the Recruit Workforce module.

On the Favorites menu, click Organize Favorites.
Click Create Folder, type a name for the folder, and then press ENTER.
Drag the pages or menu views, which you wish to move, to the appropriate folders.
If the number of shortcuts or folders makes dragging impractical, you can use the Move to Folder button instead.

To add a page to the Links bar

If you have a handful of sites or pages that you visit often, add them to your Links bar.
The Links bar is located next to the Address bar in Internet Explorer, and is a convenient place to add links to a few Web pages that you use frequently. Just click the link to display the page.
You can add a page to the Links bar in a variety of ways:

Drag the icon for the page from your Address bar to your Links bar.
Drag a link from a Web page to your Links bar.
Drag a link to the Links folder from your Favorites list.

Notes

If the Links bar does not appear on the toolbar, go to the View menu, point to Toolbars, and then click Links.
You also can organize your links by dragging them in a different order on the Links bar.

SHARP 7.02 to SHARP 8.0 Key Dates

June 13 (Friday)V7.02
SHARP 7.02 access available until 6:00 p.m. Conversion to 8.0 begins late Friday night and no further Agency access to 7.02 will be available.

June 16-17>
No Agency access to SHARP 7.02

SHARP 8.0 open to Agency SHARP users.

First day to print timesheets in SHARP 8.0 for June 22 to July 5, 2003 pay period.

June 23 (Monday) V8.0
SHARP and Regents off-cycle for pay period ending June 7, 2003 paid June 26, 2003. Last FY 2003 off -cycle. SHARP agencies can enter supplementals but must send adjustment transactions to Division of Accounts and Reports, Payroll Services.

June 25 (Wednesday) V8.0
Employee Self-Service Center available to employees at http://www.kansas.gov/employee/

June 27 (Friday) V8.0
Final pay calculation and confirm for the SHARP on-cycle for the payroll period ending June21, 2003, paid July 3, 2003.

June 30 (Monday) V8.0
July 3, 2003 on-cycle paychecks available on the Employee Self-Service Center at http://www.kansas.gov/employee/

See the Division of Accounts and Reports website at http://da.state.ks.us/ar/infocirc/ for the recently issued Informational Circulars relating to fiscal year-end and payroll processing schedules.

Adding New Non-Employees to Administer Training

The process to add Students and Instructors in Administer Training as non-employees in Peoplesoft 8.0 has changed. Non-employees must be hired in the Administer Workforce window into a special Department ID that will be established to keep these individuals separate from actual State of Kansas employees.

The testing needed to finalize this new process did not get completed prior to the upgrade that will occur next week. In order to ensure the process for hiring non-employees is working properly, the Division of Personnel Services will continue testing and finalizing the procedures for this new process. Agencies with security access to Administer Training will be provided detailed instructions on how to view and hire non-employee Training Students and Instructors some time soon after the upgrade. If you have any questions about this process, please contact Connie Guerrero at connie.guerrero@da.state.ks.us

Updated Earnings Code and Work Schedule Lists

The Revised Earnings Code and Work Schedule Lists that reflect several new earnings codes and new earnings code descriptions are now available at the SHARP Customer Service Documents Page:
http://da.state.ks.us/sharp/documents/

Changing Your Top Secret Password in WS_FTP

Many agencies have chosen to use the WS_FTP software to copy SHARP reports from their agency MVS mailboxes. A TopSecret ID and password is required to access the MVS mailbox. The TopSecret password must be changed every thirty days. Users can change their password using WS_FTP or change it during the login process to other applications such as STARS or STARS Ad Hoc.

Your TopSecret password can be changed in WS_FTP during the login process. To change your password, do the following:

Double-click on the WS_FTP icon on your desktop to begin the login process.
In the Password field on the Session Properties dialog box, enter your current password, slash (/), new password, slash (/), and new password again. The entry in the password field will appear as: current password/newpassword/newpassword
Click on the OK button and your password will be changed and you will be connected to your MVS mailbox.

If your password has already expired when you perform the above steps, you will receive a “password has expired error message.” If this occurs, click on the Connect button to return to the Session Properties dialog box and re-enter your current and new password as noted above.

If you make three unsuccessful attempts to login to your MVS mailbox or change your password, your TopSecret ID will be locked. If this happens or if you forget your ID or password, contact you agency’s TopSecret Administrator.

SHARP 8.0 Reporting Change

We previously informed you that the format for SHARP reports was changing from “.lis” to “.pdf” with the implementation of 8.0. Several agencies contacted us and indicated they imported information from the “.lis” formatted reports into critical agency internal applications. As a result, the Project Team has made modifications to the reporting process to accommodate this need. Each of the centrally run reports (accessed from your MVS mailbox) will be created in both “.lis” and “.pdf” formats. Agencies can use either or both formats as needed. Please note that we will no longer be supporting the printlis utility for viewing .lis files. The .pdf version of reports should be used for viewing. The process to create agency run reports (those run in SHARP) has been modified to allow “LP” as a format choice on the Process Scheduler Request page. “LP” is a text format similar to the “.lis” and can be used in the same manner. However, you will need to save the file before you can view it or import to other software.

When time permits, we will update the Introduction to CBT and SHARP book to reflect these changes.

Employment Registration and Notice of Vacancy Process Key Dates

**This document is also available in a formatted version online at: http://www.da.state.ks.us/sharp/

7.02 Employment Registration Process Key Dates
Last Day SHARP 7.02 Employment Registration Booklets (seven booklets) were processed via the web and scanner was Thursday, June 12th.

Friday, June 13th is the last day to run certified eligible candidate pool reports in 7.02. NOTE: Certified Eligible Candidate Pool Reports will NOT be available in 8.0.

Applicant Summary Reports will continue to be available in SHARP 8.0.

8.0 Employment Registration Process Key Dates
New SHARP 8.0 Employment Registration web form will be available on Wednesday,
June 18th. Agencies may also key personal information for new applicants directly into SHARP.

Job Requisition Process Key Dates
Last Day for entry of SHARP 7.02 Job Requisition data for the Notice of Vacancy reports was Tuesday, June 10th.

The Last Notice of Vacancy Report from SHARP 7.02 was Wednesday, June 11th.

NOTE: The First Day to begin Job Requisition data entry for the Notice of Vacancy reports in SHARP 8.0 will be Wednesday, June 25th. You may begin entering requisitions in SHARP 8.0 on or after June 18th but they will NOT post until June 25th.

All requisitions that remain open in SHARP 7.02 will migrate to SHARP 8.0

NOTE: You need to follow the below steps in order for your SHARP 7.02 requisition to post correctly in SHARP 8.0 on JUNE 25th

Select job description type : Select Posting
Select position information posting type: Select only ONE choice, External, Internal, or Agency. Please delete any additional rows of data.
You can modify or expand the text listed in the position information box that migrated from SHARP 7.02. SHARP 8.0 allows unlimited text entry.
If you want your requisition to be posted statewide in lieu of an individual county, click on the statewide box.
Review the open and close dates of the requisition as the requisition will not post until June 25th, please adjust the close date to account for minimum or maximum recruitment periods.
You will need to click on the OK to Post box for requisitions to appear on the Job Posting Page for Wednesday, June 25th.

FINAL STEP: Save your changes to the requisition; once saved the requisition will be live on the Internet.

NOTE: SHARP 8.0 allows requisitions to be posted daily in lieu of weekly.

Conversion of Applicant Personal Data

All Applicant Personal Data information including highest level of education and veteran's preference will be available in SHARP 8.0 on Wednesday, June 18th.

All applicant skills including license and certifications will be purged and will NOT be available in 8.0.

Confirmation letters will continue to be mailed for notification of applicant and employee ID numbers.

Please refer to the Recruit Workforce Computer Based Training “How Do I's” for step by step instructions on the SHARP 8.0 recruitment processes . http://da.state.ks.us/sharp/CBT-intro.htm

SHARP Info List

If you have not signed up to be on the SHARP InfoList yet, now is a very good time. As we go live with SHARP 8.0 the infolist is the fastest way to get information to the users. If there are any last minute notices, users would receive them directly at their computer. Users will receive reminders of changes or deadlines for submitting time, etc

Accessing Your Application Using the Keyboard in PeopleSoft 8.0

Keyboard navigation is controlled by Access keys and Hot keys.

List of Access Keys

Alt 1 Enter -- Moves the focus to different buttons depending on the page type.

Moves focus to the Save button on the Toolbar in a page.
Moves focus to the OK button on a secondary page.
Moves focus to the Search or Add button on a Search or Lookup page.

Alt 2 Enter -- Return to Search
Alt 3 Enter -- Next in List
Alt 4 Enter -- Previous in List
Alt 9 Enter -- Toggle between Menu items in the breadcrumbs
Alt \ Enter -- Toggle between actions on a page [e.g., Alt backslash Enter]

List of Hot Keys

Alt 5 -- Valid Lookup Values
Alt 6 -- Related Links
Alt 7 -- Insert Row in grid or scroll area
Alt 8 -- Delete Row in grid or srcoll area
Alt 0 -- Refreshes the page by invoking the Refresh button on the Toolbar
Alt . -- Next set of rows in grid or scroll area [e.g., Alt period]
Alt , -- Previous set of rows in grid or scroll area [e.g., Alt comma]
Alt / -- Find in grid or scroll area [e.g., Alt forward slash]
Alt ' -- View All in grid or scroll area [e.g., Alt prime]
Alt \ -- Toggle between Add and Update on the Search page [e.g., Alt backslash]
Ctrl J -- System Information
Ctrl K -- Keyboard Information
Enter -- Invokes the following buttons where present: OK, Search, Lookup
Esc -- Cancel Menu Hot Keys in the Menu context. The Alt 1, 2, 3 and 4 combinations will take you to the first collapsed option in an already expanded menu. If you are expanded out to the 4th level, then the 1st or Home level is collapsed. To access the collapsed Home level, use Alt 1 Enter. You will be returned to the Home level with the current 2nd level expanded and the cursor focus will be on the first option of the 2nd level.

About Access keys and Hot keys

An Access Key is an Alt key combination that moves focus to a specified field on the current page. For example, Alt 2 moves focus to the Return to Search button and pressing the Enter key invokes the Search page.
A Hot Key performs an immediate action. For example, when focus is in a field that has lookup processing, Alt 5 invokes the Lookup page without having to press the Enter key.

Note: Access keys do not perform any action in Internet Explorer. Pressing the Enter key invokes the processing. However, Access keys behave like Hot keys in Netscape 6, executing immediately.

Employee Self Service Center Opens on June 25, 2003, at http://www.kansas.gov/employee/

Paycheck* – See pay information on the Monday before a Friday pay date. Effective July 3, 2003, pay advices will not be mailed to employees using direct deposit. Your money will be deposited on the regular Friday payday. Up to 3 years of paycheck history will be available. Year-to-date balance information is only included on the most current paycheck. Beginning June 30, 2003 paycheck information for the July 3 pay date will be available.

Leave Balances* - View leave balances for the pay period end date of the most current pay date, ie. for pay period end date of June 21 for the July 3, 2003 pay date.

Job Postings – See job vacancies in state agencies as they are posted each day. Search and sort by keyword, job title, county, or agency.

Personal Data – View name, address, phone number, marital status, birth date, and original hire date as stored in the Statewide Human Resource and Payroll (SHARP) system. Please contact your agency personnel office if any of this information is incorrect.

Benefits Open Enrollment – Choose elections for health insurance and flexible spending accounts during the open enrollment period each October. (Benefits eligible employees only)

Benefits Confirmation Statement – View health insurance (medical, dental, vision, and prescription drug) and flexible spending accounts elections from the latest benefits open enrollment period. (Benefits eligible employees only)

Total Compensation Statement* - View direct and indirect compensation for the most recent year available. (Benefits eligible employees only)

Training Summary – View training history as stored in SHARP.

General Profile Information – Change email address or password for self service.

W-4 Tax Information* - Change number of allowances, marital status, and exempt status for both federal and Kansas state withholding. Additional federal withholding changes can also be entered through self-service.

W-2 Reissue – Request a duplicate W-2 for calendar year 2002.

*Not available for Regents’ Institution employees.

Your agency human resource office can tell employees how to sign in using their Employee ID and new password.

Recently Issued Informational Circulars

The Payroll Section of the Division of Accounts and Reports has recently issued several informational circulars that may affect your agency or your employees. These circulars are as follows:
03-P-040 SHARP Bi-Weekly Payroll Schedule for June – December 2003
03-P-041 Employee Taxability for Personal Use of a State-Owned Vehicle
03-P-042 Suggestion Award Earnings Codes
03-P-043 Fiscal Year End Payroll Processing for FY2003
03-P-045 Housing, Food Service and Other Employee Maintenance
03-P-046 New Federal Withholding Tax Tables
03-P-048 Earnings Codes
03-P-049 Fiscal Year 2004 Payroll Contribution rates

The informational circulars can be accessed on the Division of Accounts and Reports web site at http://da.state.ks.us/ar/infocirc/

Notice:

If your computer is set up with the State Outlook e-mail, you can select SHARP Change Management from the Global Address Book and send any questions about the upgrade there. Otherwise send e-mail to sharpcm@state.ks.us .

Attention:

Stay up-to-date on the latest information about the SHARP upgrade by signing up for the SHARP information list at: http://da.state.ks.us/sharp/infolist.htm .

Please inform all SHARP users about this important list!

SHARP Customer Service Web Page:

http://da.state.ks.us/sharp