Neil Teatsorth: Hello. Welcome to the UKG Implementation Change Management and Cutover Plan Podcast. I'm Neil Teatsorth, Chief Human Resource Officer. And today, we're diving into the world of UKG implementation, what it takes to roll out a platform like UKG Pro Workforce Management or UKG Dimensions, and what our caregivers need to know to succeed during this change that will impact every caregiver in our organization.

Joining me today is John Gaede, our Chief Information Officer, who's been a part of a few UKG rollouts in healthcare. John, great to have you here.

John Gaede: Neil, thank you and an absolute pleasure. Glad to be here.

Neil Teatsorth: Okay. Let's start with the basics. Can you give our listeners a quick overview of what UKG is?

John Gaede: So Neil, UKG is the enhanced version of the platform that we know as Kronos. San Juan Regional Medical Center currently uses the Kronos Time and Attendance Module as the time tracking system of record. UKG is the cloud-based upgraded version of Kronos. We are upgrading our time and attendance module and it contains these modules, time cards, and automation attendance system. We're implementing attestation questions for punches. We're moving the accrual and leave module from Workday to UKG. This is the module that contains benefit banks and leave absence. And finally, we're implementing the advanced schedule module, which will transition our organization from paper and spreadsheet schedules to having schedules in an electronic system.

Neil Teatsorth: Wow. So John, can you share important milestones of this implementation project?

John Gaede: Sure, Neil. The implementation approach consists of three phases in our project, which the biggest milestone's rapidly approaching. Monday, June 30, phase one, is our go live.

Neil Teatsorth: Can you share some of the functionalities of the mobile app?

John Gaede: Yes. Caregivers will be able to access their time cards, schedules, and time off through the new mobile app, allowing our caregivers to have on time visibility of their time, their shifts, PTO, STO. I encourage our listeners to download the app on Android or Apple. There are flyers available with the QR code and clinical and nonclinical units of the hospital, departments, break rooms, and the Café Que Pasa, and our clinics.

Neil Teatsorth: John, can you tell us more about the time and attendance module?

John Gaede: Sure. Time cards are configured to follow our multi-state compliance with the 23 states from which San Juan Regional Medical Center has remote workers. Caregivers will notice a set of questions that triggers when punching in and out called attestation questions, and we built a business process to track occurrences for attendance purposes that will affect non-exempt employees. This used to be a process held by phone and emails with the HR team.

Neil Teatsorth: John, let's dive into the accrual and leave module.

John Gaede: For the accrual and leave module, the most important thing to note here is that the Benefit Banks and Leave Calendar that you see today in Workday will be migrating and now hosted in UKG. In addition, you have and may be aware that our human resources business partner team, in conjunction with the HR benefits team, has been working on enhancing the PTO and STO policies and the new holiday bank.

Neil Teatsorth: Can you share more about the advanced scheduling module?

John Gaede: Sure. The advanced scheduling module, so clinical and nonclinical departments for several years have had a paper or Excel spreadsheet system to publish schedules. The most significant change here is that UKG offers a powerful engine in which schedules can be published electronically, and caregivers will be able to perform tasks through the employee self-service feature.

Neil Teatsorth: This is fantastic. Where can caregivers find job aids, the FAQ document and the HRIS changes guide?

John Gaede: These documents are all published in two places: on the intranet under Human Resources Department, HRIS, and also under manager resources under the HRIS tab.

Neil Teatsorth: John, if a caregiver needs assistance logging into the new system, the accrual balances are not accurate, or they're having problems clocking in, where should they go to get assistance?

John Gaede: We want to encourage caregivers to open a Workday Help ticket. This will allow the HRIS team to track all requests and route those requests and tickets to the appropriate team and efficiently work through the escalation process.

Neil Teatsorth: That's great news. Workday Help has been a great success. And it's glad to see we're expanding its use. John, which pay periods will be affected by this transition.

John Gaede: So, Neil, the pay periods affected by this transition are Monday, June 16th to Sunday, June 29th. That will be the last pay period tracked and process in the old Kronos system. Monday, June 30th to Sunday. July 13th will be the first pay period in the new UKG system.

Neil Teatsorth: Got it. Any other important dates during the transition that we should know about?

John Gaede: Time clocks will be down on Monday, June 30th. We encourage managers and caregivers to track their time during the blackout period in the paper time log provided by the UKG project team. Once the new UKG system is up and running on July 1st, we encourage caregivers to log into the new system and review their accrual balances. The balances will actually be available in this system on July 3rd.

Neil Teatsorth: When will the new UKG go live, John?

John Gaede: The big day is Monday, June 30th.

Neil Teatsorth: Terrific. This has been a very insightful discussion, John. Thanks so much for walking us through the UKG implementation process.

John Gaede: Thank you, Neil, for this opportunity. It was great sharing with you and providing some insight into the project as we prepare for the organization's go live.

Neil Teatsorth: To our caregivers, thank you for tuning in. And don't forget if you need assistance, please open a Workday Help ticket. We are ready to assist you on this journey. Thank you, everyone, and have a great day.