Oracle HCM Cloud Time and Labor Release 24B

Mar 3, 2024Nov 15, 2024 ~ K8 Mead ~ Leave a comment

It’s 24B time! Given the imminent mandatory requirement for all Timesheets to be in the new Redwood UI by 24D, it’s not surprising that there are a number of Redwood new features in this current release. Whilst Oracle are likely to release more enhancements over March, I wanted to highlight a few key features that have already been announced.

The first feature I also mentioned in my Absence 24B blog, but it’s important for those who use Time and Labor. Oracle have provided users the ability to view absence plan balances directly in the Redwood Time Card. This will save employees from having to check their balances in the absence area and then go back to their time cards to log the absence.

The new Redwood Existing Time Cards page allows users the ability to open and view their existing timecards more quickly using the row-level Edit action or by clicking the period start date link. If users aren’t allowed to edit existing timecards, they will open in read-only mode. The same functionality has also been applied to the new Redwood Team Time Cards page.

Automatic Addition of On Call Shifts on Redwood Time Cards

I love this feature! Oracle has made it so much easier to handle on-call payments via timecards with this new enhancement. Whenever a timecard is created for a period with worker-assigned on-call shifts, rules can be created to automatically assign an on-call entry onto the timecard. The rules can be configured to include/exclude specific pay types.

Whilst there are a significant number of Redwood features in the 24B Time and Labor release, I can’t cover them all in this post. The final key feature I wish to highlight is the new Redwood Review of Warnings page. When an employee or line manager saves or submits a timecard, a warning may be received. The new Warnings page allows the user to review these warnings and correct if necessary, immediately at the point of submission. It’s a much more user-friendly page and provides easier to understand messages with recommendations on how to resolve the warnings.

As I said earlier, Oracle is likely to release more features in Time and Labor later in the month, so I will do an updated blog if the additional features are significant. Please keep an eye out for blogs on other modules within HCM Cloud for Release 24B. Finally, I’d love it if you could check out my post on the key features so far in Core HR:

https://k8mead.com/?p=100

Click here to read more about Version 1’s Oracle capabilities.

About the author:

Kate Mead is an Oracle-certified HCM Consultant and Solution Architect at Version 1 with 14 years of experience in Oracle HR and Payroll systems, including 7 years with Oracle HCM Cloud. She has worked across implementation projects and managed services, has a sound knowledge of UK Payroll legislation and — before becoming a consultant — was an HR Manager.

If you have any questions or would like more information on how Version 1 can help you realise the full potential of your Oracle Cloud instances, please contact her at kate.mead@version1.com

Please note all screenshots are the property of Oracle and are used according to their Copyright Guidelines

Oracle HCM Cloud Payroll Release 24B

Mar 3, 2024Nov 15, 2024 ~ K8 Mead ~ Leave a comment

Oracle have started to release what’s coming in release 24B. Whilst there will be more features released over March, I wanted to highlight a few key new features that have already been announced within the Payroll space.

In Release 23D Oracle released the Redwood Personal Payment Methods page. In 24B, this, as well as the Redwood Payroll Relationships page are being delivered switched on automatically. This means that any organisation who haven’t already moved these pages over to Redwood will need to do thorough testing prior to 24B to ensure they meet their needs. Alternatively, it will need to be manually switched off- via the appropriate profile options.

Keeping on with the Redwood theme, the earnings and deductions amount on the payslip summary page has now been moved to the Redwood toolset. These can be displayed based on the element primary classification. In the example screenshot above, they are displayed under the headings pre-tax, tax and after tax.

The new ‘Upgrade Cost Results’ feature in the ‘Run Feature Upgrade’ payroll flow allows users to upgrade the prior period payroll cost results. These can be updated for assignment, tax reporting unit, and the calculation breakdown values from the payroll run results. This will make adjustments to prior period results much easier.

Click here to read more about Version 1’s Oracle capabilities.

So far there aren’t any UK legislation specific Payroll updates announced in 24B. All of the 2024/25 tax year statutory changes are included in the CWB prior to tax year end. I wouldn’t be surprised if there aren’t some extra UK specific features announced later in March though.

Also keep an eye out for blogs on other modules within HCM Cloud for Release 24B. Please check out my post on the key features so far in Core HR:

https://k8mead.com/?p=100

About the author:

If you have any questions or would like more information on how Version 1 can help you realise the full potential of your Oracle Cloud instances, please contact her at kate.mead@version1.com

Please note all screenshots are the property of Oracle and are used according to their Copyright Guidelines

Oracle HCM Cloud Absence Release 24B

Mar 2, 2024Nov 15, 2024 ~ K8 Mead ~ Leave a comment

Oracle have started to release what’s coming in release 24B. Whilst they are likely to drip feed the features over March, I wanted to highlight a few key new features that have already been announced.

Absence Cases are critical to the new Enhanced UK Statutory Absence Solution that is mandatory for UK customers in release 24C. Having the Absence Cases page rewritten in the Redwood toolset ensures that users have a consistent experience with absences.

Absence Plan Balances Viewable in Redwood Time Cards

Click here to read more about Version 1’s Oracle capabilities.

A great feature for organisations using Absences and Time Cards in Redwood, is the ability to view absence plan balances directly in the time card. This saves employees having to check their balances in the absence area and then go back to their time cards. This will only add value for those organisations that allow employees to enter absences directly in the time card, rather than in absences and interfacing across to time cards.

One big frustration for customers in the difficulty in reporting on open ended absences. Open ended absences are a fact of life for most organisations are employees will go on leave with no known return to work date. In 24B, the open ended flag and the estimated end date attribute have been added to the absences OTBI subject area. This will make the monitoring of open ended absences much easier.

As I said earlier, Oracle are likely to release more features in Absence later in the month, so I will do an updated blog later. Also keep an eye out for blogs on other modules within HCM Cloud for Release 24B. Please check out my post on the key features so far in Core HR:

Oracle HCM Cloud Core HR 24C – K8 Mead

About the author:

If you have any questions or would like more information on how Version 1 can help you realise the full potential of your Oracle Cloud instances, please contact her at kate.mead@version1.com

Please note all screenshots are the property of Oracle and are used according to their Copyright Guidelines

Oracle HCM Cloud Core HR 24B

Mar 2, 2024Nov 15, 2024 ~ K8 Mead ~ 2 Comments

It’s my favourite time of the quarter when Oracle release the details of what’s coming in the next release! Oracle will continue to reveal details of 24B over March, but what has been announced in Core HR so far, is already looking great.

Unsurprisingly, this is another Redwood-heavy release and I’m delighted with what has already been announced. As part of the drive to move Employee and Manager Self Service to Redwood, there is a new Team Activity Centre. This gives Line Managers a high-level overview of the important metrics relating to their team, including staff turnover and progression with goals and skills.

If your organisation is using Journeys, Line Managers can see details of outstanding tasks waiting to be completed. Additionally, key information that the Line Manager needs to view for their team, can be seen directly in the new Activity Centre, for example, compensation details, talent ratings and the status of recruitment requisitions.

Pending Workers have joined Redwood now! This is another key page that HR teams use regularly which has been completely rewritten within the VBS toolset. It’s now a guided process and Guided Journeys can be incorporated into the process too.

Journeys are another key theme of recent Core HR releases and this is no different. The worlds of Redwood and Journeys are meeting perfectly with a number of key new features in 24B.

Configuration has now moved to Redwood, with the new Journeys Configuration page. The new Journey Configurations page is the equivalent of the existing Configurations tab where Journeys were previously set up. The new page is designed to be easier to use, with fewer button clicks and better performance.

Additionally, there is a new Journeys Console and Journeys Integrations application written in VBS to replace the existing View Console and Integrations tabs on the Checklist Templates page. These include the same optimisations that the Journeys Configuration page has.

One more exciting new feature is the Autoprovisioning of Areas of Responsibility based on templates. It is now possible to mass assign, but also automatically end date, AOR based on user-defined template criteria. The new Assign by Criteria section allows organisations to add criteria and values that identify the user who should receive the responsibility with the Basic Info and Scope defined in the prior sections of the page.

As I said earlier, Oracle is likely to release more features in Core HR later in the month, so I will do an updated blog later in the month. Also, keep an eye out for blogs on other modules within HCM Cloud for Release 24B.

Learn more about how Version 1 can help you maximise your Oracle Cloud instances here.

About the author:

If you have any questions or would like more information on how Version 1 can help you realise the full potential of your Oracle Cloud instances, please contact her at kate.mead@version1.com

Please note all screenshots are the property of Oracle and are used according to their Copyright Guidelines

Oracle HCM Cloud Release 24A — Key New Features in Global HR

Jan 12, 2024Nov 15, 2024 ~ K8 Mead ~ Leave a comment

The first iteration of the What’s New 24A Oracle HCM Cloud has been released and it looks like it’s going to be a big one! There are a lot of changes, particularly around Journeys and Redwood.

Here are a few of my highlights:

1. Redwood Global HR Enhancements

24A is the first HCM Cloud Release that brings the Redwood User Interface to the masses. All the key processes that your HR users follow are now available in the new UI. For more details, please check out my article on Redwood in 24A.

2. Journeys

24A has a substantial number of new Journey-related features. These include an improved search functionality; allowing the use of Contextual Journeys in Redwood pages and the simplification of editing tasks. All of these new features are to help streamline processes for users.

3. Work Pattern Templates and Assignment Rules

This is a helpful new feature that allows you to create rules to automatically assign working pattern templates to employees based on rules. This will minimise mistakes with incorrect working patterns being assigned to employees. The automation will speed up the hiring process and simplify making changes to employee data.

4. Approvals Work Area

The new Approvals Work Area is a new application that works across the whole of HCM Cloud. This new page has a user-friendly interface and intuitive search functionality which allows users to find tasks more easily than within the current BPM Worklist. Approvals and rejections of transactions can be made in the Work Area as well as viewing the status of historical transactions.

5. Other Functionality of Note

Two areas of functionality are being made redundant in 2024. The first is the Share Personal Info page which will be made redundant in release 24B and there is no replacement for this functionality. Secondly, Checklists and Onboarding Tasks will be made redundant in release 24D. Oracle recommends moving to Redwood Journeys as soon as possible.

About the author:

If you have any questions or would like more information on how Version 1 can help you realise the full potential of your Oracle HCM Cloud instances, please contact her at kate.mead@version1.com

Please note all screenshots are the property of Oracle and are used according to their Copyright Guidelines

Oracle HCM Cloud 24A — The Redwood Release!

Jan 10, 2024Nov 15, 2024 ~ K8 Mead ~ 1 Comment

As Oracle promised, 24A is the release that brings Redwood to the masses! There are so many Redwood new features in this release, now is the time to start your move away from Responsive UI to the new and improved Redwood-enabled Core HR applications.

So what is Redwood and why should I be excited about this?

Redwood is the new Oracle User Interface (UI) for all Oracle products. The long-term plan is for all applications within the Oracle Cloud EPM, ERP and HCM modules to have the same look and feel. The Redwood UI is designed to be mobile and tablet-friendly. When personalising pages, you can view how the page will look on named mobile device and tablet models, to see how the page will appear based on the dimensions of that particular device. All of this is to ensure that accessibility is central to the application.

So back to 24A. What features should I be looking out for?

There are numerous process flows now incorporated into the Redwood experience. These include Change Assignment, Promote, Change Position, Employment and Transfer. These are the processes that Oracle users have been waiting for.

Before 24A, the main applications that were within the Redwood UI were in the configuration areas, such as Workforce Structures. Now your HR users can carry out their day-to-day processes, such as carrying out promotions; changing line managers; managing contracts; and using the latest and greatest Oracle technology in a user-friendly and accessible interface.

For more details on release 24A, please see the Oracle 24A What’s New page here.

About the author:

If you have any questions or would like more information on how Version 1 can help you realise the full potential of your Oracle HCM Cloud instances, please contact her at kate.mead@version1.com

Please note all screenshots are the property of Oracle and are used according to their Copyright Guidelines