System Overview System Overview Version 26 Version 26

1

Contents Summary ...................................................................................................... 4 Who is Cascade? ........................................................................................... 4 Services ........................................................................................................ 5 The Solution ................................................................................................. 6 Overview ...................................................................................................... 6 Core functionality ......................................................................................... 6 Dashboard .............................................................................................................................. 8 Searching for Records ............................................................................................................ 10 Organisation Explorer ............................................................................................................. 13 Using groups ......................................................................................................................... 13 Organisation Charts ............................................................................................................... 16 Working Calendars, Shift Patterns and Hours and Minutes ........................................................... 17 Self Serve Timesheets ............................................................................................................ 19 Group Timesheets .................................................................................................................. 23

Core HR (Personnel) ................................................................................... 24

Core Functionality .................................................................................................................. 24 Absence................................................................................................................................ 26 Document Management .......................................................................................................... 28 Holidays ............................................................................................................................... 31 Maternity, Paternity and Adoption ............................................................................................ 35 Job and Salary ...................................................................................................................... 36 Car Fleet............................................................................................................................... 37

Training ...................................................................................................... 38

Core Functionality .................................................................................................................. 38 Employee Training Plans ......................................................................................................... 38 Training Dashboard ................................................................................................................ 41 Course Management .............................................................................................................. 42 Training Budgets ................................................................................................................... 43 Course Diary and Calendar ...................................................................................................... 44

Recruitment................................................................................................ 45

Core Functionality .................................................................................................................. 45 Back Office Recruitment ......................................................................................................... 52

Payroll ........................................................................................................ 57 Homepage & Dashboards ........................................................................................................ 57 Integration............................................................................................................................ 58 Employee Data ...................................................................................................................... 63 HMRC Messages .................................................................................................................... 67 Processing Payroll .................................................................................................................. 68 Reporting.............................................................................................................................. 69 Query Builder ........................................................................................................................ 69 Real Time Information ............................................................................................................ 71 Security ................................................................................................................................ 73 Audit .................................................................................................................................... 73

Earnie Interface Specification .................................................................... 75

Introduction .......................................................................................................................... 75 Interface Method ................................................................................................................... 75 Data Field Mapping ................................................................................................................ 75 New Starters ......................................................................................................................... 76 Multiple Payroll Companies...................................................................................................... 76

Auto enrolment .......................................................................................... 77

Assessing Eligibility ................................................................................................................ 77 Employee Categories .............................................................................................................. 77 Using the ‘At a Glance’ Screen ................................................................................................. 77 Engaging and Communicating with Employees .......................................................................... 78

Self Serve ................................................................................................... 80

Employee Self Serve .............................................................................................................. 80 Manager Self Serve ................................................................................................................ 81 Other Users of Self Serve........................................................................................................ 81

Mobile Apps ................................................................................................ 82

Functionality ......................................................................................................................... 82 Devices ................................................................................................................................ 82

Expenses .................................................................................................... 83

Self Service Entry .................................................................................................................. 83 Expense Reporting & Workflow ................................................................................................ 84

Workflow .................................................................................................... 85

Principles of HR Workflow ....................................................................................................... 85

2

Process Catalogue.................................................................................................................. 85 Authorisation Routes .............................................................................................................. 85 Creating a Workflow Process ................................................................................................... 87 Using Workflows .................................................................................................................... 91 Tracking Workflows ................................................................................................................ 91 Workflow Activity Management for Line Managers ...................................................................... 92

Reporting and Analysis ............................................................................... 94

Creating a Report .................................................................................................................. 94 Advanced Reports .................................................................................................................. 97 Building a report .................................................................................................................... 98 Making Use Of Reports ......................................................................................................... 101

Policies Manager ...................................................................................... 103 Employee Surveys .................................................................................... 107 System Designer ...................................................................................... 109

Adding fields ....................................................................................................................... 109 Adding new screens ............................................................................................................. 111 Auto Configuration from Excel ............................................................................................... 111

Security .................................................................................................... 115

Roles.................................................................................................................................. 115 Profiles ............................................................................................................................... 116 Users ................................................................................................................................. 116 Audit Trails ......................................................................................................................... 118

3

Summary Cascade combines .NET, browser based HR with HMRC Standard Payroll giving you a fully integrated system. Combining innovation and cutting edge technology in a system that has been on the market for over 5 years and is used daily by thousands of users, means that you get the very latest and best solution but with a proven track record. Cascade HR is a whole family of HR and Payroll tools designed to work together to bring measurable business benefits to you and your organisation. Developed from the outset as a completely 100% browser based solution using Microsoft .NET technology, our award winning HR system offers the most flexible, user friendly, dynamic and proactive HR Solution available today – all from a single UK supplier. Change is a fundamental principle at Cascade. Change is what drives organisations and people forward. Change brings new challenges, rewards, new customers and progress. Our change comes from consulting with people like you. We listen to your needs, your desires, dreams, as well as issues and challenges. By listening to you, we plan and design new capabilities that will take you up and over and around those new challenges. When you invest in Cascade you are protecting your organisation with future flexibility –the ability to grow and adapt.

Who is Cascade? Cascade is an independent division of the IRIS Software Group. All departments are located in the offices in Leeds, West Yorkshire. Our .NET HR and Payroll software is used by more than 580 firms worldwide including major household names and large organisations as well as small businesses too. Our clients range from 25 to 10,000 employees and exist in every sector. More information can be found at www.cascadehr.co.uk or by contacting us on 0113 230 8600.

4

Services As well as its market leading .NET HR and Payroll solutions, Cascade offers a wide range of supporting and complimentary services. A full range of implementation services that include installation, data migration, project management, user training, consultancy, configuration and parallel running, supports the installation of your HR and Payroll solution from Cascade. We also offer complimentary services such as our Cloud (hosted) service which takes all the worry and burden for technical aspects of your Cascade system away from your IT team and ensures a robust and fully managed service is delivered with full back up and fail over infrastructure. We also offer a Payroll Bureau Service and can manage your payroll process from start to finish using our hosted HR and Payroll systems. With the added advantage of full interaction via our HR and Self Service systems, the combination of software and service reduces administration and provides the opportunity for you to report and interact with Payroll and HR data in combination.

5

The Solution Overview Cascade is a comprehensive HRM Solution with a full range of modules that are fully integrated to ensure single entry throughout. The following sections detail these modules and explain some of the features they provide. For further information please visit www.cascadehr.co.uk or contact Cascade on 0113 230 8600.

Core functionality Cascade is a comprehensive, function rich solution with a wide range of features. This document is designed to provide you with an overview of our software and such functions. It features the following core modules (as shown in the diagram above): Core HR Payroll Auto Enrolment Self Service Training Manager Recruitment Manager Online Recruitment Expenses Mobile Apps Self Service Timesheets Group Timesheets Workflow Each module provides a comprehensive, proactive solution including a wide range of features. Some of these features are detailed in this document although they are numerous and therefore this document is not exhaustive.

6

Key available features include: Dashboards Query Builder Report Writer Organisational Explorer Organisational Planner Planners Graphs and Charts Skills matching Authorisation Routes Online Forms Online Surveys Mobile payslips Outlook diary integration Active directory integration Active directory single sign on Please review this document for insights into these features and more or contact Cascade on 0113 230 8600 if you wish to discuss your needs or ask specific questions.

7

Dashboard Cascade HR is a browser based HR Management solution using .NET technology on an SQL database. This allows the system to be intuitive in its methods. Typically, in traditional systems, employee data is presented in flat, grey screens which do not provide dynamic management information or context sensitive data. In Cascade HR this is not the case. Instead the system will present proactive information based on the activity which the user is engaged in. This is seen throughout the system from login, to data management through to reporting and general administration. For example, on login the user will be presented with their own specific (whether Employee Self-Serve, Manager Self-Serve, HR, Training, Payroll or Recruitment User) dashboard which presents key data in table or chart form. The screenshot below shows a typical HR User Dashboard. This particular user (each user has a choice of a wide range of charts and tables to display in each of the 4 ‘panes’) has a days lost to sickness graph, days lost by employee and a personal holiday balance graph, as well as a personal tasks list (driven by Workflow) on display.

The screenshot above shows the dashboard a typical HR user might see. As shown on the screenshot below, users can drill down on charts & tables to see further information and even take action. Here the user has drilled down on a bar of the chart to see the absent employees on that day.

8

They can also choose which ‘skin’ to display. The HR user here has selected our own ‘Raspberry’ and the Employee Self-Serve user below has selected ‘Olive’. Both have the Cascade banner but this can be changed to display any image required. This employee has a much reduced view as one would expect. Not only does the Dashboard display personal information rather than team, but the user only has access to her own personal information.

9

Searching for Records There are several ways to find a record in the Cascade system. On the left hand side of the page you will see a set of links:

When searching for a specific employee the quick links will allow you to search by name, ID etc, but the system will also auto complete obvious records and display the last 5 records you were in.

In the example above we have typed the first part of Sarah Bradshaw’s surname and the following result appears:

10

Searches can also include ‘Fuzzy’ searches such as ‘Smyth’ which would return Smiths and can include previous names as well; ideal for finding people who recently married when you cannot recall their new, married name. Other filters include: My Record My Direct Reports My Subordinates All employees I can access However, these pre-defined searches are based on your security levels and therefore each user may have unique searches based on levels of access. In fact up to six per user (i.e. My Record, Direct Reports, Subordinates, All Employees I Can Access, Recruitment, First Aiders) can be created and allocated. Additionally user defined groups can be created using either the search feature, the hierarchy table (explained below) or the reporting tools. These can then be saved and used as filters and searches. Groups can be dynamic (each time the group is used it will filter the database for anyone fitting its criteria), or static (the employees found when the group is first run will remain each time it is run which is useful for point in time groups). As an example, please see the screen below illustrating the filter ‘all employees I can access’. This list is determined by our security functionality.

11

12

Organisation Explorer In addition to the filters above, users are able to search for employees in the Cascade Organisational Explorer. This function allows quick access to employees by organisational hierarchy, or via the hierarchical post structure, or even by reporting lines (which may be different). Although it is possible to export data to third party applications such as Visio our clients find this is not generally necessary. The organisational explorer allows multiple employees to be selected, and then the ‘group’ of selected employees can be processed en-masse (see section on group processing).

Using groups Groups can be created using the filter and search system and also the query and reporting tools (detailed later in this document). Groups can also be dynamic or static. A dynamic group will update itself against the database based on its pre-defined criteria and a static group will always retain the original group of records it was configured for. Groups can be used as filters and searches and can also be used for mail merging and workflow as well as other activities.

13

By selecting a Group from the Group screen above, the system, in this case dynamically, returns a list of those employees meeting the criteria. As many new groups can be added as required.

The search results above show all of the employees with absences of more than eight days. At this stage we can perform any number of actions against this group. In this instance, we want to send them a letter regarding their absence by selecting action and then? group action, mail merge Attendance Memo.

14

15

Organisation Charts Cascade’s core HR module includes a full organisational charting system as standard. This automatically displays the organisation structure and updates as your employees’ records are amended. Options to display photographs, job title, phone and email address are provided as well as the facility to change the size of displays, colours and also print the organisation chart (the printable area is what is seen on screen only). It is also possible to drill down to see teams below any given person or even search for a person in the organisation.

16

Working Calendars, Shift Patterns and Hours and Minutes Cascade HR is designed to work in either days or hours and minutes, or for those organisations with employees who work in both models, in a combination of the two. The following screenshot shows that this company has a few different days set up. Here we can define a day, its length, start and end time etc. Any number of days can be created.

By clicking on the ‘Patterns’ tab at the top of the screen, days can then be combined into working patterns. The screen below shows a working pattern where the employees allocated to it will work one week of early shifts, one week of late shifts and then a final week of combined shifts before the pattern starts again.

Now the pattern can be created as a calendar.

17

Calendars can be applied to any group or individual so those employees with special arrangements can be catered for. They can be called anything that suits your purpose. We have told the Calendar to start from the Third of January and we can choose to initiate the Calendar from any week of the pattern we created earlier.

18

Self Serve Timesheets Cascade HR is capable of collecting, collating and reporting on time sheet data. Through Self Service employees can input? time sheet information which is then submitted to the relevant authoriser (typically a Line Manager). The section below explains how timesheets work. Below is the screen the user will use to enter the details of the hours they have worked for the selected month. The month the employee would like to work with can be selected by choosing the relevant option from the Dropdown list.

To enter their times for a particular day employees simply click on the In cell of the row they wish to enter data for. Once they have clicked a cell a text box will be displayed to enter their time into.

Times must be keyed in 24 Hour format and separated by a full stop or semi colon as shown above.

19

For example: 9am = 09.00 or 09:00 12pm = 12.00 or 12:00 3pm = 15.00 or 15:00 Once the employee has entered the Afternoon Out time the record will automatically save. To clear any data they have entered they simply click the delete button at the end of the row they wish to delete. If they only want to enter the morning times they simply click the morning in cell and fill in the first two textboxes then click the [Save] button. If you only want to enter the afternoon times then click the afternoon in cell of the row you want to enter data for.

Once a row of data has been entered the employee can copy the information to other rows so that they don’t have to manually enter times for each day. To copy a row the user simply clicks on the day name of the particular row and a small clipboard will appear. Then they can click on the day name of the row they wish to copy to.

Any non-work activity such as Holidays, Bank Holidays, Leave etc will be shown in the nonwork activity column.

Submitting for Approval/Cancelling Approval Once the employee has fully completed the Timesheet and is ready to submit for approval then they simply click the Submit for Approval link at the bottom right hand of the screen.

When the Timesheet is submitted for Approval this will generate an approval request which will be sent to the employee’s manager. The manager can review the information the employee has entered and either approve the Timesheet or Reject the Timesheet. You will be able to track the status of a Timesheet by using the status column at the top of the screen.

20

If the Timesheet is rejected the relevant user will be able to see any comments related to the rejection in your request list. The employee can then modify the Timesheet and resubmit for approval. Once a Timesheet has been submitted, all entries made after the submission are highlighted in light blue as show below.

Creating next month’s Timesheet To create next month’s Timesheet and make it? available for data entry simply select “” from the drop down list

21

The Summary Screen The summary screen contains all the summary information for your Timesheet. See below for an explanation of each section. Hours carried over from last month Standard conditioned hours this month Total Hours required to work this month Hours already worked this month Remaining Hours required to work Hours to carry forward to next month within flexi limits Hours lost due to over working flexi limits Hours lost this year due to over working flexi limits

Requesting Flexi time Leave To request flexi time leave simply select “FLEXI LEAVE” from the drop down menu. Specify the start and end date of the leave you would like and provide a narrative if required and click save.

22

Group Timesheets Group Timesheets allows the relevant manager to edit and add to standard hours for individuals and groups. The user below has access to multiple Groups and their timesheets. These may be teams, shops, sites etc

In the screen below we can see the Manager is editing the Cardiff site hours. The Manager can edit standard hours as well as user defined hours such as overtime. Holidays, absences, training and bank holidays are added automatically based on data entered into the employee record.

23

Core HR (Personnel) Core Functionality Cascade is a dynamic and functional solution. However, at its core is a comprehensive range of data recording screens and tables which ensure that you can record all of the data you wish to hold. Later in this document we describe the System Designer module which allows full configuration of the system and in particular, allows any number of additional fields and screens to be added by you, the client. For example, the Core HR module delivers, as standard, the following data recording screens (as well as others): Main Employee details (Including hierarchy location) Absence Appraisal Bank Benefits Continuous Professional Development CRB Checks Disciplinary Document Management Employee photographs Employee Self Appraisal Entitlement Year Equipment Expenses Flexi Leave Grievance Gym Membership Holidays Home address Current Job, pay and benefits Historical Job, pay and benefits Leaver Information Maternity/Paternity/Adoption Medical Next of Kin Notes Information Payslips (Requires Payroll module) Qualifications Skills & Competencies Study/Exams Timesheets Training History Vehicle (Personal and/or company) Working Patterns Workflow Tracking (Personal)

24

Once you have opened an employee record you can navigate through historic screens having the capability to add new information regarding the employee as it becomes available. In the following sections we have provided details of a few key areas of the data recording aspects of the HR system. However, as you can see above, the system offers a wide range of data recording as standard which work in a similar manner to the following ones which we have detailed:

25

Absence Throughout the system proactive data, charts and features will appear when needed. For example, when we access the Absence screen a summary and graph show us a breakdown of attendance data as well as most common days taken as shown below.

A planner is also provided within the records rather than one which has to be accessed and run through the reporting tools. This means that the planner, and other areas, are dynamic as the planner can be used to drill down. Other activities such as ‘drag to request’ holidays can also be carried out here. This continues throughout the system. Cascade delivers dynamic features such as being able to save any search, filter, query and report as a Group which can then be used as a pre-set filter. Groups can also be used to perform Group Actions, which are essential to Cascade, as our aim is to deliver much more than a repository of HR data. Cascade is designed to be a practical tool to be used proactively and vigorously in day to day HR Management. Any types of absence can be defined within Cascade. This gives you total flexibility to record whatever you want within the attendance planners.

26

When reviewing the planner if an absence is only for part of a day, the system clearly shows if this was a morning (AM) or afternoon (PM) absence.

Cascade HR automatically calculates absence spells and duration and then uses this to automatically calculate the BRADFORD FACTOR SCORE. This is shown on the Absence screen.

The Bradford Factor value is also available for you to report on using Cascade's powerful reporting tools. Cascade HR allows multiple absences for an employee on the same day. e.g. an employee has a doctor’s appointment in the morning and then may go off on compassionate leave in the afternoon. You have the ability to set-up re-occurring absences for example study leave every Wednesday afternoon for 2 hours.

27

Document Management Holding documents against an employee is made easy with our Document Management functionality. Cascade HR is one of the few HR systems on the market that allows access and control of attached documents from within a browser web page. Cascade's unique approach here provides a strong and seamless interface for all types of documents, including Microsoft Word documents, Microsoft Excel Spreadsheets, PDF files, Pictures etc.

After clicking ‘Add a new record’ the user is presented with an option to browse and insert a file or, if the user prefers, they can drag and drop the file into the record.

All of the employee documents are stored within the Cascade database, which means that they are secure and are only accessible by users who you have granted access to. A further benefit

28

is that all documents are backed up along with all of the other HR data within the database, so there is no chance of losing data. In addition to the facility to store documents against the record Cascade HR provides full Document Mail Merge facilities. When accessing the document management area of an employee’s record, a list of document template categories is provided along with a list for each area of the document templates in that category. These are user definable. By selecting a template the user can mail merge a document against an employee (this can be automated as part of a Workflow process, please see later in this document).

This can also be performed for groups. Groups can be created using search and filter tools discussed earlier in this document, from pre saved groups, using hierarchy or using the reporting tools. They can also be ‘picked’ by the user for ad hoc groups of people who may have nothing in common.

29

30

Holidays Our system is designed to deal with managing holidays efficiently and accurately. There are different ways of managing holidays in the Cascade solution. In this section we look at an employee’s holiday records from a HR Administrator’s perspective. However, this may be dealt with by Divisional or Line Managers or the employee themselves through Self Service. If you are thinking of empowering your line managers and their staff by introducing Self Service please see further information regarding our Self Service capabilities in this document. However, we recognise that there may be practical reasons why HR wish to add holidays themselves and also manage an employee’s holiday activities, therefore HR are provided with easy to use, comprehensive and informative holiday management features. When accessing an employee’s holiday record the user merely selects the employee and opens the holiday screen. Below is a holiday record for an employee working in hours. The system will manage both hours and days and can combine the two in the same database for different employees.

At this stage the user can view details of a particular instance by clicking on the view option for a chosen record. If a holiday is booked that includes a Bank Holiday or clashes with another instance, the system will account for that and provide relevant warnings (even declining the request if required).

31

From this screen the user (and in Self Service, the Manager or Employee) can book a holiday by selecting the planner and dragging across the dates required.

A summary of days (or in this case hours and minutes) is provided on the left of the screen automatically. The following screen shows the user the detail of the holiday requested and allows them to specify detail.

32

This holiday has been added by a HR Administrator so the Workflow process that will be initiated will email the employee and manager informing them of the event. In most cases the employee will request the holiday and an authorisation process from employee to manager and then HR is most common. This is user definable. Please see the Workflow section of this document for details. Cascade illustrates holidays grouped into each holiday year, making it easy to read and navigate around holiday records.

33

Pro-rata Holiday calculation New starters who join mid-year will automatically get the right holiday entitlement, based on the pro-rata rules you set-up within the system including LOS rules.

34

Maternity, Paternity and Adoption A good example of the depth of functionality that Cascade HR provides is the Maternity, Paternity and Adoption system, unlike most systems which require the user to be aware of legislation and subsequently key required dates into the software. These work in similar manners so here we examine the Maternity screens specifically. Cascade will calculate key dates for you when you enter the EWC date automatically.

35

Job and Salary A detailed history of an employee’s job and salary is retained. There is no limit to this or any history within Cascade HR. Here we can see the entries in this employee’s job and salary history.

When we select ‘View’ and drill down to see the detail of a particular entry a range of information is presented. As you can see, the system will manage FTE, hierarchical location of the employee/job, salary, frequency, grade, hours etc.

36

Car Fleet Vehicle Fleets are catered for in Cascade as standard. The fleet feature, within HR, allows any number of vehicles to be configured with comprehensive information held against them. They can then be allocated to employees as needed. This screen shot shows the set up screens for a vehicle.

This screen shot shows the set up screens for a vehicle when allocating to an employee.

37

Training Core Functionality The Training module provides a powerful and comprehensive Training Management tool for HR and Training departments. Key functionality includes: Employee Training Plans Training Needs Post Competency Profiles Specialist Skill Set Competency Profiles Succession Planning Career Progression Training Dashboard Provider Management Course Bank Skills delivered by course Training Profiles – Group courses into profiles to deliver specific skill sets Course Cost breakdown Delegate Cost breakdown Budget Management Budgets by Course Budgets by Hierarchy Request Management Course Diary Recurring Course Schedules Course Planner (Annual and Month view with drill down) Delegate Management Add delegates by need/training plan Training Workflow management Training Tasks management Email/Document mail merge Training Attendance Management Expired Courses management Expired Skills management

Employee Training Plans Employee Training Plans are created by drawing on: Post Skill Set Profiles Specialist Skills Set Profiles Outstanding Training Needs Ad hoc Training Needs Expired Courses In the following screenshot we are creating a new Training Plan for an employee.

38

Which creates a Training Plan as shown below.

This then allows the user (either HR, the Training and Development Department or the Line Manager) to book employees on courses based on their training plan and the needs within them. Employees can request to go on courses via Self Service also.

39

This screen shows the list of training needs derived from employee training plans and how many people have them. At this stage the user can now book employees with relevant needs onto the correct course either through an existing course or by creating a new course.

Of course this is just one of the methods that can be used to book employees onto courses. Alternatively employees can be added to courses on an ad hoc basis or added using any criteria such as which department they are in, which post they hold; in fact any data in the system. They can also request to go on a training course or managers can request that their staff go on a course.

40

Training Dashboard As with HR, when a user opens the Training system they are presented with a User Dashboard, in this instance related to Training data.

The Dashboard will present Training users with salient information related to Training Management. In this example the dashboard is presenting Training Plan status, Training Capacity, Training Activities and courses running in the next 7 days.

41

Course Management Comprehensive course management is provided as standard. From Training Provider management to Trainer and Resource Management, Cascade Training provides all the functionality a Training and Development department will need to ensure the workforce is fully trained and prepared for their role.

Each course can be allocated a series of skills which it delivers to those employees who complete the course. This allows the system to update employee skills and competencies in their records as they complete training. When creating courses the system will prompt you to select a Workflow process to initiate. This process is user definable (see Workflow) and will typically manage: Room booking Provider booking Resource booking Informing delegates including course notes Course Evaluations (typically but not exclusively through emails and online forms) Courses can be grouped into Training Profiles. As courses are linked to skill sets this allows Training and Development to deliver combinations of courses, and therefore skills, to ensure non post based skill sets are created throughout the workforce. Courses and competencies can be grouped into profiles which can then be assigned to employees to form entire training plans for certain areas of competency that may be required.

42

Training Budgets Cascade provides full Training Budget Management. A summary screen is provided containing comprehensive details of each budget.

43

Course Diary and Calendar A full course diary is provided, as well as course listings, which presents available courses to all users and allows them to either book themselves on or request to go on training.

44

Recruitment Core Functionality The recruitment system offered by Cascade is provided via two modules, Recruitment (Back Office Recruitment processing) and Online Recruitment (Online Applicant processing and Agency access). The Recruitment module provides a robust, process led, action by action recruitment management tool for HR and Recruitment departments as well as Line Managers. Key functionality includes: Fully integrated back office and online recruitment User definable online applications User definable client branded recruitment website Smart Parse CV technology for slick applications Online application tracking Online agency access Workflow enabled Authority to recruit Talent pool management Skills matching & flexible CV Searching Selective & bulk document/mail merge Integrated query and analysis tools Recruitment dashboard Line Manager access Internal/External applicants

Content Management within Cascade Online Recruitment is automatically version controlled. This means that you can track changes and view pages that existed as previous versions. Cascade’s Online Recruitment module is designed to allow you to control its appearance and content without the need for technical skills. HR/Recruitment users can edit pages using simple design tools which any user competent with MS Word could use. This means that you can create an entire recruitment site with pages such as Advice for Applicants, Benefits of working for you and Equality and Diversity statements. The example screen shot below shows the Online Recruitment Home Page being edited by an administration user.

45

Menus can also be edited easily and simply to suit your own requirements as shown below.

46

This flexibility and ease of use extends across the Online Recruitment System’s content to labels, user management, agency management and even scroller messages (typically used for news and to promote featured vacancies). The Online Recruitment System can be branded to suit your corporate identity very easily and can sit alongside your corporate website with relevant hyperlinks. Alternatively Cascade Online Recruitment can be ‘White Boxed’ so that it sits within your own web pages. Applying online The main objective of the Cascade Online Recruitment system is to provide the most seamless, easily accessed facility for potential candidates to research, find and apply for your vacancies. We aim to minimise the hurdles that an applicant has to overcome whilst still capturing key data, ensuring that the quality of your selection process is as high as possible. When an applicant visits your Online Recruitment system they will be presented, in the first instance, with the content pages that you have created and maintained as described in the previous section. These pages are designed to enthuse and entice applicants by providing information about the company, working with you and any other information you wish to present. At this stage the applicant will hopefully wish to apply for a position at your company and will search for vacancies that may be suitable. Searches can be manual, by scrolling through the listings as shown below, or could be performed quickly and easily using the search system which allows keyword searches, job type and location. Searches can even be based on a distance from the applicants home postcode, a key factor for many applicants as the daily commute becomes ever more difficult, expensive and environmentally unfriendly.

47

Each vacancy has an ‘Apply Now’ link which takes the applicant through the following process: Create Account (Email and password) if first visit (login using account required for returning applicants). By creating an account applicants can return and apply for other positions without re-keying their data. They can also track the progress of their applications by returning and logging into their account. Vitally, as we use email as a user name, the absolute minimum data that you collect as Recruiters is the applicants email address.

Option to upload CV (Using Smart Parsing*) Smart Parsing is a feature developed by Cascade that allows our Online Recruitment system to read a .DOC or .DOCX CV, in any layout, and recognise key data which will then be automatically entered into the application form online. This reduces administration as the applicant does not have to key in this data and the data is then transferred, via your chosen process, to the Recruitment back office system in Cascade.

48

Enter personal details Details may have been entered automatically using Smart Parsing but should the applicant not have a CV and decide to enter their details manually, this screen is simple and easy to use and includes Post Code look up for addresses.

Respond to Vacancy specific questions Questions displayed on this screen are defined in the recruitment Back Office module within the core Cascade system. Questions are user definable and can be added individually to each vacancy or in groups (typically based on post) and can be marked as mandatory as required.

49

Terms and Conditions Your own terms and conditions are entered here and the applicant is requested to confirm their agreement to them.

50

51

Submission By agreeing to the terms and conditions this allows the system to submit the application to the recruitment Back Office which will then follow your chosen process to manage the applicant through the recruitment process for that specific vacancy type.

Applicant Access As well as applying for a vacancy applicants can access their account to review their progress against one or multiple vacancies, review their uploaded CV, update their details and change their password. Recruitment Agency Management Online Recruiting high quality applicants is becoming more and more competitive and whilst many applicants may still come to you direct using the functionality described in previous sections of this document, many will approach you through head-hunters and agencies. Managing the myriad of applicants that agencies will try to submit to you can be extremely time consuming and create unparalleled levels of administration. Cascade Online Recruitment provides the facility to give agencies access online whilst controlling the number of users they can have and also the number of applicants they can enter and submit. By controlling the number of applicants they submit, and by making Cascade Online Recruitment the only route for them to add applicants, we force agencies to ensure that the applicants they do add are the best possible match for your vacancy, and thereby their best possible chance of winning your recruitment business. Back Office Recruitment Whilst Online Recruitment eases the task of collecting suitable candidates, whether direct or via agencies, Cascade’s back office Recruitment module provides the foundation required to collate, review, filter and process those applicants against vacancies in order to facilitate the actual appointment. Recruitment offers a total management tool for the recruitment process. To ensure each user knows exactly what is happening in their area of recruitment a personal dashboard, as per each of the core modules in Cascade, is provided:

52

Authority to Recruit Cascade is able to manage your Authority to Recruit process seamlessly and electronically via workflow. Recruiters can request authority to recruit through their Self Service access and this can be authorised or rejected by the appropriate person through their own Self Serve access.

53

Applicants Applicant records, whether for a specific vacancy/vacancies or speculative, are comprehensive and include the following screens and areas as standard. However, our unique System Designer module, detailed elsewhere in this document, allows you to add as many new fields and screens as required as well as providing the opportunity to edit the current ones: Personal Details Equal Opportunities Details Process/Progress Home Address and Contact Details Notes Documents Mail Merge References Skills and Competencies Events CV Costs Questions/Answers Vacancies applied for

54

Vacancies Comprehensive Vacancy records are maintained as shown in the screenshot below. Vacancies can be allocated to a designated Recruiter who has authority to recruit (requested through an ‘Authority to recruit Workflow’ if required, as shown below) and will manage the overall process although the processing system. Other recruiters will be involved where needed.

A key aspect of the vacancy record is the facility to upload a job description to the record. This is then displayed automatically through Online Recruitment if the vacancy is advertised online. Should a vacancy be advertised online applicants will be presented with an application form. Whilst the initial personal details aspect of the application will be completed using our unique Smart Parsing technology where the CV is read and data is extracted by the system for the application, specific questions relating to the recruitment process and vacancy itself will be displayed during online application. These questions can be defined at post level therefore there is no need to build ad-hoc questions when adding a vacancy for a post that already exists.

55

Processing Using Cascade’s dynamic Workflow combined with Actions and Responses, Recruitment ensures that Applicants are managed from first visit to your Cascade Online Recruitment site right through to becoming an employee, the induction process and beyond. Whereas Workflow manages entire processes, Actions and Responses guides recruiters through any given recruitment process by asking them to make decisions and then presenting them with potential responses. For example, an interview may have the responses of reject or accept. Accept would present the next step in the process, reject would reject the applicant and typically send a rejection letter. Authorised users can override these actions and processes if the need arises. Talent Pool Our advanced talent pool system uses the abundant information that Cascade Recruitment and Cascade Online Recruitment gathers and holds to allow recruiters to search for matches between: Applicant and Vacancies Vacancies and Applicants Search of CVs by keyword Search results are scored by percentage match and resulting lists of applicants or vacancies allow drill down to the respective main record.

56

Payroll Payroll Web is Cascade’s fully web based Payroll module which integrates seamlessly with Cascade HR and associated modules such as Expenses, Group Timesheets and Auto Enrolment. Payroll Web is fully HMRC recognised which means you can rest assured that our calculations and RTI submissions have passed the relevant HMRC tests. On-going changes and updates to payroll legislation are managed by Cascade and released to customers in a timely manner via our regular Cloud updates. These updates also allow us to deliver enhancements and new features and are included in your annual support fee which means no extra costs are incurred. Monthly, Weekly, Fortnightly and Lunar payrolls are configured as standard with other frequencies such as Quarterly available through configuration.

Homepage & Dashboards

If you have multiple payroll companies and/or frequencies configured within Payroll Web, these will be displayed when you first visit the module. Cascade Payroll Web can support Monthly, Weekly, Fortnightly & Lunar payrolls with other frequencies such as Quarterly payrolls possible through configuration.

Selecting a Payroll Company and Frequency then directs you to the Payroll Dashboard. Similarly to the HR dashboard this present proactive information to the user. The dashboard is configurable so users can select the information they find the most useful or important to them to be displayed as soon as they log in.

The screenshot below shows an example of a typical payroll users’ dashboard selection.

57

Integration

The integration area of Cascade highlights to the payroll user the data that has been changed in HR and allows the data to be transferred into Payroll or to be rejected and referred back to HR. This gives full visibility and control over the employee data and changes to Payroll. The key areas of integration include: Absence Payments – synchronises records added to the Absence screen in HR to pay mapped pay elements in Payroll Adoption Pay– synchronises first and final payment adjustments, occupational and statutory payments Auto Enrolment – synchronises qualifying earnings to the Auto Enrolment module for use in AE assessments and synchronises the enrolments and opt-outs into Payroll Employee Move – synchronises changes to the employee’s Payroll Company or frequency into Payroll Expenses – synchronises expense items recorded in HR into Payroll for payment Hierarchy – synchronises changes to employee hierarchy and departments used for costings between HR and Payroll Leavers – can be synchronised from and to both HR and Payroll Maternity Pay – includes first and final payment adjustments, occupational and statutory payments New Starters – including the pro-rata of mid-month joiners Paternity Pay – includes first and final payment adjustments, occupational and statutory payments 58

P60’s – can be synchronised from Payroll to HR for use in self-service Payslips – can be synchronised from Payroll to HR for both current period and historical periods and used for self-service Pensions – synchronises pension details between HR and Payroll Salary & Pay – including pro-rata of mid-month changes and calculation of back pay Sick Pay - includes salary removal, occupational and statutory payments Split Costs – synchronises employee percentage allocations of costs across departments between HR and Payroll Static Data - includes details of employees’ main, bank, home address etc Timesheets – synchronises timesheet data from Group Timesheets into Payroll Vehicle Mileage – synchronises an employee’s vehicle mileage scheme information between HR and Payroll

Here you can see the integration menu listing the types of integration available. The notification bubble indicates to the user how many integrations are pending for each category.

When a menu item is selected the full details of the outstanding integrations are displayed at field level. The user has the option to integrate all or just selected items and can choose whether the data is updated in HR or Payroll.

59

All transactions made through integration are reported via an integration report at the time and also audited permanently if checks are needed afterwards.

If preferred, some integration categories can be set to automatically synchronise. This is typically used for items such as Payslips and Static Data. This is very much user preference and can be configured to suit you and your business. Integration also features a range of data validations to assist users in checking for legislative data requirements and to keep their payroll data correct and organised. Example of this are new starters joining in a future pay period are held in integration until that pay period is opened. 60

Another example is for statutory payments such as SSP and SMP being validated against whether the employee has sufficient Average Weekly Earnings and whether the relevant forms have been received.

Payslips and P60’s can be integrated from Payroll into HR for use via self-service. This allows for employees to download and save or print duplicate copies of these important documents if needed, reducing the burden of supplying duplicates through the payroll department.

Payslips can be displayed in multiple formats as described further in this document and are stored as a PDF document against the employees record which allows them to download and save or print the document to plain paper.

61

P60’s are displayed in a standard eP60 format which is recognised and approved by HMRC each year. They are stored as a PDF document against the employees record which allows them to download and save or print the document to plain paper.

62

Employee Data

Accessing employee data in Payroll Web is easy. The navigation and search facilities echo Cascades other modules. To find an employee, begin to type their first name, surname, employee ID or their National Insurance Number into the Search field which is available on every screen. Cascade will search through the records and suggest employees which match.

Alternatively, selecting ‘All Employees’ from the left hand navigation menu gives you access to a list of all employees within the payroll Company and Frequency you are in. From here you can select the employee you wish to view or create groups for use in global updates or calculate routines.

Employee data is held in easy to navigate and clear, easy to use screens. All records relating to an employee are available within the 3 employee data tabs: Details, History & Input. By selecting one of these tabs, the drop down list of screens will populate accordingly. The Details tab contains the screens shown below.

63

These screens bring together the key employee details needed for running your payroll.

Details holds information such as NI number, Bank Details and the Pay Elements, Pensions and Court Orders assigned to the employee. A lot of this information can be updated and maintained using integration but manual amendments are also possible.

Here is an example of the employees PAY ELEMENTS screen. Here you can see that information is presented in a clear and concise manner, focussing on displaying the most useful information to the user at a glance.

The History tab contains the screens shown below.

64

These screens hold a record for each pay period an employee has been paid in Cascade. Each record is created at Period End and retained for use in reports or the checking of data. This data is not archived or deleted so can be accessed quickly using the filters if a record needs to be checked.

This PAY RECORD HISTORY screen demonstrates some of the historical information recorded for an employee each time they are paid.

The Input tab contains the screens shown below.

65

These screens contain information regarding an employee’s payments and can be used to view and make changes to variable inputs each pay period. Again, much of this information can be integrated from HR or input using an import method but manual changes can also be made. All changes made to employee pages are fully audited.

This INPUT VARIABLE PAY screen is used to make variable changes and to calculate pay for an individual employee.

Pay can be calculated as many times as required during a pay period. Each time the pay is calculated, payslips and reports are automatically updated meaning you can view the results instantly.

66

HMRC Messages

Tax code notices, Student Loan notices and NI number verifications are sent to employers by HMRC electronically to be included in payroll processing in a timely manner. All of these notices can be received and processed by Cascade Payroll Web.

Notices are downloaded each pay period and held on screen until the user chooses to apply these updates to their employees’ records.

67

Processing Payroll

Importing Data Most changes to your Payroll data can be made through integration but most customers have a requirement to input other variable changes such as overtime hours, bonuses etc. This can be done per employee of course but Cascade Payroll Web also offers 2 import options. Element Import is traditionally used by customers who have a T&A or other tracking system which records the number of hours employees work but can also be used in other circumstances. This option accepts information in a simple set format of either .txt or .csv file format which can usually be created by a 3rd party system. Bulk Import Pay allows the user to export an excel spreadsheet template which can then be completed and imported back into Cascade Payroll Web. Both import options can be used to add or overwrite pay element values for earnings and deductions. Imports can be processed multiple times per pay period if required and are audited. Calculating Payroll Employees’ pay can be calculated as many times as needed in Cascade Payroll Web. When calculating pay for all employees or a group, the process is recorded to serve as an audit.

A calculate report is also provided detailing any calculate exception messages that have been generated. These messages provide information, warnings and report errors which have been found during the calculate process. Each message is written in a user friendly and easy to understand manner.

68

Reporting

Reporting is a critical part of Payroll and Cascade Payroll web offers a range of reporting options. Office reports We supply a built in set of reports including summaries, breakdowns and validation reports. All of these built in reports can be cloned and adjusted to suit your business needs. Reports can be run for the current period, YTD or a range of payroll periods dependant on the information you wish to see. Here’s an example of our Gross Pay Report which provides a summary of the current period.

Other built in reports include:        

Gross Pay Analysis Total Cost Breakdown Departmental Employee Payments NI Listing Court Order Listing Input Range Validation Variance Report Earnings and Deductions

       

Gross Pay Report Statutory Deductions Departmental Employee Deductions Pension Listing Vehicle Mileage Calculated Range Validation HMRC Reconciliation Report Earnings Differences

Query Builder

The query builder functionality which can be found in Cascade HR is used within Payroll Web to provide users with a quick and easy way of creating reports.

69

To add a field into your query, select the screen you know it is in (learned through interaction with records) and then simply click the field to include. Once fields are selected each can be filtered using the simple, context sensitive, filtering options including equal to, greater than etc. However, this is provided in a user friendly, easy to use fashion. This means that unlike other systems, no prior knowledge of the database is required to create and maintain your payroll reports. Please refer to the HR – Reporting and Analysis section of this document for further details on Query Builder functionality such as graphing, formulas, groups, and Advanced Reports.

Statutory Reports Cascades caters for the following statutory reports:

P45 – these are printed to HMRC stationery P60 – these are printed to HMRC stationery or can be integrated to HR for use in self service Payslips – a range of payslips are available in Cascade Payroll from plain to pre-printed

70

Real Time Information

From April 2013 all employers must use payroll software in order to report their PAYE information to HMRC in real time. Cascade Payroll supports the following submissions in order to support your payroll processing:   

Full Payment Submission Employer Payment Summary National Insurance Number Verification Request

HMRC recognition assures you that Cascade’s RTI submissions are accurate and updated each year in a timely manner. Before submitting your RTI files, Cascade will provide you with a summary of information to allow you to check the information to be sent.

A validations stage highlights any data issues that would prevent the submission from being successful.

71

Both Live and Test submission types are available which means you can be confident in the data you are sending and once sent, the submissions are recorded as an audit. Each submission produces an excel export of the data sent to HMRC for easy access to the employee level data that has been sent.

Export Files Cascade Payroll produces a number of export files to be uploaded into 3rd party systems in order to pay employees and report payments. Employee Payment File – This is a file which can be imported into your banking/BACS software in order to pay your employees. This file can be configured to meet your banking software format requirements and will be discussed during your project implementation. The export file is accompanied by a net pay listings report which can include employee bank account information if required. HMRC Payment File – This is a file which can be imported into your banking/BACS software in order to pay your PAYE and NI liability to HMRC. General Ledger File - This file contains you payroll costing information and can be imported into your accounting software to be posted to your general ledger. As with the employee payment file, we can configure the format of this file to meet your accounting software requirements. Child Maintenance File – This file contains details of any Child Maintenance deductions made from your employees in the format specified by the Child Maintenance Enforcement Commission and can be uploaded into their online portal.

72

Security

Cascade Payroll uses the same security framework as Cascade HR meaning that Cascade HR and Payroll users only need one log on to access all modules. The creation and maintenance of user accounts is carried out in the Administration area of Cascade but assigning access to the Payroll module is done within Payroll itself. This gives Payroll Managers more control over who can access the Payroll module.

Roles and Profiles are used to control access to data and as seen above this is assigned to employees at Payroll Company and Frequency level. Roles are used to control which menu items the user sees on the left hand grey menu and profiles determine which employee screens a user has access to. These security settings control all areas of Cascade Payroll including reports.

Audit

73

The Audit in Cascade Payroll records changes made to all integration and employee pages. This information can be filtered by Employee, Screen, User and Date in order to return the information most relevant to you.

Audit information can be exported into Microsoft Excel in order to be further used or saved on your network.

74

Earnie Interface Specification Introduction This document details the mechanism and data involved in a basic Cascade to Earnie flat file interface.

Interface Method The Cascade to Earnie interface will consist of a 1 way flat CSV file interface with Cascade being the feeder system. Cascade will utilise the standard 3rd Party Interface Manager functionality to build a basic static data interface mechanism to reduce the dual key effort when maintaining employees in Earnie.

Data Field Mapping Cascade will export all fields for any employees which have changed each time the interface is run. The Cascade system prompts the user for an effective date and will export all changed records on or after this date. The data will be the current data for the point in time at which the file is produced.

Field Payroll ID

Data Type Alpha (50)

Title Forename Surname Other Name NI Number Passport Number Date of Birth Start Date Gender Marital Status

Alpha Alpha Alpha Alpha Alpha Alpha Date Date Bit Alpha

Description This will be the Cascade employee ID. See below regarding new starters.

(50) (50) (50) (50) (50) (50)

(50)

Basic Pay

Decimal

Pay Frequency

Alpha (50)

dd/mm/yyyy dd/mm/yyyy 1 = Male, 0 = Female Valid Values in Earnie are: Unknown Single Married Other Divorced Widowed The Cascade system list for Earnie/Cascade clients should be set to these values. The annual salary in all cases. For hourly or weekly paid employees in Cascade either zero, or the annual salary should be entered. Valid values in Earnie are: Weekly Monthly 2 Weekly 4 Weekly Quarterly

75

The Cascade system list for Earnie/Cascade clients should be set to these values. Home Address 1 Home Address 2 Home Address 3 Home Address 4 Post Code Foreign Country Telephone Number Bank Name Sortcode Account Number Roll Number Account Name Left Date

Alpha Alpha Alpha Alpha Alpha Alpha Alpha Alpha Alpha Alpha Alpha Alpha Date

(50) (50) (50) (50) (50) (50) (50) (50) (50) (50) (50) (50) dd/mm/yyyy

New Starters New starter ID numbers will be allocated in Cascade. The ID number will be passed in the employee ID field (First field in each row of the interface) Where the number is not reognised by Earnie a new payroll employee will be created in Earnie.

Multiple Payroll Companies Where employees in Cascade belong to multiple payroll companies Cascade will need to be consulted on case-by-case basis to tailor the interface files to be exported from Cascade.

76

Auto enrolment The Cascade Auto enrolment module is designed to assist employers with the auto enrolment process, including the efficient analysis, communication and enrolment of individuals. The Auto enrolment module will continually monitor and assess employees to determine their auto enrolment status of either: > Entitled Worker > Eligible Jobholder > Non-Eligible Jobholder

Assessing Eligibility Each pay reference period, qualifying earnings information from Cascade Payroll is used to assess employees based on their level of earnings and age information. If you do not use Cascade Payroll, an export from a 3rd party system can be imported to provide earnings information.

Employee Categories Once employees are assessed, the ‘At a Glance’ screen gives a graphical illustration of which category employees fall into regarding their auto enrolment status.

Using the ‘At a Glance’ Screen Clicking on the categories takes you to the intelligent process screen where group actions are used to process the appropriate auto enrolment action e.g. Postponement, Enrolment, Opt in, Join scheme. Here, the process screen shows employees as Eligible Jobholders and due for

77

enrolment. Options are given to either process or to postpone auto enrolment for that individual or group.

The process screen also allows you to mail merge, e-mail merge and start a Workflow process for a group of employees to support the communication requirements of auto enrolment. Documents created from here can be saved automatically to the employees’ Document screen and the employees’ auto enrolment timeline. If used with Cascade Payroll, when an employee enrols, opts in, or joins a pension scheme, the pension record is integrated into the Payroll module allowing seamless and automatic deductions from their pay.

Engaging and Communicating with Employees An auto enrolment Self Serve screen is available to provide information directly to the employee.

78

Here, employees can view their Worker status and Latest Assessment to support this. From this screen the employee can choose to Opt In or Join the pension scheme dependent on their current worker status. ‘View Timeline’ allows an employee to view all events and communications relating to them in regard to auto enrolment.

79

Self Serve Cascade HR is a browser based HR Management Solution, therefore any functionality can be delivered to Self Serve users based on your own specific requirements. Screens, other than where controlled by security, are identical to the core system. HR retains complete control over security with easy to use security settings (please see the security section later in this document) which allow control to field level over the entire system.

Employee Self Serve When an employee logs in they will see their own version of the Dashboard (detailed elsewhere in this document). For example this user can see their holiday balance, upcoming holidays and bank holidays, outstanding request summary and any tasks they have to perform.

The Employee Self Service user can be provided with access, through read only, direct change or change through authorisation routes, to any data that HR wish to devolve to the Employee. For example, typical functionality that HR might roll out to Self Service users at Employee level could be: Request holidays (with authorisation route) Request bank changes (with authorisation route) Online payslips (typically read only) Online timesheets (with authorisation) Absence (typically read only) Review personal planner Benefits Personal details Training and Development Dependents Next of Kin Online appraisals and review CPD

80

Manager Self Serve Managers will also require access to the system. Again, Managers can have specific levels of access dependent on HR’s requirements and desire to devolve responsibility. Here we can see that this Manager has chosen, in his Dashboard, to display his team’s headcount status, his team’s holiday and leave this week, outstanding requests and tasks.

The Manager Self Service user can be provided with access to their own department and also selected groups (such as First Aiders). Levels of access can be granted for each group as required. As with employees, HR controls the level of access that Managers (or any users) have to records and functionality. For example, typical functionality that HR might roll out to Self Service users at Manager level could be: Authorise holidays Add absences Authorise Online timesheets Manage employee requests Manage departmental Training and Development Review team planner Create departmental reports Run departmental reports Perform Group Actions Online appraisals and review

Other Users of Self Serve Anyone can use Self Service. Specific levels of access can be granted to allow unlimited numbers of roles from Reception to specialist roles like First Aiders, Fleet Manager, Supervisors, Shift Managers and so on. Security does not have to be set by Department and users can be granted access to data, functionality and employees in any combination with full security, all controlled by HR.

81

Mobile Apps Cascade has created a revolutionary Mobile Apps module to enable key Manager and Employee self-service functionality to be accessed via mobile devices such as smartphones and tablets.

Functionality The module will allow self-service users to: Access Personal Information Book Holidays Check Current Payslip View Workflow Tasks Managers can also: Check Team status Approve Holidays View requests View tasks

Devices The solution uses a mobile webpage design and hence is designed to work with any webenabled devices, including iPhones, iPads, Blackberry and Android based smartphones.

82

Expenses Cascade can store and process expenses and mileage claims from Self Service entry, through initial approval at manager level, through to sign off from Financial controller. The expenses can be paid either through Cascade payroll or via a separate BACS payment from within HR.

Self Service Entry Cascade provides an expenses sheet, that allows the users to enter their expense and mileage claim from within their self-service Cascade account. This allows for a seamless and centralised process.

83

Following approval from the line manager, which uses the same mechanism as holiday approval, the expenses can then be processed by a financial controller.

Cascade also allows for export files to be created to either a BACS system or to a GL file.

Users of Cascade Payroll can integrate expenses through to the payroll system. Expenses can then be processed, and may be displayed on an e-payslip within the HR or mobile applications.

Expense Reporting & Workflow The expenses module leverages standard Cascade tools to allow for full reporting on all expenses items in the database. Workflow can also be used to issue email reminders or advice to employees to let them know their expenses have been paid.

84

Workflow Cascade HR is provided with a comprehensive, easy to use Workflow system designed to manage your business processes. Unlike many Workflow systems Cascade’s system is not designed for use solely by the IT Department and is intuitive enough for HR Administrators to edit existing workflows and create new ones.

Principles of HR Workflow The principles behind the Cascade Workflow solution are simple. Create a Workflow, split it into Stages and break each Stage down into tasks. By breaking a Workflow down into ‘bite size’ sections users find it much easier to organise a process in their minds, making creation much simpler and less confusing. As a Workflow can contain any number of Stages and each Stage can contain any number of Tasks then the potential to manage small to large processes is unprecedented.

Process Catalogue Of course we don’t expect you to start from a blank page and subsequently a catalogue of standard processes is included with our system. These range from New Starter to Leaver and include many other processes. Designated users can create new processes and add them to the catalogue and also edit existing processes as required.

Authorisation Routes Authorisation routes are essential aspects of data flow and process management within any company. Knowing who is responsible for authorising holidays, absences, new vacancies, new starters etc will ensure processes are managed properly and effectively. The screen below shows creation of a new authorisation route. Nothing could be simpler. The first step is to select the employees to whom this applies. In most cases an authorisation route is generic across the company but you may have, for example, different routes for holiday authorisation depending on role. This can be implemented easily.

85

The next step is to apply any hierarchy filters. It could be that the London site has a different authorisation route to Edinburgh for example. This is selected using our Organisation Chart seen elsewhere in this document. The third step is to confirm what type of change is being requested. Is it a holiday, a change of bank details, a job change etc? Finally, who authorises the change request? A line manager, divisional manager, HR themselves? All completely user definable. In some cases this may mean that a workflow is not even needed. For example, a simple process such as Holiday Authorisation would not need a process as the system knows that any holidays entered by employees must be authorised, for example, by their manager. Authorisation routes are included in the core HR module and do not require the Workflow module.

86

Creating a Workflow Process Many systems offer ‘Workflow’. In some cases this is merely prompted emails and diary reminders. Others do offer a full workflow system but have used traditional design methods orientated towards IT departments thus demanding that technical staff be involved when creating and editing processes. Cascade has created a truly user friendly workflow solution designed to be effective, powerful and dynamic yet easy to use and intuitive. We recommend that a process is ‘mapped’ or drawn out before creation begins within the system. Once you have agreed the steps in your workflow the first task, after creating the Workflow instance, is to decide what will trigger this workflow. The screen below shows that a workflow can be triggered by: Manual – a user triggers the workflow Data change – when data is changed, either by a user or because of a scheduled or calculated change (an employee’s age reaches 60 for example) Scheduled – the workflow is scheduled to run on a specific (recurring?) date Another process – a recruitment process may trigger a new starter process for example The screen below shows that in this instance we have selected a scheduled process which provides us with various options for scheduling.

Once we have created a stage and decided if the tasks in this stage are in a fixed order or can be completed in any order (again a simple check box), we can begin to add tasks to the stage. Tasks can be many types, the screen below shows the various task types:

87

For example, in this case we will add a mail merge email.

88

On the next, and final screen (all tasks have the same 1 st screen but type specific second screens), we can either choose a pre-configured (user definable) email template or create a new one.

As we recognise that HR users are familiar with MS Word mail merge we have used similar principles for creating mail merge emails. Should you need to create a new email template it couldn’t be easier.

Using this simple and intuitive method it is possible to easily build detailed and comprehensive workflows with multiple stages and many, many tasks without it becoming complex, difficult or confusing. Ease of use is a fundamental driver in every aspect of Cascade’s development cycle.

89

A typical process:

90

Using Workflows Once a workflow is completed and activated its use, in general, will be automatic. It will trigger based on the trigger criteria which you set within it (see above). It is visible in many ways. Most obviously through the tasks it manages such as emails, MS Word mail merge and diary actions. However, tasks will also be delivered to users through task lists. Users can see these at login as part of the User Dashboard (full details later in this document), Start up task list or by selecting their task list from the system links. The screenshot below shows a typical User Dashboard and Task list. Both can be displayed at startup or accessed manually. The user can also see their own requests and the progress they have made, very useful for self serve users.

Tracking Workflows Although Workflows are highly visible, pro-active and to the most part, self managing, it is essential that HR and management have the facility to review and manage workflow activities centrally. This ensures best practice is being observed, that tasks are completed in a timely and effective manner and can also help to identify where Line Managers may need some guidance in using the system or management of their department.

91

The screen above shows the HR team’s view of all the active processes in the business. Each can be drilled down and reviewed in more detail. As shown below, the user can then interject with a manual task if the need arises (possibly to chase a line manager or employee to complete an outstanding task for instance).

It is also possible to review outstanding tasks by task rather than entire process. Upcoming scheduled processes can also be reviewed in advance.

Workflow Activity Management for Line Managers Line Managers are busy ensuring that their day to day business is taken care of including the management of their staff. HR procedures and policy can be controlled by workflow; you can

92

build workflows that are triggered by the line manager in reaction to an event that has taken place with a member of their team. For example, a team member calls in sick. How does the line manager deal with this? In the Line Manager’s user profile you can set up the ability for the line manager to trigger set workflows. In this instance the line manager would trigger the absence workflow:

This functionality ensures that the Line Manager is dealing with his staff in the correct fashion and adhering to your company’s best practice laid out by HR and managed by Cascade. It also means that you can change your processes without worrying about users having to learn them as they always follow the system’s instructions. Benefits of Best Practice Workflows include operational issues. What if the absent employee has appointments or responsibilities on the day of absence? Will the Manager remember to rebook appointments? Will they ensure colleagues are aware? Are they going to take responsibility for ensuring cover is provided in the absent employee’s every role? Cascade will email colleagues, inform those responsible for appointments so they can rebook them and take care of any activities, not just the absence itself. The beauty of this functionality is that the Manager can click “Add an Absence” and start this process without even having to actually add the absence. Once started the process manages everything and can even send the user the absence screen, for the absent employee, to complete. No need to navigate to the record or screen even.

93

Reporting and Analysis All reporting features within Cascade have been created by Cascade and designed specifically for the Cascade HR and Payroll system and users. We do not use third party reporting tools. When designing the reporting tools our Development team spent a lot of time with clients discussing their key objectives for reporting and analysis and understanding the main failures of other systems to deliver suitable, easy to use and powerful reporting tools. Reporting tools include, but are not limited to, three primary features: Query Builder Management Reports

Creating a Report A key theme the feedback produced was that users found it difficult finding the fields they wished to add to reports in previous systems they had used. Many reporting tools assume a knowledge of the database which typical users do not usually have. Therefore when designing our reporting features we have organised fields in the same way that they are organised within the system itself. To locate a field you select the screen you know it is in (learned through interaction with records) and then simply double click the field.

Once fields are selected each can be filtered using the simple, context sensitive, filtering options including equal to, greater than etc. However, this is provided in a user friendly, easy to use fashion. For example, when selecting areas of the hierarchy to report on, the organisation screen is provided.

94

Once the query has been created it can be saved as a standard query and shared with other users or retained for personal use only and run whenever required. Alternatively the query can be run as a one off without saving. Queries can be sorted and all data can be graphed within Cascade HR. Each column can be sorted with a simple click. This allows you to manipulate data on an ad hoc basis without editing and re running the report. A calculation facility is also included which allows calculations to be applied to data. A typical calculation, simply applied, is where information is to be “banded”. For example, here we have banded information by age ranges rather than having a column for each age which would create a confusing graph with many, many columns.

95

Which means that instead of this:

We get this:

As you can see, Cascade includes a powerful graphing system that allows you to graph any and all data. Pie, bar, doughnut and table charts can be created with a single click. Queries can also be exported to MS Excel with a single click for further manipulation as required. However, a key benefit with Cascade query tools is the facility to click “Use This Group” or “Save this Group” as shown at the bottom of the screenshot below. This will open the live employee records for the group returned by the report.

96

This means that, for example, it is possible to report on all people with more than three absence spells in the last three months but then, instead of merely graphing and sorting the data, the live records of those employees can be opened with a single click and then group actions (start a process, send a document, send an email etc) can be performed. Of course, a wide range of standard queries are provided which address your monthly management report requirements. Each report allows user defined criteria to be set as it is run to ensure your specific requirements are met.

Advanced Reports As with everything Cascade’s Advanced reporting features are built into Cascade and are not third party tools merely “bolted on”. We have designed these features with HR and Payroll in mind and they are continuously developed with our clients requirements as drivers. This is a clear advantage over third party report writers which are developed for a generic market rather than users of a specific solution with a specific role. Advanced reports provide a wide range of standard business reports that cater for most requirements. However, all reports can be cloned and/or edited by the end user. They most important aspect of reporting within a system like Cascade is the ability to create new reports. The process has to be accessible, easy to achieve and flexible. At Cascade we believe that report writing should be completely owned by HR and Payroll and our clients should not be forced to contact their IT departments or us just to achieve the analysis they require.

97

Building a report Building a report couldn’t be simpler. Bearing in mind that creating reports is one of the most complex activities in a HR and Payroll system we have made particular effort to ensure it is easy to do in Cascade. We begin by opening the report catalogue. This holds all of the standard reports and allows the user to create new reports via the “Create New report” link.

We then configure the basic settings for the report including its name, colour scheme and category as shown on the screenshot below.

98

Next we have to decide which fields we wish to include in the report. This is achieved by simply selecting the data sources which we want to include. A data source is a query as described in the previous section. Multiple queries can be selected and the fields within those queries can be used in the report.

99

The next step is to use the data we have made available to the report in the data sources to create reports (tables of data), charts and pivot tables. It is easiest to think of the separate report sheets in the Cascade report writer as worksheets in MS Excel, as the report writer will export the report into MS Excel format. Below we can see that multiple sheets have been configured into this report by simply selecting the type of sheet required (in this example a table of data) and selecting how that data should be displayed.

This next screen shows a chart screen and how it is configured.

100

And this final screen shows a pivot table.

Any number of sheets from any number of data sources can be added. Prompts and parameters are automatically added by the report configuration wizard although the user can intervene if required to add their own. Date ranges, point in time prompts, data ranges and selection and other parameters can be prompted to the user as the report is run.

Making Use Of Reports The most common way in which reports will be utilised is straightforward running of the report through the catalogue. Because Cascade is a completely browser based solution reports can be published (by date if required) and provided to any range of users as needed.

101

Reports can have keywords associated with them so that users can search for reports best suited to their needs, use of reports is audited for tracking purposes and reports can even be scheduled to run at a given time and date.

102

Policies Manager The core Cascade HR system manages documents relating to employees, applicants, vacancies and training, plus drag and drop, insert and mail merge facilities as detailed earlier in this document. However some of our clients have also expressed a desire to store Policies and other official documentation within the system so that employees, managers and HR users can access up to date company policy. To meet this need Cascade has developed its Policy Manager which allows documents to be attached to the system, rather than a record, and edited within Cascade by authorised users and viewed by all users as appropriate. Policies are organized into user defined groups and can be accessed with a simple click by any user. Documents can only be edited by users with appropriate levels of access. There is no limit to the number of groups or policies that can be inserted and viewed.

Here we have selected to edit a Policy. This screen shows how new policies can be uploaded and published:

103

A variety of publishing options are provided including the facility to set dates for publishing the Policy and having it expire. Security can be set here to control viewing and editing access.

In order to make finding relevant documents easy, keywords can be associated with each policy.

104

All documents with any relevance will be displayed when searches are performed and a meter shows how relevant each policy is:

All access is audited so that you can see who has accessed or edited which document and when:

105

106

Employee Surveys If you want to know what your staff are thinking, why not ask them? Cascade gives you the power to develop your own surveys, which can be sent to every member of staff, or just to a selected pool, or perhaps you might like to choose a totally random sample. Cascade gives you a unique opportunity to ask the questions which can dictate future HR policy development, act as a barometer of staff morale, or perhaps just give people the opportunity to say which charity they would like to see the company supporting. The Cascade Survey module can also be used for important compliancy initiatives such as assessing health and safety in the workplace, and gives employees an opportunity to feedback information in complete confidentiality, if they choose. As well as providing you with a means of asking questions, the Cascade Survey will also collate results for you in a meaningful way, flagging up areas which require further action and allocating workflow processes accordingly.

107

108

System Designer Although Cascade is a comprehensive solution as shown by the overview of the standard system laid out in this document, we recognise that, both at the implementation stage and on an ongoing basis, each of our clients will need to configure fields and screens to suit their ever changing needs. With Cascade’s System Designer tool the user (where the user is a trained designated user of the System Designer tool) has full access to perform the following changes to the employee screens: Add new fields of all types Add new database tables Add new screens Edit existing fields Edit existing layouts Edit existing screens Change screen names Changes made do not adversely affect upgrades and are retained.

Adding fields To add a new field we enter the System Designer mode. At this stage we can edit the existing screen by removing fields, changing the layout of fields, adding and removing columns and adding rows.

By clicking on the Tables and Fields button at the top of the screen we move into further editing tools.

109

Selecting the top link ‘Modify Existing Screen/Add Remove Fields’ allows the user to add and remove fields from the database by double clicking as shown below:

110

Once added to the system fields can be placed where required on the screen by simply dragging the field (in an identical fashion to the earlier screen showing editing the existing field).

Adding new screens As well as adding new fields the designated user can add new screens. By clicking on the second button, Add New Screen/Table, the user can add screens (and database tables) by simply naming the screen, naming the table and selecting lists or single screen. This can then be populated with fields as described above or through the Excel Auto Create method detailed below.

Auto Configuration from Excel Feedback from our clients made it clear that the most common reason for adding a new screen was to accommodate data currently held in an MS Excel spreadsheet. Typically the user would expect to have to create the screen, add the fields, map the data from spreadsheet to database table and then import it. With Cascade the user can import directly from the Spreadsheet into a database table without any fields and the system will create the fields, design the screen and populate the data itself. Selecting the spreadsheet is simply a case of browsing to it and selecting it:

111

Once selected the data can be previewed and then imported. Screen construction is automatic:

112

After previewing in the System Designer mode (where additional fields can be added manually and the layout re-configured using drag and drop) the new screen is available and data has been populated for all employees. If an employee does not have data in the spreadsheet they will be given the screen but no data. This can be populated via another import later or manually through the system by any designated user (including Self Serve). You may wish to communicate with the employees who do not have certain records and this can be done by using them as a group and selecting group actions.

113

The final screen is indistinguishable from Cascade configured screens and is immediately reportable and available for mail merges, authorisation routes, workflow, self serve etc.

114

Security Cascade’s security system, built into the core system as standard, allows every aspect of access to be controlled and configured with ease. Security is to field level, incorporates an option for Windows Authentication and also provides each user with a single login to everything they can do in the system. There is no need for Managers and HR to have a login as a Manager/HR user and separate Self Serve login, as is traditional.

Roles Any number of roles can be created. A Role defines the level of functionality available to any user allocated the role. However, a user may be allocated multiple roles dependent on their responsibility within the company. For example, an employee typically has one role, as an employee. However, all Managers for example would have two profiles – Employee, for when they look at their own record, and Line Manager, which defines their level of access when looking at their team. A user may have multiple roles but all are controlled through a single login to all roles, all data and all functionality. The screen below shows how easy it is to configure a role:

115

Profiles A profile defines the data that anyone allocated the profile can access. Data access can be controlled as follows: Entire screen Field by Field By granting read only, direct change or change with authorisation access Can/Cannot delete

Users When configuring users both roles and profiles are used. Users can be configured in bulk or individually. Here we set up a single user who is: An employee A Line Manager The member of the First Aid team First we create this user’s login details. We can use Windows Credentials if preferred. An expiry date can be set for the user if it is a temporary user account and various other configuration elements can be pre-set.

116

On the next screen we can allocate the required profiles for this user. As these profiles are contained within one single login/user which controls their access for the entire system. Here we have stated that when this user accesses their own record they see it based on the employee profile. When they access their direct reports they use the Line Manager profile and when they access their subordinates (those employees that report to their direct reports), they also use the Line Manager profile. This user has an additional level of access to First Aiders. This means that they will see a different level of data depending on whether they are looking at their own record, their staff’s records or first aider’s records.

Roles works in exactly the same way as profiles but defines not the data that a user can see but the features and tools in the system that they can use. For example, a role may define

117

that the user CAN use the report writing tool but a profile will define the data available to them when they create a report.

Finally it is possible to review what a user can and cannot do after being allocated their various profiles and roles, as a report is provided which will show what a specific user is allocated in real terms.

Audit Trails Full audit trails are provided as standard in Cascade HR. They can be sorted and filtered by employee, data type, field and date of change.

118

Audit Trails can also be exported to MS Excel. This allows them to be used to show (via lists and/or graphs) user activity within the system, ideal for highlighting the value of the system in terms of reduced administration, efficiency and improved management information.

119