Preparing for Workforce Management rollout in PeopleXD

Your guide to the upcoming changes in PeopleXD related to Leave and Absence, Timesheets, Rostering (a pilot for part of GLAM) and the Mobile App

Contents

 

Overview

This page has been designed to help prepare your department(s) for the continued rollout of the Workforce Management functionality in PeopleXD. Our goal is to ensure a smooth transition and provide you with the necessary tools and resources to support your transition.

The key aims of this rollout are:

  • Streamline processes for Leave and Absence, Timesheets and Rostering.
  • Provide real-time and trackable data on Leave and Absence.
  • Ensure compliance with University policies and regulations.

The timeline diagram below, outlines key activities for each part of this project, making it easy to understand the rollout plans at a glance.

The Workforce Management Project will work with your department's HR team to manage the preparatory steps for the rollout. The project team will be available to guide and assist throughout all steps. 

Each wave involves:

  1. Engagement and timeline confirmation: The project team will confirm readiness and address queries.
  2. Work Group management: Assistance with tidying Work Groups and assigning relevant and appropriate managers.
  3. Detailed data preparation: The project team will provide templates for capturing departmental working patterns and other details relevant to the functionality they are going live with.
  4. Creation of reference data: Data will be uploaded to PeopleXD and HR teams will receive guidance on reviewing and checking their data, including running  data quality reports.
  5. Training and communications: The project team will provide guidance for HR teams, managers, and staff on the new functionality, along with communication materials to cascade more widely.

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We have planned a three-wave rollout for the leave and absence module to gradually introduce the new features across the University. Working with HR colleagues within the departments, we categorised departments, units, faculties and administrative areas into the waves, based on their preparedness and current leave recording methods. Considerations included existing contracts and factors that may add complexity, such as unique leave requirements, approval processes or specific contractual terms for certain staff groups, such as TUPE.

Wave 1

The Wave 1 cohort went live at the beginning of October 2024 and included the following departments; 

  • MPLS: MPLS Divisional Office; Begbroke Directorate; Biology; Chemistry; Computer Science; Doctoral Training Centre; Earth Sciences
  • MSD: Biochemistry; Experimental Psychology; Sir William Dunn School of Pathology
  • Social Sciences: Social Sciences Divisional Office; Archaeology; Blavatnik School of Government; Economics; Education; Law; OSGA; Oxford Internet Institute; Social Policy and Intervention
  • Reuben College

Wave 2- live from 7 April 2025

The departments that have expressed a readiness to transition are:

  • Continuing Education
  • MPLS: Physics 
  • MSD: RDM, Surgical Sciences, Paediatrics, Clinical Neurosciences
  • Social Sciences: Sociology, Said Business School & OSBS Ltd.
  • UAS: Research Services, Proctors Office, Vice-Chancellors and Registrar's Office, AAD
  • St Cross College

Wave 3 – live from 6 October 2025

The departments included within the final wave are:

  • MPLS: Statistics, Mathematical Institute
  • MSD: Primary Care Health Sciences, NDORMS, Pharmacology, Biomedical Services, Psychiatry 
  • Social Sciences: SAME, Politics and International Relations 
  • UAS: Estates, PACs, Finance Division, Legal Services, Development and External Affairs 
  • Humanities Division and Faculties 
  • GLAM

Timesheet functionality will go live in PeopleXD in 2 phases:

The date options for implementation are:

  • April 2025 (for use by staff in May 2025, paying in the June 2025 payroll)
  • September 2025 (for use by staff in October 2025, paying in the November 2025 payroll) 

As part of the preparation for Timesheet functionality, the Implementation Officers on the project will work with HR colleagues to ensure that the data required for implementation is prepared ready for the go live, this will include data such as approval routes, pay rates and work groups.

Further information about the requirements for departments and when each department can expect this functionality will be circulated, as will the training plan. 

April 2025 go live: 

September 2025 go live:

Rostering is being trialled by areas of GLAM in the Bodleian and Ashmolean from April 2025 onwards. 

Further guidance and training materials will be circulated to the managers and HR staff in the team and added to this webpage later. 

Mobile App functionality of PeopleXD will be launched in  2025, this will be the ability to view your payslip data on a Mobile App and amend personal details. Once full functionality is available then staff will be able to view and book annual leave, create timesheets and where relevant review roster (in areas of GLAM). 
  
Promotional videos and materials will be released across the University to support staff on how to download the App and the benefits of Mobile App use. 

Training, guidance, and briefing sessions issued for departments are available below:  

  1. To see a quick overview of the annual leave and absence functionality, refer to our short promotional videos designed for HR, Managers and Employees, which have also been added to the HR Self-Service webpages. 
  2. Existing guidance for departments already live with these features and has been incorporated into standard guides, such as appointing, found on the New appointments and During employment webpages
  3. Additional guidance is also available at: https://hrsystems.admin.ox.ac.uk/hr-self-service-guidance. 
  4. Additional training in the form of instructional videos and 'How-To Guides' have been created and there is more to come for online timesheets. 

To help departments keep on track we have developed some checklists:

Tasks for HR staff

Who Task Details
Project/Dept Engagement consultation with Department
  • Introduce PeopleXD WFM functionality and provide overview of WFM processes.
  • Understand basic requirements of departments related to WFM.
  • Provide high-level timeline and plan for wave-based rollout.
  • Explain tasks for departments and manage WFM data readiness. Determine scope of implementation (grades etc).

 

Key activities and checkpoints 

Who Task Details
Data collection
Dept Attend Work Group workshop Understand the purpose of Work Groups in PeopleXD and the role of Work Group managers. Booking via CoSy; links/dates will be provided.
Dept Check TUPE staff and establish their details for the rollout Identify any TUPE staff to consider their balance, calendar, and work schedules.
Dept  Attend a data collection briefing Understand the WFM data we need you to complete and how to provide that data to us. 
Project Provide data collection templates Supply reference documents for data collection with instructions.
Dept Complete Work Group data collection Update Work Group data: identify needed Work Groups, list managers, and assign staff. Support available in workshop training.
Dept Complete Holiday Scheme and Balance Data collection Confirm dates of Public Holidays, fixed closure dates, and default working hours, and long service schemes, including requirements for TUPE staff.
Dept Complete Working Pattern data collection Confirm the working patterns of staff such as days worked and number of hours worked. There are many existing patterns in the system to select from and new ones can be created.
Communications 
Project  Provide Communications toolkit Use provided materials to inform staff of upcoming changes.
Training
Project/Dept/ HR Systems team Provide training and access to HR Administrators Ensure department admins are confident using the system. This will be provided to HR along with access to the new WFM system areas for HR in advance of their go live to allow plenty of time for HR to check the data uploaded.
Project/Dept Provide training/guidance materials for Work Group managers/approvers Ensure managers are confident using the system.
Project/Dept Provide training/guidance materials for staff Ensure staff are confident using the system.
Assign WFM reference data
Project/HR Systems team  Assign WFM reference data to all existing staff records  Correctly assign all WFM reference data to staff appointments as per the data collected from depts.
Data check
Project/HR Systems Team Validate data/check for errors Use PERDEP01 report to verify live data.
Project/Dept Verify data entry with Department Send PERDEP01 report for review and sign-off.
Dept Data check Review excel summary of WFM data: work group, balance type, shift type, default working hours, pay code group.
Dept Make necessary changes/updates to existing records With project support, update records and add new data as needed.
Project/Dept  Verify Work Group and managers with department  Review and sign-off on Work Groups and managers’ report.
Dept Add 'carried forward' balance adjustments Ensure balance adjustments for the next leave year. Only applicable to go live for leave and absence aligned with the new holiday year.
HR Systems Assign "Menu Profiles" for managers and Leave and Absence users  Ensure proper assignment.

The FAQs below relate to the rollout plans only. Questions relating to the system functionality and processes are answered on the corresponding HR Systems guidance pages, as referenced above. 

  1. Which wave is my department in? 

Departments who haven’t yet gone live with leave and absence will be invited to join wave 2 or 3, for Timesheet functionality departments will be invited to join the April or September waves. 

  1. Can I change the wave in which my department will go live with the new functionality? 

We will keep in direct conversation with departments over email and meetings throughout the project lifespan to provide an opportunity to discuss timings. Our aim is for the transition to be as convenient as possible for departments, and therefore welcome proposals from departments who may wish to go live earlier or later than initially considered in planning. 

  1. I can’t see my department in the rollout timeline, why is this? 

The project team is still engaging directly with some departments to determine an appropriate go-live schedule, or to clarify existing data requirements and processes. Check with your department's nominated key contact for this project for further details. If your department is still unclear, please email workforcemanagement.project@it.ox.ac.uk. 

  1. What communications are being planned to accompany the rollout launches? 

The project team will issue communications on the overall project in key university channels such as Cascade and HR Systems Bulletin, as well as update at divisional and HR Systems briefings. There will also be a comms toolkit for use inside departments, which will include posters, email templates, and FAQs. 

  1. My department is currently using Teamseer; how will this affect the rollout and transition? 

The project team will coordinate with you to ensure a smooth transition from Teamseer to PeopleXD:

  1. License coordination: We will collect details on your Teamseer license and end date to align rollout timings and license extensions, ensuring no disruption in your leave and absence logging.

  2. Data transition: Before going live with PeopleXD, the project team will help store or upload data exported from Teamseer.

  3. Guidance materials: We will provide materials comparing Teamseer and PeopleXD, highlighting differences and similarities to help your colleagues adjust to the new system.

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