PeopleSoft 9.1: Saving money on your upgrade
The best way to save money on your upgrade is to do things right the first time. Being wrong is expensive. In this posting and in the series to follow I will recommend ways to save money on your upgrade and improve your chances of success at the same time.
First, let me tell you a tale about a man I knew who tried to save money but ended up spending a lot more instead. 
Clem (not his real name) decided to build a 6500 square foot home on a lake. He got bids from several experienced building managers but to him they were all too high. He had managed a couple of projects at work. Why not manage his own building project and save the money he thought. Things seemed to go well at first but soon he began to discover that mistakes were made. Correcting those mistakes turned out to be very expensive; many times more expensive than it would have been to hire an expert manager.
My first recommendation for saving money: Spend good money to get a project leader who knows how to do an upgrade. Do not skimp. Do not automatically pick the candidate with the lowest rate. If you have an internal project manager make sure that you supplement with upgrade management expertise from the outside.
The last time I talked to Clem he was atop a Bobcat moving dirt from his building site all the way across the subdivision and dumping it on another plot. He had been moving dirt all week and didn’t know when he would finish. The inspector had told him that not enough dirt had been removed in the original excavation and the first major storm could swamp the house with mud. The ugly end to this story is that he ran out of construction money and had to sell his dream home even before it was finished.
Stay tuned for more postings in the series, PeopleSoft Upgrade Insights
Workforce hazards ahead?
Things you may not know about your current and future workforce could hurt your business. You know that your workforce is changing but you may not be sure how or why. What are the hazards and pitfalls to be avoided?
The newer, inexperienced people seem, well you know, less engaged than you remember yourself being at the same point in your career. The people who are experienced seem more seasoned than the veterans of yesteryear.
What about employee health? Why is it that your older workers seem so much healthier than your younger workers? Isn’t it supposed to be the other way around?
Dr. John Howard is the current director of the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), an agency of the Federal Government.
NIOSH provides national and world leadership to prevent work-related illness, injury, disability, and death by gathering information, conducting scientific research, and translating the knowledge gained into products and services, including scientific information products, training videos, and recommendations for improving safety and health in the workplace.
In late May 2010 Dr. Howard gave a speech at the American Industrial Hygiene Conference and Expo on the subject of workforce hazards. Not hazards associated with fighting fires or working a mile below the surface of the ocean. He talked about the hazards associated with a changing workforce composition. He covered 11 distinct trends well worth contemplating.
- Limited availability of workers of the future – Fewer young workers are entering the work force, a trend that will continue in the coming years. This can be attributed to longer life expectancies, which increased dramatically over the course of the 20th century; and lower fertility rates in the United States and worldwide. As a result, the work force will see fewer young workers entering the ranks.
- More older workers – Howard, who called older workers “chronologically gifted,” said this group will grow substantially in the work force. “And it’s part of a worldwide phenomenon … This is the graying of the world as opposed to just the United States,” he said.
- Health-challenged young workers – Employers might assume younger workers are in great shape, Howard said, but that’s not necessarily true. Obesity alone threatens large numbers of children and young adults in the United States. Weight problems can lead to high blood pressure, Type II diabetes, sleep apnea, musculoskeletal disorders and much more.
- Key skills deficit in young workers – Howard explained that over the next decade, nearly 30 percent of American 20-year-olds will obtain a college degree, but 60 percent of new jobs will require a degree. With growing numbers of high school dropouts and school districts fighting to improve their graduation rates, Howard said, this is clearly going to add to the global labor crunch.
Perhaps, Dr. Howard’s speech will help answer some questions about the changing nature of your current workforce and help you prepare for future transformations. There are many ways that you can tackle these pending issues. Some are strategic. Some are organizational. Some require new policies & procedures for retaining and attracting talent. And some will require better technology.
As an Oracle Peoplesoft Enterprise customer one new technology worth considering is the HCM 9.1’s talent management product. A previous posting entitled Managing Talent Mismatches covers some of the more useful talent management features incorporated into the current release. Maybe it is a time to take a closer look before the coming talent storm dampens your organization’s prospects for success.
PeopleSoft HRMS 9.1 Upgrade: The Master Solution
If you have already started your HRMS 9.1 or anticipate starting your upgrade in the near future you should be aware of the Master Solution. I admit that the term Master Solution may sound a little ominous but in reality it is quite benign and can be very helpful. The “Master Solution” is Oracle’s central collectons point for known HRMS 9.1 upgrade issues and solutions.
For those of you on My Oracle Support the “Master Solution” and related documentation can be found by performing this knowledge search:
“HRMS 9.1 Master”
…PeopleSoft Enterprise HRMS Human Resources – Version: 9.1 to 9.1 – Release: 9 to 9 Information … relating to the HRMS 9.1 Upgrade path….The purpose of this knowledge document is to act as a repository for issues relating to the HRMS 9.1 Upgrade…
Currently, there are 8 issues and 8 potential solutions. If you have started your upgrade and have run into a problem this should be the first place you look. If you are about to start an upgrade and you want to avoid some frustration it could be worth your while to take a peek before you start executing the upgrade scripts.
Please stay tuned for many more postings on the subject of 9.1 upgrades.
Quick Short Holiday Thoughts
This time of year many of us are busy, busy, busy. There are presents to buy, family gatherings to plan, parties to attend, snow to shovel, and, of course, PeopleSoft business to conduct. Year-end is rushing toward us like a speeding train in a narrow tunnel. So here are some quick quotes for those of us who cannot quite bring ourselves to spend time reading a long dissertation on the meaning of the season:
“When I’m worried and I can’t sleep
I count my blessings instead of sheep
And I fall asleep counting my blessings
When my bankroll is getting small
I think of when I had none at all
And I fall asleep counting my blessings”
Happy Holidays to All!
Quick Short Holiday Thoughts
This time of year many of us are busy, busy, busy. There are presents to buy, family gatherings to plan, parties to attend, snow to shovel, and, of course, PeopleSoft business to conduct. Year-end is rushing toward us like a speeding train in a narrow tunnel. So here are some quick quotes for those of us who cannot quite find the time to read long dissertations on the meaning of the season:
“Just remember this, Mr. Potter, that this rabble you’re talking about… they do most of the working and paying and living and dying in this community. Well, is it too much to have them work and pay and live and die in a couple of decent rooms and a bath? Anyway, my father didn’t think so. People were human beings to him. But to you, a warped, frustrated old man, they’re cattle. Well, in my book he died a much richer man than you’ll ever be.”
Happy Holidays to all!
Quick Short Holiday Thoughts
This time of year many of us are busy, busy, busy. There are presents to buy, family gatherings to plan, parties to attend, snow to shovel, and, of course, PeopleSoft business to conduct. Year-end is rushing toward us like a speeding train in a narrow tunnel. So here are some quick quotes for those of us who cannot quite bring ourselves to spend time reading a long dissertation on the meaning of the season:
“But you were always a good man of business, Jacob,” faltered Scrooge, who now began to apply this to himself.”
“Business!” cried the Ghost, wringing its hands again. “Mankind was my business. The common welfare was my business; charity, mercy, forbearance, and benevolence, were, all, my business. The dealings of my trade were but a drop of water in the comprehensive ocean of my business!”
Happy Holidays to all!