During your first day at UNK, you will be asked to complete a number of forms so that we can get you set-up for payroll, benefits, computer access etc. Here is a checklist for your reference. When you come to fill out your new hire paperwork and do benefits with the Human Resources Department you will need to be able to provide documents for the I-9 (normally a driver’s license and social security card), a copy of your social security card and then documents proving eligibility of your dependents for insurance (marriage certificate, birth certificate).
Orientation
New hires that are benefit eligible employees will receive an invitation for orientation on their first day/week to their UNK email address. UNK’s New Employee Orientation is hosted on Bridge, an online, learning management system. This program is required for all new hires at the University of Nebraska at Kearney and encompasses vital information from the University of Nebraska System and UNK including Benefits, Payroll, Policies, Mission and Vision, Compliance Training and more. The program can be completed at the employee’s own pace, up to 30 days, and allows to refer back to the information if needed at any time during employment. For further information about the University’s available benefits, please visit our website: https://nebraska.edu/faculty-and-staff/health-benefits/new-employee-benefit-enrollment.
Department: The Department is responsible for orientating faculty and staff to their area and duties. The Department is also responsible for completing the appropriate payroll paperwork.
Campus: The Department or a campus mentor/volunteer will normally provide new faculty and staff with an orientation to the campus including a campus tour.
Probationary Period
Every employee's first six months following their hire date is considered their "probationary period" for the purpose of determining an employee's suitability for the position they occupy.
An employee may have their "probationary period" extended, normally not be longer than 180 days, unless extenuating circumstances exist resulting in an extension no more than 12 months.
If it is determined during the "probationary period" that the services of an employee have not been acceptable, the employee shall be notified in writing of the date employment is to be terminated. In such cases of termination an employee shall not have recourse through the grievance process except for cases of alleged discrimination.
Training
UNK offers a variety of training programs throughout the year including safety, computer, professional development, health and wellness, and many more. The training schedule is not predetermined each year but training sessions are normally announced via the UNK All Subscribers e-mail and through campus mailings.
Mentoring
The Staff Senate group is responsible for developing and maintaining a mentoring program for all Office, Service and Managerial/Professional Staff. The purpose of the program is to help new staff become acquainted with UNK and have a person to assist them with general questions about the campus. More information can be found on the Mentoring Page of Staff Senate.
Faculty should contact their Department Chair or Dean for information on what is available to faculty.
Evaluations
Employee performance evaluations are designed to provide a channel of communication between the supervisor and the employee. The evaluations help the employee understand what the immediate supervisor expects, as well as giving the employee a means of measuring how well his or her performance has met those expectations.
Managerial/Professional employees are evaluated each year around May 1. Supervisors of Managerial/Professional employees may elect to use the evaluation forms provided by Human Resources or may devise their own evaluation forms.
A performance evaluation is completed on each Office/Service employee when the 180-day initial probationary period is completed; additional performance evaluations are made each year thereafter on each regular full-time and regular part-time employee usually around May 1.
Performance evaluations may also be used on occasions when the supervisor wishes to record specific instances of noteworthy performance--either favorable or unfavorable.
After completing the evaluation, the immediate supervisor and employee will discuss the performance evaluation, reviewing the employee's strengths and weaknesses. The employee should sign the evaluation. The signature merely indicates that the employee has read the evaluation; it does not necessarily mean that the employee agrees with the evaluation. If an employee feels he or she was evaluated unfairly, he or she should notify the Human Resources Office in writing. The performance evaluation becomes a permanent part of the employee's personnel file in Human Resources.
Supervisors are expected to complete evaluations in a timely manner. Evaluations may be used to decide any number of personnel actions (e.g., promotions, demotions, salary increases,) so it is important that the evaluations accurately reflect the employee's job performance.
Welcome to the University of Nebraska at Kearney! All new UNK employees whose responsibilities will include business transaction processing and/or oversight will be assigned a Business & Finance resource person. The resource person will contact the new employee to assist them in identifying training needs, scheduling training, requesting administration system account IDs, and explaining the on-line resources available to them.
Click on topic for a class description and registrations will open a new window. Contact trainer to schedule a training time or register for the class if that is an option.
View Available Topics and Registration Details
Topics Include
General information for UNK employees
Benefits and Employee Handbook
SAP/Firefly Basic Navigation
SAP/Budget/Accounting Terminology - (Self Study)
Will you have HR/Payroll responsibilities?
HR/Payroll Forms
SAP Personnel Action Coordinator
SAP Time Entry
Will you have hiring responsibilities?
Employment System - PeopleAdmin
Will you make purchases and/or pay bills?
Bill Paying Process - UNK
Parked Invoice Entry
Will you be placing orders for your department?
eSHOP Requestor Training
Will you be a Department Chair/Responsible Person for a cost object?
eSHOP Approver Training
Do you have a purchasing card responsibilities?
Purchasing (Procurement) Card Policies/Procedures
Do you have purchasing card reconciliation responsibilities?
Purchasing Card Reconciliation
Will you be responsible for making travel arrangement for yourself or others in your department?
Automated Travel
Do you have cash/check receipting responsibilities?
Cash Receipt Handling
Do you have budget and financial responsibilities?
SAP Basic Financial Reporting
SAP Advanced Financial Reporting
SAP Financial Transactions Online Reconciliation
Journal Entries and Budget Transfers
SAP Project Accounting
Grants Management Overview
Fiscal Year End Procedures and Information
Reading Department Financial Reports
Firefly is the University's on-line self-service enterprise portal that serves as your single access point to business related information. within Firefly, instantly access ESS, My Staff and SAP from the same web-enabled work space.
Employee Self-Service (ESS) is a web application which allows employees to interact with their own SAP data, such as pay advices, addresses, and current benefits options. It is convenient and secure method for employees to get information without the hassle of forms or lines. More information can be found at: http://firefly.nebraska.edu.
Sapphire is an employee support system dedicated to providing employees the information they need on a just-in-time basis. Information can be anything that assists users with completing his or her job, including SAP on-line help, business forms, reference guides, news articles, etc. Sapphire contains the following areas, tools, and links. To access, look for the Sapphire Home button located in SAP or access directly in ESS.
Sapphire Training Registration is a web site that lists upcoming professional development opportunities being held on the UNK campus. There are a variety of free, hands-on training sessions that are offered to faculty, staff and students.
SAP (Systems, Applications, and Products in Data Processing) is the administrative software for the University of Nebraska. Currently, the University has implemented the following modules: Financial Accounting (FI), Controlling (CO), Human Resources (HR), Materials Management (MM), and Project Systems (PS). An SAP ID can be requested through Sapphire.
SAP Navigation is a basic set of instructions on how to get around in SAP.
mynulook is a web interface to the University of Nebraska Data Warehouse “nulook”. While most financial information can be viewed in SAP, detailed budget information can only be found in mynulook. Contact your Dean or Vice Chancellor’s office or the Budget Office for access to mynulook.
Spot Checks are 45 minute information and review sessions held on the first Wednesday of each month at 3:00 p.m. in Copeland 140. The sessions, which are sponsored by the Division of Business and Finance, cover a wide range of topics including SAP tips and tricks, business policy & procedures, refresher trainings for processes done only once or twice a year, vendor services, etc. To view a list of upcoming Spot Checks, see the Sapphire training registration.
Flashpoints is an electronic informational newsletter published by the Division of Business and Finance in an effort to reduce the number of e-mails sent by the Division and to consolidate the Division’s communications to the campus into one monthly e-mail.
Business & Finance Policy & Procedures is an online procedure manual designed to give departments a general overview of business processes on the UNK campus as well as detailed steps and forms needed to accomplish specific business tasks.
Business & Finance also communicates information on current events, special programs, important changes and procedures. The Division of Business & Finance is comprised of the Vice Chancellor’s Office, Business Services, Budget, Facilities Management and Planning, Finance, Human Resources, Marketing and Creative Services, Police and Parking Services as well as contracted providers UNK Dining Services and Antelope Bookstore.
ITS Helpdesk is a team of specialists that can make your experience with UNK technology as easy as possible. Assistance is available to employees and students for Outlook email, disk problems, password problems, Microsoft application support, operating system questions, and other computer-related issues. Many problems can be solved over the phone. If that is not possible, your problem is logged in a call-tracking database and assigned to an Information Technology Services specialist or technician. You can contact the Helpdesk at 865-8363 or by email at unkhelpdesk@unk.edu.
