‘Huge Potential’: OHR Portal Steering Committee Kicks Off

The newly formed Office of Human Resources Portal Steering Committee held its first meeting on Friday, June 14, to help define, plan, and support the delivery of high-functioning, user-friendly HR functionality and content via the University’s new enterprise portal. Vice President for Human Resources Kathy Brown, who charged the committee, welcomed the group by outlining the “huge potential” of the new portal to transform how OHR provides tools, services, and content desired by and useful to the University community. Committee members then shared briefly their own excitement and aspirations for the new portal and reviewed the committee’s charter.

The bulk of the meeting was dedicated to an overview of the ESUP Portal Project and level-setting with regard to what the PeopleSoft Enterprise Portal delivers and how it works. Portal project director Susan Geller guided the committee through several HR and Student examples of delivered portal functionality that could enable University faculty and staff to better manage their employment and do their jobs. Geller spoke to the importance of developing functionality and content from the perspective of the user, and emphasized plans to test portal prototypes as early as this fall.

The OHR Portal Steering Committee includes the following members:

• Lori Lamb, co-chair
• Jim Thorp, co-chair
• Jennifer Reckner, project manager
• Susan Diekman, communications
• Kim Kopplin, HR consulting team
• Kelly Krattiger, technology and Portal Leadership Team
• Mike Overline, HR consulting team
• Chris Schanus, communications
• Brandon Sullivan, engagement

The committee will collaborate closely with the HRMS Upgrade Project leadership and team, the ESUP Portal Project leadership and team, and the other ESUP work streams, and will engage users and stakeholders from the broader HR community as needed.

Information about the OHR Portal Steering Committee’s work and progress will be shared on the HRMS work stream site, z.umn.edu/hrms. For more information on the ESUP Portal Project, as well as opportunities to take part in the process, visit the Portal work stream site at z.umn.edu/portal.