Welcome to HR Services Overview for Commonwealth Employees. The purpose of this course is to review the HR Services the commonwealth offers, where to go for these services, and what to expect when contacting these offices. This course also provides links to resources that you can use in the future.  On the left, you may click on the resources tab to read or print additional materials as well as click on the narration text tab to follow along with the audio. These tabs can be accessed at any time throughout the course.  Use the gold navigation buttons to move thru this course. The commonwealth provides three resources for employee HR services: the HR Service Center, Employee self service (ESS), and your agency HR office. Click on each of the resources for more information. Employee Self Service is a website that allows access to a wide array human resources information and allows the user to complete many human resource tasks at their convenience.  It can be accessed from home or work 24 hours a day 7 days a week. Here are just some of the services and information that can be found on the Employee Self Service website. Update personal data like address changes and emergency contact information. ESS pay and time resources like viewing and printing pay statements, displaying annual, sick, personal, and military leave quotas, creating or changing a leave request and more.  You can change payroll options like federal withholding, direct deposit/bank information, obtain/elect online W-2 information, union membership (dues/fair share), savings bonds, and tax exemptions. You can also manage benefits, travel and training like medical, vision, dental, prescription drug plans for yourself, enroll in LSO training courses,  and submit travel plans and reimbursements. Supervisor self service allows you to update position descriptions, time management, employee contact information, and employee training. You can find online HR resources in the knowledge bank for PA 529 college savings, benefit plans, contact info, and forms. Also found in ESS is supplementary employment requests. And more.

The Employee Self Service website can be found at www.myworkplace.state.pa.us.  If you are logging in from a computer on the commonwealth network, you should be logged in automatically. If you are using a computer away from work, or not on the network, you will need to log in. Instructions on how to log into Employee Self Service from home can be found in the resources tab to your left. If you do not have access to employee self service, general HR information can be found at www.myHRonline.state.pa.us. What is the HR Service Center? The HR Service Center is a central location for handling routine enterprise wide human resource (HR) processes, questions, and services to meet your HR needs.  Because the services are centralized, it ensures that you receive consistent and timely responses to your human resources questions.   And this allows your Agency HR office to focus on Agency-Specific needs like workforce planning and employee or labor relations. Employees of the Liquor Control Board, Office of the Attorney General, Gaming Control Board, Public Utility Commission, Auditor General and all other agencies not under the Governor's jurisdiction should contact their local HR office for assistance instead of the HR Service Center. Here are some of the services and information provided by the HR Service Center! Update your personal data like your name, marital status, or dependents. Change your payroll options like tax exemptions. Manage your benefits like -medical, vision, dental, prescription drug plans for dependents, the military leave program, family care account program (FCAP), optional life, long-term disability, home, auto insurances, and state employee combined appeal (SECA).  Also available is  technical support for online orientation (new employees), employee self service (ESS), learning solution (LSO), and financial disclosure website (if applicable). The HR Service center is available Monday thru Friday 7am through 5pm. You can reach them by phone at 866.377.2672. Completed forms or can be sent to the HR Service center by fax or by mail.  In addition, Employee Self Service has a unique feature called ”Ask HR” that allows you to submit questions or completed forms to the HR Service Center digitally. HR Service Center Hours are Mon – Fri 7:00am - 5:00pm, Please Call 866.377.2672, Fax can be sent to 717.425.7190, mail can be sent to PO Box 824 Harrisburg, PA 17108 – 0824. When calling the HR Service Center, after listening to an automated welcome message, you will be transferred to an HR Professional who will ask for information that will allow them to verify your identity. Please be prepared to provide the Representative with: your name and employee number, your home address and telephone number, as well as your date of birth and the last four digits of your social security number.  Once you have completed the verification, the representative will be able to access your records and provide any assistance they can.  If the service is not provided by the HR Service Center, the representative will help you determine who the request or question should be directed to, and in most cases, will be able to transfer your call to them. Let’s listen to an actual call made by an employee to the HR Service Center. Welcome Message

Welcome to the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania's HR Service Center. To better serve you, please have your employee number available. Also, please be aware that all calls are recorded for quality assurance, monitoring, and record keeping purposes. By continuing this call, you are consenting to the recording, retention, and use of this call.  John, HR Professional: Hello, HR Service Center, this is John. May I have your name and employee number? Danielle, Commonwealth Employee: I just typed my employee number. Why are you asking me for it again? John: We are very serious about protecting your personnel data. Providing your employee number allows me to confirm the information. Danielle: Thank you for explaining. I appreciate the caution. My name is Danielle Jones and my employee number is 12345. John: You’re welcome, and thank you for your understanding. May I please have your home address and home phone number? Danielle: Sure, my home address is 99 Anywhere Street, Harrisburg 17120 and my home phone is 717-555-1212. John: Thank you. May I please have your date of birth and the last four digits of your SS number? Danielle: August 29, 1981 and 1234. John: Thank you, and how may I help you today? Danielle: My husband and I are expecting our first child next month. What do I have to do to add the baby to my health benefits? John: Congratulations! We have a packet of forms that you’ll want to complete within 60 days of the child’s date of birth. The packet is available on Employee Self Service on the Forms page. In the right-hand column you’ll see a listing of forms. Look for the one named Employee with Child and or Spouse. You definitely want to complete the PEBTF-2 enrollment form within 60 days. You have six months to follow up with the newborn’s birth certificate and Social Security Number. Instructions are included in the packet. If you have any questions when you’re completing the form, feel free to give us a call. We’re here Monday through Friday from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. Danielle: Great. That sounds simple enough. Thank you. John: Is there anything else I can help you with today? Danielle: No, thank you. John: Thank you for calling and have a great day as well. So what is Agency HR? Each agency in the commonwealth has one or several HR offices that provide services to its employees. These services are often job-specific, so special handling is required. Your agency HR office plays an important role in providing the HR Services you will need throughout your career. Here are the services and information provided by Agency HR.  Leave/time issues, Performance evaluations, Training and development, Workplace support like Accommodations, Safety, EEO, SEAP. As well as Promotions/new opportunities, Classification, Work rules, Union matters and Workers compensation/ unemployment issues. If you have any questions, please contact the HR Service Center at 866.377.2672. This version of the course is intended for individuals who require an accommodation for a disability.  Once you have fully reviewed the information in this training, contact your Human Resources Office to request credit for completing this course. You will not receive credit for completing this course until you do so.