TalentLink

TalentLink is the system used at Columbia University to manage job descriptions, requisitions and applicant information for the recruitment of administrative personnel (officers of administration and union and non-union support staff).

Please read this Important TalentLink Information before accessing the system.

Enter TalentLink with your UNI and password and then confirm your access with multi-factor authentication (DUO):

Need Access to TalentLink?

Once you have completed the required training, fill out the TalentLink Access Request form to obtain access to the system.

TalentLink Updates

There are a few changes happening in TalentLink that we would like to share with you:

Offer Letter Templates and new field on Offer Card
As mentioned in an earlier email to the HR Network, all offer letter templates have been revised to reflect updates to policies, including adding language to an offer letter if a position is grant-funded. The updated templates have been added in TalentLink and there is a new drop-down field added on the Offer Card (under the “Salary” section). The field contains the sentence “This role is subject to grant funding”. If you select this text, it will be added as a merge field to any of the offer letter templates. If the position is not grant-funded, no need to select anything; the text will not show up on the offer letter. Review the How to Add Grant-Funded Language to the Offer Letter document for more details.

New Sourcing Channel for Waivers
To help identify positions that are waivers, and in particular, when applicants received an “Invite to Apply”, we have added “Waiver” as a sourcing channel. Please review the How to Add a Waiver as a Sourcing Channel document for more details.

New Special Indicator – Clery CSA
When creating or updating a job description, a new special indicator under “Other Indicators” has been added – called the Clery Campus Security Authority (CSA). This indicator should be checked for positions designated as CSAs. A CSA is defined as an official of an institution who has significant responsibility for student and campus activities, including, but not limited to, student housing, student discipline, and campus judicial proceedings. An official is defined as any person who has the authority and the duty to take action or respond to particular issues on behalf of the institution.

To learn more about CSAs and their responsibilities or if you have any questions, please contact Jay Zwicker; Associate Director of Public Safety at [email protected].

If you have any other questions, please contact your Senior Human Resources Business Partner.

Sincerely,
The TalentLink Team

Dear TalentLink Users:

We hope you are all benefiting from TalentLink and its functionalities.

For those who used JAC, when we began the transition to TalentLink, one of our main goals was to make sure TalentLink did not become another JAC (as in, not being unorganized and having years old jobs still opened). In order to achieve this goal, we need your help to continue keeping TalentLink “clean” and organized, so we’d like to remind you of some key points when using the system:

Application Statuses
One of the great features of the system is its ability to send emails to applicants as they move along the recruitment process. We have noticed many applicants are remaining in the “New” status or some other static status, even when a finalist has been selected. As soon as you know you are not going to move forward with an applicant, please move them to either the “Interviewed, Not Hired” or “Not Hired, Not Interviewed” status. We want keep the applicant updated on their status and not left wondering if they are still being considered for the position.

Submitting Finalists
Please ensure the statuses of all the other applicants are changed before submitting a finalist for clearance. Finalists will not be cleared unless the statuses of the other applicants have been updated.

Closing Postings
When you are at the point of making an offer to an applicant, we ask that you take down the job posting so no more applicants can apply. We do not want applicants to spend their time applying to a position that is on its way to being filled. If for whatever reason, you find that you need to recruit again for more applicants, reposting the position can be easily done using the same requisition. Please note that only HR Level 4 users can close postings. If you do not have an HR Level 4 user on your team, please reach out to your Senior HR Business Partner (CUIMC HR Ops for CUIMC postings) to have the posting taken down.

“Pre-Populate Req Details” Blue Button on the Requisition
We are seeing many positions being posted without the “Pre-Populate Req Details” button having been clicked. As you know, clicking the button adds additional information to the job posting (Bargaining Unit, Regular/Temporary, Hours Per Week, etc.)  It is essential and required that we have this information included in the posting. The only way to do that is by clicking that button, so please remember to do so before you post.

IMPORTANT: In order to meet University requirements, all incomplete postings will have to be removed. In addition, going forward, if departments fail to follow the process, they may lose their Level 3/4 privileges.

As much as we hope using TalentLink is a positive experience for users, we also want to make sure it is a positive experience for applicants. This includes providing them the information they need and keeping them informed of their status. We’re asking for your support in achieving this. If you have any feedback or questions, please reach out to your Senior HR Business Partner.

This new functionality—the Applicant Progress Board—displays applications as cards, grouped by application status, and makes it easier for users to move applications through the recruitment process.

Each active job you are recruiting for has its own card. It's easy to customize the organization to best suit the way you work. You can revert back to the previous applications view if this new functionality does not work for you.

Please review the Applicant Progress Board job aid. It will help you maneuver around the Applicant Progress Board.

We are excited to announce that we are increasing the frequency of the feed of new hire data from TalentLink to PAC from once a day to twice a day, beginning tomorrow, Friday January 10. This will allow TBH Initiators to create the TBH the same day the new hire’s status is changed to “Hired/Initiate Onboarding” instead of having to wait a day.

How it Works
The export of data from TalentLink to PAC will occur 12pm and 12am every day. Here is an example of an HR User who is ready to change the new hire’s status to “Hired/Initiate Onboarding” (assuming the rest of the criteria for the export has been met: an offer was accepted through the system, the New Hire/Rehire form was completed and an annual salary or hourly rate was provided on the offer card).

  • If HR User changes status to “Hired…” before 12pm, such as 10am, on Monday 1/13/2020, the draft TBH will appear in PAC Monday, 1/13/2020 around 1:30pm.
     
  • If HR User changes status to “Hired…” after 12pm but before 12am, such as 4pm, on Monday 1/13/2020, the draft TBH will appear in PAC Tuesday morning, 1/14/2020.

You can begin creating same-day draft TBHs for new hires beginning tomorrow, Friday, January 10.

For a refresher on how the export works, please review the PAC TBH TalentLink Integration Web-Based Training Module video or the How a Draft TBH is Created job aid.

This enhancement was implemented based on your feedback. Thank you for the feedback and your continued support!

We are excited to announce that reporting in TalentLink is now available.

Available Reports

There are currently six reports available that can be run at the department/team level to help you manage your recruitment activities.  There are also 5 additional reports that are requisition-specific and can be used to look at the details for a specific posting.

Access to Reports

Level 3 and Level 4 users can run any of the available reports. The team/department reports can be run either by using the “Reports” quick link at the top of the screen, or from the “Reports” link in the left-hand menu. Requisition-specific reports can be run via the “Reports” link that appears at the top of each requisition.

Training

A new training video, Reporting in TalentLink, is available to provide an overview of the new reporting functionality and provides a demonstration of how to run and download reports. Once you click on the link to the training course, you will be asked to log in with your UNI and Password, and then click “Enroll” to begin the video.

Questions

If you have any questions, please contact your Senior HR Business Partner.

With the implementation of TalentLink as the University’s Administrative Recruitment system, the process for creating and modifying position numbers has changed. Effective immediately, the Position Management Request Form (PMR) will no longer be used for any administrative position transactions. Most position changes will be managed through TalentLink and the balance of position changes will be managed via the Personnel Action Form (PAF).

When to Use TalentLink

TalentLink must be used for all of the following types of requests:

  • To request a brand new position number(s)
  • To request any changes to an existing position number when the position is currently vacant
  • To request changes to an existing position number, when the position is currently filled, including:
    • Position Upgrades/promotions
    • Changing an existing position from temporary to regular
    • Changing the position title
  • To make any changes to an existing job description

Note: When making changes to a position that is filled, a PAF may also be required. When applicable, submit a PAF and if required by your Senior HR Business Partner, attach the TalentLink approval document(s) to the PAF.

When to Use the Personnel Action Form (PAF):

The PAF can only be used to request the following position changes to a currently filled position:

  • Changing the administrative or position department for a current employee
  • Changing the hours/full-time part-time status for a current employee (Note: this change may also require a NYS 195 Form)
  • Changing the Business Title
  • Downgrading a currently-filled position (Note: this change may also require a NYS 195 Form)

Tips and Key Points

  • Before requesting a new position, please ensure that a job description exists.
  • You do not have to be actively recruiting for an open position in order to leverage TalentLink to request a position data change.
  • Updating reporting relationships and work locations for current incumbents should continue to be processed through the PAC Maintain Reporting Relationships page. You can access this page via Manager Self Service > Job and Personal Information > Reporting Structure & Location. For guidance on how to use this page, please review the Maintain Reporting Relationships Training Guide.
  • In the event that mass position changes are needed, please open a ticket with the HR Service Center to be connected with someone from the HRPC team to review the request.

Where Can I Access Training Materials?
TalentLink training materials are available in the Training section. All of the HR System training materials are available through the Training Guides and Job Aids Category within the Forms and Documents section of the CUHR Website.

Questions?
If you have any questions about TalentLink, please contact your Senior HR Business Partner.

On August 23, 2019, we initiated an integration between TalentLink and TBH. This integration sends key data to PAC so that draft hire/rehire templates for administrative hires (officers of administration and support staff) can be created. The draft template can then be accessed and completed by any of the initiators in the hiring department.

Important Reminders:

  • On a nightly basis, TalentLink will send data from TalentLink to PAC for each external applicant whose application status was changed to “Hired/Initiate Onboarding” that day (any time before midnight) and met the following criteria. For example, if the status is changed on Monday, the TBH draft will be available in PAC on Tuesday.
    • An offer was accepted through TalentLink.
    • The New Hire/Rehire Form was completed by the hire.
    • An Annual Salary or Hourly Rate was provided on the Offer Card.
       
  • It is important to note that if you create a TBH transaction for the new hire directly in PAC, and then the new hire’s status in TalentLink is changed to “Hired/Initiate Onboarding”, you will have a duplicate transaction in PAC. The transaction from TalentLink will have an asterisk (*) after it so that you can quick identify it. Please coordinate with the TalentLink users in your school/department to ensure you do not have duplicate transactions. After completing the TBH and submitting the transaction into workflow, if you still have another draft TBH in your queue for the same person, you should delete it. 
  • The draft TBH will appear in all initiator queues for the hiring department, similar to the way all approval transactions appear in the Worklist.  The first person to access the template and save it will be the only one who then sees it on their page and can submit it.
     
  • Deleting a TalentLink-created template removes it from all initiators’ queues and cannot be retrieved. If this happens, a new template will need to be created by the initiator unless this was a duplicate.
     
  • This process is for external hires and rehires only. Internal hires (transfers) are not processed via TBH. 
     
  • As an HR User responsible for managing the TalentLink application, once you change the status for an external administrative hire to “Hired/Initiate Onboarding”, it is helpful to check in PAC the following day to see that the draft template appears. Note that documents do not import from TalentLink into PAC and there are also additional documents not in TalentLink required. Please coordinate with the initiator(s) in your department to confirm the draft is there and that all required documents are gathered for hire/rehire.

Where Can I Access Training Materials?
Please review the PAC TBH TalentLink Integration Web-Based Training Module video and the new How a Draft TBH is Created job aid.

Where Do I go If I have questions?
If you have any questions, please contact the HR Service Center.

We are pleased to inform you that beginning Friday, August 23, 2019, the integration between TalentLink and TBH will be in place creating draft hire/rehire templates for administrative hires (officers of administration and support staff) and placing those drafts in PAC.

What is the TBH TalentLink Integration Process?
On a nightly basis, TalentLink will send data from TalentLink to PAC for each external applicant whose application status has been changed to “Hired/Initiate Onboarding” that day. The integration process will combine the data the applicant entered into the New Hire Form, and the position and salary data from TalentLink, and create a draft hire/rehire template accessible from the “Hire/Rehire Employee” page in PAC.

What Do I Need To Do?
Beginning on Thursday, August 22, 2019, when an applicant’s status in TalentLink is changed to “Hired/Initiate Onboarding”, a process will run overnight to create a draft template in PAC. The draft template can then be accessed and completed by any of the initiators in the hiring department. For example, if the status is changed on Thursday, the TBH draft is available on Friday.

Please Note: if you create a TBH transaction directly in PAC, and then the new hire’s status in TalentLink is changed to “Hired/Initiate Onboarding”, you will have a duplicate transaction in PAC. Please coordinate with the TalentLink users in your school/department to ensure you do not have duplicate transactions. After completing the TBH and submitting the transaction into workflow, if you still have another draft TBH in your queue for the same person, you can delete it. 

Tips and Key Points

  • The draft TBH will appear in all initiator queues for the hiring department, similar to the way all approval transactions appear in the Worklist.  The first person to access the template and save it will be the only one who then sees it on their page and can submit it.
     
  • Deleting a TalentLink-created template removes it from all initiators’ queues and cannot be retrieved. If this happens, a new template will need to be created by the initiator. (Note the exclusion for duplicate transactions above). 
     
  • This process is for external hires and rehires only. Internal hires (transfers) are not processed via TBH. 
     
  • As an HR User responsible for managing the TalentLink application, once you change the status for an external administrative hire to “Hired/Initiate Onboarding”, it is helpful to check in PAC the following day to see that the draft template appears. Note that documents do not import from TalentLink into PAC and there are also additional documents not in TalentLink required. Please coordinate with the initiator(s) in your department to confirm the draft is there and that all documents are gathered for hire/rehire.

Where Can I Access Training Materials?
Please review the PAC TBH TalentLink Integration Web-Based Training Module video.

Where do I go if I have questions?
If you have any questions, please contact the HR Service Center.

System Updates

  • U.S. Date Format - Beginning Monday, August 19, TalentLink will display dates in the month, day and year format (e.g., Aug 16, 2019).  This change will occur throughout the system, including on the offer letter templates

  • New “Notes” Section on the Offer Card - You can now add notes on the Offer Card for approvers. This is particularly important if you are offering a sign-on bonus, relocation reimbursement or other benefits. You should use this field to indicate any details being offered to the finalist that are outside of the normal salary.

  • Integration with Template-Based Hire (TBH) - Beginning next Friday, August 23, applicant and position data from TalentLink will feed into PeopleSoft (PAC) and create a draft TBH that will appear on all department initiators Hire/Rehire Employee page. The TBH will be created once the applicant’s application status is moved to “Hired/Initiate Onboarding”.

    IMPORTANT: You may put an external applicant in the “Hired/Initiate Onboarding” status in TalentLink (if the background check has been cleared) on Thursday, August 22, but if you initiate TBHs, please do not create any on that Thursday for the external applicant as it will result in duplicate TBHs in PAC. The draft TBH will be created and appear for you on Friday, August 23 through the TalentLink feed into PAC. More information and guidance will be sent next week to PAC users along with a training video.

    The following information will be sent to PAC from TalentLink.

    • Effective Date of Hire or Rehire
    • New Hire Form data (this is the form the applicant completes at the time of accepting the offer and includes social security number, legal name, home address, etc.)
    • Position data (e.g. Position Number, Title, Department, etc.)
    • Salary 

      This feed from TalentLink to PAC will only apply to external applicants (new hires/rehires) who complete the New Hire Form. A paper Personnel Action Form (PAF) will still need to be completed if the applicant is internal (i.e., transfer). In addition, please note that documents from TalentLink required to process a hire (application, resume, offer letter and offer card) will not feed into PAC automatically and will still need to be attached to the TBH. 

Reminders

Please click the blue ‘Pre-Populate Req Details’ button when creating a Requisition. This will ensure the REQUIRED details from the Requisition are included on every posting. It is extremely important that this is consistently done.

System Updates

  • Position Management Requests - HRPC and CUIMC Operations will no longer decline Job Description approval in the following situations:

    • New/Revised Title Exceeds Maximum Number of Characters (30)
      • Instead of declining and sending back, title will be shortened for you.
    • Effective Date of Position Number(s) is Not Provided
      • Instead of declining and sending back, one of the following will happen:
        • If the request is to update the Position Number, they will use the date of the request as the Effective Date.

        • If the request is for a new Position Number, the first day of the current month will be used as the Effective Date. If the date used ends up not fitting the timeframe you need, you will need to submit a request to change the date through TalentLink

  • FLSA Status - the FLSA status (Exempt or Non-Exempt) for a Position Number has been added to the PAC information that is provided in the Position Number blue box.

  • Grade and Regular/Temporary - these two fields have been added to the Offer Card.

  • Internal Candidate Language on Postings - there is a now a Yes/No question on the Requisition that asks if an internal candidate has been identified. If you select yes, then after clicking on the “Pre-Populate Req Details” blue button, the standard internal candidate language will appear in the advertising text so you will not have to add it yourself. 

Please keep these in mind when using the system:

  • Always click the blue “Pre-Populate Req Details” button on your Requisitions so required details are listed on top of every job posting.
     
  • On the Job Description when selecting the ‘Type of Action,’ use:
    • New - when creating a position that does not currently exist in your School or Department
    • Replacement – is used when an employee vacates a position in your School and/or Department.  The same position classification is posted to replace the vacancy.  (If the duties of the position have changed to the extent that the primary duties and responsibilities no longer match the classification for the current title, or the role will differ from those of the former employee to the extent that the position may no longer be correctly classified the department should request a new or revised job description for evaluation.) *Keep in mind the “JD Approval” approval process should be utilized for Replacements.
    • Addition to Complement – when you are adding an additional Position with the exact same position attributes (title, grade, hours, etc.) of an existing position. *Keep in mind both Position Reports To and Location can be updated via Manager Self-Service after creation.
    • Update Job Description (no posting) – when you are updating the position attributes and job description for a current incumbent and do not intend to post the position.
    • Update Job Description (posting) – when you are updating the attributes and job description to post the position.
  • If using the Notes tab to add a note to a Job Description or Requisition, don’t forget to select “Email this note to” and select the user that should receive the email. If this is not done, the individual may not know you have added a note.

Training

Completing the following online training is required for TalentLink system access. We recommend you view in the order listed. After you click on one of the links, you will be asked to sign in with your UNI and password. Once on the page, click the blue "Enroll" button to begin.

Now you can practice using the new TalentLink system:

This is a test system, and nothing entered into this version of TalentLink will be available in the live site.

Resources

Once you have completed the required training, fill out the TalentLink Access Request form to obtain access to the system.

Contact your Senior HR Business Partner if you have any questions.

There is always someone to help if you encounter a problem or have a question regarding TalentLink. The standard TalentLink support structure is outlined below. Follow this process to help you resolve any system issues.

  • Training Videos/Job Aids – provides guidance on how to perform necessary functions in TalentLink
  • Other Users – your colleagues may be able to answer many of your questions
  • Senior HR Business Partner – your Senior HR Business Partner can assist with system troubleshooting, training and configurations
  • Knowledge Portal – a single point of access for training and information on the system. Created by the vendor, the knowledge portal is not specific to Columbia, but full of applicable information. Can be accessed through TalentLink. Select "Knowledge Portal" from the information button on the top right
  • Multifactor authentication (DUO) – two factor sign-in authentication that protects systems with sensitive data. When logging into TalentLink, you will be asked to enter your UNI and password, and then confirm your access using DUO. If you do not know your UNI or password, go to http://uni.columbia.edu. For further assistance with DUO or your UNI and password, please contact the CUIT Service Desk at 212-854-1919 or email [email protected].