Performance Management Program Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

"Missing from the pay system" situation

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Frequently Asked Questions

  • Some employees have tried to log into the Public Service Performance Management Application (PSPM App) and to access their PA but were unable to do so. What notification message did they receive?

    They received the following message: "Error TAPAUTH1002: PRI (or, HRMIS number if you are a member of the RCMP) - We are unable to find you in our directory. If you have joined public service recently - it can take up to two months before we receive data for new employees from the Regional Pay System. We receive data from the Regional Pay System & RCMP on monthly basis towards end of 3rd week of every month. Please try logging again towards beginning of following month".

  • Who is impacted by this situation?

    Employees who fall within the following categories (but not limited to those situations) are impacted by this situation are impacted: employees who have left or returned from leave (leave without pay, leave with income averaging, maternity/parental leave, term employees that show a termination line in their incumbent data or changes to incumbent status).

  • When managers try to access these employees’ PAs, what do they see in the PSPM App hierarchy tree?

    The managers see "missing from the pay system" next to the name of the direct reports impacted by the situation.

  • What is the issue?

    The PSPM App has always received downloads (data updates) from the Regional Pay System (RPS). When Phoenix launched in February 2016, the data updates from the RPS stopped. In March 2016 one data update was received that included information up to mid-February 2016.

    This means that since that time, any employee that has had any change to their incumbent data is not currently part of the active directory for the PSPM or CORS (Central On-Line Operating System) because the data updates have not been received.

    The "active directory" is the database composed of employees who are being paid a salary by the federal public service. Employees on leave without pay, maternity/parental leave, etc. are not part of this active directory because they receive their income from another source (employment insurance, disability insurance, etc.).

  • Has there been an update since March 2016?

    The expected updates to the data feed from Phoenix (April – August) took place on October 4, 2016.

    There continue to be updates required for September 2016 but IT has noted that the quality issues are substantial with the data, which may cause further delays.

    TBS will continue to pass on any update information as soon as we are informed.

    It is important to note that although this update will resolve PSPM issues for a great number of employees, there could be residual issues for some employees. This is an ongoing challenge that we hope to rectify with a return to regular monthly updates once all other pay related issues have been addressed.

    TBS expects to return to regular monthly updates in the near future. They will keep departments informed on the progress of the incumbent data updates.

  • Is it possible to get a list of employees who are "missing from the pay system"?

    The TBS PSPM App support team’s primary goal is to provide assistance on the daily functionality of the systems. Consequently, questions regarding lists of employees impacted by the delayed download are considered low priority at this time.

    However, managers and PSPM App administrators can follow these steps to see which employees are "missing from the pay system":

    • Log into the PSPM App.
    • Access the manager’s hierarchy tree to reveal his/her direct reports.
    • The ones who are impacted by the situation will show "missing from the pay system" next to their names.

    The PSPM App Administrator of the Branch or Region can access the entire hierarchy tree of the organization, starting with the Assistant Deputy Minister (ADM).

    The administrator must click on all managers, supervisors and team leaders to reveal the names of all the direct reports.

    Employees who are impacted by this situation will have "missing from the pay system" next to their names.

  • How do managers proceed to conduct the mid-year review for employees who are "missing from the pay system"?

    According to the TBS Directive on Performance Management, managers and employees are required to meet and discuss performance at mid-year.

    Managers are able to access their employees’ PA who are "missing from the pay system" and can print a copy for the discussion.

    Managers can document the PA in the PSPM App, rate the employee ("on track to meet expectations" or "need for improvement") and sign the agreement.

    In the future, when employees will be able to access their PA via the PSPM App, they will be in a position to input their comments and sign. The mid-year version of the PA will then show as "completed" and the year-end version will show as "in progress".

  • If managers are "missing from the pay system", what should they do?

    According to the TBS Directive on Performance Management, managers and employees are required to meet and discuss performance at mid-year.

    Unfortunately, managers who are "missing from the pay system" are unable to log into the PSPM App and are therefore unable to access their own PA or their direct reports’ PAs.

    Two options are being offered to allow managers to complete the mid-year exercise.

    1st option:

    The managers should:

    • Ask their employees to access and print their own PA (if they are not "missing from the pay system") for the mid-year discussion.
    • Hold the discussion with them.
    • Document their comments in an MS Word document.
    • Ask the employees to do the same.
    • When the situation is corrected, the managers will copy and paste their comments into the PSPM App, input the rating ("on track to meet expectations" or "need for improvement") and then sign the PA.
    • Ask their employees to input their comments into the PSPM App and to sign the PA. At this point, the mid-year version of the PA will show as "completed" and the year-end version will show as "in progress".
    • Note: if this option is selected, completion of these PAs will not count toward the mid-year completion rate. However, if the 2nd option (see below) is used, the PAs will count toward the mid-year completion rate.

    2nd option:

    The managers should:

    • Ask their employees to access and print their own PA (if they are not "missing from the pay system") for the mid-year discussions.
    • Hold the discussion with them.
    • Document their comments in an MS Word document.
    • Ask a PSPM App administrator to release their employees from the "My Employee List".
    • Ask their direct supervisor to claim them.
    • Ensure that the employees accept the request.
    • Ask their direct supervisor to copy and paste their comments into the PSPM App, input the rating ("on track to meet expectations" or "need for improvement") and sign the PA.
    • Ask their employees to input their comments and sign the PA. At this point, the mid-year version will show as "completed" and the year-end version will show as "in progress".
    • When the issue is resolved, managers will once again have access to their own PA and their employees’ PA. They should then ask their direct supervisor to release the employees so that the managers can claim them. Managers must ensure that the employees accept the request.
    • Note: if managers use this option, the completed PAs will count toward the mid-year completion rate. The 1st option will not.
  • What is a possible impact on the mid-year completion rate?

    The mid-year completion rate may decline due to this situation. According to TBS, a 2% variance could be expected. For our Department, this represents approximately 450 employees who could be "missing from the pay system".

    ESDC will continue to monitor closely the mid-year completion rate.

    Only PAs that are signed and completed via the PSPM App will count towards the mid-year completion rate.

    PAs done using a paper version will not be included in the mid-year completion rate as TBS or ESDC does not take them into account when they produce reports. However, managers and employees must still have the mid-year conversation as this is a requirement from the TBS Directive on Performance Management.

  • What is being done to correct the situation?

    Work is continuing towards validating, testing and the eventual update of data. It is expected to return to regular monthly updates in the near future.