Happy Friday, Kenton County team members!
In this month's edition of the "Kenton County Chronicles," we have an explainer on what you need to know ahead of our upcoming payroll transition to UKG. As always this edition will be available on the Employee Portal online, so if you have questions as the transition occurs please feel free to refer back to it.
Let's jump in.
Five things to know about the changes coming to UKG
There’s a big change coming this month as we fully transition our payroll services to UKG. But before everything is final, we wanted to go through five common questions you might be asking about this transition.
What is UKG? And how do I access my account?
UKG is an international workforce and human resources management firm. In 2021, the Kenton County Fiscal Court switched to UKG to handle our timekeeping. Since then, we’ve been steadily transitioning more functions, including HR and now payroll, to provide a more streamlined service for our team members.
While some team members are familiar with UKG for their timekeeping, we know many are not. Be on the lookout for a separate email soon that includes your username and gives you step-by-step directions on how to log into your UKG account. Every Kenton County employee has a UKG account, even if you’ve never used it directly.
You can find a link to UKG via our Employee Portal or the link here.
What does our payroll transition mean for me?
Currently, forms related to team members’ finances are available through the Employee Access Center. That includes pay stubs, withholding documents, etc. Team members can also view their time off accrual information through the Employee Access Center.
The biggest change once we make this transition is that the Employee Access Center will NO longer exist. Instead, the information contained within it will now be included on your UKG account. Pay stubs? Yep. Time off balances? It has them. Tax documents? They're there.
Why are we making this change?
Currently, team members must be on a Kenton County network to use the Employee Access Center. We know that’s just not realistic for many of our team members whose jobs require them to be on the go.
UKG, in contrast, provides security improvements and greater access by not requiring you be in the office. This means Kenton County employees can see and amend their information wherever they are.
We also felt it was important to streamline things for our employees by creating a one-stop shop for all your needs.
How do I change my information?
Life happens, and things change. A benefit of UKG is that updating your personal information is easy.
Here’s a breakdown of some common changes:
Direct deposit, name/martial status and personal information
To amend any of these items, you follow the same steps.
- After logging into your UKG account, click on the three lines located in the top left corner of your screen to pop out the hamburger menu
- Once your full menu has popped up, click on “My HR,” the fourth item on the list. After that tab has appeared, you’ll then click “HR Actions,” the first item under My HR.
- Once you’ve clicked HR Actions, you’ll be taken to a new screen, where you can easily amend your direct deposit, name/marital status or your personal information.
Withholding
- To change your withholding information, you will once again start with clicking on the three lines in the top left corner of your screen. This time, however, instead of hitting “My HR,” you’ll select “My Pay”
- Once you’ve hit My Pay, you’ll select “Forms (Withholding)."
- After selecting Forms (Withholding), you’ll then select “add new” where you’ll be prompted to change either your federal or state withholding information. One thing to note is that UKG will automatically default to the state connected to your home address.
- Do you live in Ohio or Indiana? Historically, Kenton County team members that do not live in Kentucky have had to manually manage their own income tax payments to their state. With UKG, that's no longer the case. State taxes will now be withheld for all Kentucky, Ohio and Indiana team members, regardless of their state of residency.
How do I check my information?
We recognize two commonly checked items on the Employee Access Center are pay stubs and time off balances. In UKG, managing both is easy. Here’s how you do it:
Pay stubs
- Start by clicking the three lines on your screen’s top left corner.
- Once the menu appears, you’ll select “My Pay.”
- Under My Pay, you’ll be able to pick “Pay Stubs” to view your most recent one.
A few things to note about viewing your pay stubs:
- You will not be able to view your pay stubs until we go through our first payroll period on UKG, which is set for April 25.
- UKG also will include some historic pay stubs, including all pay stubs for 2024.
- Pay stubs prior to 2024 will be added in the near future. In the interim, if you need a copy of an older pay stub and can no longer download it, please contact Karen Ritter, our payroll clerk, at Karen.Ritter@KentonCounty.Org.
Time off balances
- Start by clicking the three lines on your screen’s top left corner.
- Once the menu appears, you’ll select “My Time.” You’ll then select “Time Off” from the menu that appears. After which you’ll pick “Balances,” the third item on the next menu.
A quick note about your time off balances:
- UKG calculates your vacation and sick time based on your hiring anniversary, not the calendar year. As a result, your time will most likely appear differently than it did with the Employee Access Center. That’s OK. All your time is accounted for. However, if you are concerned something is not being calculated correctly, please contact Karen Ritter, our payroll clerk, at Karen.Ritter@KentonCounty.Org.
- Your time off balance in UKG also automatically subtracts any hours for time off on your current time sheet, or time off requests that have been approved.
Meet our April employee spotlight
Kyle Wallace is the lead detective for the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force Program (ICAC) at the Kenton County Police Department. Wallace works tirelessly to investigate cases of child exploitation and bring perpetrators to justice.
Learn more about him here.
Have HR questions? She's got answers
The Kenton County human resources team recently added a new face to its roster. Meet Lauren Heck.
Lauren is a Campbell County native, who graduated from Northern Kentucky University in 2023 with a human resource management degree and finance minor.
Some fun facts about her include that she coaches club volleyball and has a cat named Gretchen.
Want to connect with Lauren? Her email is Lauren.Heck@KentonCounty.Org and you can find her on LinkedIn here.
Team accomplishments: Recent celebrations from Kenton County
Kenton County team members recognized by Independence
This month, two team members from the Kenton County Emergency Communications Center, Missy Eddy (middle) and Julie White (second right), were recognized by city of Independence for their service.
In January, Eddy guided a woman and her children to safety during a domestic call which was highly volatile and rapidly evolving. As Eddy worked with the caller, White stepped in to quickly dispatch police officers, relaying critical information so they could assess the situation and make sound decisions. Due to their quick and thorough action, officers were able to intervene quickly and save the lives of the innocent family members inside.
KCPD sergeant graduates from FBI training
Congratulations to Sergeant Aaron Schihl of the Kenton County Police Department on his recent graduation from the FBI National Academy.
Launched in 1935, the National Academy offers 10 weeks of advanced communication, leadership and fitness training for law enforcement officials throughout the United States. Schihl was one of 197 officers to graduate in the program's 289th session.
Team Member Milestones
The Kenton County Detention Center celebrated the six-month milestone for team members, including:
- Caylee Schadler, home incarnation officer
- Matthew Dunn, deputy
- Sydney Mueller, booking officer
Meanwhile, the Fiscal Court approved two new hires and one promotion.
New hires
- Lauren Heck, HR generalist/recruiter, administration
- Brennan Scott, parks technician, Kenton County Parks & Recreation
Promotions
- Shane McQueary, Fleet Services office manager, Kenton County Public Works
What's Happening Fiscal Court
In March, the Kenton County Fiscal Court awarded Schrudde & Zimmerman the contract for the fourth phase of renovations to the Historic Independence Courthouse. As you may know, we've spent the past few years updating the courthouse to make it a more user-friendly space. The fourth (and final) phase of our renovations will overhaul the building's lobby, add bathrooms and make improvements to the Kenton County Clerk's Office and PVA offices.
The Fiscal Court also endorsed a memorandum of understanding backing Northern Kentucky Works, a workforce development initiative to develop and oversee workforce policy and initiatives across Northern Kentucky while partnering with the region’s employers, educational institutions and other agencies to implement strategies that specifically address workforce challenges. This initiative is in partnership with Boone County, Campbell County and the Northern Kentucky Area Development District.
Day in the Life: Office of the Treasurer
In March, we celebrated the work of our team in the treasury department with the third installment of our "Day in the Life" series.
Watch the newest episode on Facebook here.
Thank you Bryan Norton and the entire treasury team for your participation.
Next up: Kenton County Animal Services