The new Smartsheet University Staff and State Classified Transaction Center, includes step-by-step instructions on how to accurately enter requests for:
This page also provides guidance on how to track your requests using Smartsheet: Dynamic View and how to interpret the status of your request based on the “Current Status” field.
University Staff & Classified: Pre-Offer Step 1 (Salary)
Dynamic View - Pre-Offer Step 1
University Staff & Classified: Pre-Offer Step 2 (Offer Letter)
University Staff & Classified: Reference Check Request Form
Recording – Smartsheet Transaction Center – SOM Session – 2.22.2024
Recording – Smartsheet Transaction Center – General Session – 2.22.2024
The Smartsheet Transaction Center was created to process University Staff and State Classified transactions. A request will be denied if submitted with a Faculty, PRA, Retirees, Temporary, etc. position number. The HRBP will be referred to the appropriate resource on the HR Operations Team (see contact sheet below).
Employment Group | HR Operations |
Faculty | hr.faculty-request@cuanschutz.edu |
PRA | hr.pra@cuanschutz.edu |
PERA Retirees | hr.staffworkingretiree@cuanschutz.edu |
Temporary | hr.newtemp@cuanschutz.edu |
General Contact for HR Ops | human.resources@cuanschutz.edu |
For consolidated units, it is recommended that HRBPs review the designated/primary Department ID and location before starting a Smartsheet Transaction Center Request. At this time, this process will be reserved for University Staff and State Classified Anschutz Medical Campus positions only. Please reach out to your Anschutz Classification Consultant with any questions.
If you did not receive an automated email from the Smartsheet system and cannot see the request in your Dynamic View, please get in touch with your assigned Classification or Talent Acquisition Consultant.
Routing issues are normally connected to inaccurate email addresses, which Central HR can correct. Before submitting a request, it is highly recommended that HRBPs double-check the information entered in the “HRBP Contact Email” field for completeness and accuracy.
Yes, make sure when you are in the Dynamic View, you are signed into the service account within Smartsheets. If you log into Smartsheet with your CU Anschutz account and submit the transaction with a service account, it won’t show up in the transactions.
Once a transaction is completed, it will be greyed out in the Dynamic View. The transactions will stay greyed out on the Dynamic View for three months.
The Smartsheet Transaction Launch Center and 2LA Budget review and approval process will remain separate.
Yes, Process Flow Charts have been developed for both University Staff and Classified transactions.
University Staff Process Flow Chart (PDF)
Classified Process Flow Chart (PDF)
In addition, a Dynamic View and Transaction Status Guide has been developed and can assist with tracking ongoing Smartsheet requests.
Pre-Employment or search committee access POIs will still be entered and managed by the department HRBP.
The link Transaction Launch Center Request Form will not be password protected but will only be shared widely with HRBPs or linked on HRBP specific webpages.
No, HCM access changes are not expected as part of this rollout.
What do I need to do if an employee requests an equity review?
If you have questions about an equity review for an employee, please contact the Central HR Compensation team via email at hr.compensation@cuanschutz.edu
Yes, if the funding does not have an end date it doesn’t need to be included in the transaction submission.
For a Transaction Launch Center request, please contact your classification or talent acquisition consultant. They can cancel the request on your behalf.
For Pre-Hire Step #1 requests, please contact the appropriate HR Compensation team (Central or SOM) to cancel the request.
Central HR Compensation: hr.compensation@cuanschutz.edu
SOM HR Compensation: som.hr@ucdenver.edu
If the department is following the outlined processes (university staff and classified process workflows) and we have the information needed to process the transaction, below are the turnaround times for each transaction type.
Transaction Type | Turnaround Time |
Position Management | Modifying existing position numbers – 1 business day or less. |
Search | New searches are reviewed by the Classification team and then routed to the Talent Acquisition team for review and posting – 3 business days or less. |
Promotions and In-Range Adjustments | These are reviewed by the Classification team and then submitted to the Central HR Compensation team for review – 10 business days or less. |
Update Only | These are reviewed by the Classification team – 3 business days or less. |
Pre-Hire Step 1 | These are reviewed by the Talent Acquisition and Compensation (Central or SOM) team - 2-4 business days or less. |
Pre-Hire Step 2 | These are reviewed by the Talent Acquisition Team - 1 business day or less. |
For University Staff & Classified positions, Central HR will be assisting with creating new position numbers as part of the Smartsheet process. When entering requests for Searches or Additional Hires (Appointment Type #1), HRBPs can request the creation of a new position and provide relevant information within the Transaction Center.
Below please find additional guidance on how job code changes can be requested. Note: Since a formal evaluation of a job description is required for a job code change, this code is currently not available on the Position Management Request Form.
If so, the Talent Acquisition Consultant assigned to the search will be able to update the Position Information record for you to match the Letter of Offer (Pre-Offer Step #2), once received.
If so, we can take care of a JCC change for you, as part of the Search or Appointment Type Transaction Center Request.
If so, the Classification team would be happy to formally evaluate the Job Description again as part of an Update Only Transaction Center Request.
Before entering a transaction through the Smartsheet system, please email your Classification Consultant. A demotion may be processed as an “Update Only” or “Salary Adjustment” request. Individualized guidance on how to enter the request will be provided once a demotion has been formally reviewed and approved by Employee Performance & Development and Classification.
What if I need to use a code that is not listed on the Position Management Request Form?
Please reach out to your assigned Classification Consultant for additional support and guidance.
If a department would like to back-date a position management change and the effective date is within the same payroll cycle, a request can be submitted like normal through the Transaction Launch Center.
Inquiries that involve back-dating a row beyond the current payroll cycle should be emailed to your Classification Consultant and the HCM Corrections Team at hcm.hrcorrections@cuanschutz.edu
As part of this new process, Central HR will assist with a limited number of funding distribution changes related to:
All other funding changes will still be completed by the Department or HRBP.
All Template Based Transactions (TBTs), including pay rate changes, will still be entered by the Department HRBP.
If the Department requires approval assistance with Classified or University Staff TBTs, please forward a copy of your HCM Notification (with a copy of your request URL and ID) to hr.recruiting@cuanschutz.edu
Note: Entering a TBT will not automatically notify relevant HR approvers. To expedite processing, please make sure you notify the HR Recruiting service account ASAP if you require assistance with approval.
Yes, Classification or Talent Acquisition will confirm the FLSA status of a role prior to entering and approving Position Information Changes and NPPs (i.e., Searches, Appointment Types, Promotions/Reallocations, Updates Only, etc.).
Any changes to the FLSA status will be communicated to the department HRBP.
No, for an open rank role, the talent acquisition consult reviews the position data when the Step 2 letter of offer is submitted. If the level hired is different than how the position was created, then the consultant will adjust the level or the role to match the hire. This is only for open rank recruitments.
If you have multiple entries (ex. the team has a new supervisor/manager) you are welcome to upload an excel sheet with the information and position numbers rather than entering them individually. At the end of the request form you will find an option to upload documents. There is only one Smartsheet notification for the group.
If you have multiple entries (ex. the team has a new supervisor/manager) you are welcome to upload an excel sheet with the information and position numbers rather than entering each position individually. Please type ‘see attached’ in the position number field and use the upload document option at the bottom of the request to attach your spreadsheet. This will let us know that there are multiple submissions within the one transaction. Please note, you will only receive one submission and approval notification for the group
For searches, it is highly recommended that HRBPs confirm that all search committee members have taken the required Skillsoft Training and have access to our applicant tracking system (CU Careers). More information can be found on the CU Systems website.
If you are going to hire additional hires that were not included in the initial submission, we would not need to adjust the form. Just let your consultant know that more hires are coming so they are aware. We won't close the recruitment until we get the search matrix and the applicants are all dispositioned.
If the department wants to close out the advertisements on a requisition, they must notify their Talent Acquisition Consultant. The Consultant will then remove the advertisements. One thing to note is if there is an apply-by date listed in the advertisement if you send the request before the date indicated in the job posting, we will need to wait until that date. With the new Equal Pay for Equal Work Act guidance, job postings should have an apply-by date listed so applicants are aware, and we need to honor that date by leaving the posting open so potential applicants can submit their application.
No, it will still be the same process in CU Careers. The new Smartsheet Transaction Center does not impact CU Careers. Departments will receive a ‘posted’ email with a link to the job posting once it’s live in CU Careers.
Before entering a transaction through the Smartsheet system, please email your Classification Consultant. Requests of this nature may be processed differently depending on the desired changes (pay, job code, etc.) and time sensitivity. Once an inquiry is received, your Classification Consultant can provide individualized guidance on how to enter the request.
For time-sensitive counter offers, please make sure the following resources are available in the original inquiry:
* If the counter-offer is internal, please include this in your email as we can access the offer through Smartsheet.
No, School of Medicine Departments will now use the Smartsheet Transaction Center for all University Staff and Classified promotion requests. Any promotions that require SOM HR Comp Approval will route to them through the new process.
Yes, HRBPs will still receive a “Posted” notification with relevant recruitment resource attachments when university staff or classified positions are posted.
Once a transaction has been submitted the HRBP will get a read receipt of the transaction that has been submitted. They will receive another read receipt once the transaction has been completed with a summary of what has been completed. There will no longer be an HR Exempt email for transactions, the read receipts will take the place of that email. If the transaction is a search the department will still receive a posted email which will include relevant search information and a live link to the posting in CU Careers.
What types of notifications will I get from the Pre-Hire Step 1 Process?
Once a request has been submitted the HRBP will get a read receipt of the transaction via email. They will receive another notification when the Pre-Hire Step 1 has been reviewed and completed by HR Compensation. This email will contain the rate or range that can be verbally offered to your finalist. HRBPs can track the progress of the Pre-Hire Step 1 at any time using their Dynamic View.
Questions can be directed to the appropriate HR Compensation Team (Central or SOM).
Q1: What is an HR Transaction Center ID and where can I find them?
The HR Transaction Center ID is an individualized code assigned to all requests submitted through the Smartsheet Transaction Center (the request system for University Staff and Classified Searches, Additional Hires, Promotions, Updates Only and Position Management Changes). IDs can be found on the Smartsheet Transaction Center Approval Notification (email) or in your HRBP Dynamic View.
Quick Tip:We recommend keeping all Smartsheet Transaction Center Approval Notifications for future reference.
Q2: What if I cannot find a specific HR Transaction Center ID?
Please contact your assigned Talent Acquisition Consultant. We can help you locate your ID and/or create an ID for you.
Q3: What HR Transaction Center ID should I use for an Additional Hire (Appointment Type #1)?
For additional hires, please use the HR Transaction Center ID connected to the original Smartsheet Search request. This will ensure we have access to the original evaluation and competitive search details.
Q4: What does the field “HRBP Comments on Proposed Salary” mean?
This is an optional field where an HRBP can enter any context/additional information about the proposed salary being requested. This field can help the Compensation Consultant understand the department’s justification for their proposed salary. Some common elements that can be helpful for Compensation to know include, but are not limited to: recruitment challenges, unique experience/skills the candidate would bring to the position, the scope of the position compared to their potential peers, etc.
Q5: Other than the job description and candidate’s resume, what other documentation would be helpful for your review?
The job description and candidate's resume are the only required documents for our reviews. However, some departments like to include organizational charts, email threads, etc. that pertain to this particular position and/or the department as a whole.
Some departments like to include a document noting what education and experience they considered relevant to the position, to ensure Compensation and their school/dept are aligned in terms of counting qualifications. For this information, you can enter it in a document and attach, or, you may utilize the “HRBP Comments on Proposed Salary” section of the Step 1 Submission Form (see question above this question for more information).
Q6: Why are there two different teams reviewing requests? Which requests route to SOM Compensation versus Central Compensation?
The requests that route to SOM Compensation are positions that are:
Unique roles to School of Medicine, where SOM Compensation team has more experience and in-depth knowledge of the work and market.
95% or more of the University’s population in that Classification are within SOM, so larger AMC-equity review isn’t needed.
Any positions that require a full-campus review for internal equity require review and approval from Central Compensation. This is to ensure we are maintaining equity across campus for similar work performed in different schools/areas/departments.
SOM’s Compensation team reviews the following positions/classifications based on the routing rationale above:
Community Practice positions
ITAI within BioMed
RSCR, RSLR, and RSDC across SOM
Healthcare positions in Clinical Immunology
All other requests route to Central Compensation.
Recruiters will route each request to the correct Compensation team once your Step 1 request has been submitted.
Q7: How are salaries determined by Compensation?
Compensation approvals will always be within the salary range determined for that classification. Salary ranges can be found on our website on the salary range document (password protected). Salaries within the established salary range for that position/classification ensure we are being competitive with the external market.
To ensure we are being internally equitable, including complying with the Equal Pay for Equal Work Act, equity analyses are performed by Compensation at every stage of the Compensation process – from pre-offers to promotions.
These equity analyses ensure that employees are paid equitably compared to their peers. The definition of “peers” depends on the position, but it can vary from all employees in the same sub-family University-wide (ex: Admissions, Nursing, etc.), to those in the same title in a single school/department (ex: Program Assistants within the Business School). It depends on the nature of the position, but our goal is to be as thorough as possible and capture the employees’ peers as best as we can.
To measure equity, we determine the qualifications of each employee to the position. This includes measuring each employees’ education, internal experience at CU, and any external experience that is relevant to the CU position. This information provides insight into the qualifications of the employee and helps us determine what salary is equitable. Overall, an employee with higher education and/or experience receives a higher salary than an employee with lower/less education and/or experience.
If you have questions about a specific candidate/review, feel free to contact the Compensation Consultant for additional information.
Q8: If the salary approval comes back lower than we were looking for, or the candidate counters with a higher salary than what we got approval for, can we request a re-review? If so, what is needed to initiate that process?
Yes, for either scenario, you can request an amendment. To do so, please email Compensation with the candidate’s name, and any additional information/justification for the higher salary amount you are requesting. The more details and information you provide, the more precise Compensation can be in our review to determine an appropriate salary for the candidate.
Once you have emailed Compensation, please allow an additional 1-2 business days for Compensation to review. They will respond to your email with any updates/findings. If we are able to amend the salary range, we will notify you and adjust in Smartsheet accordingly, which will prompt a new email notification to be sent to the HRBP contacts. If we are unable to approve a new range, we will let you know why and will not adjust anything in Smartsheet.
Q9: The salary approval did not come back as high as we had hoped, including in the re-review. Do we have other options to improve our offer?
If your final candidate is an external candidate (not a current CU employee), you can utilize a non-base building recruitment incentive. This is a non-base payment that can increase the total compensation offered to the candidate.
If you would like to utilize a recruitment incentive, please tell your Recruiter, and they will work on including language for the incentive in the LOO.
SOM-only: SOM has developed incentive guidelines, where certain incentive amounts are approved based on the level of the position being offered. For this guidance, please visit the SOM Intranet site.
Q10: When should I contact my Recruiter, versus Compensation?
Any questions that pertain to selecting a candidate, minimum qualifications, and/or the posting itself should be routed to your Recruiter. The only questions that should route to Compensation are questions around the salary requested and/or approved for your selected candidate(s).
If you are unsure of who to contact, please contact your Recruiter first, and they will ensure your question is routed to the appropriate team.
If you need additional system support or have questions that are not currently covered in this guide, please contact: