Overview
Rotageek & Iris have partnered to bring together two best of breed solutions. IRIS Cascade HRi is a flexible solution that covers everything from core HR functionality to integrated payroll, recruitment, training and talent management. And now with the integration into the Rotageek scheduling, time & attendance, and leave & absence solution, managing your workforce is seamless and stress-free.
Rotageek and Iris have been integration partners since 2021, and Iris became a reseller of the full Rotageek solution in 2022. Rotageek forms part of the Iris HR Marketplace.
The Integration
Rotageek & Cascade have 3 integration points to enable seamless transfer of data between the solutions:
1. Employee: New joiners, changers and leavers are managed in Cascade, and the data is synced to Rotageek.
2. Leave & absence: Requests for leave & absence can be managed in either platform, and approved leave is sent to the other solution.
3. Timesheets: The hours to be paid by element are approved in Rotageek, and then sent to Cascade payroll by an authorised user.
More information about the 3 integration points can be found within this document. And for more information about the Rotageek solution, including demo recordings and a full feature list, check out the Rotageek x Iris page (here).
For support articles about the Cascade solution, please refer to IRIS customer Support.
Employee records
Employees will complete all onboarding, changes and offboarding within Cascade, and the data relevant for workforce management will be sent to Rotageek through the integration where employee records will be created or updated.
Method of integration
● Flat file via SFTP
Frequency of integration
● Daily overnight as standard, but more frequently by request
Which employee records are included in the integration from Cascade to Rotageek?
● The data is filtered to only send employees using Rotageek. The customer will need to specify the criteria in Cascade for an employee to be included in the integration.
● Employee records need to have an active Job & Salary record, and holiday entitlement, or will not be included.
Data included in the integration?
● Employee ID
● First name
● Surname
● Known by
● Date of birth
● Email address
● Position
● Start date
● Contracted hours
● Pay effective date
● Pay rate
● Primary location
● Annual leave allowance
● Leave accrual rate
● Classification
● Employment end date
● Secondary ID
Data excluded in the integration?
● Skills & competencies
● Working patterns
● Training records
● Multiple post assignments
● Annualised hours
● Custom fields created in Cascade
● Applicant information from ATS solution
Frequently asked questions
Can I update an employee’s ID number?
If an employee changes their Employee ID this must also be changed in both Rotageek and Cascade before the next HR file is sent otherwise it will create another employee in Rotageek.
If my team has annualised hours, how do I access reporting on their progress throughout the year?
The Iris Professional Services team can create reporting about annualised hour usage and balance through the data already sent to Cascade through the timesheet integration.
Managing leave in Cascade
Below is information for your consideration for when leave is requested and approved within Cascade. Your Implementation Manager will work with you to determine the best solution for your team.
Benefits of mastering leave in Cascade
● If not all employees will be using Rotageek for scheduling, then all employees will be using the same solution for leave requests & approvals.
● If you’ve been using Cascade for requesting and approving leave historically, there is no re-training or change management required.
● Cascade supports open-ended leave, whilst Rotageek does not.
● Rotageek can only support fixed leave start dates across an organisation. For example, if annual leave resets on each employee’s unique anniversary date, leave will need to be mastered in Cascade.
● All leave types, including maternity, paternity and adoption leave can be managed directly in Cascade, and do not need to be manually entered in Rotageek.
Drawbacks of mastering leave in Cascade
● Any cancelled or deleted leave in Cascade would not flow through to Rotageek and would therefore need to be manually removed.
● If managers need to take scheduling action immediately when leave is entered (e.g. finding cover with a gap shift if someone calls in sick), there will be a delay from when the leave is entered in Cascade to when it appears in Rotageek.
● Cascade only supports leave in AM/PM/Full Day, whilst Rotageek supports leave in AM/PM/Full Day, or in specific timeframes (e.g. 09:00 - 11:00, 2 hours).
Method of integration
● Flat file via SFTP
Frequency of integration
● Daily overnight as standard, but more frequently by request
What leave records are included in the integration from Cascade to Rotageek?
● Approved leave records in the last 7 days
● All future approved leave records
● All absence categories
● The leave reasons for each request
● The file has a set start and end time for every absence, this would be all day or AM/PM
Which leave records will be rejected in Rotageek?
● Any employee IDs which do not exist in Rotageek
● Any records with a leave type that does not exist in Rotageek
Data included in the integration?
● Employee ID
● Leave start date & time
● Leave end date & time
● Leave type
● Leave duration (hours)
● Leave reason
Data excluded in the integration?
● Cancelled leave
● Deleted leave
● Leave notes
● Attachments
● Former employees, unless requested in which case we’ll send their leave from the last 30 days
Frequently asked questions
What if I need to add a new leave type after the integration is live?
The leave types in Rotageek and Cascade need to exactly match between the solutions and are not synced as part of the integration. Be sure to create any new leave types in both systems before the next time the integration is triggered to avoid errors.
What working patterns are created if leave is managed in Cascade?
When absence is mastered in Cascade, the working calendar will be set up in Cascade and used to determine when absence can be booked and payroll calculations. Working patterns can be viewed in Cascade via an employee’s absence planner screen or the Working Days screen.
Where there is no set working pattern (e.g. fully flexible 40 hrs, over 5 days of 7 days) then no Working Pattern is created in Cascade. Managers can set employee’s availability on the People page in Rotageek, as required.
How can employees book future absences in Cascade with no Working Pattern?
If your employee is booking absences in the future, then employees with no set working pattern on Cascade can book off whole days or part days. It also allows them to select their non-working days when booking a whole week’s leave.
As the absence data is passing from Cascade to Rotageek, the manager can see those absence days and the days marked as non-working days when planning in that employee’s shifts.
What happens if an employee who is fully flexible, and therefore doesn’t have a Working Pattern in Cascade, books 2 days of annual leave rather than a whole week?
If an employee is booking 2 days leave within a week, they do not need to specify their non-working days, unless they would like to. If they do not specify this, the manager will schedule them for 3 other days in that scheduled week.
What happens if there is a shift in Rotageek that overlaps with leave that’s been approved in Cascade?
The overlapping shift will be moved to a gap shift automatically. The manager can choose if to broadcast the gap out to be filled by another employee within Rotageek.
If an employee has a 4-hour AM annual leave request approved in Cascade, what times will be shown as annual leave in Rotageek?
An AM partial day of leave is sent to Rotageek as 00:00 - 12:00 with a duration of 4 hours, whilst a PM partial day of leave is sent to Rotageek as 12:00 - 24:00 with a duration of 4 hours. If the start and end time needs to be updated to a more specific period, it’ll need to be manually updated in Rotageek.
Managing leave in Rotageek
Below is information for your consideration for when leave is requested and approved within Rotageek. Your Implementation Manager will work with you to determine the best solution for your team.
Benefits of mastering leave in Rotageek
● If managers need to take scheduling action immediately when leave is entered (e.g. finding cover with a gap shift if someone calls in sick), there is no delay and can be actioned directly on the schedule.
● Rotageek supports leave in AM/PM/Full Day, or specific timeframes (e.g. 09:00 - 11:00, 2 hours), whilst Cascade only supports leave in AM/PM/Full Day,
Drawbacks of mastering leave in Rotageek
● Regardless if you choose to manage leave in Rotageek, customers still also need to add maternity, paternity and adoption leave directly in Cascade. This is due to legislative calculations that prohibit these leave types being imported from Rotageek.
Method of integration
● Flat file via SFTP
Frequency of integration
● Daily overnight as standard, but more frequently by request
What records are included in the integration from Rotageek to Cascade?
● Approved leave records in the last 45 days
● All future approved leave records
● Cancelled leave records
Which records will be rejected in Cascade?
● Any employee IDs which do not exist in Cascade
● Any records with a leave type that does not exist in Cascade
Data included in the integration?
● Employee ID
● Date
● Leave category
● Leave reason
● Leave duration (days)
● Leave duration (minutes)
● AM / PM
● Notes
● Working or non-working day
Data excluded in the integration?
● Attachments
● Any maternity, paternity or adoption leave records
Frequently asked questions
What if I need to add a new leave type after the integration is live?
The leave categories and reasons in Rotageek and Cascade need to exactly match between the solutions and are not synced as part of the integration. Be sure to create any new leave categories and reasons in both systems before the next time the integration is triggered to avoid errors.
Does an employee still need a leave allowance within Cascade if it’s being managed in Rotageek?
Yes. The employee still needs a holiday entitlement for when the sync happens and leave is passed back into Cascade.
What happens if the leave had a note or document attached and is cancelled?
If notes or additional documents have been attached to the absence (e.g. a sick note), the absence will remain on Cascade but the duration will be reduced to 0. This allows for a manual check to be carried out and for the manager to remove the leave.
What happens if I extend an employee’s existing leave?
The integration checks against existing leave records and amends it, when necessary.
For fully flexible employees without a Working Pattern in Cascade, how are working patterns managed if leave is managed in Rotageek?
For employees without a Work Pattern in Cascade, each employee’s Work Pattern is dynamically updated based on the shifts and leave in Rotageek.
Can I still use return to work workflows in Cascade if I manage my leave in Rotageek?
Yes, but they’re triggered through a bulk process rather than being triggered by each leave event. Be sure to discuss setting up the bulk trigger process with your implementation consultant at Iris during the implementation process.
Timesheets
If using Cascade for payroll, the approved timesheets can be pushed to Cascade to remove the need to manually export and import spreadsheets.
Method of integration
● Flat file via SFTP
Frequency of integration
● When the Trigger Payroll button is clicked on the timesheet summary page in Rotageek. They require the Payroll Admin permission in Rotageek to have access to this button.
● Triggering payroll can be done weekly even if your payroll is processed monthly, although you could trigger it monthly if you’d prefer.
ABOVE: Example of the Trigger Payroll button within Rotageek’s timesheet summary page.
Which timesheet records are included in the data to Cascade?
● Records within the selected date range
● Record must be active
● Record status must be approved
Which timesheet records will be rejected in Cascade?
● Any employee IDs which do not exist in Cascade
● Any records with a pay element that does not exist in Cascade
Data included in the integration
● Employee ID
● Date
● Pay element
● Duration of hours worked by pay element
Data excluded in the integration
● Outstanding and signed-off records
● Historic changes to previously approved timesheet records
● Leave, because this is either done directly in Cascade or managed through the leave integration
Frequently asked questions
Can there be multiple pay elements attributed to a single day?
Yes, Rotageek will send the duration of hours by pay element regardless if they’re from 1 or more shifts.
Once I click ‘Trigger Payroll’, how long until the data is available in Cascade?
The transferred data is collected by Cascade on a schedule and will not appear instantly. This can take 30 minutes for the data to appear.
What if I need to add a new pay element after the integration is live?
The pay elements in Rotageek and Cascade need to exactly match between the solutions and are not synced as part of the integration. Be sure to create any new pay elements in both systems before the next time the integration is triggered to avoid errors.
Can I resend the timesheet data multiple times?
Timesheet data will be ignored by Cascade if sent multiple times. A check to see if the existing employee, date and pay code combination already exists and is rejected if it already exists, regardless if the hours are different.
What if I need to make changes to timesheet data after it's been sent to Cascade?
Any changes to timesheet data after a file has been triggered will need to be manually changed in both Cascade and Rotageek.