ADP Workforce Now®

Compensation Learning
Guide

Participant Guide

Need support after training?

To exchange tips and best practices with fellow users, get on The
Bridge—an online community built exclusively for ADP clients.

EL722904_061824

Copyright © 2024. This content is owned by ADP, Inc. or its

licensors and is protected by U.S. and international copyright laws.
All rights reserved.
Compensation Learning Guide

Contents
Welcome! ...................................................................................................................... 2
How to Use This Guide................................................................................................. 2
Before You Begin ......................................................................................................... 2
Introduction to Compensation..................................................................................... 3
Overview ..................................................................................................................... 3
Before You Begin ........................................................................................................ 3
Compensation Event Process ..................................................................................... 4
Stages and Descriptions ............................................................................................. 4
Roles and Responsibilities .......................................................................................... 5
Setting Up a Compensation Event .............................................................................. 6
Overview ..................................................................................................................... 6
Instructions, Part 1: Enter Event Details ...................................................................... 6
Instructions, Part 2: Define Budget .............................................................................. 7
Instructions, Part 3: Add Employees ........................................................................... 7
Instructions, Part 4: Select Managers .......................................................................... 8
Instructions, Part 5: Define Guideline Settings ............................................................ 9
Instructions, Part 6: Roll Out the Compensation Event .............................................. 11
Accessing Event Tasks on the Compensation Dashboard ..................................... 12
Overview ................................................................................................................... 12
The Compensation Worksheet .................................................................................. 13
Overview ................................................................................................................... 13
Making Award Recommendations and Submitting Worksheets ................................. 14
Reviewing Worksheets and Resolving and Finalizing Recommendations ................. 15
Closing the Compensation Event .............................................................................. 16
Overview ................................................................................................................... 16
Instructions ............................................................................................................... 16
Creating and Distributing Customized Compensation Notices ............................... 17
Overview ................................................................................................................... 17
Creating Notices ....................................................................................................... 17
Distributing Notices to Employees ............................................................................. 17
Accessing Additional Learning Resources .............................................................. 18
The Bridge ................................................................................................................ 18
Online Help ............................................................................................................... 18

1
Compensation Learning Guide  RETURN TO TABLE OF CONTENTS

Welcome!
Together, we will ensure that you:
• Become comfortable with navigating in ADP Workforce Now®.
• Learn how to set up and manage compensation events.
• Identify learning resources.

How to Use This Guide

You’ll use this guide as a reference while you are getting familiar with ADP
Workforce Now. You may not need to complete all the activities in this guide.
Your ADP associate will help you focus on the tasks that apply to your company.

Before You Begin

Log on your ADP Workforce Now solution:
1. Access ADP Workforce Now at https://workforcenow.adp.com.
2. Log on using your username and password.

2
Compensation Learning Guide  RETURN TO TABLE OF CONTENTS

Introduction to Compensation
Overview
ADP Workforce Now Compensation provides you with the ability to automate
compensation award activity by providing you with a simplified way to set up
and manage individual events. Practitioners set up and monitor compensation
events; managers make and submit award recommendations using worksheets
that include budgetary and performance-related guidelines.
Examples of Compensation Awards
• Merit Increase
• Across-the board increase
• Cost-of-living adjustment
• Bonus
• Lump sum

Before You Begin

Before setting up a compensation event, you will need to have some information
entered in ADP Workforce Now. The following checklist can streamline this
process.

Item Detail
Compensation Compensation types are associated with a compensation event and
types mapped to an earnings code to process the compensation event
correctly in Payroll.
Access Participants in the compensation event must be set up with the
Permissions necessary permissions to access the people and actions required.
settings
Approval Process Approval process activities can define who should approve or be
activities notified of a compensation event, or if exceptions or escalations are
needed. An activity is only necessary if someone other than the
practitioner should be involved in the approval process.
Compensation Compensation change reasons tie a reason to any pay rate change in
Change Reasons ADP Workforce Now.
validation table
Rating scales Use rating scales to make award recommendations in the
compensation event, if applicable.
Pay Grade Pay grades must be set up if you would like to create a
validation table compensation event that includes a percent in range or as a
guideline for managers to use when making recommendations. Pay
grades are optional.
Note: It is important that Pay Grades are correct and up to date
before a Compensation Event is rolled out.
Pay information Ensure employee pay information is accurate when a compensation
event bases an award on salary amount.

Some of the setup items listed are performed during the initial ADP Workforce
Now implementation.

3
Compensation Learning Guide  RETURN TO TABLE OF CONTENTS

Compensation Event Process

ADP Workforce Now Compensation supports the implementation and
management of a compensation event through a process of up to six stages. As
many as four organizational roles take part in the process.

Stages and Descriptions

The following table describes each stage of the compensation event.

Stage Description
1 Set Up and Roll Out Compensation Event: You set up the compensation event
and, when ready, roll it out to your organization.
2 Make Award Recommendations and Submit Worksheets: You or the lowest
level manager responsible for awarding compensation use the compensation
worksheet to make award recommendations and submit the recommendations
to the next-level manager for approval.
3 Make Award Recommendations and Submit/Reject Subordinate
Worksheets: The next-level manager makes award recommendations for direct
reports and approves or rejects the recommendations submitted by the
subordinate manager.
4 Review Worksheets, Resolve Conflicts, and Finalize Recommendations:
You review all submitted worksheets, resolve any identified conflicts, and
finalize the recommendations.
5 Approve Compensation Event: The approving authority reviews all submitted
recommendations and approves or rejects the compensation event. If rejected,
you receive notification that the compensation event requires additional review
before it can be submitted again.
6 Close Compensation Event: You close the compensation event by processing
the pay rate updates and distributing notices to employees who are included in
the event.

4
Compensation Learning Guide  RETURN TO TABLE OF CONTENTS

Roles and Responsibilities

The following table defines the responsibilities of each role involved in a
compensation event.

Role Responsibility
Approving This role is optional and refers to whomever in your organization has the
Authority final authority to approve a compensation event. The approving authority
might be the vice president of human resources or finance, the CEO, the
president, or a division head, for instance.
Practitioner The practitioner allocates the budget to managers who are responsible for
making compensation recommendations, from the highest-level manager to
the lowest-level manager. When appropriate, the practitioner also submits
all compensation recommendations to the approving authority for final
approval. Finally, the practitioner initiates the process to update employee
pay rates.
Manager’s The manager’s manager is the next-level manager above the manager who is
Manager making compensation recommendations. This person can approve the
recommendations, send them back to the original manager, or make changes
to those recommendations.
Manager The manager is the person with the designated responsibility for making
compensation recommendations for specific employees. Most often this
person is the employees’ direct supervisor or manager.

You can define an approval process activity for your compensation event
approval levels. For more information on approval processes, access online help
or The Bridge.

5
Compensation Learning Guide  RETURN TO TABLE OF CONTENTS

Setting Up a Compensation Event

Overview
Once a compensation event is set up, you can access and monitor the event from
the Compensation Dashboard. An event includes review and recommendation
periods, payout details, budget, impacted employees and managers, and
guidelines.

Instructions, Part 1: Enter Event Details

Starting Point: Process > Talent > Compensation Dashboard

Step Action
1 Select Add Event.
2 Select the compensation type(s) applicable for the event and select Continue.
3 Enter a name and description for the event and if your workforce is in
multiple countries. The currently associated country will auto-
populate.
4 In the Review Period section, enter the start and end date of the
review period associated with the event.
5 In the Recommendation Period section, enter the start and end date
of the time during which managers can make award recommendations.
6 In the Cut-Off Date section, enter the cut-off date for when you want
ADP Workforce Now to take a snapshot of employee indicative data to
use in the compensation event, and the “as of” date.
Note: ADP Workforce Now defaults the cut-off date to the recommendation
period start date.
7 In the Payout Details area, select the applicable checkboxes.
8 Complete additional fields for the compensation type(s) you had selected, such
as a compensation change reason and effective date.
Note: The date field varies by compensation type and represents when the
compensation change will be applied.

Tips
• You can save and exit at any time to complete later. Only select Rollout once
setup is complete.
• Any changes made to employee records after the cut-off date may result in
conflicts in the event during the final recommendations stage.
• ADP Workforce Now applies pay increases to the start of the pay period in
which the effective date falls.
• If you also use ADP Workforce Now Performance and want to integrate a
performance review with a compensation event, the target review
completion date of the performance review must fall between the review
period start date and recommendation end date for the compensation event
for Performance and Compensation to work together.

6
Compensation Learning Guide  RETURN TO TABLE OF CONTENTS

Instructions, Part 2: Define Budget

On the Budget card, you decide whether to assign and track a budget for this
event. You can select a bottom-up or top-down budget or choose not to track a
budget at all.

Step Action
1 On the Budget card, select Define Budget.
2 Select a budget type.
3 Enter additional information as required by your budget selection.
4 Select Update to return to the event details page or select Update &
Add/Edit Employees to proceed to the next part of the setup.

Instructions, Part 3: Add Employees

On the Employees card, you define the employee population to include in the
event. You can build an employee list, select a saved list, or select employees
from an alphabetical list.

Step Action
1 On the Employees card, select Add Employees.
2 Select employees from the alphabetical list or select Search Criteria
to filter the alphabetical list based on an employee list or define other
criteria.
3 Select Add Employees.
4 Adjust the budget estimate for each selected employee as needed and
select Update.

Criteria Based Employee Selection

Use the Search Criteria link to choose a group of employees based on common
criteria. With this link, you can do the following:
• Build an employee list using ADP Workforce Now defined lists.
• Build an employee list using a system-defined list and/or criteria.
• Select an employee list that you’ve created previously in ADP Workforce
Now.

Tip
You can add or change employees at any time prior to rolling out the event.

7
Compensation Learning Guide  RETURN TO TABLE OF CONTENTS

Instructions, Part 4: Select Managers

On the Managers card, you review the managers associated with the employees
in the event and the budget allocations for each manager. You can exclude
managers as needed depending on your selected workflow.

Step Action
1 On the Managers card, select View/Edit.
2 Choose between the Senior Manager or All Manager view.
3 To update a manager’s budget, change the value in the Budget Allocated
field for the manager.
4 To exclude a manager from the compensation event, select the checkbox for
the manager and select Exclude Managers.
Result: A red indicator will display next to the managers that will not take
part in the event.
5 Select Update.

Tips
• ADP Workforce Now uses existing reports-to relationships, as of the event
cut-off date, to identify managers for the compensation event. Therefore, it
is imperative that this information be accurate in ADP Workforce Now.
• The Budget Distributed to Practitioners amount is for any employees that do
not currently have a reports-to manager or who report directly to the
practitioner.

8
Compensation Learning Guide  RETURN TO TABLE OF CONTENTS

Instructions, Part 5: Define Guideline Settings

In the Guideline Settings card, you define whether the event will apply
guidelines for managers to follow in allocating rewards and, if so, which
guidelines to follow.
You can choose to apply a rating scale or, if you use ADP Workforce Now
Performance, a performance policy. The performance rating from a completed
performance review flows to the compensation worksheet so the manager does
not have to select a rating.
If you apply a performance policy or rating scale, you then define the applicable
guidelines - a target award, the recommended range, and the allowed range - for
each performance rating or score. These guidelines will display in the
compensation worksheet for managers to reference when making their
recommendations.

Step Action
1 On the Guideline Settings card, select Set up Guidelines.
2 Select the basis of the review - Rating Scale, Performance Review, or No
Guidelines.

If you select: Then choose:

Rating Scale The appropriate rating scale from the list
Performance Review The appropriate rating scale from the list as well
as the applicable performance review(s)

3 In the Setup Using field for a compensation type, select either Target Award
or Merit Matrix.

If you select: Then the compensation worksheet

will display:
Target Award A flat recommended amount
Merit Matrix Target, recommended, and allowed ranges

4 If you selected Merit Matrix, select Define Merit Matrix to enter the target,
recommended range, and allowed range for each rating and select Update.
5 Select Update to save your guideline settings.

9
Compensation Learning Guide  RETURN TO TABLE OF CONTENTS

Merit Matrix Fields and Descriptions

The following table describes the fields you set up for a merit matrix.

Field Description
Target The average percentage or dollar amount that managers should target for
the aggregate of employees with that rating. The target amount must be
within the recommended range.
Recommended The percentage or dollar amount range that the organization defines as
appropriate for employees with that rating
Allowed The minimum and maximum percentage or dollar amount range that
managers can recommend for employees with that rating

Tips
• The Auto Populate option will automatically populate the target percentage
or amount for all employees in the manager’s compensation worksheet. If
necessary, managers can manually adjust this value after it is automatically
populated. If Auto Populate is unchecked, managers must manually enter the
target percentage or amount for each employee in the worksheet.
• If a rating does not provide for an increase, enter zeroes in the target,
recommended, and allowed fields. If the fields are left blank, no guideline will
be applied.

10
Compensation Learning Guide  RETURN TO TABLE OF CONTENTS

Instructions, Part 6: Roll Out the Compensation Event

Once the event setup is complete, it is important to review the entries before
rolling it out. Once the event is rolled out, participants will receive notification
through Things To Do in ADP Workforce Now.

Step Action
1 After you’ve verified your entries, select Rollout.
2
If the Recommendation Then:
Period Start Date is:
Today Select Yes to roll out the event to all
participants.
In the future The event will display on the Compensation
Dashboard with the status Setup
Completed. Select (action menu) and
select Rollout Event when you’re ready to
roll out the event.

Tips
• Once an event is rolled out, you can no longer make changes to the event’s
participants, budget, guidelines, or dates.
• You can select Save and Exit at any time without rolling out the event.
• Once the event displays on the Compensation Dashboard, you can access
options using the (action menu) icon.
• Once the event is rolled out, select Show Details on the Compensation
Dashboard to view progress and information details.

11
Compensation Learning Guide  RETURN TO TABLE OF CONTENTS

Accessing Event Tasks on the Compensation

Dashboard
Overview
The Compensation Dashboard is the hub of ADP Workforce Now Compensation.
It provides information for all compensation activities. Managers and
practitioners have a similar view, although managers only see the events for
which they need to make award recommendations while practitioners see all
events.
Practitioner Starting Point: Process>Talent>Compensation Dashboard
Manager Starting Point: My Team>Talent>Compensation Dashboard

Elements and Descriptions

The following table describes the elements of the Compensation Dashboard.

Element Description
Event name Select to access the details of the event and make changes if the
event has not been rolled out
Recommendation Represents the dates of the recommendation period
Period
Budget Utilization Indicates the budget usage to date if a budget was set up
Bar
Status Indicates the status of the event
Recommendations Specifies the number of recommendations entered for this event
Entered
(action menu) Used to perform the following tasks, depending on the status of the
event:
• Access and export the compensation worksheet
• Copy or terminate the event
• Customize compensation notice settings
• Manage emulation rights
• Import performance ratings
Note: Some of these tasks apply to practitioners only.

12
Compensation Learning Guide  RETURN TO TABLE OF CONTENTS

The Compensation Worksheet

Overview
When you view the compensation worksheet, all employees who report to you
display. For each employee, you can view the employee's name, performance
rating, currency, base pay change amounts or percentages, proration amount, and
proposed award. Select the employee's name to view the employee's profile,
calculate the employee's award automatically, and view performance details for
the employee in the bottom half of the worksheet.

Elements and Descriptions

The following table describes the elements of the Compensation Worksheet page.

Element Description
1. Event header The event header provides details such as the event name, option to view
detailed progress, review and recommendation periods, and effective date.
2. Worksheet The worksheet header provides details about the worksheet owner and the
header status of the worksheet.
Note: If a manager is unavailable during the event or does not have access, a
practitioner can enter recommendations on their behalf. Select the manager
in the Review Level field and select Emulate Worksheet.
3. Worksheet The compensation worksheet displays a manager’s direct reports and,
depending on the event setup, displays fields such as performance rating,
proration, and so on.
4. Employee Managers can select the employee’s name in the worksheet to display
profile profile information including job title, hire date, and salary history.
Note: Managers can use the Award Calculator available from the employee
profile to explore different award amounts. It provides information about
the award guidelines established during setup.

13
Compensation Learning Guide  RETURN TO TABLE OF CONTENTS

Making Award Recommendations and Submitting

Worksheets
Instructions: Manager
Starting Point: My Team > Talent > Compensation Dashboard

Step Action
1 Select (action menu) and select Access Worksheet.
2 Select the performance rating or enter an amount for each employee.
Result: If you selected to have awards automatically populated, the target
awards display in the % Award fields for each employee.
3 Select Finalize recommendations.

Instructions: Practitioner
Starting Point: Process > Talent > Compensation Dashboard

Step Action
1 Select (action menu) and select Access Worksheet.
2 Choose the manager from the Review Level tree.
3 Select Emulate Worksheet and select Yes on the Confirm Action pop-up
window.
4 Select the performance rating or enter an amount for each employee.
Result: If you selected to have awards automatically populated, the target
awards display in the % Award fields for each employee.
5 Select Submit Worksheet.
Result: The Confirm Action window opens. Enter notes if necessary.
6 Add any comments (if required) in the Add a worksheet comment section
and select Yes, submit worksheet and then select Close.

14
Compensation Learning Guide  RETURN TO TABLE OF CONTENTS

Reviewing Worksheets and Resolving and Finalizing

Recommendations
In this stage of the process, you review all the recommendations made by the
managers included in the event. As a practitioner, you can make changes to
award recommendations and make recommendations outside of the guidelines
established for the event. Only practitioners and the approving authority can
make recommendations outside of the established guidelines.
When you finalize recommendations, you are approving all the recommendations
included in the event.
Instructions
Starting Point Practitioner: Process > Talent > Compensation Dashboard

Step Action
1 Select (action menu) and select Access Worksheet.
2 Choose the manager from the Review Level tree.
3 Review recommendations submitted by the manager.
4 Make changes or select Reject Worksheet to notify the manager of any
changes necessary.
5 Once all worksheets are reviewed, select Finalize Recommendations.
6 Select Yes to confirm.

Events with Approving Authorities

If your compensation event includes an approving authority, you must wait for
approval before you can update pay rates. Once you finalize recommendations
for the event, the approving authority receives a notification in Things To Do
that the event is ready for approval. After reviewing the recommendations, the
approver can make changes and/or approve or reject the event.

Action Result
Approve The approving authority can approve the event, with or without
changes the authority makes. Once approved, the following occurs:
• The event status changes to Ready for Payroll Processing.
• You receive notification through Things To Do that the event is ready for
payroll processing.

Reject The approving authority can reject the event, with or without changes
the authority makes. Once rejected, the following occurs:
• The event status does not change.
• You receive notification through Things To Do that the event is suspended.
• You review the compensation worksheets again, make any necessary
adjustments, and resubmit the event for approval.

15
Compensation Learning Guide  RETURN TO TABLE OF CONTENTS

Closing the Compensation Event

Overview
The final steps to close a compensation event include updating the new pay
rates and distributing notices to employees involved in the event.

If the Compensation Then And Then

Event
Includes an approving Finalize the Update pay rates after the
authority recommendations, thereby event is approved
submitting the event for
final review and approval
Does not include an Finalize the Update pay rates
approving authority recommendations

Instructions
Starting Point: Process > Talent > Compensation Dashboard

Step Action
1 Select (action menu) for the event and select Process Payroll.
Result: The Process Payroll page is displayed.
2 Select Update Pay Rate.
Result: The paydata batch is created and employee pay rates are updated
with an effective date as defined in the compensation event.
3 To ensure that the new rates are submitted without errors, select View
Logs and then select Close.
4 Select Close to close the updated pay rate page.
Result: The event status changes to Closed.

16
Compensation Learning Guide  RETURN TO TABLE OF CONTENTS

Creating and Distributing Customized

Compensation Notices
Overview
You may create a compensation notice template so that you can customize the
notices for compensation events. Notices can be sent to selected employees
once the event is finalized.

Creating Notices
Instructions
Starting Point: Process > Talent > Compensation Dashboard

Step Action
1 Select (action menu) and select Customize Notice Settings.
2 Select Customize Notice Settings.
3 In the Allow Notice Setting to be Edited Until field, enter the appropriate date.
4 In the Selected Compensation Types field, choose the applicable option(s)
in the drop-down menu.
5 Select Choose Template.
6 Either select a notice template from the Select a Notice Template field or
create a template by entering a notice title and content and select Rollout.

Note
The date you select in the Allow Notice Setting to be Edited Until field
determines when managers will be allowed to distribute notices. Managers can
send notices after this date.

Distributing Notices to Employees

Starting Point: Process > Talent > Compensation Dashboard

Step Action
1 Select (action menu) and select Manage and Distribute Notices.
Result: The Manage and Distribute Notices page is displayed.
2 Verify the event under the Select Worksheet field.
3 Select Filters > Show Indirect Reportees to view all the employees in the
event.
4 Select the Employee Name column heading to select all employees.
5 Select Send Notification to send the notification to the selected employees
through Things To Do. You can also select Generate Notices to generate a
PDF that can be printed or emailed once downloaded.
6 Select Yes.
Result: The Notify Employees icon is displayed next to each employee’s name,
indicating which employees were notified.

17
Compensation Learning Guide  RETURN TO TABLE OF CONTENTS

Accessing Additional Learning Resources

The Bridge
Join The Bridge, an online community for payroll and HR professionals where you
can ask questions, share knowledge, make connections, and learn from industry
experts and peers about a broad range of human capital management topics.
Special topics are dedicated to new users of ADP Workforce Now like you.
Instructions

Step Action
1
If You Are Then
Logged on to ADP At the top of any page, select (The Bridge).
Workforce Now
Not logged on to ADP 1. Access https://thebridge.adp.com/welcome
Workforce Now (Canada: https://thebridge.adp.ca/welcome)
2. Log in using your ADP Workforce Now
username and password.

Online Help
In your ADP solution, at the top of most pages, you’ll see two icons. Select
(help) to open online Help, where you can search for information on any topic.
Use the resources to help you get the most from your solution.

18