Project Description

Project Background:

The City of Columbus' current custom-developed payroll/personnel system was implemented in the 1980s.  Changing technology and the availability of new programming options (real-time update, workflow, etc.) have made apparent the inefficiency and ineffectiveness of our current system.  As a stop-gap measure, many of the business units within various City of Columbus departments have implemented their own "in-house" systems (either purchased or developed by staff) to manage, manipulate, and report on the human capital information not easily accessible through the citywide payroll/personnel system.  Although found to be necessary, this approach has resulted in duplicitous effort by a number of personnel throughout the City of Columbus organization while not making the same data readily available to all City of Columbus work units that might have use for it.

Proposed Solution:

It has been agreed that the purchase and implementation of a new human resources information system that provides critical functionality currently associated with the current City of Columbus payroll/personnel and various "in-house" systems be the next action taken toward improving the efficiency and effectiveness of the City of Columbus' overall human capital management efforts.  Specific objectives include:

•  Re-engineering of the various business processes in terms of recognized "best practices" associated with employee selection, payroll, compensation management, benefits administration, occupational safety, training, etc.

• Use of electronic workflow to ensure adherence to established business rules and the elimination of a "paper-based" system 

• Elimination of redundant efforts associated with the input and management of human capital information

• Provision of intuitive and easily initiated ad-hoc reporting capabilities to all designated end users of the human capital information

• Provision of employee self-service capabilities for life event changes/updates, salary and leave balance monitoring, and career development/training, etc.

Business Value/Project Objectives:  

Service Delivery

One of the City of Columbus' core goals is to provide exceptional customer service.  Seemless efficient service delivery requires integrated systems.  Newer systems are designed to provide integrated service delivery and will be an important catalyst in helping us to meet our strategic goals.

Technology

Significant changes in technology have made current systems difficult to use and integrate.  Supporting obsolete technology has become expensive and counterproductive.  Newer technology and modern architecture are essential if we are to have a robust, maintainable and scalable computer infrastructure.

Data Integrity, Security, and Recoverability

Limitations to our current systems have resulted in multiple sources of disparate, unreconciled data spread throughout the City of Columbus hindering decision making.  Data distributed throughout the City of Columbus on PCs is not secure, nor is it recoverable in the event of even minor disasters such as PC failures.  Information is a core business asset that must be protected and cannot be replaced once lost.  Implementing centrally-managed, integrated, systems would improve the quality, security, and recoverability of data.

Removing Barriers

Employees throughout the City of Columbus recognize the redundancies, inefficiencies, workarounds and limitations of the current systems.  Our employees want to be more efficient, proactive, and innovative, but the systems are often obstacles rather than tools.  A new HRIS/Payroll system will remove barriers to productivity by allowing us to streamline business processes.  It will remove redundancies in data entry, reduce the number of independent databases, and eliminate the associated reconciliation tasks.  It will empower employees to manage their payroll and human resources business in a secure environment without paper and forms which supports the "Get Green Columbus" initiative.

Stewardship

State of the art, integrated systems provide robust and flexible solutions that will improve our ability to plan and manage City of Columbus payroll and human resources by providing more accurate, up-to-date and easy access information via online tools and reports.

Guiding Principles

The goal of the project is to incorporate state-of-the-art technology into daily City of Columbus operations, streamlining and standardizing key payroll and human resources business processes with the aim of improved public service delivery.  The following guiding principles are intended to govern how we will implement this project and to ensure consistency and constancy in our decisions.

1. Priority Commitment:  The replacement of payroll and human resources systems is a critical priority for the City of Columbus, and we will commit the time, energy, resources, and talent necessary to ensure a timely and successful implementation.

2. Commitment to Innovation:  We will be guided in our decisions by streamlining and simplifying our processes and maximizing the potential of our workforce while being customer-focused.

3. Commitment to Employees:  We will maximize the opportunities for employees, assuring information and training to help employees succeed in the new environment.  We will communicate with union leaderships to facilitate implementation and address employee issues and opportunities.

4. Commitment to Teamwork:  We will utilize teamwork, partnerships, and cooperation within and across organizational lines to achieve rapid decision-making and exceptional results for the City of Columbus.

Critical Success Factors:

Constraints/Assumptions: