April, 2001

University of Colorado

Session 1007: Creating a Consolidated Services Center for Payroll and Benefits

Presenter:Kaye Orten, Director, Change ManagementUniversity of Colorado

April, 2001

University of Colorado Profile

5 campusesMonthly payroll for 16,000 individualsBi-weekly payroll for 5,000 individuals30,000 W’2’s produced for calendar

year 2000Prior to consolidation, each campus

had its own payroll and benefits offices

April, 2001

Profile, page 2

CU went live with Finance Version 7.0 public sector GL, AP, PO July 1, 1999. A consolidated services center for Procurement was created at this time.

1200 HR end users of PeopleSoft HRMS 80% of end users use both HR and

Finance applications

April, 2001

Profile, page 3

HR function is widely distributed across faculty, staff, student employment offices and was not consolidated

Decision was made prior to go-live to have the Payroll & Benefit Services Center “out front” in the implementation, rather than having the project team in that role.

April, 2001

Agenda

Why consolidate ?Getting readyCreating your new identityPulling staffing togetherDealing with campus politics - Letting

goProviding go-live supportLearn from mistakes, and respond

April, 2001

Why consolidate?

EfficiencyConsistencyBudgetary savings from

consolidation of staffing, facilities, duplicated effort. If you can, have a documented business plan of before and after costs.

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Why consolidate - not?

Sense of lossLogistics

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Getting ready

Space - how much and where ?Parking, mail service, access, politics

Have the Services Center “out front” - support the management team

Policies and procedures - identify variances; create new central policies; and communicate them

Have a call tracking system for help desk

April, 2001

Getting ready, page 2

Forms development and access - allow for printer variability

Phones - create a call center help desk within the Center. Try to predict call volume, but have a flexible staffing pattern available, and shift as needed. Plan for peak periods (payrolls, open enrollment for benefits, etc.)

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Getting ready, page 3

Create points of access that offer more opportunities than previous campus-based offices - for example, set broader office hours, 24 X 7 e-mail access, etc.

Files transfer - what to throw, what to keep, and where to keep it

Establish a cut-over dateMoving day

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Creating your new identity

LogoLetterheadAdsDirect mailing to employeesWeb siteCommunicating how and when ?

April, 2001

Pulling staff together

Figure out how many staff you will need, and hire more than that, planning on getting back to budget through attrition

Don’t forget the support staff infrastructure - files rooms, front line, data entry

Build a new staff dynamic - and combine old traditions with new

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Retaining staff

Classified staff issues - hiring and retention

Try to retain campus expertiseDevelop new job descriptions and

performance plansHiringAdequate notice and layoff process

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Dealing with campus politics - letting go

Transition from campus presence to centralized service creates a sense of loss and skepticism

Deliver high quality service - show people that good service doesn’t always equate with “on the campus”

Campus site presence schedule - how to determine what is enough

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Campus politics, page 2

Make sure to get input from the campus leadership about site presence schedule and let everyone know this was done

If there is a staffing problem, deal with it. Put your best people on the front line at remote sites. Ask for feedback about performance and responsiveness.

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Campus politics, page 3

Provide staff off-site with same tools as within the Center - web, e-mail, tracking system

Provide forms and materials on campuses.

When you aren’t there, make sure that people still have access to forms and materials.

Create a toll-free phone #

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Providing go-live support

Bring up the Service Center before go-live if possible

Provide supplemental training to Service Center staff before go-live

Provide additional on-campus support so that not every call hits the centralized services group in the beginning

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Go-live support, page 2

Have project staff on hand to assistTry to get project staff hired into the

Service Center to provide on-going support

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Learn from mistakes and respond

Keep your staffing as flexible as possible

Ask users for feedback - you’ll get it anyway

Watch your call statistics - beware of long wait times or high # abandonned calls

If it’s not working try something else

April, 2001

Questions ???

Kaye Orten University of ColoradoDirector, Change Management

phone: (303) 492-9382email: Kaye.Orten@cusys.edufax: (303) 492-9883