Workopolis recruits new payroll system

Employees at Workopolis are in the middle of implementing a new payroll system.

The second half of November is the second phase of the project and it’s what’s the most exciting for Tara Talbot, the Toronto-based online job search company’s vice-president of human resources.

“(The first) part is great and all — it’s all the heavy lifting behind the scenes and it cleans up a lot, but the business isn’t necessarily going to notice,” she says. “In fact, we kind of hope they don’t.”

That’s the sign of a successful implementation, according to Mariflor DiRienzo, vice-president of implementation at Ceridian Canada, a Toronto-based third party software provider. Workopolis has chosen to introduce Ceridian’s HR information system (HRIS) — HR/Payroll Latitude — to the company’s 250 employees.

In order to achieve a successful implementation, clients need to be engaged the entire way, DiRienzo says.

“If we don’t have the right people there, it probably will be more of a challenge, more re-work from a customer perspective and our perspective,” she says. “It’s very, very critical that the right people are there.”

Having the right people at the table is something that has eased the process at Workopolis, says Talbot.

“This can’t be something that you’re doing on the side of your desk or in addition to your other full-time job,” she says. “It’s a huge amount of work, but it’s a short amount of time that you’re doing that for, really, the long-term gain.”

Identifying those people can be a challenge because it may not be who you initially think of, according to Maria Alfano, payroll manager at Enbridge Canada, which recently finished implementing a PeopleSoft payroll system for 10,000 of its employees.

“Just because somebody is really good at payroll doesn’t mean they’re good at implementation,” she says. “So I would highly recommend that if they’re going to put somebody in a project that it be somebody a little more senior that may have had some experience with projects.”

Alfano worked as an implementation specialist with ADP Canada before joining Enbridge. She’s experienced both positive and negative implementations, she says.

“Anytime you implement a new software, there’s going to be a period of time when you’re going to feel the bumps and bruises,” she says. “It doesn’t matter how great the software is or how great the implementation person was.”

What does matter is keeping an open line of communication with the payroll service provider. A lot of questions should be asked and they should start right from the very beginning, she says.

“All of that communication piece done up front takes probably a good chunk of the time for implementing, but it’s the most critical,” she says.

The task may be time consuming, but it’s necessary to make sure the job is completed to both parties’ satisfaction, she says.

“Help us to understand exactly what it is that you need,” she says. “What is your system set up like? What policies do you have? Do you have any collective agreements that we need to worry about? Are there any particular jurisdictions?”

When Ceridian conducts an implementation, a representative from the company will guide the client through the entire process, either in person or via conference call.

The company has developed a “methodology” to its implementations that includes engaging the employee from day one, says DiRienzo.

“We identify what the measures of success will be to the project. Overall, what roles and responsibilities would be,” she says. “We would identify what the major milestones would look like. What the timeline looks like. What the efforts are that are required on their end.”

Major milestones are the different phases within the project, from configuration to audits to testing, she says.

One of the most common issues DiRienzo has seen are customers not realizing how much documentation is required to complete the implementation in the initial stages. Clients should be prepared to be asked for a lot of materials, she says.

“That’s probably what we have seen as a common trend,” she says. “What we truly do is, as we launch our project, we outline rules and responsibilities and what is on their end so that there’s no surprises.”

Companies undergoing the implementation need to remember they’re the ones who ultimately decide the outcome of the project. Third party software providers will create a “roadmap” with their clients, but it’s up to the client to decide how far off track the project gets, says Alfano.

“When it comes to an implementation, you’re the driver,” she says. “You determine how long of an implementation you want to take and then you have to make sure you take the proper steps to make sure you’re on track.”

Alfano has witnessed companies neglecting to conduct test runs of the new process while the old system is still in place. These “parallel runs” are vital in ensuring that the move from one process to the next is seamless, she says.

“You’ll take your payroll as it is today and you’ll run it in the old system and you’ll take the exact some information and you’ll run it in the new system. The outcomes should be identical, give or take pennies,” she says.

Enbridge just completed its final parallel run and Alfano is thankful they were conducted.

“I think the two parallel runs have been very helpful and, quite honestly, did unearth some issues for us,” she says. “Nothing material, but enough that made us dig into some historicals and we’re cleaner going forward.”

Some employees had been coded incorrectly, perhaps when moving from one department to another, she says. Other employees were missing information that hadn’t caused issues but reinforced the decision to move to the new system.

“I’ve never questioned the decision,” she says. “I think internally it’s going to help us drive business results and provide tools. All of this is really an extension of talent management and people don’t need to be distracted with how they’re getting paid.”

That’s the true benefit of outsourcing payroll, says Alfano.

“When it comes to outsourcing… they are responsible for all of the system upgrades, they are responsible for all of the legislative upgrades,” she says. “It takes it out of your hands and it gives the ownership to someone else so that you can focus on what it is that you do best, which is processing your employees paycheques.”