Efforts to redo the payroll system have been in the works since 2016. This past summer, the state concluded vendor negotiations without awarding a contract. A more detailed timeline will be published once the state determines its next steps. The California Department of Technology and the California Department of Human Resources are also playing a role in the project.
The SCO recruitment, published Monday, says the project director (Career Executive Assignment) will oversee “the procurement, design, development and implementation of a statewide personnel and payroll system.” The director will advise and consult with the project executive steering committee, statewide project governance organizations, external control agencies and state departments and agencies, and will provide statewide leadership and direction for the project.
In addition, according to the job posting, the director will represent the project in meetings and hearings with the Legislature and the governor’s office and in problem-solving sessions and will serve as the central point of communication and coordination for the project.
The long list of responsibilities for the director include:
- Support a successful business process modeling and re-engineering effort for the current personnel services and payroll systems and processes
- Setting up governance structure, vision and objectives; modeling, mapping and analyzing processes and establishing metrics, which determine where processes can be streamlined; and implementing the process improvements, including organizational change management
- Oversee the procurement, design, development and implementation of a statewide personnel and payroll system
- Plan, direct and oversee the deliverables and project goals as defined in approved funding documentation, released planning documents and subsequent project plans
- Oversee vendor deliverables as it pertains to scope, resources and timeframes
- Knowledge of state IT security requirements and demonstrated knowledge of state policies, rules and standards relative to accounting requirements
- Experience in recommending, developing and implementing policies relative to program issues and experience communicating with control entities such as the California Department of Finance and/or the Legislature
- Managerial experience that demonstrates the ability to successfully apply organizational leadership, communicate clearly, facilitate decision-making, promote teamwork and define and achieve success across multi-disciplinary stakeholder interests
- Knowledgeable of the state’s IT budget process and procedures, procurement and reporting requirements
- Demonstrable experience in the methods of administrative problem-solving
As for the project’s background, “the SCO relies on a number of aging and inflexible information systems to manage six main business capabilities for the state of California human resources and payroll needs,” says a March 2022 solicitation overview. “These systems limit the state’s ability to transform and modernize business operations and do not meet stakeholder expectations for access to accurate and timely data, decision support and transparency.”
It continues: “This solicitation is for the development and implementation of a cloud-based Human Capital Management (HCM) solution to replace SCO’s mainframe legacy travel and expense, personnel and payroll systems. The CSPS solution will incorporate position control, personnel administration, benefits administration, time management (Core HR), travel and expense and payroll functionality.”
The project that the new director will lead is so complex and has so many elements that the State Controller’s Office has created a CSPS Project Newsletter. The most recent edition of the newsletter, published in the summer, explains: “The original systems that make up the Uniform Payroll System were built in the late 1970s. The existing system pre-dates the start of collective bargaining in the state, which meant the base design of the system had to change to accommodate all of the complexities that have developed over the past four and a half decades. In the ’90s, it was recognized that the legacy systems needed to be modernized, however, due to a significant economic downturn, the modernization effort was paused until the 21st century project began in 2004.
“Over the course of the next 10 years, the project failed to deliver the MyCalPAYS solution,” it continues. “However, given that technology has changed so much just even in the past 10 years, CSPS can now take advantage of cloud-based service offerings. The CSPS Project began in 2016.”
Industry Insider – California will have more coverage about the CSPS project in coming days.
