UW's HR/Payroll Modernization Initiative Moving Forward With Workday

The University of Washington is moving forward with an HR/Payroll Modernization initiative that will replace its 32-year-old payroll system with a modern HR and payroll system and establish a set of standardized practices for HR and payroll functions throughout the institution. Approval for the project came at the UW's Board of Regents meeting on Feb. 13, and follows a competitive staged procurement and detailed planning process.

Workday, Inc., a provider of enterprise Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) for human resources and finance, will provide the HR/payroll solution. With the SaaS approach, Workday provides access to a shared multi-tenant system using a web interface and the university pays on a subscription basis. The solution will help simplify the UW's internal technology maintenance functions and ensure that UW is always on the latest software release. IBM will partner with Workday to provide implementation services.

"We are excited about the opportunity that an integrated HR/payroll system provides for the university," said V'Ella Warren, senior vice president and the project's lead sponsor. "This new system allows us to rethink the way we perform our HR and payroll functions. As a result of modernizing, we will work more effectively by eliminating many manual processes, better serve our internal and external customers through more timely service, and provide all of us with easier access to personal and university-wide information."

The UW's existing payroll system, the Higher Education Payroll Personnel System, was implemented in 1982. In the intervening 32 years, the university added two campuses, experienced tremendous growth in its research enterprise, and watched the demand for its medical services skyrocket. As a result, the university's workforce doubled to more than 40,000 employees. However, the underlying – and outdated – technology for HEPPS remains unchanged. As a result, the university's payroll system has significant operational inefficiencies and service deficits. The UW also lacks basic, enterprise-wide HR functionality, which has limited the availability of information for strategic decision making. The new HR and payroll system will address these business concerns.

Implementation of the first phase of the new solution will begin in March with an expected go-live date by early 2016.

The project will cost $68.1M, including vendor fees, UW costs, and a built-in contingency. The HR/P Modernization project will be funded through a combination of reserves and debt. Reserves will be used to fund the non-capitalized implementation costs.

The project, investment plan, and solution vendor were also approved by the state of Washington Office of the Chief Information Officer. Bluecrane, an independent quality assurance firm, will provide ongoing risk assessments to help mitigate potential implementation issues.