State Employees
California State Payroll System (CSPS) Project
CSPS Project Newsletters
Q2 Spring 2023
CSPS Project Newsletters
In this edition:
- A Shining Example
- The Director’s Corner
- Team Member Spotlight
- What’s Your Address?
- CSPS Project Update
- The Back Page
Change is Possible at the State of California
A Shining Example, no. 1
I want to share a story with you. In fact, you might be in it. In today's fast-paced world, change is inevitable. As individuals, we consistently go through changes both large and small. What happens when an organization decides to make a significant change? How do its leaders ensure the change will not be temporary? Bringing about large-scale change can be a daunting task, particularly in government agencies. Despite these challenges, there are organizations that have successfully implemented change, transforming the way they operate and delivering better services to their constituents and employees.
One such agency is located in the state of California and is responsible for the accounting and the disbursement of the state’s financial resources. The State Controller’s Office (SCO) is a shining example of how change can be successfully implemented, leading to increased efficiency and effectiveness in their operations. In a series of articles, we will examine the steps taken by change leaders at SCO to implement change, the challenges they faced along the way, and the results they achieved.
Once upon a time, in California, in the early 1950’s, frozen TV dinners had just been invented, and the Uniform State Payroll System (USPS) was launched. The system was state-of-the-art technology at the time maintained by skilled technology professionals. Other state departments began to join over time. By 1954 most state agencies and CSU campuses were making personnel and payroll changes, adjustments, and corrections in USPS.
In the 1960s, California employed 40% fewer people and did not engage in collective bargaining. Over time, because of the growing state workforce and the addition of bargaining units, maintaining personnel data and payroll processes became more complex for HR professionals at SCO and departments that interfaced with them. These complications began contributing to delays in payroll changes, sometimes leading to pay mistakes. In the late 1990s and early 2000s, SCO leadership took action and a feasibility study for a new payroll system was conducted. The results? The existing system needed to be replaced as soon as possible. It is one thing to know change is needed, it is quite another to make that change happen. What is the first step? Tune in next quarter to find out in another installment of A Shining Example.
Brandon Rutschmann, CalHR Project Director
The Director’s Corner
The summer of 2023 is not only heating up outside, but inside the California State Payroll System (CSPS) Project as well!
We are getting SO close! The CSPS Project is eagerly looking forward to announcing some exciting news toward mid-summer! We can’t quite share just yet, but the summer of 2023 is soon to heat up as the project approaches that long anticipated vendor and product selection, and we can finally get moving on our new modern Human Resources and Payroll platform!
One of the things I’m most excited about with CSPS is the transition to biweekly pay for all civil service employees. If you haven’t heard about this change yet, you will start to hear more and more very soon, even though the change will not occur for many until 2025 or later. So far, we’ve identified over 170 sections of law, regulation, and policy that need to be modernized, in addition to our payroll procedures, Pay Scales, and Pay Differentials. No easy task, but worth the effort to improve how employees get their pay. There are still lots of details to work through and discussions to be had with our partners, but we’re on the path to success.
In support of our customers, the Organizational Change Management Team continues to build stronger relationships with our agencies and departments through the continued Department/Agency Ready Team (DART) outreach efforts. The DART Kick Off event was a great success and the perfect opportunity to begin co-planning next steps. There is (understandably) excitement, curiosity, and concern shared by all CSPS stakeholders as we embark on this tremendous adventure. We look forward to ongoing discussions with you, our stakeholders, to ensure that you are fully supported and prepared for success as the project comes to fruition.
As always, if you are looking for an opportunity that involves making a generational impact, challenges you to think creatively, inspires you to reach beyond your potential, then both CalHR and SCO are looking for YOU! Please visit https://jobs.ca.gov/ to learn more about these unique opportunities, and to express your interest in making a difference that will benefit future civil service generations for years to come.
Team Member Spotlight – Welcome New Team Members
Joanne Abaya, CSPS
Trainer
We are proud to introduce a new member of the CSPS Training Team. Joanne Abaya joined SCO on December 13, 2021, as a Procurement Analyst in ADD. When she saw the opportunity to join CSPS she jumped at the chance and was hired as a trainer on February 1st, 2023. Joanne earned her Bachelor’s degree in engineering in 2002 and a certificate in Medical Assisting in 2010. Before she began her California State career, Joanne worked as a medical writer for eight years.
Joanne loves a challenge, which is what drew her to CSPS. Creating and designing training materials for a large project represented an exciting opportunity she could not pass up. “I am very excited about what this new system can do to modernize the payroll system for the entire State”. The enthusiasm Joanne brings to her team is infectious. She looks forward to working through challenges with her teammates and the successes to be celebrated in overcoming those challenges.
When not at work, Joanne enjoys walking, biking, yoga, and hiking. She developed a love for photography in high school. She was the photographer for her school newspaper in both high school and college! Joanne also loves to paint and finds the process very therapeutic. In her free time, she is a volunteer at a non-profit organization here in Sacramento that benefits autistic children.
Here is a fact you may not know about Joanne. She was once interviewed by KCRA 3 in 2011 to share information about a study linking higher autism risk for pregnant women who live in agricultural areas. Joanne and her two sons were featured in this segment, and they had a blast watching the family on TV. Not only is Joanne a talented trainer and artist with an eye for a challenge, she’s famous too.
Rick Alfaro, Business
Lead
The CSPS project team is thrilled to announce Rick Alfaro has joined the Functional team as a Business Lead. Rick is new to CSPS but not to SCO. He worked in ISD from November 2019 to November 2022 when he departed to work for Caltrans. However, Rick could not resist the siren call of working on a challenging and complex project. He started with CSPS on March 8th, 2023 and we are glad to see him back at SCO. A graduate of CSUS with a degree in English, Rick began his career in IT by working as a Technical Writer with International Business Systems, a supply chain software company in Folsom, CA. From there, Rick worked for IBM and CGI consulting before joining the State eleven years ago.
For most of his career, Rick worked on large system replacement and maintenance projects. He enjoys the fast pace and challenging aspects of this work. “I am excited to be on a project that will have such a large and positive impact on so many people”. Away from his desk Rick likes to hike, bicycle, practice yoga, and garden. You may also find him walking his two dogs, practicing his photography skills, and attending live music events. You may not know that before Rick started working in the IT field, he spent 15 years waiting tables and bartending. His go-to drink during the day is a smooth, cold-brewed coffee. Cheers Rick!
What’s Your Address?
The data team would like to share that the CSPS project will utilize the Affordable Care Act’s (ACA) Compliance Report “Employee Without Appropriate Address”. Human Resource (HR) offices are familiar with this process. The delivery format and frequency of the report will remain the same. What will change is the volume of corrections needed. Some HR offices will see an increase in records on their report. This is a result of a change in selecting position statuses of not only Active and On Leave, but also employees separated January 1, 2023 or later. The result will ensure addresses for employees within the Employment History and ACA databases are accurate for ACA reporting purposes, as well as CSPS data conversion. The new report will be available on June 1st on ViewDirect and Mobius View. This information will also be shared in the May Transaction Supervisor and Ad Hoc forums .
CSPS Project Update
April showers bring CSPS project milestones! We have some good news to share. The CSPS reached a momentous milestone at the end of April. We are excited to announce the project team has completed the evaluation of the bidder proposals. This was an arduous process and we congratulate all those who helped make it a success. Without missing a beat, the project team is progressing on to the next phase, phase three. This phase consists of conducting negotiations with potential system integrators. A system integrator (SI) specializes in the process of linking together various IT systems, services, and software to enable all of them to work together. The next few months will include further negotiations with potential vendors, and ultimately in early Fall of this year, the project team will be prepared to select a SI vendor for the new system.
Amid the flurry of spring activity, the CSPS technical team is working diligently to clean up data in the legacy systems and is ahead of schedule. This is an essential step in the data preparation process. It is important that the data be as accurate and consistent as possible because it will eventually be converted for use in the new system. Converting good-quality data ensures we can fulfill SCO’s mission of delivering core services and products effectively through the use of innovative technology solutions.
On the OCM (Organizational Change Management) side of the project, departments have started the process of identifying subject matter experts and coordinators for their Department/Agency Readiness Teams (DARTs). These teams will play a crucial role in ensuring that each department/agency is ready for the implementation of the new system. The Agency Change Experts, or ACEs, act as a bridge to bring the CSPS project and DARTs together. This structure of relationships is key to a successful transition because, with the help of their ACEs, each department will be empowered to manage their own readiness activities that are tailored to its individual needs.
We are dedicated to keeping you updated on progress and milestones. If any questions or inquiries arise, please feel free to reach out to us at CSPShelp@sco.ca.gov. We also invite you to explore our website at: California State Payroll System (CSPS) Project
New to the CSPS Project?
Let’s catch you up on the basics!
The California State Payroll System (CSPS) Project will modernize the human resource management, travel and business expense, and payroll system used by approximately 300,000 state government employees to provide accurate and timely personnel and payroll services with quality customer service. SCO has developed and modified the current systems over time as the business requirements became more complex. As a result, SCO must exert an enormous amount of effort to maintain and modify the current systems to meet the ever-changing needs of California.
The objectives of the project are focused on providing user-friendly information that is validated timely to reduce rework. This includes enabling greater employee and manager self-service functionality for ease of use, such as online view capabilities for payroll, employment history, and tax information to name a few. Additionally, it will provide a user-friendly interface for all human resource and payroll transaction specialists who input and interact with the system daily.
There are six primary capabilities in scope of the project:
- Personnel Administration which includes management of employee records and status changes
- Benefits Administration
- Time and Attendance Administration, which includes entering and approving time and attendance
- Payroll including calculating and processing payroll
- Position Control Administration
- Travel and Business Expense
Each of the areas within scope affects roughly 45 different state processes that will span many business rules and requirements.
The CSPS Project is a highly complex and large undertaking for the state. It requires a partnership between most of the control agencies and will require support from all departments. Due to the complexity and size, the CSPS Project is using the CDT’s Project Approval Lifecycle (PAL) process. The goal of the PAL process is to improve the planning, quality, value, and likelihood of IT project success by providing a guided approach for projects to follow. The Project Timeline graphic below illustrates the high-level steps and timing for the CSPS Project.