CSPS Project Newsletters
In this edition:
Change is Possible at the State of California
A Shining Example, no. 5
Welcome to the fifth installment of the serial article A Shining Example. In the Spring 2024 Edition of this newsletter, we continued telling the story of how the California State Payroll System (CSPS) Project came to be. In the previous segment, the organization was in the middle of a transition. Our steadfast change leaders worked to ensure division-wide incorporation of new processes and tools such as Connect HR and electronic signatures. Business plans were documented and housed in a transparent SharePoint collaboration workspace. New accountability measures were introduced in the form of performance metrics. These metrics were being captured to quantify the progress of the organization. Change is easy, right?
All this organizational change was happening during the whirlwind year of 2020. Culture change was happening all around us; uncertainty was the new normal, and if you owned stock in Zoom, you saw a silver lining. In turn, SCO employees were experiencing change saturation. Their work culture was changing quickly from what they had been used to for so many years. Change saturation can lead to disengagement and resistance. Some employees sought new positions and there were retirements. The change leaders found their own silver lining as opportunities opened for new hires. Slowly, a transformed SCO culture began to emerge. As the year 2020 gave way to 2021 positive results started to emerge from the new changes. Over the next year, the backlogs were shrinking and staff found they had more time to focus on their core work. Leadership was able to shift focus to documenting new processes and procedures across the Personnel and Payroll Services Division (PPSD), improving communications management, and project portfolio management. Will the change leaders have enough momentum to meet their goal of clearing all backlogged workloads? What challenges lie ahead? Find out in the next installment of A Shining Example.
Jennifer Burkett, CSPS Project Director
The Director’s Corner
Steppingstones to Success
In my previous Director’s Corner article, I focused on how our experience and challenges on the 21st Century Project provided valuable opportunities for growth. The MyCalPays System, delivered through the 21st Century Project, allowed the CSPS Project team to learn indispensable lessons which we are using with our current CSPS Project initiative. These lessons learned are stepping stones we are actively employing to increase the likelihood of success this time around.
I have been consistently asked “What are you doing differently this time around?” “Why will this time be different?” I would like to provide specifics on how we are progressing based on our lessons learned.
Some of the most salient lessons include:
- Ensuring the project has clearly documented business processes and conducts business process reengineering to define an improved future state.
- Developing clearly documented requirements to support that future state.
- Utilizing a requirements development tool and repository for strategic alignment and traceability with project documentation, testing and defect management.
- Ensuring the project has a robust Contract Management structure.
- Implementing Organizational Change Management efforts early.
- Enacting a strong Governance model.
- Establishing a strong partnership between the State Controller’s Office (SCO) and the Department of Human Resources (CalHR)
- Executing Data Analysis and Data Cleansing early.
- Ensuring effective Risk and Issue Management
The previous article focused on the stepping stones three and four. Let us turn our attention to the next two on the list, implementing Organizational Change Management (OCM) efforts early and enacting a strong Governance model.
The CSPS Project is a large and complex effort that impacts every department and agency in the state of California. As with any large-scale technology implementation, adoption depends on individuals making the choice to change. With such an expansive group of stakeholders we learned it is imperative to begin OCM activities early to help people through the process of change. CSPS has engaged OCM expertise from day one, which demonstrates the prioritization of this lesson in our new approach.
A stakeholder engagement structure was developed to support a team of dedicated change champions in each department or agency known as Department Agency Readiness Teams (DARTs). Each DART consists of at least one sponsor and one liaison. These CSPS liaisons and sponsors are the bridge for continuous communications and up-to-date information from the project. Working with OCM Agency Change Experts, or ACEs, they will tailor messaging for their specific audiences based on needs and play an integral part as Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) throughout the process of change from awareness to adoption.
Another lesson learned and heeded from the 21st Century project was the importance of enacting a strong governance model. While CalHR and SCO will lead this initiative, the result of the effort will impact all state civil service and California State University employees, therefore, a cross organizational governance model is needed. The CSPS Project has four levels for governing and decision-making. The broadest level operates under the guidance of the Executive Steering Committee (ESC), a unified leadership body that ensures the project direction aligns with business priorities, defines the project vision, and advocates for project success. The project team and governance authorities have access to Business Process Owners (BPO) and Process Advisory Committees to validate the requirements and ensure the solution meets the State’s needs.
Next, is the CSPS Leadership level consisting of the SCO and CalHR Project Directors and the Personnel and Payroll Services Division (PPSD) chief. This team meets regularly to review project status and collaborate with project advisors. Thirdly, the Project Manager level is made up of the SCO Project Manager. They use risk, issue, and quality metrics to provide additional guidance or direction.
I hope these lessons learned, and more importantly, lessons heeded continue to give you confidence that we are learning from past experiences and listening to experts in the industry.
In a subsequent article, I will discuss the next stepping stones toward project success. Until then, thank you for your continued interest in and support of the CSPS Project.
Jennifer Burkett, CSPS Project Director
Team Member Spotlight – Welcome New Team Members
Edgar Rosas, Organizational Change Management
The California State Payroll System (CSPS) Project Team welcomes Edgar Rosas. Edgar joined the Organizational Change Management (OCM) Team as a Staff Services Manager I leading the Readiness Team in August 2024. Before joining State Service in 2016, Edgar worked in accounting and retail management for Patagonia, The Children’s Place, J. Crew, and Birkenstock. He began his state career with the Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) and served as an Enterprise Risk Management (ERM) Officer from 2019-2023. Edgar is a certified change management practitioner (2017) as well as a risk management practitioner (2019).
Edgar was drawn to the State Controllers Office (SCO) because of its role as a control agency and efforts to modernize core administrative functions through innovation and improvements. In his role as the OCM Readiness Manager, Edgar is looking forward to working directly with departments across the state. Always ready to learn more, he is excited to take a deep dive into all things HR and payroll related.
Outside of work, Edgar enjoys spending time with family, going on road trips, antique hunting, and thrift store shopping. He also donates his time volunteering at the McKinley Rose Garden and the Sacramento LGBT Center. Something you might now know about Edgar is he is first generation Mexican American and fluent in Spanish. Bienvenido al equipo del Proyecto CSPS!
CSPS Project Update
The CSPS Project has achieved some major milestones over the past few months. Early in the year, after countless brainstorming sessions, requirements gathering, procurement evaluations, and complete team collaboration: PAL Stage 4 was approved! The 4th and final stage of the Project Approval Lifecycle (PAL) and the release of the solicitation to the vendor community and the selection of a Solution Integrator (SI). The project has awarded the SI Contract to CGI Technologies Inc. (CGI).
CGI will implement the CGI Advantage software to meet the solution requirements for the CSPS Project.
CGI stands for Consultants to Government and Industry. CGI is a global IT and business consulting services firm with a history of delivering innovative solutions since it was founded in 1976. With over 46 years of expertise in the public sector, they bring unparalleled experience and a deep understanding of government operations. Their Human Resource Management (HRM) system, CGI Advantage, is a robust, web-based solution designed specifically for government entities.
The CGI Advantage system will streamline human resource processes across all CSPS scope areas. Key features include position control, personnel administration, benefits administration, time and leave management, payroll processing, and self-service portals for employees and managers—ensuring a seamless experience for all stakeholders. Their extensive experience and commitment to tailoring solutions for public sector needs make CGI an ideal choice for this ambitious project.
The CSPS Team is currently in the planning phase with CGI, while continuing engagement with departments through communication and readiness activities. The planning phase will be followed by the Design, Develop, Configure and Implementation (DDCI) phase.
Stay tuned for further updates as the project continues to make strides towards success. Thank you for your ongoing support and collaboration.
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 advance and expense management, 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 to provide 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 Management, which includes entering and approving time and attendance
- Payroll, including calculating and processing payroll
- Position Control Administration
- Travel Advance and Expense Management
Each of the areas within scope affects roughly 45 different state processes spanning many business rules and requirements.