Working Smarter

Built on 30-year-old technology, PPS is difficult to use, maintain, and enhance, and requires redundant data entry, manual calculations and significant paper processing. PPS has limited human resource management functionality, and the eleven variations of PPS UC-wide make it difficult to align and aggregate payroll and HR data. In fact, every campus has numerous “shadow systems” that attempt to fill the information gaps that have resulted from this now outdated system. UCPath will eliminate those inefficiencies, allowing UC to more effectively manage and plan for its workforce needs.

Implementation planning began began in September 2011. The project is now wrapping up the business process design phase and beginning development of interfaces. UCPath implementation will take place with a staged rollout to campuses and medical centers over a two-year period. The first wave of rollouts will begin in July 2014. Timekeeping, an integrated portal and data warehouse will be also be phased in, with overall project completion estimated at four years.

Replacing the 11 versions of PPS and several other stand-alone human resource
information systems with a single payroll and human resource information system for all UC employees means having unified systems and data across the University. The new UCPath Center will efficiently support payroll and human resources transaction processing and also support UC faculty and staff with high-quality service and improved access to job information. Standardization of business practices UC-wide will streamline processes and enhance productivity.

In 2009, the Campus and Medical Center Controllers, Campus and Medical Center Human Resource Officers, and Academic Personnel Directors completed an initial assessment of PPS and recommended planning for a more modern replacement and agreed to work toward conforming business practices. The project began in the fall of 2009 with the creation of a governance structure comprising a Sponsor Group and Management Workgroup for executive leadership and cross location/functional representation. The project fully ramped up in early 2010 with the engagement of a full-time project director.

A project management office within the UC Office of the President is managing the day-to-day execution of the project, but the work is being accomplished through a collaborative effort that involves staff, managers and executives at each campus and medical center. Participants include experts in Payroll, Human Resources, Academic Personnel, Benefits, Timekeeping, and Information Technology.

As part of the University’s Working Smarter Initiative, this effort is designed to
achieve real savings through more efficient and effective processes, streamlined
operations and common systems. A very rough preliminary estimate found replacing PPS with more efficient systems could save $30 million per year or more.

The goal of the UCPath Project is to be more effective and efficient in managing payroll and human resources. Operational changes will take place over several years, giving UC campuses time to plan for the transition, including implementation of process improvements and proper alignment of job activities and responsibilities to better leverage the new technology and UCPath Center. It is expected that fewer positions systemwide will eventually be required, but is too soon to know when or how many positions will be affected. As such positions are reduced over time, UC intends to minimize involuntary layoffs through attrition (retirements), re-training and realignment of staff responsibilities. Employees in the most directly affected units may have opportunities to learn new skills and take on new roles.