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SAP zaps payroll into the 21st century. Minnie Beal, ERP team leader, smiles her approval at the successful test run by HR specialist Susan Hughes, while Argelia Kelly, Finance & Administration deputy director, weighs in on the paper-saving results.

Story and photo by John Perry

The second phase of the HoustonOne project goes live Dec. 16. That’s when the new SAP software will propel human resources and payroll administration functions into the 21st century.

In July, the first phase of HoustonOne rolled out new financial accounting and materials management software. Now, the city’s new Enterprise Resources Planning system will streamline the management of employees’ HR and payroll information.

One of Mayor Bill White’s directives was for departments to operate in the most efficient, cost-effective way possible. That included upgrading the city’s technology.

“First, by replacing the existing system, we eliminate a serious risk that our aging system could fail and force the city into extraordinary efforts to manage our financial functions,” White said. “Second, by implementing a state-of-the-art system, we’ll have important new technical tools for transforming City Hall into the most responsive local government in the nation.”

White gave Richard Lewis, director and chief information officer of the Information Technology Department, the responsibility for implementing the new ERP system cost-effectively.

The technology focus is on reducing operating costs, improving services for citizens and employees, and avoiding system failure and security risks, Lewis said. “Phase I implementation went according to plan, but Phase II will be more challenging because 22,000 employees will have a new payroll system.”

Benefits include a more flexible, efficient and user-friendly payroll system, said John Silva, the city’s change management team leader for HoustonOne, the name of the new ERP project.

“In Phase I,” Silva said, “we optimized accounting, purchasing and inventory management. Now, we’re working on doing the same thing for something very important to employees – paying them.

“It helps us become a more efficient city government. We will be able to track personnel expenditures on multiple levels and provide the city with an accurate accounting of both project and contract costs.”

Advantages of Phase II include:
• Faster processing, which means more time to focus on getting checks right
• Special test runs that will help find and fix problems before checks are processed
• Better validation with fewer errors
• Easier to fix errors on time sheets
• Real-time updating of leave balances
• Easy setup for up to three direct deposits to a variety of financial institutions
• Up to 18 pay codes, 15 leave balances, and 45 deductions on check stubs

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