Canadian Payroll Reporter

3 Canadian HR Reporter, a Thomson Reuters business 2018 News CPR | April 2018 Phoenix woes provide lessons for employers Government's payroll fiasco highlights importance of prep, resources, communication BY JOHN DUJAY AS OF Dec. 27, more than half of Canada's public servants were experiencing some form of pay issue, with about 616,000 trans- actions awaiting processing — all because of the disastrous implementation of a new payroll system called Phoenix. And in the new year, federal government workers were given more bad news when Public Ser- vices and Procurement Canada gave them a deadline of Jan. 19 to declare overpayments from the troubled pay system. Under the plan, employees who met the deadline would only have to pay the net amount they received, according to the Canadian Press. But those that failed would have to repay the gross overpay- ment, including tax and other deducted amounts they never actually received. As of June 30, 2017, the amount of overpayments to- talled $295 million, according to a November report from the auditor general. The implementation of the Phoenix payroll system has been problematic from the very start. And now, two years later, the problems are far from over. But on a more positive note, there are takeaways for employ- ers here. Because payroll is a core com- ponent of an employee's life, it must be treated with high im- portance, according to Janice MacLellan, vice-president of op- erations at the Canadian Payroll Association in Toronto. "Given the critical impact that payroll has on people's lives — it's not the same as other technol- ogy projects, it's not the same as other business projects — there's real significant impact," she said. "When it comes to implement- ing a payroll system, it really is the ultimate test of good project management." First steps For one, proper planning is es- sential before an implementa- tion, according to Paul Elliott, president and COO of Ceridian in Toronto. "When you have a complex project, be it a payroll project or an ERP (enterprise resource planning) system or whatever, it starts with basic project prin- ciples," he said. "You have to have proper own- ership and proper governance in place, and you have to establish clear objectives and measure- ments of what success is." A look at the business objec- tives should also become part of the process. "Probably the key of those ele- ments is making sure you've got the business objectives down properly to understand what are you trying to achieve with this system," said Elliott. The new system should facili- tate "not just the status quo — you are looking to improve your business with better technology and better processes," he said. And before the project plan is put into place, employers should take a look at what they are cur- rently working with, said Gurteg Grewal, vice-president of prod- uct innovation at ADP Canada in Toronto. "(Make an) audit of your exist- ing system to understand the re- dundancies, pain points, legacy issues," he said. see IMPLEMENTATION page 8 It's Full Steam Ahead! as we get ready to celebrate forty years of payroll compliance and advocacy in the Nation's Capital! This is the premier payroll event of the year and your opportunity to connect with top compliance, employment standards and strategic management leaders. The Conference program offers experienced speakers, engaging and interactive sessions and peer-to-peer networking opportunities. 40 Years Of Payroll Compliance Register online at payroll.ca Keep track at #Payroll2018 payroll compliance practitioner certified payroll manager REGISTER TODAY! 36 th Annual Conference & Trade Show June 27-29, 2018∙ Ottawa, Ontario

• Cover