Posted on 07/08/2025
Dear ITA Family,
Beyond apps, networks, call centers, media, and communication systems... the most important part of the Information Technology Agency is the people who work here. For the last 10 years, we have been highlighting the work of ITA teams through these spotlights. Today, we shine our spotlight on the hard working and talented ITA staff in the Human Resources & Payroll (HRP) Team.
The HRP system is the citywide HR and payroll system. The HRP Project was the largest software project in the history of the City of Los Angeles and the ITA HRP team was critical to the success! The Request for Proposal (RFP) for the replacement of the legacy PaySR system was initiated in 2017, with Workday being selected by a 7 department steering committee as the solution in 2019. The project’s official launch occurred in early 2020, just as the COVID-19 pandemic began to unfold, presenting unforeseen challenges. Phase 1 of the Workday implementation was completed in May 2022, marking the successful go-live of the HR and Compensation modules. Between Phase 1 and Phase 2, the ITA HRP Team had the high level of difficulty of maintaining two production systems, with Workday handling the HR and Compensation portion and PaySR still handling the Time Reporting and Payroll portion. Phase 2 followed with the completion of the Payroll, Time Tracking, Benefits, and Absence modules in June 2024. By all accounts, the HRP project was highly successful. Through this project, the City of Los Angeles made a very smooth transition between a 25 year old legacy system (PaySR) and the modern Workday system. Of course, many departments and payroll teams, especially ITA's administrative teams, made critical contributions and worked hard to ensure this success.
The ITA HRP Team worked through many obstacles. In addition to the pandemic, the ITA project team faced the challenges brought on by the Great Resignation that began in April 2021, resulting in staffing shortages. Despite these hurdles, the ITA programming and business analysis teams, with the combination of new hires and experienced programming staff, demonstrated exceptional resilience, professionalism, and dedication, ensuring the project’s success. Since the transition to Workday payroll in June 2024, the system has processed approximately $4.4 billion in employee payroll gross payments, underscoring the scale and success of the implementation. Additionally, the business analysis team has effectively managed around 14,600 SNow incidents, providing critical support to the city’s project team members. Looking ahead, the ITA programming staff will play a pivotal role in managing the next round of salary adjustments for 532 City Attorneys in April 2025 and approximately 32,000 Coalition/EAA employees in June/July 2025. Their continued involvement will be essential to ensuring the smooth processing of these upcoming changes. Well done, everyone!