Government’s priority actions for 2018-2019

Stable and dependable IT systems

Expected result: Increased automation of human resources and pay requests

Actions	Q1 Progress	Q2 Progress	Q3 Progress	Q4 Progress
Action: Identify and implement required changes to HR and pay systems/software	Worked with departments to investigate pay issues, identify root causes, and develop solutions (see Executive Summary) Transitioned to an Application Managed Service model (outcomes based) with IBM for functional support in order to allocate more internal resources to the identification and implementation of required changes	Worked with 3rd party suppliers to improve interoperability of systems, leading to fewer data errors Issued multiple Requests for Information seeking industry expertise to help find innovative solutions Implemented systems changes, such as automating manual processes and general system performance improvements, resulting in fewer pay issues	Received approval to continue planning a PeopleSoft 9.2 Phoenix upgrade to improve general system performance, resulting in fewer pay issues Received and assessed Request for Information responses In parallel with the RFIs, a short list of qualified suppliers were issued Requests for Proposals seeking industry expertise to help provide innovative pay solutions, particularly on automatic processing of pay issues and for lowering the queue. Resulting contract awards for these two areas anticipated in Q4 Integrated the Phoenix Feedback Form with Pay Centre case management to ensure resolution is managed through a single, integrated system Produced weekly communications packages highlighting system changes and process improvements for the 98 departments and agencies using Phoenix	-
Action: Identify and implement required changes to improve HR and pay processes	Worked with departments to investigate process issues, identify root causes, and develop redesigns Implemented several change requests, including automating allowances for collective agreements, resulting in more efficient processing and minimizing the risk of overpayments Developed a LEAN initiative to streamline pay processes and business model, and shared best practices with stakeholders	Improved employee experience by auto-populating parts of the PAR form and providing clear and simple instructions Implemented several change requests, including automation of PRI validation for hires/re-hires, minimizing risk of pay delays Implemented a new process to ensure support was provided to stakeholders by not rejecting email submissions. New process provides the opportunity for emails to be modified by CCC and submitted to PC, thereby improving client service	Solidified work plan to address issues related to pay and pension Implemented multiple Pension-related change requests Continued ongoing work with IBM under the Application Managed Service model to increase capacity and leverage expertise while ensuring value for money Enabled managers to process time transactions on behalf of new employees or employees on leave Conducted a government-wide audit of user access to Phoenix to ensure compliance with privacy and security best practices Continued testing and review of the Transfers In and Out pilot projects	-

Efficient HR and pay processes

Expected result: Efficient and accurate processing of four important HR and pay transactions (acting, transfer, termination and overpayments)

Actions	Q1 Progress	Q2 Progress	Q3 Progress	Q4 Progress
Action: Identify and document existing HR processes that impact employee pay	Processes for Transfers-in and out, Terminations and Overpayments were documented and analyzed as a first step towards determining improvements The process for acting appointments is under review	Hundreds of HR, Pay and Finance specialists collaborated to review processes and outline areas for improvement for the pay transactions identified in Q1 New training developed at the Pay Centre combines theory and hands-on experience, allowing participants to receive timely and meaningful feedback Of the 31 proposed projects, 10 were selected and developed for Q3 implementation	Implemented the transfer in and out pilot project, which is expected to result in more efficient transfer processes Received approval for the Emergency Salary Advance/Priority Payment pilot project Defined multiple streams of work, including several pilots, to improve overpayment recovery and transparency for employees, and reduce the incidence of overpayment	-
Action: Identify and implement improvements to HR processes which impact employee pay transactions	-	Work is underway to pilot the results of the review and on improvement to three of the most common HR processes: Transfers in and out, Terminations and Actings, which are expected to result in more efficient processes A pilot of the recommendations to improve the management of overpayments is underway. Overall, these actions will improve overpayment recovery and transparency for employees, and reduce the incidence of overpayment	Completed the review process for actings and terminations Implemented phase 1 of repatriation of HR transactions pilots with departments Completed first two phases of pilot project testing designed to help quickly resolve at first point of contact at the Client Contact Centre	-

Optimal workforce capacity

Expected result: Incremental reduction of the queue

Actions	Q1 Progress	Q2 Progress	Q3 Progress	Q4 Progress
Action: Ongoing roll-out of pay pod approach for all pay centre departments and agencies	Following a promising pilot, the Pay Centre launched wave 1 of the pay pod service delivery model in June 2018; 4 Pods now serve more than 35,000 employees	Results from the pilot showed a total queue decrease of 39.4% Service standards for new transactions were met 86% of the time To date, results of wave 1 show reductions in departmental queue ranging from 6% to 30%	24 departments and agencies transitioned to the Pay Pod model, representing approximately 104,000 employees. These departments and agencies have seen an average queue decrease of 26% since onboarding to the Pay Pod model Continued Pay Pod roll out, expecting full implementation of Pay Pods by May 2019 for 220,000 employees in all departments and agencies served by the Pay Centre Assembled Pay Centre pre-pod teams for departments and agencies transitioning to the Pay Pod model in order to adopt pay pod processing methods, increase capacity, and gain the experience necessary to implement full pay pods in Q4 Cross-trained Pay Centre staff in anticipation of the Pay Pod rollout	-
Action: Continuous hiring and training of staff at the Public Service Pay Centre and the Client Contact Centre.	With the funds provided in Budget 2018, PSPC was able to hire 192 additional compensation staff Consultations were held with staff to determine training gaps and needs, requirements were reviewed, analyzed, and plans were developed	More than 1500 staff working in pay operation at the Pay Centre and regional offices, resulting in improved processing Approximately 200 staff working at the Client Contact Centre are better equipped to respond to employee inquiries At the end of Q2, the Pay Centre was finalizing Phase 2 of the Pod rollout, resulting in a total of 7 Pods servicing 24 organizations and 103,000 employees, approximately half of all Pay Centre clients A variety of new training programs for compensation staff were developed and introduced for the Pay Centre, Client Contact Centre, as well for non-pay centre compensation advisors	Received interest from 170 participants across 39 departments in the Compensation Advisor Training Program Provided the first of 3 levels of compensation advisor training to 97 new employees Offered permanent positions to existing temporary staff at CCC, reducing the overall number of employee departures and ensuring continued support for employees Continued training programs for compensation staff at the Pay Centre, Client Contact Centre, as well for non-Pay Centre compensation advisors Implemented business process improvements to optimize capacity and reduce turnover	-

HR Data integrity

Expected result: Reduce number of errors in employees pay and increase timeliness and accuracy of employees pay

Actions	Q1 Progress	Q2 Progress	Q3 Progress	Q4 Progress
Action: Develop and implement service standards for the approval of HR and pay transactions	Developed preliminary work on data entry timeliness	Collaborated with departments to gather baseline data for 10 HR transactions	Continued roll-out of Cognos BI tool with 3 waves now complete; the tool helps departments to understand the pay issues of their employees in detail Extended Phase 1 access to Cognos WorkSpace Advanced to four additional departments, providing access to all data and the flexibility to generate ad-hoc reports Continued rollout of Workspace Advanced Phase 2, which allows users the ability to create custom reports	-
Action: Track and monitor timeliness of approvals of HR and Pay requests within departments	Tracking and monitoring of the timeliness of HR data entry continued for all Pay Centre Clients 11 departments representing 65% of the total employee populations served by the Pay Centre received regular updates to show progress and identify areas of improvement As of the end of June 2018, the average timeliness of HR data entry for Pay Centre client departments and agencies was 29%	As of the end of September 2018, the average timeliness of HR data entry for Pay Centre client departments and agencies was 24%	Identified strategies to mitigate queue growth by, for example, encouraging submission of all HR transactions within 90 days of an HR change taking place, such as a promotion Started work on a way to measure and report on “timeliness” of HR transactions and ways to assist organizations in troubleshooting their HR processes	-
Action: Develop a strategy for the review of individual employee pay files	-	Preliminary work has begun to develop a strategy framework for individual file reviews. These reviews will help employees regain confidence in the accuracy of their pay files	Completed work on a draft framework and strategy for individual file review	-

Engaged stakeholders

Expected result: Stakeholders are engaged and contributing to the resolution of pay problems

Actions	Q1 Progress	Q2 Progress	Q3 Progress	Q4 Progress
Action: Improved and regular communications with employees and managers	Work was undertaken to improve the information available to employees, including changes to the Pay for the Public Service web Improvements to the employee pay bulletin were made and discussions on how to better interact with employees on social media are underway	Following consultations with various committees, in-house user-testing was conducted with public servants and students, and the feedback collected was applied to PSPC’s web content on Canada.ca under the new Pay System and Services web section Regular, weekly distribution of Phoenix communications are sent to provide users and the compensation community with timely information about pay system updates, issues and changes	Continued the weekly distribution of Phoenix communications to provide users and the compensation community with timely information about pay system updates, issues and changes Redesigned the Pay Bulletin to provide useful and timely information for employees and managers, which is also promoted through PSPC’s social media platforms	-
Action: Improve self-service tools for employees (e.g.: Track My Case)	The self-service program was reviewed to identify ways to improve the suite of tools that provide employees access to information about their files, and in some cases, make changes to their information Work began to develop new tools to allow employees the ability to view their pay file information in a modern and easy to use interface	Plans to review the self-service program are ongoing New tools continue to be developed to allow employees the ability to view their pay file information in a modern and easy to use interface PSPC conducted public opinion research to gather employee feedback on the proposed tool. The final report of this study will be deposited to Library and Archives Canada and will be accessible to the public. The input will be used to help design the tools so that employees get the information that is useful to them	Reviewed scope and functionality of the new user tools under development to align with employee feedback Deposited the public opinion research with the Library and Archives Canada and it is available on their website Governance has endorsed moving to the user testing phase of the modern interface tool in development	-
Action: Regular engagement (e.g. information sessions, armchair discussions) with stakeholders	Provided support to organizations transitioning to the Pay Pod model through a series of change management products and services Provided support to pay operations staff by leading ongoing meetings related to technical and process issues	Several engagement activities were undertaken for target groups such as Heads of HR, Chief Information Officers, Departmental ADMs and other multi-party stakeholders Several tools were developed to support departmental readiness for transitioning to the Pod model, such as self-assessment and best practices guides	Held ADM-to-ADM meetings to ensure departmental Pay Pod readiness Held HR Q&A sessions for new pod departments Launched HR-to-Pay “Playbook” to share best practices between departments and agencies Launched the Change Leadership Committee, bringing together senior executives to identify change management requirements and play a leadership role in supporting the collective effort to stabilize pay Held Section 33 Authorizer training for more than 115 departmental Financial Advisors Held User Access Management seminar for approximately 60 Departmental Security Access Control Officers	-
Action: Continued collaboration with public sector unions	Unions were engaged and consulted through regularly scheduled meetings with Public Services and Procurement Canada and Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat Periodic sessions of a multiparty stakeholder forums (including unions) were held to identify issues and propose solutions to promote effective stabilization activities	Union engagement and collaboration remains ongoing, ensuring the labour perspective is heard throughout the development and implementation of HR-to-Pay stabilization activities Collaborated with to plan and implement the interface in order to reconcile union deductions	Continued collaboration and engagement with unions throughout the development and implementation of HR-to-Pay stabilization activities	-

Robust governance

Expected result: Enhanced rigour, oversight and accountability

Actions	Q1 Progress	Q2 Progress	Q3 Progress	Q4 Progress
Action: Review existing governance structure to evaluate effectiveness and implement any necessary adjustments to ensure objective oversight, support and guidance required for effective decision making	Ongoing	Ongoing	The Government announced a new Treasury Board Sub-Committee which will provide ministerial oversight on HR-to-Pay. As a result, two new co-chairs were selected for a Deputy Committee that supports HR-to-Pay Stabilization: the Secretary of the Treasury Board and the Deputy Minister of Canadian Heritage	-
Action: Governance bodies meet regularly	Ongoing	Ongoing	Held deep dive information session for Deputies on key HR-to-Pay issues to better inform decision making Re-set the DG HR-to-Pay Committee as a forum for information sharing, consultation and collaboration	-

Measurable progress

Expected result: Sound governance, evidence-based decision making, progress toward expected results and timely course correction

Actions	Q1 Progress	Q2 Progress	Q3 Progress	Q4 Progress
Action: Quarterly reports on progress	Develop business intelligence tools which will provide departments served by the Pay Centre with transaction-level data and access to a variety of reports	Phase 1 was rolled-out to 20 departments, providing them with the autonomy to track case progress, identify trends and areas for improvement, and help prevent pay issues	Continued roll-out of Cognos BI tool with 3 waves now complete; the tool helps departments to understand the pay issues of their employees in detail	-