Implementing Time and Attendance Systems: The City of Scottsdale, Arizona Experience.

• Author: Clifford, Craig

This article highlights how the City of Scottsdale, Arizona, transformed its error-ridden manual timekeeping process into a state-of-the-art, Web-based system.

The City of Scottsdale, Arizona's pay roll processing department deals with approximately 2,300 employees biweekly. Seventy-five percent of those employees are non-exempt and subject to overtime and special pays. Special payroll complications deal with unique compensation and labor laws related to public safety personnel (police and fire) and a large number of seasonal, part-time, and rotational parks and recreation employees.

Scottsdale was using manual timesheets to collect and authorize employee hours for biweekly payroll processing. Error rates from manual input were more than 20 percent, forcing payroll staff to expend a great deal of time and effort correcting errors. Because payroll staff corrected the errors, employees had no incentive to improve their own input accuracy.

Efforts by payroll staff using employee training, statistical feedback, and encouragement made only a slight improvement in the input quality. Manual timesheet efforts were simply seen as a tedious chore among employees and supervisors alike.

Turnaround time is critical to the payroll process. Accuracy, legibility, special pay, and leave mistakes combined with the volume of manual timesheet input presented a regular snag in orderly processing of payroll. The persistent 20 percent input error rate was categorized by the root causes:

* incomplete or no totals;

* illegible entries;

* posting to the wrong line;

* payment code(s) not posted;

* dates not posted for comp earned;

* not eligible for leave used;

* incorrect shift/field training officer pay;

* incorrect addition;

* holiday not recorded;

* invalid cost center or pay code;

* overtime not recorded or incorrect;

* new or terminated employees.

Nearly all the errors identified could be addressed completely or to some degree by use of electronic/automated input. A team comprised of payroll staff and some key departmental 'timekeepers' was formed to transform the manual

timekeeping system into a more efficient, state-of-the-art, Webbased system. The team found only a few cities which had pursued this alternative and few had successfully automated their entire workforce. The research showed the primary success in automation of payroll input had been via timeclocks or swipe card systems--although city staff thought these methods showed a lack of trust in. employees.

Major quality challenges for the team were:

* researching software that would adequately handle varied payroll input issues, e.g., police, field employee, and part-time recreation related input;

* installation of the software, linkage to the payroll system and testing; and

* training every city employee on the use of a new Web-based system, 20 percent who utilize shared computer access and another 20 percent of the city's workforce who had no previous experience using a computer;

Selecting the Vendor and Software

In addition to typical academic research on time and attendance systems the team arranged demonstrations from several vendors as a precursor to formal Request for Proposal (RFP) development. Team needs assessment lists were enhanced based on demo observations of features and functions currently available or under development. Subsequently, an RFP was advertised seeking a complete solution that included software, input devices, payroll system integration, training, and support. Essential RFP requirements included:

* software with the ability to import and export index data and interface with the city's payroll system;

* an expandable system that uses industry-standard architecture such as Windows NT;

* a graphical user interface and the ability to modify and/or design screens;

* the ability to modify and design reports and provide ability for end-user query and reporting;

* the ability to run in a multi-tasking environment and provide TCP/IP connectivity;

* proposed software needed to be currently available general release at time of acceptance;

* ability to interface with multiple input device options (in addition to PC input): info terminal (swipe/key entry), phone, and Web browser;

* multi-level security and audit trails for all transactions;

* service response within minimum of four normal business hours to any service request;

* Year 2000, Fair Labor Standards Act and Family Medical Leave Act compliant; and

* a training plan detailing content of instruction for both users and system administrators.

Scottsdale asked for software and hardware that could handle the city's specific payroll input challenges and then further defined responses into multiple...