March to see new payroll and HR system

EM talks to Ciarán Mac Diarmada, PHR Project Manager, to find out more about the programme.

>What does PHR mean and what is it all about?
PHR stands for the Payroll and HR Project. This is a corporate project affecting the entire ESB organisation. PHR will replace the existing systems for payroll, expenses and time and attendance, along with the current personnel system, PMIS. These will all be replaced with SAP software in line with corporate strategy.

Why is ESB doing this?
Our old systems were becoming obsolete and would have required serious investment to bring them up to date. In any event, HR and Payroll are so interconnected that it makes more sense nowadays to have a single system supporting both activities. SAP offers this and the new functionality is actually an extension to existing SAP software, which is tried and tested in ESB.

The new systems will provide much better information for all levels of management. In addition, there will be features to allow staff who have the required access to view and update routine personal information. We believe this 'self-service' approach will bring this aspect of our work up to the most modern standard.

What is SAP?
The SAP organisation is widely recognised as the world's leading provider of business solutions. Other clients of theirs include such names as BMW, Hewlett- Packard and Sony - so ESB is in good company.

What will be different?
Some things will definitely not change - ESB's traditional high standard of accuracy in HR advices and payroll processing will continue. The self-service features, ESS (Employee Self- Service) and MSS (Manager Self- Service) represent a significant step in bringing many aspects of HR activity closer to the people directly involved, i.e. the managers and staff themselves. One aspect of this is that for the first time, ESB will have a uniform attendance system for all non-timesheet staff throughout the company. Many benefits will flow from this, including improved reliability of the systems and ease of use for staff and management alike.

Most staff on flexitime will experience very little change with the new SAP system. Time recording for timesheet staff is not affected by the new system. Other small changes introduced by the new system will be communicated by the project and local business representatives.

When is PHR going to go live?
ESB will switch over to PHR during March 2007 for the various weekly, fortnightly and monthly payroll and HR activities.

Who will use the PHR system?
PHR will be used directly by nontimesheet staff.

Can you give me some examples of typical use of the new system?
The centralised payroll and HR processing activities in ESB will use the new system for most of their day-to-day operations, such as paying staff and pensioners and maintaining up-to-date HR data for all staff.

The most frequently used parts of PHR for staff generally, will be the self-service elements, such as attendance/flexitime recording, annual leave requests and approvals, and submission and approval of expenses claims. Straight away, users will be able to view and update a number of items of personal information such as bank details, addresses and their personal contact details.

Who will be able to see my personal data on the new system?
Access to personal information will continue to be tightly controlled, especially salary data. In general, only HR staff and line managers will be able to view this information and only for staff in their own organisational unit.

How are you informing staff of what PHR will mean to them?
We have a number of project initiatives including a newsletter, posters and website. All users will have received two issues of the newsletter. In addition, each business is organising briefings for their own staff so there should be no shortage of good quality information on the project, its impacts and benefits. The business units will be making sure that the various trade union representatives are kept up to speed on progress.

I'm an ESB pensioner. Will PHR affect me?
There may be minor changes to the appearance of your payslip.

How will staff learn to use PHR?
The self-service features of PHR are very simple to use and will not require in-depth training. Users of more complex aspects will be trained fully. We intend to have online lessons for all users to practise before go-live. We will also have locally based 'super users' who will be able to provide help where it is needed in the initial stages. All of this will be communicated separately in the coming weeks.

For more information on any aspect of PHR, please contact PHR's communications manager, calum.maclean@esb.ie