When the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) wanted to transform its human resources information technology (HRIT) systems, it turned to DAI Solutions to work with its senior leaders and technology and finance experts from across the Department to lay the groundwork for a HRIT refresh that will transform the way HHS manages its 84,000+ workforce.
Initially hired to enhance communications and learning for a legacy program, DAI Solutions earned the trust of the Office of Human Resources (OHR) leadership and took on a broader management role. Working beside the federal leadership team, DAI Solutions helped stand down the legacy program and establish HR Solutions, a division within OHR charged with designing and implementing the HRIT refresh.
Our involvement led to successful remediation of the legacy program, a systematic assessment and selection of PeopleSoft human capital management (HCM) 9.2 as core HR and time and attendance system, and unanimous buy-in for the recommended way forward. The program is now on track for acquisition and implementation of a comprehensive HRIT. DAI Solutions provides strategic planning, program management, change leadership and management and organizational development, data analytics and learning strategies in support of this major implementation.
Challenge: HHS enterprise human capital management systems have not kept pace over the past decade and the current system is out of compliance with federal regulations. Within HHS, there are 95 HR-related human capital management systems and three versions of time and attendance systems. The systems are non-interoperable with the payroll provider, and the legacy systems require significant manual intervention to pay employees each pay period.
DAI Solutions was tasked to quickly assess the technical challenges of the current systems; find and assess replacement and upgrade options based on technical requirements; recommend the best solution based on a system’s capabilities, interoperability and resources; and gain buy-in for the recommended solution. At the same time, we were tasked with helping to support the leadership of a new OHR division created to oversee the vetting and implementation of the new system.
Approach: Initially, DAI Solutions held multiple external and internal stakeholder engagement sessions to provide clarity regarding OHR and its programs, particularly the legacy HR system in use across HHS. Based on these findings, we helped launch HR Solutions, the new division leading the HRIT refresh, envisioned the organization’s charter and mission, and created a change leadership and management model for HHS/OHR that guided legacy system remediation, technology assessment, stakeholder engagement and established criteria for success.
As the program has progressed, we:
The results are clear. DAI Solutions’ dynamic program and change leadership and management methodology led to dramatically improved satisfaction rates among stakeholders across the organization. The organization, once mired in a failing legacy implementation with a skeptical user community, now is on a clear path forward with support from all levels of the Department.
DAI Solutions is at present working intently with OHR leadership to implement the system, providing strategic planning, program management, change leadership and management and organizational development, data analytics and learning strategies across the organization.
