Industry:
Government

Annual Revenue:
$500M-$1B

Employees:
>=10000

"Oracle HRMS has enabled us, for the first time, to gather and analyze information about the workforce we employ. For an organization of our size, this is a big-ticket item, particularly when we use this information to drive down the costs of sickness, absence, and turnover." -- Louise Harrington, Human Resource Advisor, Cambridgeshire County Council

Moving Toward E-Government

Cambridgeshire County Council has used Oracle Human Resources applications for several years, but there has been no integration with other Council systems, including payroll.  By 1999/2000 the version in use (10.5) was about to become "de-supported" by Oracle.  The Council concurrently decided to develop a human resources management system (HRMS) as a key part of a broader project to implement an e-business suite and meet e-government targets.
The Council is keen to develop HRMS to allow management of routine transactions online via self-service. Due to the organization's physical spread, Web-based accessibility and management will lead to greater efficiency and cost-savings.
The Council also aims to become a competency-based organization.  Louise Harrington, an HR advisor with the Council, explained: "We provide labor-intensive services directly to the local community--more than half of our budget is spent on staff.  We need to have the right people in place at the right time, and with the right skills."  Accordingly, the Council is reviewing its people processes "to see what we do and why, how we can do it better, and how the new system can help."

High-Level Project Goals

• Move incrementally toward an integrated business suite across the organization for greater efficiency, better customer service, and cost-savings


• Review, streamline, and modernize HR processes and transactions and how they are carried out, and implement Web-based systems to support these processes


• Become a competency-based organization


• Provide management information in order to develop proactive strategies to recruit, retain, reward, and develop the right staff for the modernizing Council

Why Oracle?

Since the Council first installed the Oracle HR system, Oracle's HR know-how has developed significantly, making it a leader in the field.  Further, as Harrington explained, "The fact that Oracle's applications in the E-Business Suite are designed to integrate was a huge plus. An organization like ours needs to provide information across the entire system. Integration is one of our big issues and Oracle provides this."

Managing HR Online with Version 11i

Between April 2000 and February 2001, the Council upgraded to HRMS version 11.03.  In preparation, it carried out data cleansing and reviewed its HR processes.  The decision to upgrade to 11i in 2002 was driven by the need to be on the same version as Oracle Financials and to roll-out self-service.  "The decision to go with Oracle Financials put our HR system in a stronger position because of the council's integration strategy," said Harrington. In April 2001 the Council launched the HeRO project aimed at making HR electronic in a number of areas and, ultimately, across the whole organization.
Oracle HRMS is designed around competencies and the Council developed its own competencies to reflect its services and make the best use of the system.  The upgrade to 11i will include pilots in specific areas and gradual roll-out of the self-service, training, and administration modules to the entire staff.  E-learning will also be introduced. "HeRO is effectively a change-management project--it's not just about implementing a new system.  We have to reprocess our processes and challenge what we do," said Harrington.  The project also implies a significant shift in local government culture, as staff is encouraged to move toward e-government. "The challenge for local government is to deliver good quality services and value for the money; modernizing and integrating our back-office systems will help us to be significantly more efficient."

Future Plans

In the future, the HeRO project team will be working more closely with operational HR staff.  This is a long-term project with long-term benefits. The implementation will be the start of an incremental change program that will continue to develop and expand.  A new payroll contract is also scheduled roll out soon and include a new system. Electronic delivery of information from Oracle HRMS to this new system will be a key requirement.  "Once we have established core applications for Financials and HR, business intelligence will become available across all departments," explained Harrington.