Payroll Process Review Area Recommendation Comments Status Onboarding Require Payroll to enter payroll codes for front-loaded leave and/or sign-on bonuses for new employees prior to HR Onboarding and HR Director review and approval.
HR onboarding provides acknowledgement forms to new hires during new hire orientation, then sends the signed copy to departments to enter PAEs. Payroll processes when PAEs are recieved. New hires must be entered into MUNIS prior to new hire orientation so time can be entered by first day worked. HR collects personal data and finalizes information in MUNIS the day of orientation. Sign on bonuses on completed concurrently.
Discussed and no
change
recommended -
continue with
existing process.
Upload all employee-completed federal/state withholding certificates, DDAs and other information into Tyler/Munis and create a notification to Payroll when completed.
HR implemented NeoGov onboard for new hires. HR downloads forms from NeoGov to MUNIS and Payroll will receive notification.
Completed
Require the employee (with HR Onboarding assistance as necessary) to enter deferred compensation elections into Tyler/Munis during the Onboarding process and eliminate hard
copy routing of that form to Payroll.
HR has taken over the deferred compensation process - forms no longer routed to Payroll. Completed Ensure that CalPERS appointment information is properly imported into Tyler/Munis.
HR completed a full audit of all CalPERS appointments to confirm accuracy. HR implemented an ongoing process to reconcile new hire reports semi monthly to confirm appoinment details are accurate. No import is available in MUNIS.
Completed
Direct Deposit Process DDA requests and prenotes with the employee’s financial institution within 24 hours of receipt and activate successful prenotes immediately on the next payday.
Payroll submits prenotes immediately following receipt of direct deposit forms so employees now receive direct deposit by first check if no issues occur with the bank.
Completed
Assign responsibility for retroactive and/or prospective leave accrual changes in the compensation/classification process to HR Benefits prior to HR Director review and approval.
HR Benefits assigns leave accrual tables per BU at Step 30 during benefits review. HR Director approves after at step 55.
Already in place, no
futher change
needed.
Require electronic approvals from the City Manager for
compensation/classification changes in the Tyler/Munis system.
HR worked with DCM/CM to create process and the approval matrix was approved by DCM/CM on what memos will remain in place. Certain memos are processed through hard memos per direction of DCMs.
Completed
Notify the affected employee of changes to the compensation and/or classification and affected benefits after all approvals have been received.
HR provides letters to employees for promotions, demotions and includes salary changes and language to refer to MOU for contract provisions. Benefits shouldn't be affected based on compensation changes.
Completed
Leaves of Absence Convert the manual leave of absence form to an electronic form within the Tyler/Munis system to initiate the LOA process by the operating department.
There is no available system for electronic submission of leaves of absence forms at this time, the process remains manual.
Outstanding
Payroll Process Review Area Recommendation Comments Status Assign review of leave accrual and pay codes modified by HR Benefits to another person in HR to verify accuracy and coding review prior to transmitting to Payroll for review.
Accruals are populated based on position, HR Benefits verifies and makes any necessary adjustments to accruals at step 30 of the approval workflow. Pay codes are entered by departments and reviewed by HR WFP before Payroll completes final review and processes.
Completed
Assign the responsibility for entering any impacted benefits codes in the system to HR Benefits after the GAP reports have been updated and before transmitting to Payroll for processing.
HR and Payroll have met multiple times with payroll's feedback to improve this process.
Concerns were discussedand the GAP spreadsheet was modified accordingly.
Completed
New Employee Setup Process
Initial Benefits Enrollment
Employee Changes Process
Compensation and/or Classification
Changes
Payroll Processing
Attachment G
Require an independent review of any adjustments entered by HR Benefits to employee deductions or pay changes to another individual in HR Benefits to ensure accuracy of data entry.
HR pulls new hire report semi monthly and audits for accuracy. HR reconciles benefit vendor invoices against payroll deductions monthly to confirm enrollments and deductions are accurate. HR Analysts in Benefits enter changes at step 30. HR Tech in Benefits reconciles bills.
Completed
Implement a documented payroll review of the completed payroll through Tyler/Munis workflows by either the Payroll Supervisor or the Assistant Finance Director prior to approvals for transmission of payroll to the bank/cutting live checks.
in 24/25, ACFO reported that the final payroll file is uploaded for payment the ACFO reviews/approves the totals outside of of the Munis Workflow. Currently HR Senior Payroll Analyst prints final detail proof report and it shows total number of payroll charges for ACH and paper checks, and Dpeuty Director of HR reviews and initials final report.
Completed
Conduct a detailed review of the hours codes to ensure that the hours being reported properly reflect MOU provisions and are viewable by timekeepers.
Payroll will meet with the departments to review Pay Codes and update accordingly.
Updated all departments to have worflow with supervisors', timekeepers and department heads' approvals.
Ongoing
Conduct periodic reviews of the hours summary reports with timekeeper staff and repair any issues regarding system-generated reports to ensure accuracy in reported hours available for leaves as well as hours worked (e.g., regular hours, overtime,
etc.).
Payroll will conduct quartely reviews to ensure accurate hours are being reported once the OT policy is setup in Executime.
In Progress
Identify opportunities to streamline the number and use of various hours and pay codes.
Payroll will continue to educate departments on how to use pay codes to streamline the process.
Continous
Modify the timekeeping entry system to allow for hours and pay codes to be filtered either by the system or by the user to limit the number of available options to timekeepers and streamline input and approvals.
Employees are only able to see applicable pay codes that are assigned to them based on their job class and the ones that are added by PAE process.
Completed
Provide periodic training to timekeeping staff on the use of the timekeeping and the payroll reporting modules.
Payroll analysts meet with their assigned department's timekeepers to review prior payroll and go over any necessary training. Completed
Payroll Process Review Area Recommendation Comments Status Require HR Director approval of the employment status change before HR Benefits begins processing post-employment benefits for the employee.
HR Benefits initiates termination documents, including COBRA, at Step 30, prior to final approval by the HR Director at step 55. COBRA has legal requirements on notifications that must be met and benefits terminate at end of the month so we want to be timely.
Discussed and no
change
recommended
Ensure that HR Workforce Planning receives immediate notification upon HR Director approval of a resignation or termination from employment.
A 30 day separation report is automatically distributed to various departments that need to take action when separations occur. Departments open requisitions in NeoGov to initiate recruitments. Recruitments aren't inniatated by vacancies, they are initiated by the departments when they are ready to recruit to fill the position.
Completed
Process payouts of leaves and other cash benefits to employees as part of the regular payroll cycle as a separate payment that is paid via direct deposit or live checks based on the separating employee’s standard payment method.
Separated employees are paid out their leaves and other benefits according to their applicable MOU.
Completed
Develop ongoing communication with employees to advise them of their retirement benefits, with a specific discussion of the Section 20692 optional benefit that allows for EPMC to be converted to final pay in the employee’s last 12 months of employment prior to retirement.
HR Benefits created a retirement checklist with EPMC verbiage. It is provided to employees who reach out to inform HR of their upcoming retirement. HR also sends employees the checklist when retirement PAE's come through at Step 30. HR's Role - explain what EPMC is to those retirees who qualify per MOU provisions. Payroll's role- discuss EPMC payments and salary. CalPERS discusses retirement when applications are submitted or employees meet with a representive.
Completed/ongoin
g
Conduct joint meetings/outreach to employees that have provided their notice of retirement with an HR Benefits and Payroll representative from each group to advise employees on impacts of their MOU provisions regarding Section 20692 EPMC conversion to final pay.
HR's role in meetings will be to explain who qualifies for EPMC and what EPMC is. Payroll will calculate the EMPC payment for qualified employees.
Ongoing
Retirement
Reflection on Internal Controls
Timekeeping
Separations from Employment Process
Resignations or Terminations (including
initiation of the retirement process)
Attachment G
Implement the recalculation of final pay due to EPMC conversion immediately upon acceptance of retirement notice received from the employee (or upon election of such benefit by sworn Fire employees per their MOU provisions).
Payroll calculates when PAEs are processed. Election forms are not a requirement. The City is obligated to calculate and report EPMC for all employees who have EPMC in MOUs and CalPERS contracts.
Ongoing
CalPERS Reporting Conduct annual internal audits of CalPERS reported compensation and contributions information by someone outside of the HR and Payroll teams.
We need to meet with the vendor or CFO/ACFO to confirm how this will be handled. Are they refering to using our external auditor?
TBD - Need
feedback from
DCM/Baker Tilly
Functional Roles and Responsibility
Assignments
Review the HR and Payroll Duties table to determine any changes necessary to overall responsibility for various payroll-related functions.
HR and Payroll met to review all PAE processes and create a separation of duties by department and divisions.
Completed
Conduct periodic employee surveys to evaluate payroll-related processes performance and identify opportunities for continuous improvement.
Ask Baker Tilly if they have templates used in prior studies. Meet with CFO/ACFO to develop an outline, process, and clear expectations on addressing concerns.
TBD
Develop mutual goals for Payroll and HR to accomplish in improving the employees’ experience with payroll-related services and outcomes.
Continue holding joint monthly meetings with HR and Payroll to discuss challenges, goals, aras of improvements, and overall processing.
Ongoing
Payroll Process Review Area Recommendation Comments Status Develop and conduct periodic training sessions, collaboratively planned by Payroll and HR, for employees on the use of Tyler/Munis and about various payroll-related processes.
HR - PMIII conducts training for PAE processing and provides ongoing support. HR PMIII also updates end user guides and distributes when updates occur. HR Benefits provides guides and in-person support sessions for employee benefits portal. Annual Group Training is a good idea. Is it better to cover all information or break it out by portals and hold subject matter sessions?
In Progress
Use the process maps developed herein to inform operating department and Payroll/HR employees about the payroll process.
HR reviewied maps - To Be Maps feedback: ONBOARDING NEW EMPLOYEE - does not review & approve. They create in MUNIS then department finalizes. Payroll does not front load recruitment incentives, this is completed after new hire orientation. HR BENEFITS ENROLLMENT - MUNIS does not have import for CalPERS appointments, these are entered manually. LEAVES OF ABSENCE - PMIII has no inolvement in leave approvals. COMPENSATION AND/OR CLASSIFICATION CHANGES - DCMs approve but CM signs memos, not moving to electronic per Approval Matrix. RESIGNATION OR TERMINATION - Benefits sends out COBRA docs at step 30 and does not wait until Director Approves due to timeliness. By the time they process the documents and submits to Director for signature, step 55 has been completed. This could be adjusted and we could create a step 25, if necessary. RETIREMENT - EPMC HR will educate employee on if they qualify for EPMC and explain what EPMC is. Payroll processes and provides information on salary adjustments. EPMC is not just for Fire so this is incorrect. DECEASED EMPLOYEE - Step 30 is before Step 55. Benefits processes paperwork before Director approval. This could be adjusted and we could create a step 25, if necessary. SEMI- MONTHLY PAYROLL PROCESSING - For HR does this refer to GAP reports and/or Benefit Adjustments? HR agrees with remaining recommendations on TO-BE process map.
Get more feedback
from BakerTilly on
maps
recommendations.
Create periodic brown-bag lunch meetings or other types of engagement opportunities with key users of the payroll module to discuss successes, training topics, and opportunities for improvement.
Payroll and HR to set up regular check in meetings with department SMEs to discuss processes, concerns, recommendations, assist with questions and address issues until ongoing group meetings are in place.
TBD
Retirement
Collaboration Between Payroll and Human
Resources
Training
Attachment G