A major Banner/EISE project milestone is fast approaching, as Eastern Illinois University’s payroll system is to switch to the Banner system to produce paychecks starting in January 2007.

Officials expect a seamless conversion, thanks to employees from Benefits, Payroll, Human Resources and Financial Aid who have conducted a large amount of testing to make sure the transition goes smoothly.

“Our No. 1 priority has been to make sure we pay people accurately,” said Bill Witsman, Banner/EISE project director.

Student employees will see the biggest change, as they will go from being paid monthly to being paid bi-weekly. Graduate assistants will remain on a monthly payroll.

Employees might find that their paychecks have changed by a matter of pennies due to the way Banner rounds numbers differently than the old system.

Also, employees who are paid bi-weekly will notice that Banner calculates some deductions only once per month, instead of taking equal amounts from each paycheck. In the end, the deductions will work out to the correct amount.

Some other universities’ Banner payroll problems stemmed from their lack of testing of the system before making the switchover.

But at EIU, at the end of October and through November, employees “parallel tested” various payroll situations in both the old and new systems to be sure both systems produce the same results.

“This team was really concerned about getting the payroll perfect,” said Joy Craft, assistant director of Human Resources, who serves as team lead for the Human Resources module of Banner. “When we go live, we want it to be a non-event, and I think we’re to that point. Our thinking has never been, ‘Well, it’s close enough.’ The team worked diligently to make things perfect, wanting things to be just right.”

The conversion was complicated by the nearly 60 different employee classes on campus. In fact, the SunGard consultant indicated that Eastern has one of the most complex arrangements for payroll and benefits that he had ever worked with, Witsman said.

In addition, EIU’s Banner testing coincided with extra work required by a State Universities Civil Service System audit and the implementation of new faculty salary increases negotiated in the new UPI contract.

“To say that everyone on the team has put in a lot of work and overtime, a lot of sweat and blood, would truly be an understatement,” said Linda Holloway, assistant director of Payroll & Benefits. “That we’ve met this project deadline on time speaks well of the team. Everyone has stepped up to the plate.”

“Our success really resulted from the whole team pulling together,” Craft said.

Witsman said that although it’s easy to think of Banner as a technological undertaking, it is important to understand the human element of the project.

“This is something that Eastern people from all over campus are instrumental in working on and making it work right,” Witsman said. “This project requires a lot of work by numerous Eastern people resulting in a system that will help manage the University for years to come.”

Time-reporting to change in 2007

Reporting of work time and attendance will change in early 2007 from a system based heavily on paperwork to the Banner time-keeping system, which is mostly done on computers.

“The current system is very inefficient,” Witsman said.

Beginning with the pay period ending Jan. 7, employees will notice a change in the look of time cards and rosters. For the time being, they will still be done on paper that will resemble the online Banner forms. Throughout 2007, HR will phase in a few departments at a time to do all time reporting online.

“What we are trying to do with the development of the time cards and rosters is to give them the same look and feel of the Banner online system so when we get to that point, they’ll be familiar with the format,” Holloway said.

Other upcoming benefits of Banner Payroll

In January employees will begin to see some of the benefits of Banner when they’re able to access their own detailed payroll and benefits information via Banner’s online self-service module.

“As we grow with Banner, there will be additional enhancements that will benefit the employees,” Holloway said. “We just ask for people’s patience as we’re navigating through the process.”

One of the perks of Banner is that it will expand employees’ direct deposit options later in 2007.

“We haven’t finished Banner by any means,” Craft said. “This is just the beginning of Banner. I think the employees will just love it.”

Questions?

Please watch Human Resources’ main Web site (http://www.eiu.edu/~humanres) for a list of frequently asked questions about Banner’s impact on payroll and benefits.

Upcoming milestones for EISE/Banner

By EIU Department of University Communications