Decentralizing Financial Management
Organization Profile
- Industry: Municipal
- Location: Nothern California
- Number of Employees: 500+
- Population: 80,000
- Tyler Client Since: 2015
- Tyler Products: Enterprise ERP, Cashiering, Content Manager
Challenge
The city of Pleasanton, California, needed a new HR and payroll system that would work with its more than 25-year-old financial software; but, rather than limiting its search to yet another standalone solution, it elected to look at an ERP solution that could provide integrated HR and payroll system functions. After much research, the city invested in Tyler Technologies’ Enterprise ERP, a powerful ERP solution to would meet all of its needs.
Changing its entire general ledger structure, decentralizing processes, and training all employees on a new software had its challenges, but the city of Pleasanton persevered. In fact, city leaders embraced the challenge of implementing HR and payroll capabilities, followed by other applications — including Enterprise ERP Utility Billing™ and Cashiering™. Pleasanton refers to its rapid implementation process as “ripping off the Band-Aid®.”
Solution
Pleasanton’s existing payroll and HR system was unsupported, so it moved quickly to get Enterprise ERP up-and-running. It worked with Tyler to implement the Enterprise ERP Human Resources and Payroll modules to help streamline the process of managing employee information and eliminating redundant data entry in the payroll process. This also included implementing a Enterprise ERP Employee Self Service portal for electronic time entry, which was a big change to an organization that was still using paper time cards.
Other modules, including financial management, were implemented soon after — with lots of support and training built in for employees. In fact, the day of its go-live, the city of Pleasanton established a computer lab where employees could come in throughout the day and receive one-on-one assistance with invoice entry and contract entry. This helped employees develop a better understanding for the process, as well as permissions and workflow setup.
Employees experienced an impressive learning curve. They were able to quickly gain real-time insight into business operations for strategic decision-making. Better yet, they established consistency of data and processes.
“Our goal was to empower staff to get the data they need to act quickly and confidently,” said Rebecca Perry, ERP coordinator for the city of Pleasanton. “Enterprise ERP provided Pleasanton with fast access to information, simplified reporting, and a time-saving workflow. Now, employees are able to get out of the software what they put into it.”
Enterprise ERP helped us to create a streamlined process, enabling employees to access the data they need quickly. Enterprise ERP keeps us accountable, provides the appropriate background to make informed decisions, and paves the way for increased financial transparency.
Rebecca Perry
City of Pleasanton, California
Results
From utility billing to financial management, the city of Pleasanton is using Enterprise ERP to its fullest potential. “We wanted to successfully utilize our purchase as soon as possible,” admitted Perry. “Our goal was to implement all modules, and we did it. Citywide, all of our processes are now streamlined through workflow.”
Perry shared further: “Decentralizing our cumbersome workflow to empower employees across all departments wasn’t easy.” But in the end, this shift empowered employees at all levels and from all job descriptions to capitalize on data’s potential for improved outcomes.
Today, the city of Pleasanton does not maintain the learning lab it created during the initial implementation of Enterprise ERP. Supervisors are now empowered with the knowledge to train their staff and ensure they are transferring their knowledge effectively.
As added reference for employees, Perry created training manuals specifically for Pleasanton users. She utilizes a task-based software where employees can submit help tickets for any Enterprise ERP-related matters to receive quick assistance. The city of Pleasanton also uses Tyler’s robust support functions, including:
- Step-by-step tutorials in Enterprise ERP
- Tyler online support incident reporting
- Access to the Tyler Community, where employees can network with other Enterprise ERP users
- Tyler University, where employees can take online classes
“Tyler is making it ‘The Pleasanton Way’ to stay up-to-date on new software releases that will make our lives easier,” shared Perry.