TEA Winner: District Modernizes HR Processes
- Industry: School District
- Location: Epping, New Hampshire
- Employees: 210
- Population: 905
- Tyler Client Since: 2019
- Tyler Products Used: School ERP Pro
- Website: https://www.sau14.org/
Challenges
School districts and their business administration offices rely on data to track finances and map their road to success. But it can be difficult for schools to feel confident making decisions based on this data when their ERP software is siloed, disconnected from human resources and personnel expenses, and processed via manual, paper-heavy processes.
When Christine Vayda joined SAU 14 Epping Schools as the business administrator, the district had just purchased School ERP Pro and was quickly seeing added efficiency and transparency in their finance processes. However, gaps in their legacy data became evident once Vayda and her team began to dig into their HR-related information. “Nothing was tied to a contract. You couldn’t really account for which positions were open or which ones were vacated because the district wasn’t using the system to that point. If a position was open, we had no tracking method that could show that,” she explained.
Furthermore, the district was relying on manual methods for everyday HR processes. “Everything was paper,” Vayda recalled. The district sent contracts out to new employees by mail and used paper forms for leave requests, health and dental insurance bills, and purchase orders. These paper-based processes made it difficult to keep a record of past financial data and document budgets throughout the year.
The district needed a system that would connect their HR and payroll data to their financial software, streamline operations, and provide a single source of truth.
Solution
Looking to improve HR processes, the district expanded their School ERP Pro functionality to include its full, cloud-based suite of HR software, such as Employee Access and Position Control. “It was exciting to get the program up and running,” Vayda said. The district was looking forward to reaping the benefits of a single HR and finance system to track personnel budgets, encumbrances, and position contracts. “It’s hard to balance out what your budget will be at year end when you don’t have anything that’s computing all year long, so that was a big drive to make the move,” said Vayda.
Vayda and her team worked with Tyler representatives to implement the School ERP Pro suite, and within a few months the district’s HR portal was up and running. Vayda said, “Everything was really running smoothly and then it was just a matter of welcoming the teachers back and getting them familiar again.”
Knowing that everything in the financial system is all accurate information — from purchase orders to benefits — makes a really big difference, especially at year end
Christine Vayda
Business Administrator, SAU 14 Epping Schools, New Hampshire
Results
With the new additions to their School ERP Pro software, Epping Schools unified processes between financial and HR departments, providing a clearer view into budgets and reducing data silos. A centralized information source gives Vayda and the district confidence in their personnel reporting and budgeting. “The biggest advantage is being able to do our budgets in the system where all the positions are now tied to contracts. Now it’s all true and actual data that’s coming from the positions themselves,” Vayda said. Personnel data now flows directly from the HR portal into the district’s finances, rather than through manual calculation in spreadsheets. “It proves the numbers are right. There’s no questioning if something was mistyped or we miscalculated.”
Vayda has also seen a dramatic decrease in the time it takes to create her state reports and roll over information at year’s end. “My whole budget is in one system, so it’s quick,” she explained. “And with automated processes, we can get through payroll much faster.” With integration between HR and finance, open positions generate contracts automatically, which are sent out electronically instead of by mail. Vayda can have contracts back to the district and signed within the hour instead of the previous two weeks it would take via postage. Reflecting on the changes since implementing the School ERP Pro suite she said, “There’s no measuring the amount of time we save now compared to where we were before.”
The district also participates in Tyler’s Innovator Program for School ERP Pro, providing their valuable insight into the software’s usability. “It’s been informational. It’s exciting to see the upcoming changes and be part of the development process,” Vayda said. The district works closely with developers to evaluate cloud-based functionality in real-world settings. Vayda said, “I think our feedback has been beneficial to the School ERP Pro team because I’ve seen my suggestions added to the system.” Epping Schools’ involvement in this program not only improves the software for their own needs, but also helps to create a better user experience for other districts.