Employer Rollout Project Charter

Employer Reporting Work Group Charter

TABLE OF CONTENTS (revise later based on edits)

1MePERS PROJECT OVERVIEW

2Employer Reporting Work Group SCOPE

2.1.1Data Integrity

2.2Goals and Objectives

2.3MainePERS Roles

2.4Project Deliverables

2.4.1MainePERS Team Roster

2.4.2Employer Reporting Work Group

2.4.3MePERS Employer Compliance Guide

2.4.4Training Plan

2.4.5 Testing

2.4.5EPF Certification

2.4.6Employer Training Schedule

2.4.7Employer Training

2.4.8Rollout Plan

2.4.9Employer Support

3. EMPLOYER REPORTING WORK GROUP MEETING SCHEDULE

3.1

4MePERS Project Team

1MePERS PROJECT OVERVIEW

The MePERS Line of Business (LOB)project is well underway. A significant component of the LOB project involves the transition of all current Employer Reporting and Contributions processing to the new MePERS system. Included in this rollout are modifications to current processing rules that will require documentation, communication, training and testing for the employers. In addition to changes to processing, a self service portal will be available for employers. One of the objectives of the Employer Reporting Work Group t is to raise awareness of and encourage employers to adopt the new tools that MePERS will offer. This shift in processing modes will also affect the Employer Services unit at MainePERS by reducing the amount of data entry and”scrubbing,“and freeing up staff to spend more time supporting employers in the use of new features and otherancillary services to employers.

The involvement of the employers and MainePERS staff is crucial to the success of this effort. Because of their uniqueness and size, the State of Maine will receive similar, but separate, communications and interactions to the PLD and Teacher Employers.

2Employer Reporting Work Group SCOPE

The success of the Employer and Payroll Reporting components of the MePERS project is dependent onimproved employer compliance with existing business rules and their willingness to usethe self service functions. Without employer buy-in, there will be little or no benefit from the substantial investment of time and money MainePERS is making in new technology.

2.1.1Data Integrity

MePERS, if implemented as designed, will assist with furthering data integrity and should decrease the amount of time required to finalize member benefits.

2.2Goals and Objectives

Goals / Objectives
Successfully communicate processing changes to Employers /
  1. Update all employer contact information to ensure we have the “right audience” for all employers.
  2. Develop an employer compliance document, including modifications to contributions reporting data and EPF validations, to ensure that 80% of EPF employers are following the new rules prior to rollout of the MePERS system
  3. Achieve 100% compliance with new rules within 12 months of rollout.

Transition employers to self service features /
  1. Achieve the following goals for all legacy EPF filers
  2. 60% filing via self service at rollout (remaining 40% still posting to FTP site for MainePERS processing), including validation processing.
  3. 100%filing via self service 12 months after rollout.
  4. Achieve the following goals for all Legacy Paper filers
  5. 50% filing using web data entry at the time of rollout.
  6. 80% filing using web data entry 12 months after rollout.

2.3MainePERS Roles

Business Unit / Impact to and Participation of Organization
Employer Services Unit / This group is most familiar with the employers and the current issues and risks that this effort may face.
The largest impact on this unit will be at the time of actual rollout,when staff roles shift to more of a “help desk” function.
Information Technology / Current payroll reporting infrastructure will need to be de-activated following rollout.
Level 2 Help Desk support for technical issues during testing and following rollout.
Retirement Services / At rollout, delays and issues with employer data may affect the ability to finalize benefits in the short run.

2.4Project Deliverables

To manage the project we’ve broken it into the following deliverables or tasks. The definition of each is in the sections that follow.

Deliverable(s) / Owner / Deliverable Due Date
MainePERS Team Roster—Kathy Alley / July 27, 2007
Project Charter – MePERS PMO / August 15, 2007
Confirm Employer Education group participation / October 5, 2007
Convene Employer Working Group / November 15, 2007
System Specifications--Vitech / December 12, 2007
Preliminary MePERS Employer Compliance Guide / February 28, 2008
Final MePERS Employer Compliance Guide-- / April 1, 2008
Employer Training Plan (addendum to Vitech training plan) / April 1, 2009 (3 months before Testing of self service begins per LOB Plan 1)
Employer Testing Plan / April 1, 2009 (3 months before Testing of self service begins per LOB Plan 1)
Self Service-Training Material Completion / May 31, 2009
Employer Training Schedule / June 20, 2009 ( 1 month before self service testing
EPF Certification / July 15-December 31, 2009
Employer Working Group Training / July 2009
Employer Self Service Testing / July 20 - August 21, 2009
Rollout Plan and Schedule / August 31, 2009
Training for All Employers / TBD-based on Rollout & Training Plan
Employer Support / Ongoing

2.4.1MainePERS Team Roster

To be successful a number of MainePERS staff members will be involved. Some will play an ongoing role and others only during certain times of the project. The MainePERS ER Rollout team will include: Marlene McMullen-Pelsor, Kathy Alley, Mary Richards, Tim Wing, Joanne Nelson, Jodi Kimball, Jim True, Tammy Conner, Bob Drury and Deb Fish.

2.4.2Employer Reporting Work Group

MainePERS will identify 10-12 employers representing both PLD and Teacher to participate in the Employer Reporting Work Group. The group will be asked to assist the MePERS project with tasks such as:

  • Review and revision of proposed communications to all employers
  • Identifying the appropriate role and level of involvement of payroll vendors
  • Testing the system and procedures
  • Reviewing and improving the employer training material and user documentation
  • Identifying all benefits to employers, members, or MainePERS, realized by using the new system
  • Promoting broader adoption of the automated aspects of the new system, e.g. employer self-service.
  • Piloted roll-out

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2.4.3MePERS Employer Compliance Guide

This guide will be developed based upon the completion of the MePERS specifications. It will identify all changes to current employer processes and reporting requirements. This document will be reviewed in draft by the Employer Reporting Work Group, modified as needed and then distributed to all employers. The objective is to deliver this at least twelve months prior to the scheduled roll-out.

2.4.4Training Plan

This document will describe the mode and frequency of training to prepare employers for the new system. In addition to in-person training, MainePERS will look at the feasibility of offering online training.

2.4.5 Testing

MainePERSwill want employers to be involved in the testing effort. This plan will include the MainePERS effort and potential involvement of employers. The strategy for testing employer files will also be documented.

2.4.5EPF Certification

Currently employers are encouraged to send MainePERS files prior to becoming an EPF filer or when they have made changes to their current systems. We will continue this effort to test the file for changes made to comply with the requirements of the MePERS project.

2.4.6Employer Training Schedule

MainePERS will create and publish an employer schedule well in advance. The schedule will address attendee limits and registration requirements.

2.4.7Employer Training

Employer Training will occur as close to actual roll-out as possible. Training will be provided by in-house staff based on the pre-defined schedule.

2.4.8Rollout Plan

The MePERS employer self service functions could be rolled out to employers all at once on day one of going live or it could be rolled out in a more controlled manner. The benefits of a phased/controlled rollout is that it will more time to ensure all bugs are worked out of the system, employer call volume can be kept at low, manageable levels, training effectiveness can be evaluated, user and security configuration can be managed more easily. Examples of a phased rollout include:

  1. Employer Working group uses the system for 3 months in production while all other employers are being setup. Month 4 all employers will start using system.
  2. Month 1: Employers 1-10; Month 2 Employers 2-20….
  3. Month 1: Employers over 500 employees; Month 2: Employers over 250 employees; ….

This type of rollout will be based on feedback received from employers, the employer working group, and analysis of the testing results.

2.4.9Employer Support

A plan for providing short term and long term support will be developed. The plan will include staffing identification, tools for tracking issues and assisting employers with the completion of their work processes.

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3. EMPLOYER REPORTING WORK GROUP MEETING SCHEDULE

First Meeting : November, 2007

Quarterly Meetings in 2008

4MePERS Project Team

Project Team Role / Project Team Member(s) / Responsibilities
Employer Rollout Manager / Marlene McMullen-Pelsor / Management of the effort and identification and assignment of the appropriate resources.
Employer Communications Lead / Kathy Alley /
  • Provide expertise on all current employer relations.
  • Team expert on all changes that must be communicated
  • Responsible for employer support efforts throughout the project.

Employer Rollout Team Member / Mary Richards, Tim Wing, Joanne Nelson, Jodi Kimball, Jim True, Tammy Conner, Bob Drury and Deb Fish /
  • Provide knowledge and experience in communicating with employers.
  • Assist with staff communication
  • Assist with developing materials and communications for employers
  • Provide assistance in creation and distribution of communication materials.
  • Information posting to the MainePERS website.

MePERS External Project Manager / Jeff Mills, LRWL Associates / Provide guidance in the creation of project deliverables and project management based on previous experiences for other retirement systems.

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