With a click, Mac’s new payroll system begins

[img_inline align=”right” src=”http://padnws01.mcmaster.ca/images/Jenner_Julie_payroll.jpg” caption=”Payroll Manager, Julie Jenner, is all smiles as she executes the command to produce the first Mac VIP payroll. Photo credit: Simon Ouellet.”]It's called Mac VIP, and today is its birthday.

The new payroll and human resources management system today produced the first pay for more than 450 hourly paid employees who make up the groups McMaster has referred to for many years as rolls 2 and 5. Between now and the Fall, the remaining 16 employee groups will be converted to the new system, from full-time faculty and staff, to visiting professors. When complete, over 6,000 employees and Faculty will be paid from the new system.

“This is a major milestone for McMaster University; we are literally jumping ahead at least two decades in technology,” says Simon Ouellet, director, human resources operations.

Mac VIP will provide employees more timely pay service through faster turnaround times and also offers more comprehensive information about earnings, deductions and cumulative pay details.

Phase 'B' of the system, scheduled for early in 2007, will enable faculty and staff to access pay and benefit information through a self-service website.

The decision to use phases for the conversion was chosen because it provides the maximum opportunity for testing and verification of data, says Nancy Gray, director of finance. “Due to the size of the employee population, the diversity of employee groups and the sheer scope of the project, I believe the HRIS Steering Committee was wise in adopting a phased approach to conversion,” says Gray.

The employees who received their pay from Mac VIP today were specifically chosen because they are currently on a bi-weekly pay cycle and would see the smallest amount of change to their net pay. Many other employee groups will be migrating from monthly, or semi-monthly pay dates to a bi-weekly system in the future releases. In the end, most employees will be paid every second Friday.

We'll continue to keep you updated as we continue the journey toward full implementation.

In the meantime, a website has been developed to relay information on the conversion process. There is an FAQ section and, for those employees who will be converting to bi-weekly pay dates in the future, there is an online estimator to calculate the change in net pay. Visit www.workingatmcmaster.ca/macvip.

If you have questions, please forward them to macvip@mcmaster.ca.