Find out how we're designing a new way of working with our Digital HR Transformation Programme.
Overview
What it is: The Digital HR Transformation Programme will elevate the employee experience, providing a contemporary experience for current and prospective leaders and employees. It will realise our aspiration of becoming an employer of choice, fostering the flourishing of our staff.
Why it’s better for you: The Programme will modernise our systems, processes, and practices, streamlining operations and enabling colleagues to work more efficiently. Employees will experience more efficient HR processes, quicker enquiry response times, easier access to their personal information, and increased transparency in HR related matters.
Why it’s better for the University: Enhancing the employee experience, which directly impacts the student experience, will be pivotal in attracting and retaining talented individuals from diverse backgrounds.
When it’s happening: The contract with our current HR and payroll provider expires in August 2026, by which time we aim to launch the new system.
How it will launch: The Programme is made up of many different components. HR service improvements will be introduced independently to the system, and roll-out of them will be communicated individually.
About the Digital HR Transformation Programme
In 2023, we launched the University’s People Strategy after consultation with the University community. There are four pillars that underpin the strategy, and the Programme is our commitment to the ‘getting the basics right’ pillar.
The Programme is fundamental to the way HR operates and the HR experience across the University. It provides wider opportunities to improve how we all work and enhance the experience of future, present, and past employees. Ultimately, it will empower us to fulfil our commitments to our leaders, staff, unions, and students outlined in the People Strategy and the Inclusive Sussex Strategy.
What's included
The Programme consists of two main projects:
- System Project: This focuses on implementing a replacement HR and payroll solution.
- Service Improvement Project: Alongside the system changes, this project aims to improve HR services such as process enhancements, guidance improvements, and more efficient enquiry management.
Expectations
Our Programme objectives are:
- Implementation of a new, integrated HR and payroll system
- Ensuring efficient and effective HR service delivery
- Introducing employee and manager self-service capabilities to streamline processes
- Enhancing HR reporting capabilities
- Eliminating duplication to empower managers and enhance our employment brand
What comes next
We are currently considering potential timelines for future phases, which could see the addition of recruitment and learning management modules, to unify these currently separate systems. We will share more information on this as it becomes available.
Timeline
The contract with our current payroll and HR provider expires in August 2026. The milestones below are designed to enable us to smoothly transition from the old to the new system.
We are now working towards:
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Discovery
This phase was completed in March 2024, by conducting discovery workshops across the HR Division and mapping out the current processes. This developed the potential options and defined the recommendations for the next phase. The Outline Business Case was approved by the Capital Strategy and Investment Board in April 2024.
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System selection
From April 2024, we entered a formal procurement process to assess and consider potential suppliers against the requirements that have been gathered. Individuals across the HR Division and wider University will contribute their expertise in the scoring and evaluation of supplier responses.
This phase concludes with a Final Business Case, once the formal procurement process and evaluations have been completed, in the autumn of 2024.
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Implementation
Throughout March 2025 to March 2026, once a supplier has been selected, we will work to build and implement our new system.
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Launch of new HR and payroll system
We aim to launch the new system in August 2026.