Paying and Overpaying
New Processes in Payroll
by
Mike Fleming
Two thousand and four has brought around a few changes to our office, not the least of which circle around payments and overpayments. On the payment side of things, direct deposits have moved on-line. While there have been some growing pains, none in Payroll doubt that this is a massive improvement over the previous paper system. Likewise, thanks in large part state requirements, the process of paying back overpayments has also changed. Seeing an opportunity, Payroll went through a process improvement and is now claiming formerly lost money from old overpayments; some of the amounts might surprise you.
Direct deposits have been used at the University for some time and, as with any old program, it has long been looked at for improvement. Keeping with the theme of moving to a more knowledge-driven division, it was decided that direct deposits would become a guinea pig of sorts.
Using many online check-paying systems as a base, the Employee Self-Service Team (ESS) created the direct deposit online. No more does an employee have to trudge over to the Payroll Office or their local Payroll Coordinator to pick up a direct deposit form, fill it out, attach a check, and then mail it to us, hoping that it reaches our office. Now, all an employee has to do is log into ESS, check the correct box, enter their new account information, and they’re finished. The fact that the change can be made from the comfort of their own home, at 3:00 AM, should the need arise, is a huge improvement over the old, manual system.
On the flip-side, there’s the matter of money that the Payroll Office needs to get back. When an employee is paid more than they should have been, that’s an overpayment and it’s money that needs to be paid back. This allows the money to be fed back into the budget from whence it came. Thanks in large part from new processes handed down by the state legislature, this has all changed and specific actions must be taken in specific order. Payroll saw this as an opportunity for process improvement, brought on an extra hand (in Todd Wilder) to help out, and has cleared out many of the older overpayments using the new system.
In the old system, notice was sent to the employee that they had been overpaid and then the solution was largely up to the department. The new process has added a few new wrinkles. Control of the collection efforts has been centralized into the Payroll Office. Now that there’s a more clearly defined structure available on the web, the departments do not have as much responsibility for reclaiming the overpayment and can hand it over to the Payroll Office. In this way, the overpayment team has been able to follow up on overpayments with much more accuracy. So far, using the new system, the overpayment team of Sharon Langlois and Todd Wilder has reclaimed over $230,000. Way to go, guys! |
