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Return to Article: GSA awards governmentwide contracts for human resources technology

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  Why is there never input from the users and people who will be affected--instead of the automatic assumption that Shared Service Centers will be better and cheaper? Since EPA has converted to the Defense shared service center, I have lost both money--from the excessively long delays now in processing changes--and leave from the inaccuracies in the new system. That kind of system certainly doesn't encourage young, new employees to want to come to or stay with the govt. No one considers the fact that everyone now having to be typists, file clerks, and jacks-of-all trades merely because something is on a computer doesn't save money when you have a lot of high-level, poor typists taking ten times as long to do what they aren't familiar with as used to be done by entry-level clerk-typists who were familiar with the systems and entries. Now, most of us have little time to do our jobs for all the data entry in all the systems that are presumed to save us time and money because they are on a computer--but actually waste more. Shared service centers don't consider that for many advanced functions in the govt. it takes a certain number of people to carry out the necessary tasks, whether they are in one place or ten, and making them one-size-fits-all usually creates more inefficiencies trying to get around the things that don't fit in the system for each agency's unique needs. That doesn't even count the fact that I have learned from nearly thrity years of contracting that it always costs more to have a private contractor do the same job at the same level as govt. employees--who still have to oversee and usually correct or "direct" what the contractor does.

  A concerned govt. employee Posted January 23, 2008 12:20 PM
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  How can the federal SSCs provide the expanded services that customer agencies demand when the SSCs Departmental management manages the purse strings? Why did OMB/OPM change the longstanding rules about the 3 core HRLOB services and allow the private sector vendors to respond with solutions that did not include payroll? How can the private SSCs truly compete when they are not equal to the federal SSCs who all provide payroll services as well? Why didn't GSA reveal that additional vendors beyond the initial 3 will be added in the very near future? Why is DoD being allowed to replace of their front-end HR systems outside of the HRLOB framework? How can the federal government truly move forward in a unified fashion when agencies like EPA, Labor and VA are allowed to make multiple switches between HR and payroll providers, burning up scarce resources and bumping small agencies out of the queue?

  MP Posted January 3, 2008 3:02 PM
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  I previously worked with DOD and we had (first) the PERSACT system and later the MODERM System. Both of these were better than what I am now working with. The MODERN System, while somewhat cumbersome at first, proved to be a very workable start to finish electronic processing system. The speed at which I could process an action from cradle to grave was exceptional..... we really need to look at some of these in used and proven systems before spending a large amount of money on a system that doesn't greatly improve on what is already available.

  Donald L. DeNike Posted January 3, 2008 11:45 AM
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  It's about time the private sector SSC's were selected. It'll be interesting to see them in operation.

  Joe Campbell's uncle Posted January 3, 2008 8:59 AM
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  The voice of experience should be paid much attention when more HR data is being outsourced. (1) Protect PII (Personally Identifiable Information). (2) Ensure all contractors/consultants meet full background investigation requirements BEFORE they gain access. (3) Ensure no overseas companies are allowed to work with federal PII. (4) Whenever possible, contractors should work with TEST data...not real Social Security Numbers, etc.

  (5) This is a big one that agencies have allowed contractors to run amok with tax payers dollars...Begin NO system work until Agency System Requirements are approved by Federal Managers of those systems.

  I'm generally a hopeful person, and I've work with both good and bad contractors/consultants. However, as of late, I've seen way more mis-managed failures than successes.

  Don Posted January 3, 2008 7:51 AM