Payroll/HR systems integrated to unite company data, procedures

BY MICHAEL BOROUGHS

It didn't take long following the merger of Boeing and McDonnell Douglas and the acquisition of Rockwell North American for the new Boeing to look like one company with its familiar Stratotype signs and trademarked logo.

Now, five years after the merger and acquisition, Boeing is operating as one company with a single, integrated Payroll and Human Resources system — considered to be one of the largest of its kind in the world. In the process, 47 separate systems used by the heritage companies that now make up Boeing have been retired.

In June, nearly all employees companywide had been converted to the new Human Resources Management System following a phased implementation. Six conversions have been completed and two more are left: Boeing Satellite Systems and Boeing Aerospace Operations in Oklahoma.

"This accomplishment is monumental," said Rich Smoski, director of Boeing People Systems. "It has taken nearly five years to reach this point and involved nearly 500 employees companywide who have been a part of our team and who have had to deal with a variety of obstacles and challenges.

"But, I think the biggest benefit for all of us is that this system allows Boeing to finally become one company," Smoski said.

Laurette Koellner, senior vice president and Office of the Chairman member, said the June milestone is "absolutely tremendous." Koellner, former president of Shared Services Group, said HRMS will reduce transaction costs for Boeing. "If we can save one to two hours per week for all 170,000 employees of The Boeing Company, you can readily see that the potential is enormous."

The new HRMS system consolidates the records of almost 300,000 current, former and retired Boeing employees to provide accurate and consistent information, whether a Human Resources employee is looking up data in St. Louis or a Payroll manager is examining files in Seattle.

Jerry Calhoun, vice president of People for Commercial Airplanes, said the traditional role of HR generalists and specialists is changing, from performing primarily administrative tasks to providing strategic analysis and planning.

"The application of technology in HR processes in my view ultimately will transform the HR person and it is in that, that the value of HR technology will be found," Calhoun said.

"The HR community is now able to get a complete picture of what our company looks like demographically," said Yvette Whitehead, director of Compensation and HR Information Systems for Integrated Defense Systems. "With this single source of information, we, as a company, are better able to plan our future, because we have a more accurate baseline to work from."

Employees now are able to track and update their own personal records through Boeing TotalAccess, a system that includes a secure Web site as well as a 24-hour toll-free telephone number, (866) 473-2016. New functionality is continuing to be added to TotalAccess. In 2004, Boeing retirees will be added to the TotalAccess service.