How do we connect 400 departments and 38 divisions?

Ground-breaking research
The University of California, Irvine (UCI) is one of the best and most innovative universities in the United States, with 37,000 students, 24,000 employees, and featuring one of the nation’s highest ranking medical centers. Located in Orange County in southern California, as well as its ground-breaking cancer and neuroscience research, UCI is renowned for its business and engineering schools. It is also Orange County’s second-largest employer, contributing $7 billion to the local economy every year.

Lost opportunities
UCI’s HR and payroll employee support systems were highly decentralized across its 400 departments, 38 divisions, medical center, and college of health sciences. Each relied on disparate legacy technologies and the localized knowledge of individuals within each team. As a result, numerous opportunities for collaboration, measurement, cost savings, operational efficiencies, and service improvements were being lost.

Employee Experience Center
When The University of California System decided to move all 270,000 employees onto a new, centralized payroll system called UCPath, it was a catalyst for UCI to transform the employee experience of accessing HR and payroll services. Its goal was to create a single, consistent, modern, and easy to use technology platform as the source of all HR and payroll information, support, and services. It capitalized on a well-established partnership with ServiceNow, selecting ServiceNow HR Service Delivery to design and build a one-stop-shop called the Employee Experience Center (EEC).

Informed decision making
At go-live in January 2020, UCI deployed 60 HR and payroll support services, published 100 knowledge articles, and expects many more enhancements to come in further release phases. As a result, 35% self-service was achieved within three months. Just three months later, ServiceNow was one of the key technology platforms underpinning UCI’s COVID-19 response, enabling a daily outreach service to all employees. Data-driven dashboards are providing powerful insights for HR, IT, and executives across UCI, informing decision making and service improvements.

Data-driven excellence
The EEC has transformed the ease of access, availability, and quality of HR information, services, and support available to all of UCI’s 24,000 employees. Data and dashboards are revolutionizing UCI’s visibility into service quality and potential service improvements. Feedback from users and stakeholders alike is extremely positive, with an 87% ‘ease of use’ score. The platform is seen as an important, long-term asset for UCI, with strong support for further refinements and additions to the EEC’s capabilities, such as Live Chat.

Download PDF