Handled with care: UT Health San Antonio’s Oracle HCM journey towards one cloud

The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, renowned for its excellence, serves as a beacon of hope and wellness for the 1.3 million residents in the surrounding communities. Often referred to as UT Health San Antonio, it boasts the prestigious distinction of being one of just four National Cancer Institute-designated cancer centers in Texas through its Mays Cancer Center. Its diverse and dedicated medical staff provides high-quality care to its patients, all while its accomplished researchers tirelessly pioneer innovative treatments for cancers and other life-threatening ailments. Furthermore, as a prominent institution within the University of Texas system, this health science center offers a comprehensive array of approximately 60 academic programs, building the next generation of medical professionals and healthcare experts.

UT Health San Antonio has partnered with Baker Tilly, a leader within the Oracle PartnerNetwork, to facilitate the transition of its PeopleSoft Human Resource system to Oracle HCM Cloud. This strategic move was driven by the institution's proactive approach to accommodate anticipated growth and effectively address forthcoming challenges. Representatives from UT Health and Baker Tilly described the center’s cloud journey during Oracle Cloud World 2023 in Las Vegas.

A light in the dark

The calibration phase shined a light into the potential dark spaces of this two-year implementation project. The team worked to identify the critical requirements of the users, any legacy inclusions or modules that they'd need to address prior to implementation, as well as highlight any important technical integrations or complexities in advance of the implementation. Prior to taking on any large transformation project, it’s essential for an organization to make sure they are aligned and ready when you start on day one.

Charles Phillips, UT Health San Antonio’s project manager, highlighted that, “Calibration allowed us to face things that may happen through the move from on-premise to the cloud. It allowed us to come to grips with roadblocks or the unknown in advance of the project start. Baker Tilly guided us through calibration based on their experience and allowed us to get in alignment as an organization and really come out of this phase as a team, excited and motivated to get started.”

Harmonize: Starting with a plan

Once aligned on the scope and road map of the implementation and the resources to support the implementation, harmonize was the first true phase of the implementation project. This unique phase is focused on future state business process re-design within the Oracle Cloud application. Baker Tilly’s solution architects are both process engineers and Oracle Cloud Engineer specialists. They drive to solutions that maximize how you an organization runs the business and how an organization leverages the technology. From Oracle Cloud design considerations to feedback and socialization of the solution, activities in this phase are intended to:

• Position for long-term success
• Make decisions with end user in mind
• Drive efficiencies within the organization
• Define future-state business processes
• Build change management efforts
• Support long-term sustainment

Building a strong foundation for organizational endurance is of the utmost importance during this phase. "A bad process will beat a great human resources (HR) system every time. The primary objective of the harmonize approach is to begin with a focus on business process transformation to identify and mitigate inefficiencies linked to people, technology and the process steps. The front loaded in-depth strategic process design sessions exposes Baker Tilly solution architects to Oracle design solutions and strategies beyond the specific process under review." stated Baker Tilly Director, Nathaniel Pease.

Process overviews are key to understanding the workstreams, responsible parties, downstream impacts and overall process administration. One of the primary goals throughout future state process design sessions is to identify change management needs and priorities so they can be proactively planned for to minimize future risk or bottlenecks during system design.

UT Health San Antonio leveraged the outputs of the harmonize phase for HR planning and change management planning.

Begin with the end in mind

As the institution has grown, the need for a more streamlined human resources process has evolved. Alignment and process engineering before implementation is essential to successful and long-term organizational transformation. Baker Tilly's Oracle team guides clients through navigating current and potential future business challenges, equipping them to achieve their goals, now and tomorrow. Discover how Oracle Cloud can revolutionize your organization.