OPM tentatively makes new payroll assignments

The Office of Personnel Management tentatively has assigned where the 12 agencies that need a new payroll services provider will go after OPM consolidates the government’s 22 current providers down to four under the E-Payroll Quicksilver project.Janet Dubbert, OPM’s E-Payroll project leader and director of the Office of Payroll, Policy and Systems Integration, said today that the assignments are not final and agencies will have the opportunity to consult with OPM if they have concerns. Dubbert’s comments came after OPM today announced that two teams—one consisting of the Interior Department’s National Business Center and the Agriculture Department’s National Finance Center and the other of the Defense Department’s Defense Finance and Accounting Service and the General Services Administration—were chosen to be the four payroll providers for all agencies.Sources said for the time being, OPM’s assignments are:OPM said on its Web site that the decisions were based on the provider’s experience with similar functions and customers and existing provider and customer technology.The agency had been negotiating with both teams of providers for some time and finally worked out the details of the agreement recently. Eight providers submitted offers and none met all the requirements, prompting OPM to suggest the providers form teams.The four providers in the two winning teams already perform payroll services for about 75 percent of all civilian agencies and all of DOD, OPM director Kay Coles James said.