Ipswich council partners with Workday to modernise HR systems

Ipswich City Council has entered into a collaboration with Workday and Cognizant to modernise its human capital management systems over the next five years.

The council, which serves more than 256,000 residents in one of Australia's fastest-growing municipalities, employs nearly 1,500 staff responsible for delivering services such as waste collection, parks management, community centres, and libraries. These employees also maintain over AUD $4.1 billion in infrastructure assets including roads, drainage, and community facilities.

As part of this technology transition, Ipswich City Council will implement Workday Human Capital Management (HCM), with Cognizant leading the deployment. The goal is to develop a scalable, data-driven technology infrastructure that supports the evolving needs of the Ipswich community and strengthens the council's internal operations.

The new platform is designed to improve operational efficiency by consolidating all people-related processes into a single system. By reducing manual data entry, the council aims to establish a single source of accurate information for both human resources and payroll tasks.

Another key aspect of the initiative is enhanced data security. Workday's platform incorporates robust cloud-based infrastructure, which the council expects will provide the required resilience and regulatory compliance for public sector operations.

Automation is slated to be introduced across the entire employee lifecycle, which officials anticipate will save staff time and help streamline internal processes. Additional benefits cited include improved employee experience through smoother operational workflows.

Access to advanced artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) capabilities embedded in the Workday platform will support staff in re-focusing efforts on direct community engagement and support activities.

Sonia Cooper, Chief Executive Officer at Ipswich City Council, said, "This transformation in payroll and HR processes will help drive better value for money, more integrated service delivery and an improved customer experience. It is crucial that the council's operations keep pace with community expectations and are fit for purpose to ensure we can continue to deliver services as efficiently as possible."

Jo-Anne Ruhl, Vice President and Managing Director of Workday Australia and New Zealand, commented, "This exciting collaboration marks Workday Australia's first local council customer in Queensland, Australia, and builds on the momentum of our public sector expertise globally. Workday's platform for people and money, with its inherent security and robust cloud infrastructure, is uniquely positioned to help empower local, state, and federal government organisations to drive enhanced citizen engagement."

Rob Marchiori, Country Manager of Cognizant Australia, stated, "We are excited to collaborate with Ipswich City Council on this project, bringing Cognizant's deep industry expertise and innovative technology. This collaboration highlights Cognizant's strategic investment in our public sector team, reinforcing our commitment to delivering positive outcomes for the community. Together with Workday, we aim to help Ipswich City Council leverage modern technology to digitalise and transform HR operations and enhance data security, enabling its workforce to better serve the people of Ipswich."

The modernisation project aligns with Ipswich City Council's objective to ensure its systems and services continue to meet the needs of a growing population and changing regulatory landscape.