New HR and Payroll System Launches for 12,000 Employees of
Nation’s Largest Municipal Water and Electric Utility
LOS ANGELES (June 16, 2025) — The Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP) today launched Workday Human Capital Management (HCM) and Workday Payroll for its nearly 12,000 employees, following over a year of close preparation to ensure a successful transition. The adoption of Workday marks a major milestone in the largest municipal water and power utility’s modernization of its internal systems and improving the way the utility’s nearly 12,000 employees interact with timekeeping, payroll, and human resources (HR) operations.
Workday replaces multiple legacy systems including some that have been in place for over three decades. The older platforms were inefficient, required numerous manual workarounds, and created growing challenges involving support and accuracy. By moving to Workday, known for its best-in-class HR and payroll management, LADWP is improving its data integrity and investing in a secure, modern solution that meets today’s workforce needs. The business decision also aligns with LADWP’s digital strategy and will support moving away from paper-based applications. Long-term financial savings are expected through reduced paperwork and minimized human error.
“To best support an industry-leading utility’s complex business needs, we must have modern systems like Workday,” said Janisse Quinones, LADWP CEO and Chief Engineer. “Since I began as CEO a year ago, our entire team has worked hard to ensure a smooth transition to Workday, guided by our principles of professional excellence and transparency. We also know that with any change management and system implementation of this size, there will some challenges, and we’re committed to working through those in partnership with Workday and our deployment team. They have implemented plans, addressed and mitigated concerns, and have put in place a system of care to address any problems our employees may experience as we go live.”
The transition to Workday has been one of the most collaborative and complex IT modernization initiatives LADWP has undertaken, driven by a shared vision to create a better, more efficient experience for the LADWP workforce.
As with any major new technology platform, change management and rapid “hypercare” support for employees after the system is launched will be a key focus to address ongoing training needs, system familiarization and address any specific system issues that need to be refined.
LADWP’s Workday implementation has been guided by three core priorities: systems accuracy, employee readiness, and post-launch operational continuity. LADWP has completed the following measures to ensure success and readiness:
- LADWP ran Payroll Parallel Testing that compared the current payroll system (Employee Information System, or EIS) with Workday Payroll, using the same data sample. Five full parallel test cycles were completed to provide high confidence that employee paychecks generated from the new system will be accurate starting from the first pay period following go-live on June 16.
- All system integrations for payroll operations are complete and tested, ensuring that data flow correctly between Workday and our external partners. Payroll integrations were a substantial portion of the 101 total systems integrations completed and tested as part of the Workday deployment.
- 99%+ of operational payroll reports have been built, validated, and are ready for use by operational teams on day one. Key outputs such as vendor files and tax reports have also been generated successfully during our simulations.
- To date, more than 8,000 LADWP employees have completed Workday training, participating in more than 220 training sessions, including eLearning via Cornerstone Training, virtual Q&A sessions, practice labs and in-person workshops like a Dress Rehearsal and Readiness Fairs. The learning opportunities continue and have been supplemented by daily office hours, targeted job aids, and open access to a Workday practice environment that allows employees to get hands-on experience before the launch.
- On June 5th LADWP held a department-wide Workday Training Day, requiring managers and supervisors to ensure employees complete and review the required Workday training materials.
- The LADWP Workday team collected input from over 400 feedback forms and engaged in over 45 monthly meetings with labor partners, and used that information to refine system designs, training materials, and communications strategies. For example, based on input from the Readiness Fairs and early user testing, LADWP made improvements to FAQs, clarified time entry procedures, and addressed concerns about supervisory structures and reporting lines.
The transition plan includes a carefully staged cutover process, which is already underway. LADWP has validated its production environment, is executing catch-up transactions, and has outlined clear pre- and post-production tasks. To assist with any common challenges from a transition of this size and complexity, LADWP will enter a 20-week Project Team and Workday Hypercare Support period after go-live, which will provide intensive triage support to any employees through dedicated phone help lines, a digital service/support tool, and in-person assistance. Calls and tickets will be triaged and escalated to appropriate subject matter experts as needed. In addition, LADWP has secured long-term support through April 2026 with its Application Management Services (AMS) partner to ensure stability and ongoing improvement.
About LADWP
The Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP) is the nation’s largest municipal water and power utility, serving more than four million residents of Los Angeles, its businesses and visitors. For more than 100 years, LADWP has provided the city with reliable water and power service in a cost-effective and environmentally responsible manner. With a workforce of nearly 12,000 employees, LADWP is guided by the five-member Board of Water and Power Commissioners, appointed by the Mayor and confirmed by the City Council.
