Project Unity Migration

Executive Summary

A rapidly growing technology company was struggling with a fragmented payroll provider landscape across 18 countries in EMEA and APAC. They selected a new global unified payroll platform but lacked the internal expertise to manage the massive data migration and parallel run validation required. I led the implementation, ensuring data integrity and compliance throughout the transition.

The Challenge

The project faced several critical risks:

• Dirty Data: Inconsistent data formatting across the 18 legacy providers (e.g., date formats, address fields).
• Tight Timeline: The license for the legacy provider was expiring in 90 days.
• Complex Compliance: Countries involved included France and Germany, known for highly complex social security calculations.

The Solution

I implemented a rigorous "extract-transform-load" (ETL) strategy tailored for payroll:

1. Standardized Data Templates: Created a master data template with built-in validation rules (using Excel/VBA) to catch errors before upload.
2. Automated Variance Analysis: Developed a script to compare the legacy "Gross-to-Net" reports against the new system's parallel run output line-by-line, instantly highlighting discrepancies > $0.01.
3. Phased Go-Live: Split the 18 countries into 3 waves based on complexity, ensuring the team wasn't overwhelmed.