DEPARTMENT OF EMPLOYMENT SERVICES IT SYSTEMS MODERNIZATION

The state’s Department of Employment Services provides essential services to state workers by administering the state’s unemployment insurance (UI) program and worker benefits, helping connect jobseekers with jobs, and providing other employment services. These services are even more critical given the massive economic dislocations exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic, and the associated increase in the claims backlog and delays for outgoing benefits payments.

In the past several years, the Department of Employment Services has launched multiple efforts to re-build and modernize its technology portfolio for both the Unemployment Insurance Benefits System and Tax System, including:

• Multiple acquisitions for complex technology vendor services

• Integration and streamlining of critical systems

• Critical upgrades

Each of these efforts supports a broader transformation to better serve state residents for years to come by modernizing systems and processes for unemployment benefits, employer taxes, and the online claimant portal.

In this multisystem, multivendor modernization journey, Agilian serves as the central Project Management Office (PMO) and provides technical staff augmentation services for the Unemployment Insurance Benefits and Tax Systems Modernization Projects. Agilian supports systems requirements clarification, interfaces, data migration, integration, testing, quality assurance, organizational change management, and vendor management.

Through this initiative, the state is embracing technological advancements to enhance the delivery of unemployment insurance services, providing a more efficient and effective experience for both employees and employers alike.

Results: Since Agilian has joined the Department of Employment Services’ UI Modernization Program in 2022, Agilian has established standard project management and reporting processes, conducted a comprehensive program performance assessment, re-baselined project plans and schedules for both the UI Benefits and UI Tax Systems, accelerated the schedule for go live, and improved communication and collaboration among the department’s leadership, program stakeholders, and vendors.