DuPage County HR reports progress on Dayforce payroll implementation; go-live date remains uncertain

Chris Clevinger, director of Human Resources, briefed the DuPage County Finance Committee Aug. 26 on the department’s FY2026 budget request and the status of the Dayforce payroll and human-capital implementation.
Lede: HR requested modest personnel reclassifications and a repurposed vacant head count for a compensation analyst to support market and equity reviews. Clevinger said the department wants to bring new-employee orientation back in person and expand off‑boarding guidance and intranet resources.
Nut graf: The budget shows an increase in professional services tied mainly to the Dayforce managed-service and software-as-a-service costs. HR staff emphasized the payroll project’s complexity — multiple data feeds, validation and coordination with the finance and IT departments — and said reliability of employee paychecks is the paramount consideration.
Dayforce status: Clevinger said team members have completed parallel payroll testing to identify discrepancies, are performing data migration with IT and continuing weekly meetings with the implementation consultant. He said training materials and user guides are being developed and noted that finance must also validate general‑ledger feeds and reporting before a go-live.
Timeline and risk: The HR director said a target October go-live had been considered but that the committee should expect the county to choose a clean "one-one" start date (the first of a month) only when migration and report validation provide sufficient confidence. "This is people's paychecks. We don't want to make sure that they are correct," Clevinger said. Multiple board members urged caution.
Compensation analyst and classification work: HR proposed reclassifying two positions and using one vacant head count for a compensation analyst to centralize market and equity analyses. Clevinger said the position would handle internal equity assessments, market comparisons (private and public sector), and grading-system upkeep; several members supported the change, noting it would reduce ad hoc requests and provide consistent analysis during union negotiations.
IMRF and pension processing: Members raised longstanding issues with the Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund (IMRF) system rollout; board members and HR said the county has pushed IMRF leadership for fixes to delayed statements and pension-processing issues. HR said it continues to press IMRF and coordinate with county treasurer and state's attorney staff, but that delays remain a concern for retirees and staff seeking pension start dates.
Next steps: HR staff said they will continue parallel tests and data validation and will not set a final go-live date until finance and HR jointly confirm report and feed integrity. The committee accepted the presentation; no vote was taken on Dayforce timing.