Nevada’s HR modernization push sets the scene for future innovation
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The state is looking to revamp how it approaches human resource and staff operations after upgrading a decades-old legacy system.
A recent, major upgrade to Nevada’s human resource and financial systems is helping set the stage for future modernization efforts, according to Brian Bowles, director for Nevada's Office of Project Management.
The state’s core financial and human resource functions were operating on mainframe systems that were developed in the 1990s. The disparate, on-premise systems were “almost obsolete on day one because we never had an opportunity to let it grow, to patch it [or to] update it — we had customized it so heavily,” he explained.
By 2023, the need for an upgrade was urgent. That summer, Nevada partnered with IT consulting firm CGI to replace the legacy platform with a cloud-based, modernized enterprise resource planning solution.
The drive behind that modernization initiative, called CORE.NV, came from the need to update the states’ outdated payroll system, which was, by then, supported by “bailing wire and duct tape, at least that’s how it felt,” Bowles said. “We were afraid that it was going to fail every pay period, and we couldn’t let that happen.”
The state launched the first phase of CORE.NV in October 2023, which concluded in January 2025. To get there, state leaders prioritized a technical lift and shift of the legacy system to a minimum viable product, Bowles said.
Nevada and CGI, for instance, worked to ensure the new ERP solution could manage and record financial activity like general accounting, accounts payable and receivable, procurement and other assets, he said. That work provided the foundation to upgrade the state’s payroll system, enabling position control functionality, interface with banks and visibility into HR data on state employees.
Within 90 days of implementation, the modernized solution helped process more than 180,000 checks and more than $3.9 billion in payments, according to the state Office of Project Management.
The ERP solution has also helped streamline administrative tasks and reduce redundancies for staff, giving employees “30 minutes to an hour or two back in their day … and folks can do the jobs they were originally hired to do and not be so involved in the maintenance of the process,” Bowles said.
For instance, state staff could more efficiently access data across sources, instead of managing separate spreadsheets, because “you have all of your data in the same pot. There’s no need for any kind of latency … when you’re trying to get that data from place to place,” he explained.
Users can also leverage data insights the platform offers, such as trends in which agencies experience high turnover rates, to inform leaders’ efforts to improve employee recruitment and retention, said Greg Hussey, senior vice president at CGI.
Leveraging modern ERP solutions can help “improve [a] state’s brand” as governments strive to compete for talent with the private sector, he explained. With updated tools, for example, the public sector can potentially attract more workers who are looking for the mobility and flexibility of applications found in the private sector, Hussey said.
Indeed, Nevada is looking to further innovate its HR and payroll platforms in the next couple of years. Officials are considering how to implement additional modules, like a staff recruitment portal, an applicant management system, a grants management tool and other services, Bowles said.