Thursday, June 20, 2019

UVAFinance Moves to Encourage Professional Development with new Ed Benefit Policy

About the Policy 

UVAFinance leadership desires to improve employee work skills, retain valued employees, increase innovation/productivity, and enhance employee satisfaction by providing funds for professional development in addition to the UVA Education Benefit program.  Our aim is to encourage a learning environment by supplementing the central pool of funds.  

Some Background about UVA's Ed Benefit

The University of Virginia’s Education Benefit, managed by University Human Resources, offers financial support for tuition and professional development. The tuition benefit is available for use on for-credit coursework toward a degree or academic certificate program. The professional development benefit is available for use for job- or career-growth related offerings, relevant to an employee’s current role. Up to $2,000 may be used for professional development, and a maximum of $4,360 is available for use between the two benefits. Additional information about the University of Virginia’s Education Benefit can be found at this link: http://www.hr.virginia.edu/hr-for-you/university-staff/university-staff-benefits/education-benefits/.

Policy Statement 

UVAFinance is a learning organization and encourages continuous learning for team members. If an employee has expended all funds provided by the UVA Education Benefit, she/he can submit a request to fund additional coursework or professional development. Approval must be attained through the use of a form (UVAFinance Professional Development Benefit Request), will be granted at management’s discretion, and is based on available funds, job relevance, and eligibility. Any costs related to travel will be paid by the department, and expenses for books and fees are not reimbursable. Eligibility: Eligibility is determined based on the same requirements as the UVA Education Benefit Policy. The employee must have an appropriate performance review on file.

Expectations

  • The employee has already expended all available UVA Education Benefit funds during the calendar year of request.
  • The employee will remain at UVA or an affiliate organization for a period of 12 months (unless involuntarily separated).
  • The employee will maintain or exceed the current performance level with no decrease in workload. Arrangements for alternate work schedules, if needed, must be documented and approved by the employee’s manager and recorded in the employee’s HR record.

Note: The Internal Revenue Code (IRC) requires reporting and withholding of income and FICA taxes for Tuition and Professional Development Benefits whenever those payments exceed $5,250 annually for each employee. Tuition reimbursements, exceeding $5,250 will be considered taxable income and reported to the Internal Revenue Service. Federal, state and FICA taxes will be withheld on any amount in excess of $5,250.

What's new with Finance Transformation?

We have a new website!  It's a great place to check out project basics, review timelines, find out who from your area is working on the project.  Check out the feedback button in the upper right for an easy way to contact the project team with questions, ideas, or concerns (completely anonymously unless you want to add your name).
Leave the FST a question or comment
in our locked suggestion box!

If you happen to be in Carruthers Hall, you can also leave your thoughts with us via suggestion box in the lobby.

Curious about how we'll resource this project?  Interested in being on the project team?  James Gorman tackles those questions and more in his latest Q&A on the community.  At the bottom of his post, Krisztina Kiss has added Q/A from the great folks at June 12th's Fiscal Administrator meeting. 

We want to hear from you!  

Keep in touch with us:





UVAFinance Reward & Recogniton Program Unveiled!

You told us in a recent survey that we needed better paths to recognize team members.  After lots of work by your colleagues, we're glad to unveil the UVAFinance Reward & Recognition program!

The program is designed to provide timely and transparent recognition that is consistently applied across all UVAFinance areas. Team members are recognized for demonstrating the UVAFinance core values as they perform their daily work and/or for participation on special projects. Selected employees may receive a monetary award.

It's not just for managers! This program is for peer recognition as well.  

Keep using the Shout-Out board -- this program is not intended to replace informal recognition of our peers.

How It Works



Starting June 24, you can find the UVAFinance Reward & Recognition tool here: https://fawkes.uvafinance.virginia.edu/app-portal/app-portal.php


Any UVAFinance team member can submit a nomination using the Nominate menu option.

Nominators must select the applicable core value and describe the accomplishments of the employee. Nominations are not dependent on special project work! Employees can be recognized for everyday exceptional work as well.

The VPF leadership team plus two UVAFinance team members will review the nominations monthly to ensure timely communication. All nominated individuals will be celebrated at a quarterly event.


Future Plans

Future plans for the site include images and the ability to recognize teams.


Thank you to UVAFinance employees for their grassroots idea and the original R&R workgroup: Lori O’Connor, Lorie Strother, and Patty Marbury, and Jay Gallimore for his technical expertise!

Small Dollar Purchase Limit Increase


Procurement & Supplier Diversity Services is happy to announce that as of July 1, the small dollar purchase limit has been raised to $100,000!

The Details:

Beginning July 1, 2019, purchases between $10,000 and $100,000 will require only:
Purchases over $100,000 will continue to require a formal procurement solicitation such as an RFP.

What does this mean? 

More purchase orders will be approved much faster, especially if issued to a contract vendor.

Let us know if you have questions -- we're happy to help!



Monday, June 17, 2019

Carruthers Hall Summer Blood Drive



We are happy to announce that the next drive is scheduled for Wednesday, June 26 from 10:00am – 2:30pm.

Sign up online at redcrossblood.org or contact Stacey Rittenhouse 434-924-4294. 

 Appointments preferred. Walk-ins Welcome

UVA Saves Hour is Thursday, June 27

Every year, UVA participates in a test of a state-wide program to reduce electricity consumption during peak demand periods in summer months.  Our goal is to save 5.28 megawatts or energy, the equivalent of 3,915 American households during the one-hour test.

To reach that goal, everyone needs to help!  


Here's how you can participate: 

  • Help turn off lighting throughout your building and use natural light instead
  • Unplug kitchen appliances for the duration of the test
  • Unplug things at your desk like chargers, fans, etc.
  • Minimize your computer's energy:
    • Undock your laptop from its charging station
    • catch up on some non-computer work
    • take a HoosWell fit break with your supervisor's permission


Brought to you by the Carruthers Hall Green Team

Save the Date: The 3rd Annual Travel & Expense Expo is headed your way!



Mark September 19 on your calendar!  The Travel and Expense Team is preparing another great Expo for UVA travelers and travel planners.  More information soon . . .

Tuesday, June 11, 2019

New on Finance Matters: Productivity and Workflow


Jessica Rafter
We've got two very different guests joining us on today's episode to talk about productivity and workflow: Jessica Rafter, who works remotely managing our online community, and Mara Hilliar, Executive Assistant to the VP of Finance. Together we work through strategies we've adopted to keep ourselves organized and productive: what's worked, modifications we've made, and ideas we'd like to try. The key thing we've learned? Experiment with different strategies until you find something that feels comfortable! There are lots of ideas in this pod, and we hope some of them will work for you!

LISTEN HERE

Wednesday, June 5, 2019

Introducing the Finance Shirt Friday Team

Devin Foster, Alamanita Graves, Mel Miller, Stacey Parmenter,
Nick Williams, and Irene Paschall.  Not pictured:  Danielle Brown



If you've been out and about in Carruthers Hall lately, you've probably seen evidence of a renewed emphasis on "Finance Shirt Friday," and hopefully, you've been reminded to keep your UVAFinance t-shirt and/or polo in rotation and to recognize your colleagues on the Shout-Out board.

Who's responsible for this swell of Finance Shirt Friday spirit?  It's the Finance Shirt Friday Team!

The Finance Shirt Friday Team is a group of employees who answered the Culture Crew's call for volunteers to build team spirit within UVAFinance.

Composed of Mel Miller, Almanita Graves, Danielle Brown, Nicholas Williams, Stacey Parmenter, Irene Paschall. and Devin Foster, they're invigorated and eager to promote a fun atmosphere within our workplace.

The team says they aim to increase participation in Finance Shirt Friday, not just because of the possibility of prizes, but because it allows everyone a chance to feel camaraderie and meet colleagues from other areas.

"We want to showcase who we are as UVAFinance and celebrate supporting this family," says team member NickWilliams.

The group wants to extend the impact of Finance Shirt Friday, encouraging more participation from every area of UVAFinance and recognizing those who join in.


Team member Danielle Brown hopes getting more people involved will allow people more opportunities to connect with their work family.

The Finance Shirt Friday Team agrees, saying that it puts faces with names in and outside of your own department, encourages engagement, fosters unity, and recognizes the excellence that exists within our Finance community.

If you'd like to participate with this high-energy group, they would love to have you!

"We're interested in creative ideas to promote collegiality," says member Almanita Graves, adding, "more people make that creativity stronger -- the more, the merrier!"

________________________________________________________________________________

Contact any member of the Finance Shirt Friday Team if you're interested in joining the team.

Watch for more from this group around the building and in upcoming blog posts!

More information about Culture Crew opportunities can be found here. 









Don't Miss UVA Forward!



Only 75 spots left! 

THIS EVENT IS IN THE PAST

Register now on the UVA Forward site!


What do we have planned? 


See who's speaking:




Read more about our Community Focus

Tuesday, June 4, 2019

UVAFinance: New shortcuts in your startup menu

Thanks to our LSPs, UVA Finance team members now have four new helpful shortcuts available in their startup menu (placed there so your desktop isn't too cluttered!):

Thanks for making it easier for us, LSPs!

  • Finance Help Desk:  Need to submit a ticket?   Just click and you're routed to KACE.
  • Finance Remote Support: If you're away from Carruthers and need your LSP to remotely access your machine to help you, this link will be at the ready.
  • UVA Network SetUp Tool:  this is the new browser-based tool that provides access to Eduroam Wi-Fi (which will eventually replace Cavalier and Jefferson)
  • UVA HR & Workday:  Launch Workday with a couple of clicks
  • UVA Password Reset:  Link to ITS' password help and ID lookup
 
If you have ideas for other shortcuts that might be helpful, contact Mike Hayton or Linda Estepp.

Monday, June 3, 2019

Continuous Improvement Bright Spot:



A key part of continuous improvement culture is "finding the bright spots" -- looking at who has had success making changes and operating differently. Small changes can make a big difference!
____________________________________________________________________________________


The Issue:  Recon@ provided limited flexibility for Fiscal Officers seeking key performance measures such reconciliation completion, delinquency of accounts, and more.

The Improvement: The Recon@ team had been using Qlik for a while to manage their interaction with data.  They decided to expand this availability to all by developing a module in Qlik Sense that makes data more attainable and quicker to get.


The Solution: The new Recon@ app in Qlik's Finance Stream of the Qlik Sense hub now gives Fiscal Officers more flexibility in how they slice and dice their data.  Included in the module, users can find a data dictionary and a manual that provides supplemental instruction for navigating the app.   Users can assign this module to others in their unit who need access by contacting recon@virginia.edu with the name and computing ID of the person to be added.


The Benefits: Users can easily check on the status of reconciliation completion by area, identify delinquent projects, find assigned preparers and approvers, and more.


The Bottom Line:  Administrative oversight is easier and quicker than ever.



Got a bright spot to share?  Email bv8h@virginia.edu 

Keeping up with Finance Transformation




















FST Moves Forward with Phase 2:  Read Melody's announcement about Phase 2: Readiness

Slides presented at Advisory Group on Wednesday, May 22.  Includes a project update, and work on Vision and Goals for FST.

Slides presented at Steering Committee on Thursday, May 30.  Furthering the discussion of Vision and Goals.

Project Portfolio Roundtable June 12

to register, click here:  at.virginia.edu//UPP-Roundtable

University Night at Scott Stadium: UVA vs. FSU



Virginia Football hosts Florida State on Saturday, Sept. 14 for the ACC home opener at Scott Stadium. Kickoff is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. under the lights!

This game will mark the second annual University Night at Scott Stadium when we will celebrate the achievements of UVA faculty, staff and students.

Special Offer for You!
As a valued member of the University community, we'd like to extend a special ticket offer to you for the University Night football game vs. FSU. 

Click here to purchase tickets starting at just $25 - a savings of over 50% - and then invite family and friends to join!

Thank you for your support of Virginia Football. Go Hoos!

UVAFinance: Securely delete sensitive files

Did you know?  Highly sensitive data should not be deleted in your computer's standard recycle bin.  Instead, use the Secure Deletion Shredder recently installed as a desktop shortcut on your machine.  Our LSPs added this software to align with Information Security's best practices. 

Look for this icon on your desktop:




Read more about device security at UVA.

New on Finance Matters

"Switch - How to Change Things When Change is Hard"

Brandi and Patty welcome Theran Fisher back to the podcast, this time to discuss Chip and Dan Heath's immensely useful book "Switch." As a part of his role with UVA's Talent Development department, Theran has used "Switch" to help many professionals understand how to understand and motivate themselves and their teams during times of change. Get on your elephant and listen in!

Theran Fisher



The Importance of Resilience

On this edition of Finance Matters, we welcome Lisa Harris, Senior Learning & Development Consultant with UVA's Talent Development Department, back. This time, we're talking about resilience: what it is, why it matters, and how we can cultivate it in ourselves and our teams. We cover a lot of ground in 35 minutes: "embracing the suck," mindfulness, and jello shots. Tune in and learn the power of bouncing back!

Lisa Harris