Wednesday, October 6, 2021

Changes to Org Naming in UBI, Workday, and Oracle

ITS recently let us know about some changes to organization names in Workday and Oracle. You can view a list of impacted orgs in the Online Community here.  

You don't need to take any action, but you will see the changes reflected in UBI. ITS will monitor future names or new orgs.

“Future of Work” Green Tips - Health & Wellbeing / Paper

 Contributed by Dana Schroeder, UVA Sustainability

Some UVA employees may be adjusting back to working on Grounds. Many workplace sustainability practices may also happen to make us feel more happy and healthy in the office. Explore ways to incorporate some sustainable and healthy practices into your “Future of Work” routines.
  • Combo Commute - With new pay-by-day or pay-by-hour parking options available through ParkMobile, it could now be possible for nearby residents to commute some days via car and other days via biking, bussing, or walking. You could combine your exercise and travel one or two days per week, while still having more convenient access to your vehicle on other days.
  • Natural Light - While working on Grounds, remember that using natural light could both save electricity and contribute to a positive mood. If there are windows near your desk, open up the blinds and try turning off your overhead light. If need be, find a comfortable common space where you can get some sun for an hour or two.
  • Indoor Plants - If you haven’t already, try bringing in some plants from home to make your workplace feel more comfortable and personal. UVA faculty member Tim Beatley could tell you about the benefits of working in a “biophilic” space, from feeling more connected with nature to maintaining focus on the task at hand.

Some of us may have significantly reduced our paper usage over the past 18 months, as many things transitioned to virtual or electronic format. Consider having a conversation with your colleagues about making paper-saving norms part of your “Future of Work” as well.
  • Paperless Processes - Talk to your team about which electronic processes adopted during COVID can continue indefinitely. For example: doing without handouts at meetings; circulating draft documents for edits in Box or Teams rather than on paper; using electronic signatures where possible, etc. Brainstorm other ideas unique to your workplace.
  • Junk Mail - If unwanted mail in your office’s box piled up during COVID, make it a workplace initiative to unsubscribe and prevent future paper waste. Call companies during business hours and ask “Can someone help remove me from your mailing list?” To encourage the whole team, you might create an “unsubscribe” pile and designate one person who doesn’t mind unsubscribing everyone.
  • Scrap Paper - Did you have any posters, handouts, or other pre-printed documents become obsolete over the course of the pandemic? When tidying up your workplace, create a scrap paper pile for anything that still has one free side. Encourage people to grab scraps for to-do lists and scribbles instead of using post-it notes or other fresh paper.

Wellness Resources

 


Healthy Minds @Work Program

Hoos Well is excited to offer Healthy Minds @Work, an evidence-based, easy-to-follow program designed to fit easily into your daily life through podcast-style lessons, guided meditations, and other practices.

This program can reduce burnout, promote better sleep, boost resilience, and bring more purpose to your life and work. 70% of users report significantly lower depression, anxiety, and stress.

Learn more about the program and how to register HERE.

Personalized Coaching to Reboot Your Health & Well-being

Join FEAP in this highly engaging 6 week class via Zoom that will use the best strategies from Health Coaching and Positive Psychology to help you identify and meet your personal goals.

Classes run from Oct 13 – Nov 17 (3:00 – 4:15 p.m. each Wed)

For more information and how to register, click HERE.


More FEAP Offerings
  • FEAP Virtual Resources Library: https://uvafeap.com/services/virtual-resources-library
  • FEAP Events Calendar: https://uvafeap.com/events
  • FEAP Counseling Services: https://uvafeap.com/counseling-services



Wish Lynn Galasso well as she retires!



On October 22, senior compliance analyst, ARMICS guru, and ICQ administrator, Lynn Galasso will retire.  Please share your good wishes and memories with Lynn on the Kudoboard we've set up here:  

Thursday, September 23, 2021

FST Update September 23, 2021

 



Want to listen to this update instead of reading it? Click here to tune into the WFST Broadcast!
No time to read paragraphs? Check out "Five Things to Know about WFST"

FDM Mapping Update

Some of the FDM mappers in schools and units have begun submitting initial files from their areas for the FST Team to run through the mapping tool. The mapping process is intended to be iterative, and incomplete files are welcomed.  The mapping process continues from now through March of 2022, so these early cycles are great to get a sense of how things are going before we get too far down the road.

Read more on FDM Mapping.

Reporting & Analytics Focus Group

The Reporting and Analytics team and focus group have also been busy. In this week’s blog digest, you can read an update from Linda Leshowitz, a member of our training team and longtime UBI trainer, who’s been working with the focus group. Linda gives insight into the pros and cons of both UBI reporting and Workday Financials reporting. The primary charge of the focus group is to get the basic transactional reports required in Workday Financials in a state where they’re useful and value-added by the time we go live in July of 2022. 

Read the update here.

Oracle Focus Groups Share Feedback

We had about 75 employees across Grounds participate in one of the two focus group sessions.  We heard a lot of great feedback, but there were some things that came up repeatedly, like the timing and delivery methods of training, keeping training materials accurate and up to date, and of course trainers who are familiar with both current state and future processes.

Read more of the groups' observations here. 

Testing Tracker

Although the end to end testing phase of Workday Financials officially began with the onset of September, most of the actual end to end testing processes will be in full swing as of October. The team is going to release a testing calendar soon.  

Full update here.

PaymentWorks New Launch Date: October 18

New supplier management software PaymentWorks goes live on October 18, 2021. This is a change from the original go-live date of September 27. This new date will give us the necessary time to make sure the large volume of transactions between our bank and the system itself is moving smoothly. We had two really great demo/feedback sessions with almost 300 attendees this week. 

Read the full update and check out a plethora of resources here.



Five Things to Know about FST: September 24, 2021

 


1.  FDM Mapping is making progress.  Schools and units have submitted initial files for review.  This phase runs through March 2022.  Read more.

2.  The Oracle(s) have spoken:  Colleagues who were here for the Oracle implementation shared their wisdom and warnings for the Workday Financials implementation in focus groups sessions last week.  Read what they had to say.

3.  Testing Tracker Update:  End-to-End testing of Workday Financials is chugging along. Look for a testing calendar soon.  Read more on the blog.

4.  The PaymentWorks go-live date has been pushed back a bit.  The new date is October 18; these extra days give the team extra time to make sure things will run smoothly.  Read more and access resources.

5.  Reporting & Analytics Focus Group members are sorting out the differences between UBI reporting and Workday Financials reporting.  Read an update from Linda Leshowitz here.

Consulting the Oracle: Employees Share Insights from Previous Implementation

Approximately 75 employees from across Grounds recently participated in two focus group sessions about the Oracle implementation 20 years ago. FST team members listened to gather insights from participants' experiences that can help the project team anticipate user needs with the Workday Financials implementation.

Participants answered questions about things they liked and didn't like about the process to switch to Oracle, as well as specifically the one thing they would have changed about the implementation. Several themes emerged from the conversations. Training came up repeatedly, focusing on timing and ease of access to informationbeing able to find the right resource when it's needed and ensuring it's the most up-to-date and accurate. Participants emphasized the importance of trainers being fluent in both current-state processes and how things will work in the new system. 

Another theme was access: users emphasized that they need to have the necessary permissions to interact with every part of a process that pertains to them being able to complete their work successfully. They provided feedback about the importance of knowing who to contact when mistakes inevitably occur and getting a resolution in a timely manner to reduce the steps to remedy situations after the fact. 

The FST team is grateful to participants for their time and willingness to share candid feedback.
 


 

PaymentWorks Launch Moved to October 18


New supplier management software PaymentWorks goes live on October 18, 2021.  This is a change from the original go-live date of September 27.  

This new date will give us the necessary time to make sure the large volume of transactions between our bank and the system itself is moving smoothly. We believe those few more days of testing will help us to ensure as few bumps in the road as possible when we do go live.

TSM will be open for first-time supplier registrations between Friday, September 24, and Thursday, September 30 at 5pm. Between October 4 and October 15, we will again close first-time registrations, but we can still process time-sensitive vendor registrations and individual payee registrations via vendors@virginia.edu if need be.

We had two really great demo/feedback sessions with almost 300 attendees this week.  If you missed them or want to review them, check out the recordings linked below, as well as the other resources we've put together to help with the transition to PaymentWorks (including training!).

Reminder: Open Enrollment is coming!



Open Enrollment Dates: October 4 - 15, 2021

Benefits Update

The UVA HR Open Enrollment website

 
is open! Learn more about benefits changes and key takeaways.


Employee Toolkit of Resources for Open Enrollment

UVA HR Open Enrollment Resources webpage has an array of resources available to help you evaluate your needs and understand the different benefits options. Learn more!


FDM Mapping Continues

Intrepid Foundation Data Model (FDM) mappers in the schools and units have begun submitting their areas' initial files. It's important to remember this process is intended to be iterative, continuing now through March 2022; the expectation is not that areas will complete their mapping in one fell swoop nor that things will be perfect. 

The FST team encourages mappers to submit files with portions of their mapping complete. Early cycles of the process enable participants to get used to how it works and provide opportunities to see how things look after the FST team runs files through the mapping tool. It's helpful to get that sense before getting too far down the road to ensure things will look and function as intended. 

Keep in mind, some large-scale changes can be automated. For example, if an area has a group of Oracle tasks that will be assignees in the FDM, those changes can be automated by the FDM team using the mapping tool as opposed mappers manually making all of those changes.  

The FDM team is currently prioritizing engagement through the collaborative pods. For questions or to submit requests for new worktags, contact FDMMapping@virginia.edu. The team is doing their best to respond to traffic through that inbox in a timely fashion. The FDM Resource Page in the online Community is a hub of files and information needed for mapping, including the instructions/template to request new worktags.  



UVA Night Tour – Walk in the Dark

The UVA Security and General Safety Committee is soliciting suggestions for its upcoming Fall Night Tour to be held in mid-October. During the Night Tour, committee members walk areas around Grounds in darkness to assess physical safety conditions, particularly lighting, pathways, crosswalks, and emergency phones; and physical infrastructure hazards, such as sidewalks, stairs, or railings.

Please fill out this short survey where we will be collecting all suggestions and feedback on venues and/or issues to examine. The survey also provides the opportunity to upload photographs, maps, or diagrams. Responses to the survey will be accepted through Sunday, October 3rd.

More information about the Security and General Safety Committee, including contact information, can be found here.

https://safetyandsecurity.virginia.edu/night-tour-walk-dark

If you have additional questions about this survey, please contact Tim Eckert, Office Manager and Special Assistant to the Chief of Police & AVP, Department of Safety & Security, at tre8g@virginia.edu.

Testing Tracker Update: September 23, 2021

 



Welcome to our first real update of the Testing Tracker!

Although the end-to-end testing phase of Workday Financials officially began with the onset of September, most of the actual end-to-end testing processes will be in full swing as of October. 

The team is going to release a testing calendar, and we’re preparing to share information with our Change Leaders on the possibility of pop up focus groups that might occur during the testing phase – if you’re a Change Leader, we’ll have more clarity on that during the October Advisory Group meeting.




Continuous Improvement Corner: UVAFinance Website



Contributed by Meredith Dixon

By now you’ve heard about the new UVAFinance website that is being developed, moving us towards a long-hoped-for goal. 

The Past Process

Even though we are all UVAFinance, our information has been spread across many different websites, making it difficult for our customers (UVA employees - including our UVAFinance colleagues, suppliers, students, etc) to find the information that they need. Sometimes there is important information that needs to be seen, but it’s posted on a page that isn’t frequently visited, so a lot of people are missing out. And sometimes our work crosses into other areas that are not technically UVAFinance, which makes it even more complicated.

The Process Improvement

We have used a different structure in the new site than before: one that is designed to help guide our customers to what they need. Rather than long pages of text, users will find that if there is a process to be followed, it will be in a process page, even if that process crosses areas or goes outside what we consider to be Finance. The people who can help the user, even if they cross areas, will be displayed in the context of the information, rather than having to look through entire listings of people, hoping to find a name. And important news can be right on the front of the UVAFinance page, and we all only need to look in one place to find it! (Don’t forget that this also means we don’t have to remember where in the world we saw that important news, weeks after we read it - we’ll know where to go if we need to revisit it.)

The end result will be a site that will help all of us and our customers. We’ll be able to easily access what we need to know about UVAFinance and get important information to our end users, and our customers will be able to find what they need to know (and what we need them to know!) quickly.


You can reach the Continuous Improvement Team here:  uvafinance_ci@virginia.edu 
 

 

Three Adorable New Boys Join OFP&A Family

The Office of Financial Planning & Analysis has been popular with the stork over the past year or so, with three baby boys joining the families of team members Devin Foster, Rick Johnson, and Andrew McGehee.

Feast your eyes on the baby cuteness!

Dax Carter Foster, born 2/20/20

Judah Edward Johnson, born 2/28/21

Jacob Crosby McGehee, born 5/19/21



Wednesday, September 22, 2021

Salesforce Tip Corner





Handy recap of finance units/activities now conducting some or all of their work in Salesforce and the email addresses to use:

Tip for handling cases together with other Finance units

This week we ran into a scenario where emails from one case were being forwarded to another team's email list, which also were going into Salesforce. Once other service units are in SF with us, there is no need to forward cases like this, as SF is designed to enable this collaboration in other ways:
  • Just need input from another team/colleague in Salesforce? Use a Chatter post on the Case by tagging the other team member or queue.
  • Need somebody else to take over the case, work, and resolve it? Reassign the case to another individual or queue. The history on the case will track where it started and went. This is the best way to collaborate on cases and escalate or hand-off cases to those who can really complete the request.
The case collaboration described above is really what Salesforce is built for, and is the best way to efficiently manage work and solve customer problems faster.