November 25, 2020
November at UBC has been a remarkable month.
On November 2, 2020 UBC deployed Workday for HR, Finance, and Payroll. The Integrated Renewal Program replaced aged and legacy HR and Finance systems, as well as establishing a data governance framework, and implementing a number of new systems and platforms such as the Enterprise Maintenance Management System, the Integration Enablement Center, and core identity and access management components, all of which have fundamentally modernized our capabilities at UBC, and created a flexible architecture for the future. As well, working with IT units across UBC, we retrofit and integrated 46 other applications in our ecosystem. Our HR and Finance communities have worked closely with the broader UBC community and ensured that our community was supported through train the trainer workshops and sessions at both the faculty and department levels.
Preceding the launch of Workday by a few hours was the launch of Planon, a new enterprise maintenance management system replacing PeopleSoft for managing UBC’s maintenance activities, inventory and assets. Planon’s integration with Workday provides accurate, real-time data and mobile capabilities for staff who work in Building Operations, Energy & Water Services, Locksmiths and Chemistry stores.
We also welcomed more than 40 new hires as part of the Integrated Service Centre (ISC) – a service centre model bringing together HR, Finance and IT Workday support to collaborate and sustain Workday. Along with their colleagues in the Integrated Renewal Program, the ISC has been very busy this month, supporting faculty, staff and students as we all learn a new system and processes.
Our Workday journey started almost 3 years ago, and it will be continuous. With HR and Finance Workday now in place, we will enter a cycle of continuous improvement ensuring we enhance and evolve Workday so that it continues to meet the needs of our community.
Over the years, this project has been a touchpoint for many staff, some of whom have been seconded full time to work alongside external contractors and Workday representatives. For others in IT, HR, and Finance, the focus on this project has had to compete with regular duties in a year that had the added pressure of responding to COVID-19.
For everyone who has been involved, thank you for your contribution and know that Workday’s success at UBC is a collective effort.
Aside from Workday, we can also celebrate an important milestone now that faculty and staff at the Okanagan campus started the month with access to ServiceNow, a one-stop support service portal which provides a common platform to meet the needs of the UBC community. In addition, this allows our Learning Technology Hub to work more dynamically and cross-functionally with the Centre for Teaching and Learning (CTL) in the Okanagan.
We know the novelty of experiencing “firsts” will wear off after this month. We have been in hypercare mode to ensure the UBC community is well-supported to adjust to this new system, and to resolve any issues that we discover. Staff within our Integrated Enablement Centre are working tandem with IRP, AEP and ISC teams to address and resolve any gaps or concerns that inevitably arise as we move into stabilization. Known issues are being investigated and resolved issues are captured in the Workday Knowledge Base and Workday This Week.
If you have any questions related to Workday, please check out the resources within the ISC website, and if you require additional support, please submit a ticket to the ISC.
Sincerely,
Jennifer Burns
Associate Vice-President, Information Technology & CIO