There is a rumor, totally unfounded, that Peggy Lee got the inspriration for her song "Is that all there is?" after visiting the Financial Management website. The other rumor, unconfirmed, is that the FM website has not changed in 40 years, but this doubtful given that the site has only been in existence since the mid-90s.

A website should be pleasing to look at, easy to use, and chock full of useful information. According to our customers and internal surveys, the Financial Management website falls a bit short in these areas. Efforts are now underway to replace the FM and departmental websites with an information portal that will better serve the University community. We will offer a consistent brand, a simplified navigation, and improved content. With apologies to Peggy Lee, our goal is to hear our customers singing, "Hallelujah"!

Bringing together our skills

Financial Management and departmental websites have grown the last several years through the hard work of individuals scattered around the various departments. To leverage the skills of everyone involved, we created two teams: 1) a technical team involving web developers and coders; and 2) a content team made up of writers and editors. Follow this link to see all of the team members:

https://fmwiki.admin.washington.edu/display/fm/Website+Team+Members

We are currently in the middle of the development process with both teams. The technical team is working on new templates that will provide a consistent appearance for all Financial Management web pages. The content team has created standards for navigation and for writing web pages. On both sides, the goal is to make it easier for the customers to get what they want.

Exciting changes planned

Since development is currently underway, we may change some of the features that are planned. But one of the glaring weaknesses of the current site that must be improved is the search. Currently it is impossible to search across Financial Management or within individual department sites, at least consistently. According to most web studies, users prefer using search over any other navigation tool. The new website will offer a customized Google search feature on every page. Other work is underway to improve the search results.

Another key development: appearance. It's not always easy to know you're in a Financial Management site. The University of Washington has initiatives underway to standardize the appearance of University websites. From the marketing perspective, it makes sense to have all of the websites follow a standard brand. The President's Office rolled out a new website late last year that set a standard purple banner across the top of the page. Human Resources likewise has followed with that look-and-feel.

Financial Management is going to adopt the emerging standards and help define them. What this means is, no more gargoyles at the top of the page. We will have the purple banner across the top of the page with the University of Washington logo and Financial Management underneath. To represent financial assets, coins will be subtly blended into the banner. Now, instead of being frightened away by the gargoyles, visitors to Financial Management and its departments will know they are in a financial site that is part of the University of Washington.

Finally with navigation, we need to simplify the pathways to getting information. On the Financial Management home page, we are going to provide a list of major services that Financial Management provides, but written as a task that the web visitor wants to do. This is a customer-based approach of "What do I hope to accomplish" rather than "FM provides 'xyz' service to me."

Web development is a long and winding road. We do not expect to have everything in place for the first iteration. But we will have major updates go online by the end of September. And then once and for all we can debunk those silly rumors. Except for the one about the code to the secret fortune that is hidden in our current gargoyle banner. But everyone knows that is not true. To learn more or to participate in website testing, please contact Jon Bostwick at jonbost@u.washington.edu.

Are you tired of trying to read between all of the squiggles or trying to decide if it’s a number one or a seven?  Have you heard every excuse in the book on why it was turned in late??  Are you fed up with all the excuses?  Are you tired of your calculator’s attitude and not adding numbers accurately?  How would you like to deal with no more messy handwriting, no more lost paperwork, no more missed supervisor signatures, no more Late Timesheet?  Yes, that’s right folks, no more late timesheets!  

What does this mean for you and your department? 

Well, I’ll tell you what this means.  Let me introduce you to the brand new UW Timesheet, an online timesheet process currently being used for hourly employees. It’s another great system created and developed by the ITL – Integrated Time and Leave team supported by the USER (University Services Renewal) Project.  It’s a user-friendly system available to employees through their Employee Self Service. No matter where their location is, as long as they have access to a computer and their UWNetID and password, hourly employees can sign on and enter in their hours for the day.  This system eliminates the need to hunt down supervisors for signatures, having to add up all the hours manually, and even alleviates the stress of turning in a timesheet late.

The UW Timesheet is so easy to use.  All it takes is a payroll coordinator to set up the timesheet once, the employee to enter in their time in ESS, submit it, and then for the approver to approve the time.  It’s as easy as one, two, three!  As of May of 2007, there were 15 departments across campus taking advantage of this new system.  And the interest and enthusiasm is overwhelming.  Just ask Jim Young, Computer Science and Engineering, one of ITL’s early adopters, what this system has done for him:

“We think it's dandy! It does the drone work, yields great reports (eliminating the need for a shadow system), looks nice and the administrators listen to suggestions. Employees appreciate its grace enough to submit on time. Thanks for a great tool!” 

Although it’s currently on a slow roll-out, Payroll will soon be targeting a larger number of departments to go LIVE! Through the help of the early adopters and some of the world’s greatest programmers, the UW Timesheet will make your life as a payroll coordinator and supervisor a living dream.  Watch for it now, in a department near you! Or for more information, please contact the Client Service and Training Team in the Payroll Office at pronline@u.washington.edu.
 

(Current ITL Team Members: Cindy Gregovich, Pat Bonner, Keli Bort, Linda Braziel, Michele Conrad, Doug Daily, Marie Fjellanger, Mary Friedmar, Cheryl Manekia, Paul Schurr, Sherrie Thissell, Kirk Udovich, Clarity Wolff, Christa Woodhull, May Zhang; Past Members: Lisa McDonald, Beth Mesina, Edward Armstrong)

Planning is one of the key elements to managing any disaster.  Like many departments on campus, Payroll was concerned about how we would handle a disaster.  For the past year, Payroll has been developing a Business Continuity Plan through a partnership with the UW Office of Emergency Management.  Four departments were selected to participate in a pilot program.  The process was challenging and time consuming, but ultimately rewarding.  We reviewed all aspects of our processes and had to think outside the box.

Our Business Continuity Plan addresses how the business process itself will recover in the event of a disaster.  The plan encompasses staff, technology infrastructure, key business processes during recovery, and restoration of business processes.  Our goal was to establish a comprehensive plan to minimize disruption of payroll services in the event of a disaster and to ensure payroll information is safeguarded and systems are restored to normalcy with minimum downtime.

The name Katrina will be etched in our memory for years to come.  Quite possibly the most damaging of any hurricane, Katrina left a path of despair and destruction in the gulf region.  What does this have to do with Payroll, you ask?  Many employees were displaced and employers were not able to deliver employees’ pay checks in a timely manner.

The last thing that people in the gulf region were concerned about was payroll disbursements.  But nonetheless, they needed pay checks.  Mailing service was suspended.  People were relocated to other parts of the country, and no forwarding information was available.  Employees in the gulf region participating in direct deposit programs offered by their employers received their payroll disbursements, those receiving checks did not.  Direct deposit allowed money to flow into accounts without delay.
In an effort to better prepare the University, Business Continuity Management planning was mandated in April of 2007 by the Office of the President through UW Administrative Policy Statement (APS) 13.2.  The Administrative Policy Statement requires each department to identify and protect their critical operating processes and provide a reasonable amount of time and resources in developing their unit’s Business Continuity Plan.

The Office of Emergency Management has established a website (http://www.washington. edu/admin/business/oem/bcm) to help departments prepare for unplanned business interruptions.  Each year business interruptions account for $588 billion in lost revenue nationwide.  In addition to life-safety, property and the environment, we have revenue and a reputation to protect.

Payroll continues to work on our Business Continuity Plan to ensure employees are paid in the case of a disaster.  A good plan is never complete; it is continuously reviewed, updated, and tested. 

Meetings. We often spend half of our day or more in them. We may think, “If only I didn’t have so many meetings, I would be able to get my work done!” But the truth is, as a leader or as a participant, you need meetings to accomplish your work. Either you need to arrive at a decision point, provide or seek guidance and support, or just share knowledge. Meetings are a necessity. And you need to have everyone involved and contributing.

As useful as meetings can be, when meetings go bad they have the remarkable ability to alter the laws of physics and slow time. When you lead meetings, you want to avoid at all costs the last-day-before-summer-vacation syndrome. Financial Management can help. Financial Management offers a “Facilitating Effective Meetings” course that provides a toolkit for you to get the most out of your meetings.

Getting Started – the “Essentials”

Effective meetings require agreed upon goals and tasks. If you are the meeting facilitator, you need to figure out what you need to accomplish and how to lead the team there. To facilitate meetings effectively:

• Send out an agenda ahead of time – State the purpose clearly one day or more before the meeting.
• Meet only when necessary – Can you use email or the wiki instead of meeting in person? If so, cancel!
• Keep “Parking Lot” items – When you have a discussion that diverts from the goals, add it to the parking lot and make sure to revisit later.
• Be Prepared – Make sure the room has whiteboard pens, paper, and so on. Don’t trust in technology. Expect failing projectors, no Internet access, and so on.
• Establish and review ground rules – Ground rules include expectations of meeting participants, roles, and so on. Set them, and with ongoing meetings, review periodically.
• Evaluate your meetings – Regularly check in with meeting participants to make sure that they are satisfied with the meetings and accomplishments.

Meetings are about People

As project leaders, it’s easy to focus on the task without realizing that the people who work with us have their own needs and goals. To keep everyone involved, you have to make sure their needs are met.

Meetings often live and die by personalities. Some folks may expect detailed agendas, which they will expect to follow with little or no deviation. Others may want to use the agenda as a starting point and expect more flexibility. Make sure that your meetings balance out the needs of both groups.

When meeting for the first time, consider an icebreaker. An icebreaker exercise can go a long way to developing positive relationships. Rather than simple introductions, have your team members write down one thing about themselves that no one knows about. Interview each other. Bring some treats. Warm up the brain with a cartoon. The Single Point of Contact (SPoC) team, for example, starts every meeting with the reading of a Leonard Nimoy poem.

Effective meetings require a lot of preparation. This Financial Management course gives you the tools and ideas that make preparing for meetings much easier. So if you find yourself in meetings that seem like they will never end, consider taking this course. It lasts four hours, but it will seem like only two.

If you would like to find out more information about the “Facilitating Effective Meetings” course and its availability, contact Rae Ann Laubenstein at raeannl@u.washington.edu.