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July 2023 FT Special Edition #1 - Welcome to the New "One Workday" World!

GENERAL

Linda Nelson as a news anchor announcing, "And... we're live!"

From Linda Nelson...

And, just like that, Workday Finance went live.

I am happy to report that as of today, my head has not exploded, and I am not curled up under my desk. I do find myself struggling to remember keywords and my Dean’s level FDM values – but I have it on good authority that this, too, will pass. Thus, I am looking forward with some confidence to the upcoming litany of firsts:

  • The first payroll run in this new "One Workday" - may everyone be paid the correct amount and from the correct part of the FDM! 
  • The first monthly close - may it reflect reality, at least one that is somewhat recognizable! 
  • The first full autumn quarter - imagine how awesome December will be! 
  • The first ISD - can it get any better? 

With each first will come, inexorably, the first mistakes, epiphanies, and inevitable series of frustrations. Let's use these experiences as stepping stones to growth and insight. We all acknowledge that the goal is not perfection (that will come in time, no doubt) but rather learning from our collective experiences and creating new opportunities for growth along the Finance Transformation path. The most important thing to bear in mind is that we are all on this adventure together - let's keep being kind to one another and ourselves, that is genuinely the "greater good." 

They say that patience is a virtue; let's strive for that. 

Important updates and answers to Finance Transformation questions can be found in the General channel of the CAS Finance & Administration Teams. We will also be sending out a weekly round-up of lessons learned and answers to frequently asked questions starting this Friday. The AST newsletters are an excellent source for FT-related information, along with the Finance Transformation Resources section of their website. Our next CAS Administrator meeting is this Friday, July 14, and Heidi and I continue to host Ask Me Anything sessions on Fridays from 1:15 - 2:15 pm. While there is no Noontime Workshop this week, they will take place on an as-needed basis – contact Heidi for more details.

I am so proud of all of you; the journey we have taken has been challenging, and the months ahead will be, too - but I am convinced that it will all be worth it in the times ahead. We will look back at this moment of inflection with satisfaction for a job well done and reflect that, together, we all moved forward. 

Cheers, 

Linda

HELP TEAM

Be sure to set up Workday inbox filters

With the launch of Workday Finance, you may have noticed that your Workday inbox is much fuller than it used to be, and that a lot of the notifications are related to approvals and departments you don’t manage. To save your inbox and your time spent looking for transactions you do need to approve, we encourage you to set up Workday inbox filters. Check out the Workday inbox filter reference guide (NetID log in required for UW Connect and Bridge platform) for step-by-step instructions on how to manage your inbox based on your assigned security roles. 

Please note that there is some central configuration that is required to make the filters the most effective. UW Finance and the FT Program are working on these configurations and expect to release these, as well as updated job aids and some video nano-learnings, by the end of the week.  

In the meantime, we also strongly recommend that you create an inbox rule for your personal inbox (Gmail, Outlook, etc.) to keep the influx of Workday notification emails at bay.

Dubs wearing glasses and looking at a projected screen of the "Financial Desktop" app in Workday

Adding Financial Desktop to you Workday apps

Having trouble navigating your way through Workday Finance? The Financial Desktop dashboard serves as a landing page to support users through the transition from MyFD to Workday Finance. To access the Financial Desktop dashboard, first login to Workday and go to your menu on the top left of the homepage. From there, click on the “Add Apps” button and search for “Financial Desktop” to add it to your menu for easier access. You may also consider adding the Grant Manager Dashboard to your Workday menu while you’re customizing your menu.

HR/PAYROLL

!DecorationOnly!Salary transfers

Please note that all salary transfer requests for the 2022-23 fiscal year must be received by AST by 5:00 pm on July 11, 2023. It is essential to adhere to this deadline to ensure accurate and timely salary allocation for all employees. Those received after this time may not be processed in My Financial Desktop before cutoff.

To assist you in meeting this deadline, please consider the following recommendations:

  1. Plan Ahead: Review any remaining salary transfers for your department and allocate sufficient time to gather the necessary information to submit salary transfer requests to AST. 
  2. Communication: Inform all relevant stakeholders within your department about this deadline and emphasize the importance of timely submission. Encourage prompt coordination between HR, finance personnel, and any other individuals involved in the salary transfer process. 
  3. Verify Information: Double-check all information provided in the salary transfer requests, such as employee details, amounts, dates, and driver tags, to minimize errors and prevent processing delays.

We appreciate your understanding and cooperation in this matter. Should you have any questions or require further clarification, please do not hesitate to reach out to the AST Payroll team.

Check costing allocations

Now that we are past the Workday launch, it’s time to verify the accuracy of your costing information (including newly converted default cost centers and new worktag values) and make any necessary updates or corrections before payroll deadlines.

  • R0771 Active Costing Allocations by Date Range: Provides data on employees with assigned costing allocations, including Cost Centers, Grant Tags and PCA Codes 
  • R0314 Employee Detail by Organization: Provides data on all employees in an organization, including default cost centers and costing allocation details 
  • Earnings and Actuals: Provides earning breakdowns for employees in an organization  
  • Now – June 30: Run daily to verify correct costing allocations for final pay in FAS 
  • July 11 – July 15: Run daily to verify correct costing allocations for first payroll with new worktag values

Verify ASE salary increases

The new ASE salary rates effective 7/1/2023 have been loaded into Workday. Please read through the following details below and be sure to verify that the information loaded correctly into Workday.

  1. RA/TA/SA Salaries 
    1. These were updated centrally in Workday and the new rate should be displayed on the Compensation screen. Please double check this for accuracy AND for the appropriate end date. 
  2. Predoctoral Instructor Jobs 
    1. As a reminder, because these jobs are not tied to specific grade profiles/steps to automatically assign salary, only those graduate students currently paid below the new minimum were moved to that new minimum salary rate ($19.25). For those paid below $19.25, the compensation should have been updated centrally and will now be visible on the compensation screen. If you intend to pay above that new minimum rate ($19.25), you will need to process a manual compensation change effective 7/1. Please double check any students you have in this category for accuracy AND for the appropriate end date. 
  3. Hourly GRSA 
    1. As a reminder, compensation increases for this job must be done manually due to the hourly nature of the position. Please use the new rates effective 7/1.  
  4. Hourly Reader/Grader, Tutor, Undergrad TA, Undergrad RA Jobs 
    1. Any student with a current job in these job profiles that paid under the new minimum rate has been had a compensation increase processed centrally. As noted above, you should see this new rate on the compensation screen in their profile. If you intend to pay above that new minimum rate, the compensation change needs to be manually entered. Please double check any students you have in this category for accuracy AND for the appropriate end date. 

!DecorationOnly!PAYMENTS AND PROCUREMENT

Contract review and BPOs

Reminder: AST is responsible for managing contract review and blanket purchase order business processes in Workday. If you need to set up a contract or a BPO, therefore, please submit a ticket to us using our Purchasing and Accounts Payable intake form. Thank you.

!DecorationOnly!Thank you for your attention to these announcements. Please look out for our second installment of AST's FT Special Edition newsletters coming out later this July. 

As always, please contact any of us or email teamcas@uw.edu if you have any questions or concerns.

Administrative Suppot Team

Last Updated: Friday, November 03, 2023