But why drop our current systems to adopt an integrated one?
In early 2019, the University of Ottawa launched a multi-year effort called the Administrative Services Modernization Program. This program, which is in line with Transformation 2030 objectives, was ambitiously tasked with implementing best administrative practices throughout the University. Since then, many changes have prepared the way for the adoption of a new system, called Workday, that will transform uOttawa’s financial and human resources administration. Fortunately, this system has been successfully adopted by other Canadian universities, such as McGill, Brock, and UBC, as well as by major American institutions with established reputations, such as Yale and Brown.
Workday will replace over 60 uOttawa systems (including FAST, Concur, SciQuest and NJoyn) and offer a host of advantages:
- a user-friendly interface and intuitive user experience;
- a chatbot that will answer user questions in real time;
- dashboards available in real time and designed to meet the needs of users;
- up-to-date organizational charts;
- real-time reports based on relevant, complete, up-to-date data for informed decision-making;
- a mobile app that allows users to work with the system wherever they are, on their computers, tablets, or mobile phones;
- and many other benefits.
How will you be affected when this system is launched?
You might be asking yourself if you will be affected by this change, and the simple answer is yes. Every uOttawa employee will use Workday, whether to check their pay stub, book time off, or manage their program’s budget. Most importantly, the system’s self-service features will give employees more flexibility by allowing them to modify their worker profiles and protect their confidential information.
When will you learn how to use it?
Accordingly, all uOttawa employees will require training, which will start in early in 2023. All training material will be hosted on VirtuO, the University’s intranet, making it easier for all employees to take online and in-person courses on Workday. This training will remain online indefinitely, even after Workday is implemented, to ensure that any employee can take, or retake, courses on Workday.
The implementation of Workday might be the biggest transformation at uOttawa for years to come. So much time and effort have been expended to prepare our institution to welcome this innovative system and guarantee its success. We understand that much lies ahead, but the work that we’ve done to date is truly remarkable. Looking forward, we invite all employees to visit our website to learn more about Workday and to find tools to help them manage this change. We have divided employees based on their organizational roles and how they will use Workday. Choose your employee group to learn how to make Workday work for you.
Do you have questions? Feel free to contact [email protected] or visit the website.