Monday Update

December 14, 2020

Last week’s updates from UBC

Updates on UBC’s response to COVID-19 are at covid19.ubc.ca.

Managing your mental health

HR has collected mental health resources to help you manage our ups and downs. Our VPFO HR staff is always available for a confidential conversation.

Operations updates

Facilities

Building Operations, Energy & Water Services and Infrastructure Development

Finance

Comptroller, Finance & Operational Excellence and Treasury

  • Year End Information: Procurement dates for fiscal year end, as well as the final Accounts Payable pay run dates for the end of the 2020 calendar year, are now available on the UBC Finance website.
  • Read/Write Access for Hyperion 2.0: is expected tomorrow (Dec 15), after the closing of the November month end ledgers.
  • Tuition Waivers: Employees can now submit tuition waiver applications through Workday, and information has been updated on the UBC Finance website.
  • October Ledger Data Migration: Workday reports now reflect the proper year-to-date balances, as all of the legacy General Ledger Balance data up to October is available in Workday.
  • UBC’s Budget Process: Strategic budget meetings with each faculty and administrative unit are now complete, and will be followed by complimentary financial outlook/forecasting meetings in February. Preliminary assumptions have been shared to begin development of the FY21/22 budget.
  • Q3 Financial Report: Once YTD financial information for December is closed in Workday, work on the Q3 report will begin immediately. This will serve as the basis for the FY21/22 budget.
  • Audit Process: The Office of the Auditor General (OAG) has completed their planning work, and will begin their interim audit on January 18. If you receive information requests from OAG, please be as responsive as possible to facilitate the process.

IRP/AEP/ISC

Integrated Renewal Program, Application Ecosystem Program and the Integrated Service Centre

  • New “Security Role Change” Request Process: To streamline and batch security role requests, individual security requests are no longer being accepted at the ISC. Senior HR and FR Partners, PIs, Admin PIs, and Finance Directors will use a new form to submit batched security role requests. Incomplete tickets, or requests from individuals to change their own security roles, will no longer be accepted by the ISC. If requests from individuals are received, they will be asked to make the request via the new batching process.

Operations & Advising

Communications & Engagement, Human Resources, and Safety & Risk Services

  • Newsletter Hiatus: As we all take a break for the holidays, the VPFO newsletters will as well. Look for new editions of your favourite newsletters to return in January.
  • Refresh Emergency Support Function: The Emergency Management team kicked off a meeting with Facilities to review main infrastructure and utility needs in the event of an earthquake or major disaster. The main priorities discussed were diesel fuel and potable water.
  • School of Biomedical Engineering Building: The Occupational & Research Health & Safety team and Environmental Protection team are working with Facilities on the design for the new building. For more information on the project, visit the Infrastructure Development website.
  • Hydrogen Fueling Station: The Occupational & Research Health & Safety team and Environmental Protection team participated in Hazard Identification Studies (HAZID) workshop for the anticipated Hydrogen Fueling Station on-campus.
  • VPFO HR on-site support schedule this week:
    • December 14: Rachel Lau
    • December 15: Karen Oyhenart, Rachel Lau
    • December 16: Kasia Burza
    • December 17: Karen Oyhenart
    • December 18:  Sonia Lachar, Kasia Burza
    • Holiday break:  the HR team will all be working from home starting Dec 21st and will be back on rotation in January.

Other notable updates

Our Equity, Diversity & Inclusion Journey Begins

The VPFO is about to begin working more mindfully on equity, diversity and inclusion (EDI). Our EDI Committee is now working with Adeline Huynh of The Commons Consulting to capture a snapshot of where we are and design a training plan to help the portfolio begin a thoughtful and careful EDI transformation. Watch your inboxes this week for an invitation to a survey that will help us capture attitudes and opportunities for EDI change work.

Workday Error: Employees Who Received Notification to Verify Beneficiary

On Dec 11 many employees received a task in their Workday Inbox requesting that they “Verify Life Insurance Beneficiary.” This task was initiated in error, and has been removed from relevant inboxes. If you changed your beneficiary as a response to the requested task, you need to reverse this change in Workday. More information about changing beneficiaries is available in the How Do I Change Beneficiaries? knowledge base article.

Spreading Facilities Holiday Cheer

After the water feature was shut down at UBC Hospital’s Patient Park, Building Operations’ Streets & Operations Support (SOS) team made the park a bit more festive by installing lights. The team wanted to brighten the park for patients and staff that regularly use the space, and as a tribute to healthcare workers. View the festive lights on the Building Operations’ website.

 

Helpful news

Some interesting news articles people have found informative or helpful at work. These are provided for information and entertainment only. Unless noted, UBC doesn’t specifically endorse or supply this content.

Have an article for your peers? Email communications@vpfo.ubc.ca.

Be Part of the VPFO Monday Update

Each Monday we capture a snapshot of important university updates, the work across our departments, and other resources relevant to the VPFO team. This will be reposted, along with all past issues, at vpfo.ubc.ca/news.

Additions or questions can be sent to communications@vpfo.ubc.ca at any time.