May 15, 2018
Dear Colleagues,
Recently, Jerry Baldasty and Jeff Scott communicated to campus leadership the University of Washington’s decision to replace its legacy financial systems with Workday Finance. This transformation will undoubtedly involve a long and winding road. Our successful progress along the way is closely linked to how we shape our roadmap now.
As you know, we are developing our plan through the lens of the many lessons learned during the HR/Payroll Modernization program. It is vital to involve key stakeholders, such as you, as early as possible, and ideally in the initial planning and readiness stages.
The Program Sponsors have approved a benchmarking and data gathering process to identify a baseline for 1) measuring current state productivity for the UW as compared to peer institutions, and 2) identifying and prioritizing specific areas for improvement as we move forward. The Program Team is in the process of building our approach for this effort.
This work will provide the foundation for the change management strategy and will inform our readiness plan. It will help shape the future state operating model as well as highlight opportunities for synergies within the University. It is critical for effective UW Finance Transformation (UWFT) planning that this work be accomplished now.
In the next several weeks, the Program Team will reach out to units across the University with specific instructions on the benchmark and data gathering process and will schedule training sessions related to these activities. The goal is to capture all needed information between early June and July 31, 2018. Please note that this will be just the first of many opportunities to provide information to UWFT over the life of the program.
We know this will require resources and time from your areas, and we truly appreciate your support during what is already a very busy time of year for you and your staff.
Jeff, Jacque and Brian
Jeff Scott, EVP, Finance & Administration
Jacqueline Cabe, CFO, UWM and VPMA UW
Brian McCartan, VP for Finance