Shared services launches July 26
15 July 2021
Over the past two and a half months, the Shared Services unit has been busy hiring and planning for the phase one launch of its services on July 26. Phase one will focus on the opening of the Staff Service Centre for general HR-related inquiries, and the HR Services team that will coordinate existing processes related to payroll, benefits, pension, and time and labour training and audit support, as well as federally funded summer employment programs.
How we currently access HR services
When faculty and staff members have questions, there are a number of channels to access information, including:
- Asking a supervisor or HR partner
- Using the "Find your HR contact" form
- Emailing a familiar contact in the Human Resources, Health, Safety and Environment unit
- Emailing an HR, payroll or timekeeper contact in your faculty or unit
- Searching the U of A website
On July 26, you'll no longer need to try so many avenues, because many of your inquiries will be directed to the new Staff Service Centre.
Launching the Staff Service Centre web page
On July 26, Shared Services will launch a new Staff Service Centre web page, which you will be able to access from the Services tab at the top of the U of A homepage.
Draft preview of the new tab on ualberta.ca to access services
The web page will include links to information about the most common HR questions, as well as an option to fill out a web form to contact the Staff Service Centre. Staff are encouraged to view the links on the web page before reaching out to the Staff Service Centre. Web links will continue to link to the Human Resources, Health Safety and Environment web pages at this time.
New habits to adopt
Here’s how the Staff Service Centre will affect most faculty and staff:
- Faculty, staff, supervisors, HR staff, partners, and Centres of Expertise will visit the Staff Service Centre web page to view articles about common HR inquiries. If you can’t find what you’re looking for, you can submit a form to be contacted by email.
- All questions about time and labour, payroll, benefits, pension, employee data changes, and the Canada Summer Jobs program should go to the Staff Service Centre instead of faculty or unit contacts.
- If you have forms saved to your computer or Google Drive, ensure you’re instead accessing them through the Alfresco electronic document and records management system so you’re using the most up-to-date form with the right information for submitting it.
Activities moving on July 26
Beginning on July 26, a number of responsibilities will move from faculties and units to the Staff Service Centre in Shared Services.
Staff in faculties and units who do HR activities will direct payroll, pension, benefits, and Canada Summer Jobs program questions to the Staff Service Centre.
Activities moving on August 15
On August 15, time and labour will move to Shared Services as well.
Staff in faculties and units who do HR activities will direct time and labour-related auditing and exception activities for pay periods after August 15 to the Staff Service Centre.
Shared Services will send monthly accrual balance reports to HR partners.
The role of the Staff Service Centre
The Staff Service Centre, with the HR Services team in Shared Services, will respond to employee questions about time and labour, payroll, benefits, pension, and changes to employee data. If necessary, they will triage requests to Centres of Expertise in other areas. The Staff Service Centre team will use a system to manage responses similar to IST's ticketing system.
The role of Service Partners
The primary role of Service Partners in the university’s new operating model is to partner with faculties and units on strategic matters.
The future state of the Shared Services unit
Later this year, other services will transition from faculties and units into the Shared Services unit, including:
- Additional HR services (summer and fall)
- Finance services (early fall)
- IT helpdesk services (late 2021)
Shared Services will also establish the Service Innovation team in mid-August.
More services will be defined as SET continues.
Anticipated additions to Shared Services in 2021
Welcoming new team members to Shared Services
The Shared Services team is growing quickly. We have several positions on the Position Opportunities Page (POP) where HR knowledge and experience can be leveraged. We encourage staff from faculties and units to apply for available positions that interest them now.
The Shared Services team will expand on the value already delivered by staff across the university. The vision of AVP, Shared Services Ria Ames is to build a close-knit community of smart, approachable people who collaborate, exchange knowledge, and identify solutions. The staff who are joining the team can expect to feel empowered in the service they provide and look to grow their careers with critical thinking, relationship building, and ongoing learning opportunities.
The transition to Shared Services
These adjustments are a massive undertaking and it will take time to optimize the new Shared Services unit to its full potential. Over time, Shared Services will grow from an embryonic (a phase of learning and growing), to an emerging phase (implementing new processes), to established (refining and improving), to integrated (collaborating with faculty and staff to deliver what they need) to optimized, our final efficiency, high-functioning state. Through collaboration with faculty and staff, and a bit of patience, Shared Services will become a powerful driver of service excellence, information and process innovation.
