November/December 2017

Dear Colleagues,
 
The UVA HR community, in collaboration with School and Unit representatives, recently concluded the talent selection process for the new UVA Human Resources organization.
 
Throughout the three waves of the process, hundreds of people participated in (literally) hundreds of activities – from one-on-one coaching sessions to submitting applications to scheduling, conducting, and participating in interviews. The result is that (as of 11/15/17) we have filled 168 positions. The amount of work (and patience, resilience, and fortitude) required was staggering. 
 
At a time of the year when we think of those things for which we are grateful, I wish simply to say “thank you” to everyone involved – there are far too many to name. 
 
As we look forward to the new year, there is a lot of “new” at the University of Virginia – a new century for our beloved institution, a new University president to welcome, new HR technology to launch, and a new HR organization. There is still a lot to do. For me, that means exhilaration rather than exhaustion!
 
Incoming UVA President James Ryan writes in his book Wait, What? And Life’s Other Essential Questions , that one the five essential questions in life is “how can I help?” He said the question offers humility while seeking direction when following our instinct to lend a helping hand, and it’s the basis for forging good relationships. 
 
 Yes, there’s (still) much to be done and a lot of people who will need a hand. As we head into 2018, let’s remember to look around at all of the change happening and ask ourselves “How can I help?
Happy Holidays, 
Michael Latsko
Senior Director, HR Strategic Initiatives
University of Virginia
UVA HR Updates
Explore
Coming February 2018: UVA Human Resources Technology and Process Preview & Feedback Sessions
Join us for an exclusive preview of the new UVA Human Resources technology, meet the team, and win door prizes.

Topics Covered
•How will I enter my time?
•How do I view my pay slip?
•I’m adopting a child. Now what?
•How do I add a beneficiary?
•What training is required for my certification? How will I track it?
•How will I sign up for education and training courses?
•As a manager, how do I approve time, promote, and terminate an employee?
•How do I see real-time reporting that gives me a view into my organization?
•What are the recruiting and onboarding processes for Faculty and Professional Researchers, Students, Staff, and Team Members?

Be one of the first UVA community members to preview the new Workday technology and give feedback on future HR processes before the July 2018 go-live!

Registration coming soon
Prepare
Preparing for Change
We all know change can be challenging. Each month, the Ufirst project team will provide resources, tools, and tips to support you.

Attitude
The completion of Wave 2 brings new challenges. You may be moving into a new role and need to learn a skill, joining a team of people you don’t know, or still be unsure of what your future career will be. Try this tip to focus on attitude:

“The longer I live, the more I realize the impact of attitude on life. Attitude, to me, is more important than facts. It is more important than the past, than education, than money, than circumstances, than failures, than successes, than what other people think or say or do. It is more important than appearance, giftedness or skill. It will make or break a company...a church....a home. The remarkable thing is we have a choice every day regarding the attitude we will embrace for that day. We cannot change our past...we cannot change the fact that people will act in a certain way. We cannot change the inevitable. The only thing we can do is play on the one string we have, and that is our attitude...I am convinced that life is 10% what happens to me and 90% how I react to it. And so it is with you...we are in charge of our attitudes.”
- Charles R. Swindoll
Engage
Dual Career Program
UVA HR is excited to partner with the Office of the Executive Vice President and Provost to further build the Dual Career Program. Carolyn Kalantari, Dual Career Director, and Jeremy Duff, Ufirst project Talent Recruitment Lead are working together to improve the dual career experience for UVA spouses and partners.

Carolyn describes the program as a way to help spouses and partners get connected in the community. “The goal of the program is for participants to be able to position themselves for success in our local job market. There are a growing number of employment opportunities in the area and we will continue to share that message, while further developing and sharing resources.”

Over the past year, Carolyn has facilitated UVA recruitment and retention efforts, making it easier for dual career candidates to identify job opportunities at UVA and in the community. In 12 months, she has worked with 100 faculty spouses and partners.

“Carolyn has done exceptional work over the past year. She has built faculty dual career services that have helped candidates tremendously. Now we are fortunate to combine resources to continue to focus on faculty while expanding this service,” said Jeremy about the partnership.

Moving forward, a Dual Career Specialist will be hired to help with this important work. The team will focus on building the infrastructure needed to provide information and resources to spouses and partners of faculty and staff.

  Icons made by Freepik from flaticon.com 
Project Priorities
Training Basics
UVA HR fall launches have begun! Work will continue into the New Year for the first groups to launch, which include the HR Solution Center and IMPACT Total Rewards. 
 
As new teams come together, HR professionals are participating in training and moving in to their UVA HR roles. There are three key components of training: policy, process, and technology, competency and behavioral, and team building.
 
Policy, process, and technology: this training is customized to meet the needs of each HR professional to address what they will need to learn in order to succeed in their new role. The participants gain a necessary level of awareness of policies, processes, and technologies they will be using, access to resources, and the tools to find answers to questions quickly.
 
Competency and behavioral: The training focuses on understanding the different cultures and expectations at each of the UVA entities, including the terminology, perspective, and vocabulary of the Health System and Academic Division.
 
A key component of this area is a focus on service excellence, critical to the success of UVA HR. CHRO senior leadership will set expectations, providing real tools to ensure HR professionals are delivering the absolute best service possible.
 
Team building: The focus of the team building activities is to ensure that each team has clear and consistent expectations, goal setting and reward processes, and change management resources to support their development during the transformation.
 
These are just the first steps in the training journey for the UVA HR team. The UVA HR leadership team will begin to develop long-term training plans to help individuals expand knowledge, develop skills, work as successful teams. 
 
As HR professionals prepare to move in to their new roles, their managers will share with them their customized training plans. Detailed training for Workday processes will begin in May for HR professionals, as well as faculty, staff, and team members. 
 
Learn more about the first launch training below.
Launch Training Begins
Earlier this month, members of the Solution Center’s Benefits, Leave, and Payroll and Inquiry teams participated in a weeklong launch training.
 
The week began with a "Meet the Team" session. Next, team members attended Cross-Entity Awareness classes, gaining insight into the cultures, organizational structures, and best practices from the Academic Division and Health System. These classes were a collaborative effort between the Ufirst Training Team and twelve SMRs across Grounds. To finish the week, team members attended systems training. The group participated in Salesforce training and received specialized training in Oracle, PeopleSoft, Jobs@, and Taleo, depending on their backgrounds and needs.
 
Feedback from these sessions has been overwhelmingly positive. Benefits, Leave, and Payroll Manager, Erica Wheat, stated “Cross Entity Training 101 and 102 were everything I’d envisioned and more. The Ufirst Training Team was able to bring to life what it means to be a part of this University and stimulate great discussion about everything from high-level cultural norms across the organization down to more minute but important issues like differences in leave and payroll policies.”
Benefits, Leave, and Payroll and Inquiry teams participate in Cross-Entity Awareness class.
Workday and Technical Training Supervisor Lori Willy delivers training to the team.
Meet the University of Virginia HR Leadership Team
Meet Bryan Garey,
Assistant Vice President for Talent
Q: What are you most excited to start working on in your new position?
A: Talent is at the heart of what HR is about: sourcing, selecting, retaining, and developing great people are essential to the value we add to UVA. And, it’s exciting to lead a new team to find ways to make a difference in moving the University forward. From the candidate experience to the hiring process to onboarding to performance management, I hope we can make processes easier for customers and the positive results of the work more obvious and with greater impact. I am excited by the challenge and grateful for the opportunity to serve UVA in this role.
 
Q: What song would be your personal anthem/theme song?
A: I love Bruce Springsteen so I will pick his truly great song, Born to Run. Beyond the literal story of the song, I find it’s a call to action, of breaking free and living in the moment while moving forward to make things better. And, it’s full of energy!
 
Q: What are you usually doing on the weekend or during time off?
A: Trying to find a little extra sleep which seems so elusive these days. I also enjoy seeing friends, hitting a winery, working out, and running errands and doing chores. Church is usually part of the weekend and sometimes a hike in the woods or a camping trip. I like weekends for variety and fun and they are all very different for me.
 
Q: What is your proudest achievement?
A: My two girls, Virginia and Evelyn. Va. is a 2 nd year UVA student and Evelyn is a high school junior. They are great kids…and also have a wonderful Mom.
 
Q: What is something that would surprise us about you?
A: My theatre background may surprise some, but I have found this rewarding on a personal level and even helpful in my HR career. I love to travel and hope to be fluent in Spanish someday. I also continue to study the piano, taking up lessons about 5 years ago. It’s slow going, but very enjoyable. I like to learn new things and challenge myself with new experiences.
HR Community Circle
Next meeting: No HRCC meeting in December - Happy Holidays!

Have a suggestion for a meeting topic? Email the HRCC Planning Committee to share your thoughts
Thank You & Happy Holidays!
As the year comes to a close, we would like to take the time to express our deep gratitude for all of your hard work, accomplishments, and support.
 
Throughout 2017, we have worked hard to redefine HR at UVA. Without your dedication and determination, we would not have made it this far. 
 
During this time of celebration with friends and family, we reflect on this last year with gratitude for you and your efforts to partner with us to impact this great University in a positive way. We wish you and your family a happy holiday season and a very prosperous new year.
 
Many thanks for all you do, Kelley Stuck & Sean Jackson
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