Introducing UVAFinance is a recurring blog feature created to introduce our team to our team, a couple of members at a time. Every other week, we present readers with a team member or two to get to know. To understand how these colleagues are situated within the greater UVAFinance structure, check out this resource on the UVAFinance website.
NEW Resource: UVAFinance by Department
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| Danielle Hancock |
Generally, my job is to help finance employees at UVA understand finance policies and processes. That includes creating training (self-paced & instructor-led), creating documentation (FAQs, QRGs, etc.), and providing support when needed. Another area that I work with is Lean or Continuous Improvement. We have recently restarted the UVAFinance Lean Certificate program UVAFinance Lean Certificate program to help any UVA employee work with a continuous improvement mindset (always looking for ways to squash Muda).
Who do you work with regularly?
The areas that I provide training/documentation support for are Financial Accounting (Journals, Accounting Adjustments, Account Certification, etc.), Ad Hoc Bank Transactions, Customer Accounts, Internal Service Delivery, Grants Management, and FDM Worktags. In Central Finance, I work with the functional subject matter experts for my areas to ensure the training materials are up-to-date and correct. We also partner to find areas of weakness/pain points and support the end users. Outside Central Finance, I work with finance employees to help them better understand their tasks through emails and 1:1 sessions.
What seasons are busiest, or what rhythms exist in your job?
In training, we don’t have a specific busy season. There is always something that could be created or updated, so we plan accordingly. I do see an uptick in the requests for support (emails/1:1 sessions) the closer we get to Fiscal Year End.
What might surprise people about the work you do/this role/your department or area?
Probably the most surprising thing about my job is that it isn’t just training (whether self-paced or instructor-led). This is one part of my job, but there is so much more including working with school/unit employees in 1:1 sessions, creating video demos, designing infographics, creating content and updating the content on the UVAFinance Website, working on Continuous Improvement projects, creating surveys, working in the Workday Learning space – to name a few.
What do you like best about working in UVAFinance?
There are so many things I like about working in UVAFinance, but the thing I like best is my team and all the wonderful and smart people I get to work with daily. I’m incredibly lucky to have amazing colleagues not only in UVAFinance, but also all the wonderful people I’ve worked with across Grounds.
How do you connect your work with the UVA Finance Values?
There are so many ways my work connects with our UVAFinance Values. As a trainer, much of what I do is provide support to end users. While providing support, I am mindful of providing excellent service, so that the school/units feel like they are heard, and the question(s) are answered correctly (and that can take some research or finding someone who can better answer the question). Often from the conversations I have with school/unit employees, I find places where the training/content can be updated, or new training/content needs to be added. So, it is cyclical in many ways and that feedback loop helps provide better/more complete content – ultimately leading to better data in the system (Collaborative Partner/Impeccable Source of data). As I mentioned earlier, we re-established the UVAFinance Lean Certificate program to try to help people better understand Continuous Improvement and how they can use it in their work.
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| Raegan Harouff Gaye |
What do you do as the Assistant Director of Travel & Expense?
I oversee the Travel, Expense, and T&E card programs. The T&E Team helps users make travel arrangements with our preferred Travel Management Companies. We help with expense report questions and continue to improve the Workday Expenses module. We manage approximately 2800 T&E cards. We work to enhance efficiency, compliance, and user satisfaction within our Travel, Expense, and T&E card programs.
Who do you work with regularly?
This role requires significant collaboration across multiple teams and stakeholders. I work with the T&E team and the Procurement Leadership Team daily. I also work with various other Finance team members to help solve problems and improve processes. I work with Expense Ambassadors, Fiscal Administrators, and other users to ensure they are aware of updates and improvements and to help with questions as they arise. A key focus is improving processes and ensuring effective communication.
What seasons are busiest, or what rhythms exist in your job?
What seasons are busiest, or what rhythms exist in your job?
Our work is cyclical but steady. With significant events like the Travel & Expense Expo and annual cardholder training, it's crucial to have a plan to manage pre-planning, preparation, and continuous improvement activities. We are continuously working to improve the Workday Expenses module to provide a better user experience, and we are introducing improvements to streamline card violation processes. We have multiple other projects on the horizon.
What might surprise people about the work you do/this role/your department or area?
What might surprise people about the work you do/this role/your department or area?
Everyone who works with TravelUVA on the T&E Team has extensive experience working in the travel industry before working at UVA, so we understand the ins and outs of corporate travel. We manage over 50 travel-related contracts negotiated to benefit UVA and provide the best experience for our travelers.
What do you like best about working in UVAFinance?
What do you like best about working in UVAFinance?
I enjoy the people. Folks in Procurement and Finance are great to work with, and being in Central Finance gives me the opportunity to meet and build relationships with people from all across Grounds. I have also been able to connect with those who hold similar roles at peer universities by representing UVA T&E at conferences. This is especially valuable as we benchmark and continue to grow and improve.
How do you connect your work with the UVA Finance Values?
How do you connect your work with the UVA Finance Values?
While I personally connect with all of the UVA Finance Values, focusing on Service Excellence and being an Impeccable Source of Information are crucial for building trust and ensuring that stakeholders have a positive experience. We want our users to know we are here to help and to be able to trust that the information they receive from us will be accurate and useful.
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UVAFinance Mission & Values / UVAFinance Organizational Structure / Past Introductions can be found on our site under "Resource Shelf"
Would you like to be featured in Introducing UVAFinance? Want to suggest a colleague to be featured? Email bv8h@virginia.edu
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