Workday Project Shifts Focus to Finance
In January, Saint Louis University successfully rolled out human resources and payroll processes in SLU’s new modern, cloud-based administrative system, Workday.
Now, SLU is focused on replacing the University’s current Banner financial system with Workday Financials, which is set to launch July 1.
Key goals of the transition include:
- Reducing the amount of time that faculty and staff must spend on administrative tasks.
- Providing leaders with accurate and real-time data to make strategic decisions and identify creative solutions to ongoing challenges.
- Reducing costs by removing complex processes and technology that’s expensive to maintain.
Workday Financials offers numerous advantages that align with the University’s goals for the project. They include:
- A single platform for all financial transactions and records
- Access to real-time reports and information
- Ability to track approval flows
- Access to spending trends
- Automated billing processes
- Reduction in manual work
Workday Financials also is expected to enhance transparency across the University’s financial transactions and between decentralized and centralized departments at SLU.
Workday Strategy Map (PDF)
Financial processes that will move to Workday include:
- Accounting
- Banking
- Budgeting
- Business Assets (buildings, vehicles, equipment and other capital and non-capital assets)
- Customer and Supplier Accounts
- Grants Management
- Procurement
- Project Tracking
Converting the financial systems of a large and complex organization is a significant undertaking. That’s why support, training and communication remain top priorities. Efforts include:
- Open forums planned for April (details to come)
- Workday Champion Network with some membership changes as the focus shifts to finances
- Job aids with step-by-step instructions
- Instructional videos for certain key tasks
- A dedicated call center and help desks at go-live
Leading up to the change, SLU also has sought to simplify and standardize processes to make the most of Workday’s many benefits. Extensive testing is already underway and will continue through April.
For more information about the Workday project, visit the Workday@SLU site or email Jackie Manikam, Workday project manager, at jacqueline.manikam@health.slu.edu.