People and Change: Faculty of Applied Science

The Faculty of Applied Science is one of the most diverse faculties at UBC, overseeing the administrative procedures for the Schools of Architecture and Landscape Architecture, Community and Regional Planning, and Nursing, as well as the engineering departments at UBCV and the School of Engineering at UBCO.

Facilitating the change to new systems and processes like Workday often requires a collaborative approach. Human Resources Director Megan Wallace, Special Projects & Strategic Initiatives Director Jody Swift, and Senior Financial Analyst Max Chang are the Transition Network (TN) leads guiding the change for the faculty.

The approach Wallace, Swift and Chang are taking is one of collaboration and information sharing. They work as a team to enable a successful implementation for the schools and departments.

“We pulled together as three leads and thought of all of the other initiatives and goals that the faculty is trying to achieve,” says Wallace. “Looking at this as a team that is going to make [Workday] successful within our faculty.”

“The unique thing we have about the three of us is it’s wonderful to do this as a team. If one of us has to step away, they other two can fill in,” says Swift.

The leads are looking forward to the culture change Workday will bring to the UBC community and to their faculty.

“Workday is the tool that’s going help us have all of our systems speak to each other, allowing us to be more collaborative as an entire faculty,” says Wallace. “We’re engineers, but we’re also architects, we’re planners, we’re nurses, so we’re a very diverse group.”

The recent COVID-19 pandemic and UBC’s shift to remote working has highlighted the need to move away from manual processes and bring in a more adaptable system.

“I’m looking forward to having systems that will enable us to pivot quickly and will make us more agile by not relying on manual processes,” says Swift. “Working remotely has shown us how dependant we are on those manual things, for example, scanning and uploading documents.”

One of the challenges for all TN members across UBC is encouraging the shift from those existing processes and providing the right resources and tools for those at all levels of change readiness.

“It is a shift in how we want people to engage and interact with us,” says Wallace. “Some people will be the early adopters and some will want to see that it’s actually going to meet all our needs.”

Each unit in Applied Science has a different service model for their finance, human resources, and research support. Wallace, Swift and Chang work with the units to reframe their existing processes to a model that is customized for their specific needs.

“We help units understand what is their service delivery model, and do they want to replicate the same service delivery model or do they have an opportunity to decide which aspects are most important and hold on to those; that’s where that uniqueness comes in,” says Swift.

Keeping the IRP and Workday as a priority while managing multiple competing priorities can be a challenge for TN members. However, Wallace, Swift and Chang are confident their collaborative approach, along with the dedications of their TN captains, will bring a successful transition to their faculty.

“Our captains in Applied Science are working hard and they want the best results for their own staff and faculty, which speaks to their level of engagement,” says Swift. “Every time we meet with the TN captains I’m filled with confidence in the sense that UBC has wonderful staff that can absolutely do anything.”