• Existing employees will remain assigned to their current departments. The transition date to the new supervisor will occur between March - June, 2025, based on feedback from the unit and the hiring timeline of the new supervisor.

• Vacation requests for 2025 should be sent to your current supervisor for approval.

• There will not be new appointment letters issued as a result of the implementation of ARTs. Letters communicating the supervisory change and change in operational area will occur once the transition date is finalized.

• Employees will remain assigned to existing units in much the same way they are today. If there are concerns about managing responsibilities and requests coming from the unit, we encourage employees to communicate with their supervisor.

Will people lose FTE when moving to an ART? How is the FTE determined? What if that person has duties in an ART area, and a non-ART area? 

• Individuals who will be part of the Administrative Regional Teams will not experience an FTE decrease. L&S Admin will be partnering with each unit to evaluate positions with responsibilities both inside and outside the new team. 

Will anyone lose their job to ARTs? 

• No one will lose their job as a result of Administrative Regional Team implementation. 

If employees currently do multiple jobs (HR and Finance) in their department, will they have to choose one when they move to a ART? 

• There will be a separation of duties between the functional areas within the Administrative Regional Teams, and, in many cases, within Workday. Where positions currently have responsibilities that bridge multiple functional areas, L&S Admin will be discussing the details of these positions and the outcome (if the individual will be part of the new team, and if so, which one) will be determined based on the unique circumstances of their situation. 

Will titles change? 

• There will not be immediate title changes with the implementation of Administrative Regional Teams. We will continue to evaluate titles after we fully transition into the new structure and Workday to ensure we are in alignment with campus title guidelines. 

Will pay change? 

• There will not be salary changes as a result of Administrative Regional Team implementation. 

Is there career progression in an ART? 

• Yes, we do expect more opportunities for career progression within L&S as a result of Administrative Regional Teams. 

Will there be an open call for applications to the new ART roles or a forced move? 

• There will be both recruitments for roles within the Administrative Regional Teams and reassignment of existing employees to a team. 

Will staff get a new appointment letter if duties are changing? 

• If the percentage split and/or unique duties need to be updated on the position description, we will work through PD update process. This would not result in a new appointment letter; however, individuals will receive a letter communicating changes such as supervisory and operational area. 

How will training be managed for staff moving to an ART with work they are not familiar with? 

• We will offer training for any aspects of a role an individual may not be familiar with. In addition, we will all be engaging in Workday training (expected to begin in March) and the many impacted processes. Ongoing professional development will also be a key component of the Administrative Regional Teams. 

Will our supervisor change if we are moved to an ART?  

• Yes, those positions that are part of the Administrative Regional Teams will report to the manager overseeing their functional area (e.g. Finance Manager, HR Manager, or Multi-functional Research Administration Manager). Current supervisors will have an active role in your work. 

Currently we each have a variety of work schedules.  Can we keep our current work schedule when moved to an ART?  Will ARTs allow flexible schedules or require standardized schedules? Will we need to coordinate work schedules and leave requests with other ART members for adequate coverage? 

• We will be working with the Administrative Regional Teams advisory group and L&S shared governance to work through expectations around work schedules and coordination of leave requests. 

Will our Academic or University staff status change when moved to an ART? When new ART members are hired will they all be Academic staff, or a mix of Academic staff and University staff? 

• Existing staff will retain their current employment classification with Administrative Regional Team implementation since titles are not changing. New team positions will be in a mix of both Academic and University staff classifications. 

Will ART members still attend department meetings? Will they need to attend multiple department meetings?

• L&S Admin would like to see the primary department contacts within the ART invited and attending departmental meetings. If this is not feasible, we would expect the DA to provide pertinent information to ensure the primary contacts within the ART have the information needed to be successful in their role.

Will ART members still be on g-group lists for their primary department? Or other email distribution lists?

• L&S Admin would like to see ART members included in the unit's departmental communications, including g-group lists, for their primary department(s). It will also be helpful in many circumstances for the primary point-of-contact to have access to send information to the distribution groups within the unit.

What does strategic leadership look like for DAs?

• Strategic leadership can look a number of ways, and will likely be shaped by departmental needs; it could include areas such as alumni relations and development, organizational and/or curriculum development to name a few. Our goal is to have department administrators having roles and responsibilities that more clearly match the SJD. We will be facilitating ongoing college-wide conversations on this topic in 2025.

Can we incorporate the work of the Office of Inclusive Excellence and Organizational Equity to help benefit connections within an ART?

•  Yes, we love this suggestion! We will be sure to work with our colleagues in the Office of Inclusive Excellence and Organizational Equity to further connections within each ART. 

What steps is the College taking to ensure staff retention and job satisfaction?

• Employee retention is of critical importance to us as we navigate the changes ahead. We are striving for clear and transparent communication, opportunities for individuals and groups to ask questions, provide feedback, and contribute ideas. Towards this end, we are engaging with the ART advisory group, as well as L&S CASI-USIC, to solicit feedback and input. Additionally, each of the functional areas (Finance, HR, Research Admin) have engagement with employees in positions migrating to the ART structure. This KB page is dedicated to the ART transition, where employees can find updates, FAQs, and submit questions/suggestions.

Are team members going to be compensated via salary for essentially becoming "on call" for other units within their silo?

• Positions migrating to the ART structure will continue to be compensated following existing Salary Administration Guidelines. There will not be compensation adjustments resulting from ART implementation.

• Yes, all departments will be included in the new model. 

Will an ART member’s current department remain their primary department? 

• In most cases yes, the individual currently in a unit will continue to be assigned to that same unit. While it will take time to fully evaluate capacity and activity levels, potentially 1-2 years. we will be working with ART employees to address areas where the workload needs balancing. For individuals with capacity, this may result in having an additional unit(s) assignment.

Will staff need to move offices? 

• In most cases, no, the existing staff will not need to move offices. L&S Admin would prefer that individuals within the Administrative Regional Team have space within or near the unit(s) they serve. 

What will the daily interaction look like between departments and the ARTs? Will it be something like what happens now between centralized departments and the College HR partners? 

• We expect the daily interaction between departments and their assigned person within the Administrative Regional Team will look similar to the interactions folks within these roles currently have with their departments. We recognize the need for strong and collaborative working relationships in order for all of us to be successful. 

How will work be assigned in an ART? Will each ART member be assigned to one department as their main support role like it is now?  Or will ART members support all departments in their ART on a routine basis? Will an email ticketing system be used like UWSS does for affinity groups? 

• There will be an Administrative Regional Team  primary point-of-contact assigned to each unit, and that person will serve the primary operational needs of their assigned unit(s). We expect members of the Administrative Regional Team will support each other as needed in times of peak workload, leave, etc. We are looking into the possibility of using an email ticketing system to help facilitate and track requests, but the primary assignment to a ticketing system request would be to the unit's primary point-of-contact. 

How does backup coverage work with ART?  If an ART member is on long vacation or leaves for another job, how is it decided which ART member will do their work temporarily?  Will they be paid more when covering for other areas? 

• In most cases, back-up coverage assignments will be based on capacity and will be short-term in nature. In these cases, individuals providing back-up coverage would not be paid more when covering for other areas. However, each situation, particularly if there is a long-term coverage assignment, will be evaluated to ensure appropriate workload and compliance with UW-Madison's overload policy. 

How will RWAs work in an ART? What if one department does not allow RWAs? 

• We will be working with the Administrative Regional Team advisory group and L&S shared governance to work through differences in onsite/hybrid/remote work expectations. 

Will department assignments within an ART be geographically close so that employees do not need to walk across campus to speak to someone in person? 

• We are looking at multiple variables when assigning individuals to departments, including geographical location/proximity, similarity of units, and overall workload. 

How many ARTs are there? 

• There will be 5 Administrative Regional Teams in total covering all units within L&S. Note: We have received some questions about the units listed on the August 27, 2024, plenary slide detailing the 5 teams. Please note some units were not listed individually and were combined into categories (e.g. Social Science Centers, Arts & Humanities Centers) due to space limitations on the presentation slide. 

What improvements is the ART process meant to make? 

• The improvements and benefits of Administrative Regional Teams include: 

• More resilient staffing model 

• Ability to successfully implement new workflows within Workday 

• Robust training and support in each functional area (e.g. finance, HR, research admin) 

• Ongoing communications and sharing of best practices with the L&S community 

• Supervisors that are specialized in each functional area 

• Increased career pathing and advancement 

Will these changes reduce redundancy in the system and lessen bureaucracy? 

• We do anticipate this new model will present opportunities to streamline processes and decision making. We will be engaging with Administrative Regional Team members to help us identify these opportunities as both a part of implementation, and as part of ongoing operations. Please let us know if you see opportunities! 

Will all staff in an ART do all of the work, or will "specialist" positions be created within an ART? How will that be managed when someone is on vacation? 

• We do not anticipate having "specialist" positions within each team upon implementation, but will continue to evaluate, listen to feedback, and adjust our approach if needed. 

When employees contact an ART will they deal with a random ART member like happens when they contact OHR now?  Most employees prefer dealing with a regular contact who they know well and knows them well. 

• Employees within a unit will reach out to their designated contact person when support is needed, similar to how employees reach out for support in current state. 

When employees want to talk in person with a ART member will they need to go halfway across campus to the ART office? 

• L&S Admin would like Administrative Regional Team members to be located within the unit, or nearby, when they are onsite, similar to current state. 

Will workers who move into a new official position/title receive a grandfather rule to bank vacation and receive vacation payouts as they are currently able?

• If an individual moves into a new title through a competitive recruitment process, their terms and conditions of employment will be dictated by the new position's employment classification. If an individual moves into a new title through a non-competitive process, such through a position review, they would have the choice to maintain their existing employment classification (e.g. University staff) and the corresponding terms and conditions of employment.

How will vacation allocation work if staff are moving classifications?

• An individual's vacation allocation will remain the same unless they apply for/compete and accept a position that changes their employee category. In these cases, their vacation allocation will follow the rules for their new employee category.

How will relationships with departments be built and maintained for staff in ARTs? 

• It will be vital for existing and new staff within the ART structure to build and maintain relationships with departments, and those within the department. We will be working with the ART advisory group, DAs, Chairs, CASI-USIC, and others to ensure we are providing a solid foundation to foster these relationships.

Is there a plan to address salary compression in an ART, or across multiple ARTs? 

• While there will not be salary changes as a result of ART implementation, we will continue to evaluate salary parity consistent with the Salary Administration Guidelines.

If a person is 50% academic planning and 50% finance, (half of the work they do today will move into the ART) would that person be reduced to half-time with the creation of the ARTs, or would they be assigned other duties? Will the FTEs of employees whose duties are split in this way change when the “ARTs” are created?

• Where positions currently have responsibilities that bridge multiple functional areas, L&S Admin will be discussing the details of these positions and the outcome (if the individual will be part of the ART, and if so, which one) will be determined based on the unique circumstances of their situation. There will be no reduction in an employee's FTE as a result of ART implementation.

Currently we all have different pay rates based on experience, department size, performance, duties, etc.  When we move to ARTs could our pay change?  Will work be standardized in a pod with lower paid employees doing same work as higher paid employees?  Or will higher paid employees be expected to do more work?

• There will not be salary changes as a result of ART implementation. Each functional area (finance, HR, research admin) will continue to evaluate operational needs and workflows/processes to determine how work will be split across different position types. We have a lot to learn yet about Workday and adjacent processes to fully know the answer to this question.

If Dept Admins will supervise fewer employees will they need their PD updated? Would they get a pay reduction?

• There will not be salary changes as a result of ART implementation. We will not be updating PDs until well after implementation stabilization, which will likely take more than a year. We expect DA responsibilities will continue to support the same SJD title.

How will ART members be funded?

• All ART staff will be paid in L&S Admin (with a few exceptions for staff on gift and grant funding who will still reside with the ARTs). L&S has received designated bridge funding and FTE for several years to create the ART model as pilot for larger efforts campus is now planning. The funds for existing staff will be transferred from BSRs to Admin for existing staff who transfer into ARTs.

How many departments will one person support?

• Depending on the individual's role, many people will primarily support only one unit with back-up availability for a limited number of departments during staff vacations, vacancies or periods of time with higher than average demands. For smaller units or those with fewer activities, individuals may support 2-3 units.

Will any departments retain their own staff in HR, Finance or GA as currently structured?

• Unit positions in finance, HR, or research administration will all become part of the ART structure. Units will continue to work and collaborate closely with staff in these areas. Non-research administrators who do pre-award/proposal work, like PIs and some department admins, will continue to do so from their departments, and research administrators who are migrating to the ARTs that currently do pre-award work for their departments will continue to do so from the ARTs, in collaboration with the PIs and other proposal contributors in the department.

How will travel be managed? Many departments have complex travel arranging, or have relationships with special groups (First Nations, under-served populations) that could be damaged by disruption to current process.

• Fox World Travel and Concur will not be impacted by the shift to Workday. Staff currently planning travel can continue to do so. E-reimbursement processes will move into Workday. If local staff who are not moving to ARTs are planning travel and serving as alternate expense reimbursement preparers today, they will need to work with ART staff to facilitate the expense reimbursement preparation piece of the process in the future.

How are pod unit assignments determined? Who is doing that work? Will departments have input?

• For existing staff, they will continue to work with the same department to which they are currently assigned. For new assignments, we will be looking at various activity and workload metrics of the unit, proximity, and similarity of functions when making assignments. The unit assignment decision will be the responsibility of L&S Admin, and DAs will be consulted as part of the decision making process.

How are pods going to foster collaboration for the unique needs of each unit? The example given is regarding e-reimbursement. Some departments allow travelers to enter their own reimbursements. The Financial Specialist catches errors, troubleshoots, and approves forward. In some other units, staff enter the reimbursements.

• Staff from ART will serve as expense data entry specialists for departments. This role will replace current state alternates as well as current state department approver roles. Expense reimbursements will go from expense data entry specialists right to UW-Madison Business Services for audit. If travelers prepare their own reports without coordinating with the expense data entry specialists, they will go to UW-Madison Business Services for audit without departmental reviews so we recommend the use of expense data entry specialists in Workday.

How will funding work for pod members?  Will they all be on same funding string? Will pod members be on L&S division funding, or will their costs be charged to departments like now?

• All ART staff will be paid in L&S Admin (with a few exceptions for staff on gift and grant funding who will still reside with the ARTs). L&S has received designated bridge funding and FTE for several years to create the ART model as pilot for larger efforts campus is now planning. The funds for existing staff will be transferred from BSRs to Admin for existing staff who transfer into ARTs.

Will each pod member have access to all data for all depts in their pod?  All Payroll and benefits info, all financial and purchasing info, etc?  Seems necessary for pod member to serve all depts in the pod.

• All ART financial staff will have access to financial data for all of L&S through the finance analyst role in Workday. All DAs will be given this same role to view financial data in place of the current access staff have to WISER as WISER will be retired.

How does Separation of Duties work with pods?  Who does approvals when needed?

• Within Workday, separation of duties for most transactions is accomplished by restricting the initiator and other approvers from serving in multiple approver roles. Within each ART, we will have initiators and approvers for each transaction type assigned.

What will IT support be like? Will we be able to keep the computers and laptops that we currently have or will we need to switch over to other equipment? Additionally, will we still have access to department drives? Can you be more specific about opportunities for professional development and promotion? Given that Workday security roles limit access of certain titles to certain tasks, it seems like many individuals will no longer have as many different types of financial responsibilities and will narrow down their work to fewer types of tasks. It is unclear how the new structure will avoid lateral movement.

• L&S Admin will be responsible for providing IT support to individuals within the ART structure. We will be working with units to determine if new computers and laptops will be needed, or if individuals can continue using their existing equipment. We will also be working with each unit to ensure employees continue to have access to existing files and resources, including those on department drives. Individuals within the ART will be able to participate in ongoing professional development, both within and outside of UW-Madison. There will also be many work teams forming as we get ready for Workday implementation, which will also provide opportunities for continued development. In addition, individuals are encouraged to apply for openings which may provide promotional opportunities.

Will there be a Town Hall that staff can attend? 

• There will be a number of opportunities for individuals to receive additional information regarding Administrative Regional Team implementation, including: 

• Week of 10/21/2024: Information sessions for impacted individuals by functional area (finance, HR, and research administration) 

• 11/7/2024: L&S Administrative Topic of the Month focusing on Administrative Regional Team implementation 

• 11/18/2024: Semesterly L&S Townhall for all staff 

What is the timeline for ART implementation? 

• The transition to Administrative Regional Teams will occur by July 1, 2025. 

Will faculty experience a loss of financial support as a result of the ART structure and Workday?   

• We do not expect financial support services will decrease as a result of Administrative Regional Team implementation. In some units, particularly smaller units, more services may be available with the addition of dedicated  support. 

The Dean’s 9/5 message noted: “In order to meet the timeline for security role access and training needed for set up in Workday, any modifications to reporting lines will need to be established before the end of the calendar year.” What does this mean? 

• The Dean's message is stating that employees will be informed before the end of the calendar year if they will be part of the new Administrative Regional Team  structure and/or if there will be modifications to their scope of work (to the extent known) due to Workday implementation. The changes will be communicated by the end of the calendar year so we can appropriately map security roles and sign people up for training, however the changes will not take effect until closer to July 1, 2025. 

How will the supervisory lines be structured? Who will write evaluations and determine discretionary increases?

• Each member of the ART will have a supervisor within their area of expertise (finance, human resources, or research admin). These supervisors will report to the functional area within L&S Admin. The supervisors will be responsible for performance evaluations, and will be responsible for recommending discretionary increases. Department Administrators will be consulted in these processes.

How will the reallocation of work within departments work after losing people to the ARTs who do other work in the department that is not covered by the ARTs? 

• Where positions currently have responsibilities that bridge multiple functional areas, L&S Admin will be discussing the details of these positions and the outcome (if the individual will be part of the ART, and if so, which one) will be determined based on the unique circumstances of the situation.

How does the position cap affect ARTs? 

• Campus leadership allocated L&S additional positions under the position cap specifically for the purpose of standing up the pod model.

Grouping ARTs by academic area creates big differences in pod sizes. Would working in big ARTs be better or worse than working in small ARTs? 

• There will likely be pros and cons of working in bigger versus smaller ARTs; however, the workload for each individual working within the ART is expected to be comparable.

If ART employees work at buildings that are far apart, will they be compensated for parking?

• We are looking at physical proximity when determining ART assignments. Please note, employees in existing roles will continue to remain assigned to their current unit, and our preference is for them to remain physically located in the unit, so parking shouldn't change as a result of implementation.

How will searches be conducted (at all levels).

• Searches will be conducted in much the same way they are now, with representative stakeholders involved in parts of the process.

What role will DAs play in ART supervision? Could they possibly supervise an ART? 

• DAs will not be responsible for supervising employees within the ART, however, similar to today, they will have significant interaction with their assigned individuals and will be consulted for performance feedback.

Currently we get a Pay Edit for our dept on almost daily basis.  When we are in pods will we get Pay Edit report for every dept in our ART?  For example, ART 5 has 20 depts.  Would those members get 20 pay edit reports daily?

• We do not expect that all members of the ART will get a pay edit report for each unit within their team. We will be working together to identify what reports are available and how to best utilize the reporting functions and availability in future state.

I am wondering how scholarship submissions and withdrawals from the Foundation will be handled. Will people in the ARTs still do these, or will others in the department have to take these duties over? Will multiple people in the ARTs have access to the Foundation accounts? I have not seen either of these issues addressed, and they are both big parts of my work.

• The majority of the disbursement process happens outside of workday so the people who currently process, can continue and access from the Foundation’s website won’t be taken away. The gift billing report is in Workday so members of the ARTs will facilitate the process of getting funds posted to the 233 accounts here on campus.