Research, Finance, HR, Operations by Webb, Ben

2024-08-12 13:37:57 UTC

Some guidance to self-use platforms for staff, that could be a wider push from central. Not just the new myview etc.

2024-08-12 13:39:07 UTC

Work allocation and confirmation of where certain tasks should sit realistically.

2024-10-15 14:44:40 UTC

Having systems and processes that actually do what departments need, for example for projects based overseas. And clarity on which systems should be used for what, for example small one of payments.

2024-10-15 14:46:04 UTC

EV - the visitors expenses process doesn't work for a large percentage of users. So lots of manual forms which are workload intensive (and more transactional work for senior staff). Can they look at instance where it isn't working and try to fix it?

2024-10-15 14:47:09 UTC

Generalist roles, which are sometimes appropriate and can also be very enjoyable career choices, getting split a apart and put in boxes.

2024-10-15 14:48:27 UTC

IDVT process needs to be devolved to departments, so we can use it for remote (or remote until they arrive) visitors.

2024-10-15 14:48:55 UTC

New IDVT checks for British/Irish staff is a great improvement.

2024-10-15 14:50:31 UTC

Loss of oversight if some related work gets completely split up into separate tasks carried out by different staff (eg. Finance/Staffing or Finance/Research Admin).

2024-10-15 14:51:42 UTC

MyServices is having a LOT of teething issues, and heavily impacts the work in Finance and HR... and is currently creating lots of workload and transactional work.

2024-10-15 14:53:20 UTC

In some departments Ops and Estates type work sits only with a DM, and they often have to do very transactional work as there's a lack of a 'range' or 'breadth' of roles relating to this work. Maybe this review could address that.

2024-10-15 14:54:49 UTC

Interaction between Talentlink and MyHR is still not great. And department's cannot view transactions that have gone onto MyHR via TL. So unable to view or monitor relevant transactions.

2024-10-22 11:54:43 UTC

Please can we get some proper training for staff that deal with finance! Its really difficult for those of us who's roles are not pure finance to find and gain any training on this. Often the guidance is out of date or not available and we are trying to learn systems or processes with no prior experience. Why are there no live or in person support session for finance? it would be great if there were self paces videos for example that you could refer too much like the old Drupal training.

2024-10-22 15:05:54 UTC

Review of the process for budget forecasts. Central finance seems to think we are all accountants and it has become extremely difficult to complete the forecasts in time and effectively. Deadlines are also not feasible as PS staff based at departments have another thousands think to do at the same time. We should make it clear whether it is a requirement for PS staff based at a department to have accounting knowledge and if that is the case, the staff should be compensated properly at higher grades and trained to do the budget forecast at the level required by UCL finance

2024-10-22 15:06:56 UTC

Roles that become split between different departments. Departments are already understaffed enough to have this happening to them as well. It would be incredibly challenging to try and cover two departments at the same time for any function, being that finance or research etc.

2024-10-22 15:07:55 UTC

Lower grade jobs between deleted or split with other departments. This would only mean that higher grade roles would have to cover lower grade duties. It would be a problem both for workload and for job satisfaction.

2024-10-22 15:09:27 UTC

Long term PS staff who has worked at a department for many years being overlooked and not given the proper route to progress. Or being given the route to progress to a higher grade, but with the lower grade being deleted or split with other departments. This would in turn block the development of people who have given their whole to departments for years and never given a route to progress because of the excessive workload

2024-10-22 18:36:10 UTC

The first issue that FUNCTIONS should be addressing is why many central services do not function in the service of Departments. It is absolutely shocking that areas like Procurement are able to never reply to some (a lot of) emails seeking guidance and assistance; it is absurd that some central services have 5 working day service standards; it is very unhelpful to have processes endlessly handed to us that do not make sense. Many areas of Departments have to reply to all their emails within 24 hours, because the next 24 hours brings another tranche that also have to be dealt with and you cannot drop behind – if Departments have to reply within that timeframe why is it ok for central areas either tell us we have to wait 5 days or take a week to reply? From the Department perspective it seems that central areas especially VP offices, HR and Finance spend a far greater amount of their time in training, development, well-being, roadshows, award ceremonies, conferences, etc etc than we do. Is this all necessary? And cost effective? And if it is why are PS staff in Departments not offered the same levels of participation? Central staff frequently seem to be unaware that their role is to support Departments, not to create some new area of activity themselves.

2024-10-23 10:08:35 UTC

How we pay for freelancers, there is no easy system at the moment and we have tried 3 different ways to pay freelance teaching staff and they have all been faulty and time consuming. It would be so much easier if we could just pay them through the finance system (rather than Unitemps/ Guidant Global). It is also very difficult to pay freelancer expenses as many of them are rejected by the current system.

2024-10-23 10:11:37 UTC

The process for setting up new suppliers. This requires so much information and takes too long to be approved.

2024-10-23 11:20:06 UTC

To have more specialised ops roles and less generalist ops roles.

2024-10-23 11:30:20 UTC

We need an easier way to pay self employed people than having to jum through hoops to set them up as suppliers, as many of them dont have the insurances in place UCL needs and all the other paperwork. It is also very time consuming for departments and the process takes way too long from procurement side. And often when more info is needed we are not notified unless we follow up. More communication is needed. We often work with freelancers/self employed people from the industry that are hired very last minute and current processes do not work. Unitemps processes have also changed and the closing of assignments every 4 weeks adds so much extra admin to departments that it is just not worth it and many freelancers find it tedious and prefer doing their own taxes and because of this won't work with us.

2025-02-18 18:27:49 UTC

Having dedicated finance and research management in PS at dept level has been a massive gamechanger. As a Director of Research my job has been made vastly more effective and manageable with professional services support. Previously we had an overstretched DM constantly juggling everything. Bespoke PS work in these areas pays dividends - it's not something that can easily be centralised.

2025-02-25 11:49:22 UTC

Setting up new suppliers requests need to be looked into and made more relevant to departments that teach creative courses as the way we hire consultants and self employe people is very different from other UCL departments and current systems do not support UCL teaching creative courses from the administrative point of view. It is also mad that setting up a new supplier and simply reactivating one is the same exact process. Reactivating a supplier has to be simplified otherwise it is simply not reactivating but setting up. Moreover, if suppliers are used yearly deactivating them every 3 years just seems mad as it is creating more work for everyone involved especially because reactivating is not made simple.

2025-03-11 12:01:15 UTC

have a way of making fee payments for freelancers/self employed people which does snot include having to process them via payroll on myrrh as it is very lengthy and does not fit the purpose nor having to go through Unitemps or any other recruitment agencies.

2025-03-14 09:23:26 UTC

And instead of UCL Centra services pushing more work to departments they should be taking on some administration from us. Would love it if an operational people would not have to do right to work checks or right to be in the uk checks and these would either sit with central HR or with and HR person working with central HR but based in departments.

2025-03-18 16:02:36 UTC

Is it possible to have a system where if someone has been processed via HR system as permanent staff, them staff or worker that they automatically get access to their email, buildings etc. so that we don't have to raise yet another ticket with ISD to request someone get access to UCL email?

2025-03-25 15:58:16 UTC

I am unable to square the circle over arguments that have been presented over size of the PS body. There are two statements 1. that the grade pyramid is too top-heavy which would mean that roles at the top will be lost and 2. that there are too many transactional tasks (usually assumed to be handled by lower grade staff) which need to be reduced which would lead to fewer lower grade roles. So overall the whole pyramid is to be reduced. But in that case how, and by whom, will the current level of workload be accomplished? It is also a gross simplification that transactions are solely a lower grade activity, there has to be someone giving instructions to carry out the transaction, it doesn't arise de novo, and who actually presses the MyHR/MyFinance button is almost immaterial as it takes so little time, the burden of the work is in the due diligence, review, negotiation etc of deciding which button needs to be pressed.

2025-04-15 11:21:57 UTC

Research management and support is wider than just research finance but I don't see that recognised in the various information being circulated and meetings so far or acknowledgement of PS staff expertise in this area.

2025-04-24 08:29:51 UTC

How are you going to be taking into account that some of the departments have offices at UCL East and things there work very differently. You would also most likely still have some hybrid roles specifically at UCL East as all the DM's are based at bloomsbury only and there would have to be someone there. If all the roles are made specialist only who would cover the operational side of UCL East? Moreover, if jobs are made specialist will they all be moved to department level or be kept in centre/section level? It just seems that for smaller sections you don't really need a full time Hr person or and full time finance person, what would be the plan regarding this and has this been considered? Or will UCL East based roles be mapped differently as things there do work differently and it between Bloomsbury and UCL East same design would not particularly fit both sites.

2025-04-28 08:24:11 UTC

Could there be a place where we can see when IDTV checked have been completed? It would be useful to have them all in one place (like my services etc) to see which one shave been completed. I know emails are sent our but when we are raising a lot of requests at the same time keeping track of all this e-mails coming through from HR services when they process IDTV checks gets time consuming.

2025-04-28 08:28:07 UTC

It would be good if getting access to UCL emails and relevant buildings for new staff would be an automatic process, where information is fed from HR system to ISD systems, instead of staff at the departments having to process this separately for every single new person on services systems. This can get very time consuming. This way HR can make sure that everyone who has access to UCL email and buildings have gone through the RTW checks etc. and since the RTW checks are now needed this really seems like something HR should be processing even if it is a visiting lecturer etc.

2025-04-30 12:06:50 UTC

Why is not us requesting computer access via services systems enough to get the ball rolling? We still have to request a ticket via Myservices as well and previously via email we could request multiple in one email now all of the should be processed one by one which adds even more admin to the process. It would be good if we could use just one system, like systems services and it would automatically feed the info to ISD so that clicking request computer access would be enough for them to process. It also just seems that in general no other systems really communicate with services systems. Like if we process a new staff or worker personal emails etc need to be speerately added in service systems in order to create departemtn specific access and UCL email access. This really should be automatic via myhr as all info and contract dates have already been entered there.