Possible impacts for departments.
P-Card holders, payroll preparers, stockrooms
posted almost 12 years ago
I can only speak of the Biology department on these items, but since we are such a large department I imagine any changes considered will have a greater impact on us than for some other departments. I have a few concerns with centralizing some of the duties mentioned. In particular, Procurement and Payroll/HR services need some presence within the department.
We have several P-Card holders in our department, with between $50,000 and $100,000 in charges and hundreds of transactions each month. I cannot see how sending this duty to a shared center will be beneficial to our department. The labs need constant resupply, quick access to ordering, and a person knowledgeable with the individual labs. We also run an onsite freezer program, as well as supplying dry ice and alcohol orders. At the moment, lab orders are processed daily, with many orders requiring delivery within 24 hours of ordering. I cannot see how a shared center can compete with the quality of the current service offered to our department.
Non P-Card purchases are already routed through Procurement, so I would not expect this to have much effect.
Payroll and HR duties still require a payroll preparer in the department. Until timesheets and hiring processes can be transitioned online, preparers need to physically collect and process these items. In this area, I would actually argue for a more decentralized approach, allowing preparers greater access to the HR system for entering PAR and CAR forms. PeopleSoft has the ability to attach documents through the system, so the Admin Payroll staff can audit the entries to ensure compliance. This would cut down on at least one possible error of mistyping information.
Electronic timesheets are a necessity in any system, but would make it easier to transition to a shared center.
We have several P-Card holders in our department, with between $50,000 and $100,000 in charges and hundreds of transactions each month. I cannot see how sending this duty to a shared center will be beneficial to our department. The labs need constant resupply, quick access to ordering, and a person knowledgeable with the individual labs. We also run an onsite freezer program, as well as supplying dry ice and alcohol orders. At the moment, lab orders are processed daily, with many orders requiring delivery within 24 hours of ordering. I cannot see how a shared center can compete with the quality of the current service offered to our department.
Non P-Card purchases are already routed through Procurement, so I would not expect this to have much effect.
Payroll and HR duties still require a payroll preparer in the department. Until timesheets and hiring processes can be transitioned online, preparers need to physically collect and process these items. In this area, I would actually argue for a more decentralized approach, allowing preparers greater access to the HR system for entering PAR and CAR forms. PeopleSoft has the ability to attach documents through the system, so the Admin Payroll staff can audit the entries to ensure compliance. This would cut down on at least one possible error of mistyping information.
Electronic timesheets are a necessity in any system, but would make it easier to transition to a shared center.
(edited almost 12 years ago)
