WORK IN PROGRESS

UW-Madison Communication Plan for APBS Implementation

Communication Goals:

  • Actively seek University-wide input
  • Keep the University community well-informed
  • Promote project accountability
  • Identify how this project fits in with the strategic plan (e.g. other administrative systems) of the University
  • Establish appropriate expectations of change and process improvement among end users
  • Smooth the integration of the system into the workings of the University
  • Ensure the allocation of sufficient resources to the project
  • Build support for the project within the larger university community
  • Provide feedback from UW-Madison to the APBS core team
  • Information should
  • Be timely, complete, accurate and relevant to the audience
  • Promote opportunities for broad and constructive conversation
  • Be made available at the frequency and level of detail suitable to audience

Audiences

  • *Division Personnel Representatives
  • *Division Payroll/Benefit Representatives
  • Technical Support Staff – both in the divisions and at DoIT
  • Deans/Directors
  • *Division Business Representatives
  • *Division Budget Officers
  • Budget, Planning, and Analysis staff
  • Academic Personnel Office (APO) and Classified Personnel Office (CPO) staff
  • Employee Compensation and Benefits Services (ECBS) staff
  • Office of the Secretary of the Faculty/University Committee
  • Office of the Secretary of Academic Staff/ASEC
  • University Administration: Provost and Vice Chancellor for Administration
  • Community of University employees: academic staff, classified employees, employees-in-training, faculty, graduate assistants and student employees.

*Note: Divisions will carry forward the communications plan to the departments

Communication Vehicles

1.APBS System Newsletter

To receive News from the APBS-Lawson Project Core Team by e-mail:

  • Send an e-mail to
  • Leave the subject line blank
  • In the body of the message, type subscribe apbs_news
  • You will receive a message confirming your subscription.

Past issues of the newsletter can be found at

  1. APBS System Website

The APBS System website contains information about the project’s background, organizational structure, timelines, news articles and project information. This site also provides an opportunity for user feedback via e-mail links to project staff.

The website for the Office of Human Resources contains a link to the APBS System website.

  1. E-mail Distribution List

Each division has identified up to two representatives to act as that division's contact for the APBS/Lawson Software project. The divisional contact(s) role is to be the primary contact for APBS/Lawson communications and to be responsible for disseminating APBS information within their division to all interested parties, i.e., individuals who work in the payroll, benefits, personnel, and technical areas.

4. Articles in Wisconsin Week

Wisconsin Week is the official newspaper for the UW-Madison. It is published biweekly during the school year and is distributed to all faculty and staff. Articles submitted to the newspaper can introduce and explain the project to faculty and staff, help shape expectations and communicate the status of the project’s development. Articles about the APBS project or notices about APBS presentations can be submitted to Wisconsin Week on an “as needed” basis.

  1. Meetings

Regularly scheduled meetings will be an important method of communication for the APBS project. Meetings reach a broad audience and allow for the sharing of ideas between participants. The following established meetings would be useful vehicles for sharing information about the APBS project:

  • Personnel Representatives Meeting
  • Payroll/Benefit Representatives Meeting
  • Unclassified Working Group Meeting
  • Classified Kitchen Cabinet Meeting
  • Regular meetings with Provost and Vice Chancellor for Administration
  • CTIG (Campus Technical Issues Group)
  • CAG (representative group of schools/colleges)
  1. Presentations

APBS presentations will be available to any division or department that would like more information about the APBS project. Presentations may be delivered in person or using the Wisline web meeting technology.

Other speakers/presentations that will assist with the communication plan will be provided as needed.

  1. Work Groups/Work Review

Division/department staff has been asked and will continue to be asked to participate in the review of work products produced by the APBS core team and UWPC resource team. Currently, the division/department staff are reviewing the event and “new hire” scenarios that detail existing business practices. In the future, division/department staff will review the core-team-developed Lawson procedures.

  1. Informal training

Training is an important form of communication. A formal training plan for UW-Madison will be developed separately. Informal training on the APBS product will be available via two training stations that have been set up in the Office of Human Resources, Room 166 Bascom. People will be encouraged to come in and try out the Lawson software by “hiring” employees and entering employee information for benefits and payroll using the developed Lawson procedures.

  1. UW-Madison Project Team for APBS

A project team will need to be formed to coordinate the roll-out and training of the APBS product across the campus. The exact membership of this project team and its specific responsibilities has yet to be determined.

Communication Matrix

Audience / Objectives / Communication Vehicle / Time and/or Frequency / Who will communicate
University Administration /
  • Inform
  • Build support for project
  • Ensure allocation of sufficient resources
  • Promote project accountability
  • Align project with priorities of UW
/ Meetings / Weekly to Monthly / Carla
University employees /
  • Build support for project
  • Inform
/ Web site
Wisconsin Week / Always available
As needed / Core team
OHR/ECBS
Payroll/Benefit, Personnel, Budget, and Business Representatives /
  • Actively seek input
  • Establish appropriate expectations of change
  • Smooth integration of APBS into workings of UW
  • Determine whether product meets needs of UW-Madison
  • Inform
  • Identify project roles and responsibilities
/ Meetings/Discussions
System newsletter
Web site
Email Distribution List
Work groups
Informal training / Monthly
Monthly
Always available
As needed
As needed
Available as of March / OHR/ECBS
Core team
Core team
OHR/ECBS
OHR/ECBS
OHR/ECBS
Technical Support Staff /
  • Actively seek input
  • Establish appropriate expectations of change
  • Smooth integration of APBS into workings of UW
  • Inform
/ Presentations
System newsletter
Web site
Informal training / As requested
Monthly
Always available
Available as of March / OHR/ECBS/DoIT
Core team
Core team
OHR/ECBS/DoIT
Deans/Directors /
  • Inform
  • Build support for project
  • Ensure allocation of sufficient resources
  • Promote project accountability
  • Align project with priorities of UW
/ Meetings
Presentations / As needed
As needed / University Administrators
Governance Bodies /
  • Establish appropriate expectations of change
  • Inform
/ Presentations
System newsletter
Web site / As requested
Monthly
Always available / Carla
Core team
Core team
Budget, Planning and Analysis staff /
  • Actively seek input
  • Establish appropriate expectations of change
  • Smooth integration of APBS into workings of UW
  • Determine whether product meets needs of UW-Madison
  • Inform
/ Meetings/Discussions
System newsletter
Web site / As requested
Monthly
Always available / OHR/ECBS
Core team
Core team
APO, CPO and ECBS staff /
  • Actively seek input
  • Establish appropriate expectations of change
  • Smooth integration of APBS into workings of UW
  • Determine whether product meets needs of UW-Madison
/ Meetings
System newsletter
Web site
Email Distribution List
Work groups
Informal training / Monthly
Monthly
Always available
As needed
As needed
Available as of March / OHR/ECBS
Core team
Core team
OHR/ECBS
OHR/ECBS
OHR/ECBS

Sources

The sources used when developing this communication plan are listed below. Most of the communication goals included in this communication plan are quoted verbatim from the source materials.

New Jersey City University Communication Plan: (

Project Fresh Communication Plan: ( communication plan1.pdf)

User Project Communication Plan: (

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