Photo: University leaders announced the AMP kickoff last July during an event at PRAx.
Building on years of preparation and planning, in July 2024, OSU launched project teams for the Administrative Modernization Program (AMP), a series of institution-wide initiatives to modernize and simplify routine administrative work so that university employees have more time to focus on the goals of OSU’s strategic plan, Prosperity Widely Shared.
AMP will replace Banner and other software with the cloud-based system Workday to streamline processes and policies across human resources, finance administration and post-award research activities.
“Our Workday-enabled transformation will make administrative tasks easier and less time-consuming, freeing up time for mission-focused work and reducing administrative burden for employees,” said Heather Riney, AMP executive director.
The AMP team recently concluded the official design phase, which included 784 session hours with 242 OSU employees who work in HR, finance, budget, procurement, grants and data mapping. Teams are currently reviewing the results of the initial design work and making updates to ensure everything functions properly to meet the university’s needs. They also recently conducted demonstrations of Workday for employees to get a feel for the program.
The planned July 2026 transition to Workday will bring significant changes for the day-to-day work of employees in administrative roles, and will have at least some impact on all university employees. The AMP team is currently analyzing “change impacts,” looking at the specific ways AMP will change employees’ routines, processes or ways of working.
Part of this work is happening via the “Change Champion” network, where employees who were nominated to be liaisons between their departments and the AMP team help ensure the university community is both heard and informed.
“Critical to the success of AMP — and the resources we’ll be able to redirect to support the research, teaching and outreach mission of the university — is the development and implementation of simpler and more efficient administrative processes and practices that leverage the power of technology,” Riney said. “AMP is both an organizational and digital transformation that is critical to achieving future ambitions.”
AMP’s primary impacts
Within University Human Resources, AMP aims to streamline processes related to time and absence management, recruiting, hiring, onboarding, benefits, talent and performance management, employee learning, compensation and other HR processes.
Workday will replace the finance and budget modules of Banner, which will affect operations including annual budget planning and development, financial reporting, revenue (both internal and external), procurement and other finance processes.
AMP will also affect post-award grant administration and reporting with changes to how expenses are charged to sponsored projects, labor management, award closeout, invoicing and financial reporting.
By integrating several functions into a single platform, in many areas, Workday will reduce the need for employees to enter the same information into multiple disparate systems. Workday also offers panoramic metrics and reports which should support greater data transparency, accountability, faster distribution of information and data-informed decision-making.
Changes for everyone
AMP will change how employees view and change personal information such as paystubs, W2s, benefits and leave balances, as well as how they initiate time off and approvals.
The employee dashboard in Workday will be a one-stop shop, encompassing the processes currently contained separately in EmpCenter, EvalS, Banner and other programs.
Changes for administrative employees
AMP will change the way administrative employees plan, submit and monitor annual budgets, as well as how they request, create and recruit for new positions. It will also change how they manage performance, promotions and compensation for employees.
Supervisors will have a comprehensive dashboard in Workday that includes information on all the employees who report to them so they can manage their team’s needs within one platform.
Communication and feedback
With the Change Champion network and other initiatives, the AMP team has worked to be transparent with details about the transition and timeline so that employees are informed and included in the process. Further resources and information are available on the AMP SharePoint site:
- AMP timeline of coming changes.
- Find your unit’s Change Champion.
- AMP video library of trainings and updates.
- AMPlifier newsletter.
- FAQs on AMP decisions and background.
- AMP “Always On” survey for any questions and feedback you wish to send to the team.
Related Stories
