Get to know the new Staff Service Centre

The Staff Service Centre is a key part of the new operating model; they will act as the entryway for faculty and staff to access support at the University of Alberta.

This approachable, smart team offers helpful, professional support by understanding your needs and seeking solutions.

The Shared Services unit launched phase one of its services this past Monday, July 26, which includes the Staff Service Centre and the HR Services team. The Staff Service Centre has started to receive HR forms, requests and inquiries about employee data changes, payroll, pension and benefits. Over the course of the rest of 2021, and into 2022, they'll begin to support additional processes and functions.

Get to know the new Staff Service Centre

The Staff Service Center will act as your gateway into Shared Services. The team is made up of a group of professionals with a lot of experience at the U of A, who will work collaboratively with you in order to address your inquiry or connect you to another team in Shared Services or within another unit (e.g. Human Resources, Health, Safety and Environment). The Staff Service Centre plays a key role in Shared Services' overall goal of improving the staff experience by making it easier to access service and assistance.

You can access the Staff Service Centre from the Services tab on the U of A homepage. We've curated resources to address common questions, and a new form allows you to submit requests.

While the Staff Service Centre will route requests to other teams inside and outside of Shared Services, their aim is to resolve a large percentage of the requests and inquiries themselves. 

New habits to adopt in phase one

• Faculty, staff, supervisors and HR staff will visit the Staff Service Centre web page to view articles about common HR inquiries. If you can't find what you're looking for, you can request support by filling out a web form to be contacted by email.
• All questions about time and labour, payroll, benefits, pension, employee data changes, and the Canada Summer Jobs program should go to the Staff Service Centre instead of faculty or unit contacts.
• If you have forms saved to your computer or Google Drive, ensure you're instead accessing them through the Alfresco electronic document and records management system so you're using the most up-to-date form with the right information for submitting it.
• Central inboxes (general.inquiries@ualberta.ca, payroll.operations@ualberta.ca, benefits@ualberta.ca and employmentservices@ualberta.ca) you may have previously used for HR requests have closed. Submit forms and requests to the Staff Service Centre directly.

Meet the team

Shared Services has hired some spectacular individuals from across the university to join the Staff Service Centre team. The Shared Services Advisors are available to provide advice and guidance, champion service excellence, and create a positive experience for university faculty and staff through every interaction.

Shared Services Advisors

Bernice Gartner began her university career 13 years ago and has worked in the Registrar's Office, the Human Resources, Health, Safety and Environment (HRHSE) unit, and the Faculty of Kinesiology, Sport and Recreation, in a variety of positions such as Employment Advisor, HR Process Lead and HR Officer—Immigration.

Stephanie Brown has been a member of the University of Alberta community since 2007, first receiving two degrees and then joining as a staff member in 2014. She has worked in the Centre for Prions and Protein Folding Diseases (Research Administration Assistant), as well as Computing Science (Financial and Human Resources Assistant). 

Lindsey Rodil joined the University of Alberta more than 15 years ago and has worked in the Department of Medical Genetics as an assistant to the Chair as well as the Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry as an HR Assistant.

Nubiah Jivraj has been with the university for 18 years and has a variety of experience holding positions including Fees Assistant, Payroll Assistant, Employment Advisor and Process Lead. She has worked in the Faculty of Agricultural, Life and Environmental Sciences as well as the Faculty of Arts.

Donna Thompson joined the University of Alberta 18 years ago working in finance for Facilities and Operations, and then moved to the Department of Renewable Resources. From there, she spent a short time with HRHSE before moving to the Bookstore, where she has spent the last eight-and-a-half years as an HR Advisor.

Omali Dassanayake began her career at the university nearly five years ago when she joined Geriatrics Medicine as a Medical Education Program Coordinator before moving on to work for HRHSE. At HRHSE, Omali was the first point of contact for all email, phone, and in person inquiries.

Manager, Staff Service Centre

Tawheed Sadiq joined the university seven years ago and has held positions within IST and the Registrar's Office. He brings 20 years of technical and management experience to his new role.

This team, like the Shared Services unit, is still in its early stages of development and their knowledge and expertise will grow as the U of A continues its transition to the new operating model.

Staff Service Centre will grow and develop

Setting up the Staff Service Centre is a huge undertaking; not everything will be perfect at first. However, the Staff Service Centre is committed to learning as they grow and develop to make sure that they provide excellent service for staff. Part of this growth and development will include working alongside staff outside the Staff Service Centre to ensure that their experiences are taken into account.

As time goes on the Staff Service Centre will serve as the access point for a wider variety of staff services:

• Additional HR Services
• Finance Services
• IT Help Desk Services

Watch for more details in the Quad.