The beginning of July marked an exciting milestone as we transitioned from the Service and Quality Team within Unified Procurement Services to our own dedicated department for supporting Administration and Finance (A&F). The new Access Team: Administration & Finance Support Services is now the primary line of support for campus stakeholders and partners and is responsible for providing tier 1 customer support. The Business Associate team continues to serve as the main point of contact for addressing basic inquiries and resolving common issues for end-users.
To support the overall objectives of this centralized strategic function, we launched the A&F Customer Service Rotation Program. This program brings together colleagues from various A&F departments into a 12-week training pilot. Participants in the inaugural program will learn about the processes supported by the Access Team and focus on understanding and addressing stakeholder needs. The training aims to prepare the participants to join the Customer Support Center one day per week to take calls and cases from our campuses and partners. The first three participants in the program are:
- Carrie Clifton, Contracts Specialist, Unified Procurement Services Team
- Samantha Wallace, Analyst, Enterprise Risk Management
- Siraj Sayyed, Management Analyst, Budget Office
Additionally, several Access Team interns took the opportunity to learn by attending sessions that provided insights into how the Access Team supports our campus stakeholders and partners.
Throughout the week, we welcomed special guests to the training sessions, including Senior Vice President Lisa Calise, Associate Vice President LeeAnn Pasquini, and Associate Vice President David Nero. They expressed gratitude to our volunteers and team for their dedication and offered inspiring words to emphasize that while change can be challenging, it is an essential step toward providing improved services and support to our UMass community and working together as one A&F function.
We would like to take a moment to thank the incredible participants of the pilot program and the staff who contributed to its rollout. Thank you for your trust in us and for participating in this initiative!