How long have you been with UC Davis, what is your role, and what does your team do?

I’ve been with UC Davis for two years, and my official title is Director of HR Administrative Services. There was a need to centralize many of the administrative functions in HR and create a bridge between both locations—Campus and Health. The team I oversee now spans across both areas. We launched in February 2024, and it’s been working really well.

Our goal was to identify areas, problems, or gaps in administrative processes, and we’ve been able to address those gaps through centralization. My team now serves as the intake point for all administrative tasks, including job description changes, reports-to updates, and personnel changes. These processes now start with my team because we’re also overseeing budgets and managing nearly all recruitment activities.

I report to Jacob Miller and collaborate closely with the executive leadership team. Together, we’ve implemented processes that give leadership visibility into all administrative requests. It’s become a holistic approval process rather than individual   executive directors making decisions in isolated areas.

With this centralized approach, we can now look at HR needs across both Campus and Health. My team has essentially become a conduit, gathering all the necessary information and presenting it to leadership at a high level. This allows us to make more informed, cohesive decisions that benefit the organization as a whole.

How did you identify your goals for what you wanted to improve?  

Our first goal was addressing the budget, which has also been our biggest challenge. SSO Campus, Campus HR, and Health HR each have their own budgets, so right now, we’re managing three separate budgets. Before my team was established, there wasn’t a high-level view of all three budgets. Now, we’ve made the decision-making process at the CHRO level much more informed and strategic.

We’ve also developed a process to track all FTEs across HR. Additionally, we’ve centralized the process for managing HR contracts, ensuring they don’t expire, that there’s sufficient funding to cover them, and that we’re getting the expected return on investment from vendors.

One of the primary reasons for creating our team was to allow everyone in HR to focus on their core responsibilities without worrying about the administrative tasks they might not handle regularly. These tasks—like managing contracts or budgets—are now part of our team’s daily workflow and expertise. Our goal is simple: to make everyone’s lives easier by taking care of the administrative side of things.

You recently rolled out a new position and salary changes request form as well as The HR Hub website. 

That was a significant undertaking. Filling or replacing a position is a completely different process for Campus and Health, which made it even more challenging. My team worked to create a unified intake form that streamlines the process for all of HR, allowing us to handle the complexities behind the scenes.

Once a request is submitted, we assess whether it follows the Campus or Health process. For example, on the Health side, we need to go through an additional committee for approval, whereas on the Campus side, that step isn’t required. Establishing this form was crucial to ensure everyone follows a single, cohesive process, while our team manages the differences internally.

What systems do you use?

Smartsheet has quickly become my favorite tool. I was introduced to it at the beginning of the year, and I’ve completely embraced it—I’ve turned into such a Smartsheet nerd! My team is just as excited about it, and we’ve integrated it into many of our processes.

While Smartsheet is the one we’ve really adopted, we also rely on the more common tools like UC Path and Aggie Service. It’s been great to see how Smartsheet has enhanced our workflows and streamlined our operations.

And one fun question so our readers can get to know you. If you could have any side business, what would it be?

Something with animals!  I think running a dog-walking business would be so much fun.

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Who Does What in HR Administration?

The HR Administration Team at UC Davis plays a critical role in ensuring the smooth operation of daily HR functions across Campus and Health. Here's a snapshot of their responsibilities:

• Mao Lee oversees safety, security, space management, and physical inventory while supervising HR student employees and optimizing day-to-day HR operations.
• Camille Silva (Campus focus) serves as the point of contact for the ASW Building, manages HR onboarding/offboarding for Campus employees, and oversees building maintenance and resource management.
• Laura Leming (Health focus) manages the HAS Building operations, supports contracts and reimbursements, handles Health HR onboarding/offboarding, and oversees telecommunications and internal resources.
• Hannah Keeshan focuses on budget management, financial reporting, and process improvement, including automation and Excel-based data support.
• Stacey Bianco specializes in contract management, tracking terms, amendments, and annual reviews to ensure compliance and efficiency.

This dedicated team ensures HR functions remain effective, efficient, and aligned with organizational goals. We can be reached at HS-HR Admin HRAdmin@ucdavis.edu. More information about the various processes within HR can be found on The Hub (HR’s Intranet Site).