By Mark Kerr, Senior Communications Officer

Terena Grice has a specific goal in mind when she provides financial services training.

“I want to put people at ease and get them comfortable,” says Ms. Grice, Financial Support and Training Coordinator in the Office of the Controller. “I like to say my job is to empower others to perform their role effectively and efficiently.”

Ingrid Gagnon (left) and Terena Grice have developed resources and delivered in-person training for the new administrative tools.

After 24 years in her support and training role, Ms. Grice has helped ease the transition to many new systems and processes. She will play an important role once the new financial reporting tool, known as the Fast Administrative Support Tool (FAST), goes live on March 27.

“I am getting excited for FAST to launch, when I will get to connect with some of the administrators,” she says. “I suspect there will be a lot of interactions through phone calls so I will try to connect people with where they need to go. We expect some nervousness, but we want to address that quickly.”

Leading up to the launch of FAST, Ingrid Gagnon, the training co-ordinator for the Tools for Research at Queen’s (TRAQ) project, has offered in-person training and developed role-based manuals and online video tutorials. She believes training is vital for a successful transition.

“Sometimes people say they don’t have time for training, but in some cases they are going to waste more time trying to figure things out on their own which will generate a lot of frustrations,” she says.

Ms. Gagnon became the training co-ordinator on the TRAQ project in November 2012. She has provided training not only for FAST but the other aspects of the project, mostly recently the Awards (Grants and Contracts) module, which launches on March 26.

Ms. Grice said Financial Services works hard to develop and deliver training and process documents that address users’ needs.

“The training developed by the TRAQ team aligns really well with our long-term training strategy, which includes a certificate program and more online training,” she says.

Ms. Grice and Ms. Gagnon worked closely with the TRAQ training working group, which consists of Queen’s staff members who have a training element to their positions. The group meets once a month to collaborate and share best practices.

“All of these people need to be trained but they are increasingly busy and find it difficult to attend in-person training sessions. So a big part of my role has been to develop clear and concise training manuals and short video tutorials,” says Ms. Gagnon. “I want to make sure people can use the tools properly so they have more time to do the work that matters to them the most.”

Learn more about FAST training on the Financial Services website.