Sharon Busching

About Sharon Busching

Sharon started at JHU as temporary employee in 1990. Her job was to provide administrative support for one space shuttle mission. In 2007, after supporting three space shuttle missions, she took a promotion to management at the School of Medicine. She thinks sponsored projects at Hopkins represent some of the best and brightest of humanity uniting to ponder universal problems. She is honored to play a role in providing administrative assistance to these projects. In January 2014, Sharon joined the Learning Solutions Group to be able to share what she knows with her co-workers. Sharon is a recovering workaholic. Most weekends will find her digging in her yard, dreaming up craft projects, or searching for her reading glasses so she can finish up the latest find from the BookThing. For twenty years, she has opened her house to provide short-term, furnished housing options for JHU/JHMI visitors; she enjoys meeting the talented people from all over the world who come to study and work at JH. “Just call me a modern-day Miss Susie Slagle – with one major exception, I don’t cook.” Related links: http://www.answers.com/topic/miss-susie-slagle-s-1 http://www.bookthing.org/

Posts by Sharon Busching:

Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Records Retention but Were Afraid to Ask

By in Technology No Comments Tags: ,

Happy_Working

Do you have questions about records retention policy at JHU? Do you wonder just how long you need to keep a paper copy of that legible receipt/invoice that you scanned correctly using the Store Business Document function into a Travel Expense Reimbursement or Online Payment Request?

Follow these steps to read up on records retention.

steps1-3-RecordsRetention

1. Type finance.jhu.edu into a browser bar.

2. Type record retention in the Search field.

3. Click Search.

steps4

4. Double-click the Records Retention link (with Policy & Procedure Manual below it).

steps5

5. Click the links and start learning!

Which document is attached correctly?

whichdocsavedright

If you see a filename under Title and the name of the uploader under Creator Name, the person who uploaded the file used Create Attachment (wrong!) instead of Store Business Document (right!).

Check out a two-minute video on attaching documents using Store Business Document in SAP.

How to Save Your Word Document as a Hyperlinked PDF

By in Technology 1 Comment Tags: ,

WomanWorkingAtComputer

I just finished putting the final touches on a user guide. Now I want to publish it as a PDF and I want to have working links in the Table of Contents and bookmarks in the PDF. Choosing Print [to PDF] from the file menu will not result in a hyperlinked, bookmarked PDF file. But here’s how you can do it, especially if you use Heading 1 and Heading 2 paragraph formatting.

saveasPDF

1. From the Word File menu, click Save As.
2. Navigate to where you want to save your file.
3. From the Save as type drop-down, select PDF (*.pdf).
4. Click Options…
5. In the Options pop-up screen, make sure that Create bookmarks using: Headings is selected.
6. Click OK in the Options pop-up screen.
7. Click Save.

toc hyperlinkedbookmarked

8. The saved PDF will show hyperlinked bookmarks to the major headings. Click the bookmark icon to reveal the bookmarks if you do not see them.
9. The Table of Contents is hyperlinked too. Clicking on a line will take you to that page of the PDF document.

 

Freezing at Work?

By in Humor No Comments Tags: ,

dreamstime_m_49512229

I was inspired to write the parody below based on this article from the New York Times, “Chilly at Work? Office Formula Was Devised for Men.” It says that office temperatures might need to be adjusted upwards to account for the changing demographics of the current workforce.

Summertime*

Summertime and my office is freezin’.
Artic’s meltin’ but the AC’s on high.
Oh, the menfolks run hot, but we women run cooler,
So hush little worker, don’t get frostbite.

One of these mornings, your lips are gonna turn blue,
and you’ll grab your shawl, don your socks and a Snuggie.
But ’til that mornin’, ain’t nothing can heat you,
With temps in the office from the sixties.

Summertime and hypothermia’s looming.
Office thermostats are set as low as they go.
Oh, my country’s rich, so we just keep consuming…
So hush little citizen, don’t you cry.

One of these mornings, they’re gonna do the math up just right;
They’ll figure it out and stop wasting the the oil.
But ’til that mornin’, there ain’t nothing can heat you,
‘Cept hoodies and wool socks while you toil.

 

*With sincerest apologies to George Gershwin.

How to Tell What Version of Internet Explorer You Are Running

By in Technology No Comments Tags: ,

Computer_Work

If you are an Analysis user, you may want to make sure that you are using the correct version of Internet Explorer (IE). Analysis does not work on IE10. If your computer is “possessed” and upgraded to IE10 “on its own,” ask your LAN administrator to install IE9. Don’t forget to have him/her keep your bookmarks.

If you are ashamed to say that you don’t know how to check your IE version, there’s hope for you too, since I included the instructions below.

ieversion

  1. Click View.
  2. Click Toolbars.
  3. Click Command Bar (check it, if it is not checked).

ieversion-2

  1. Locate the Command Bar (has House icon) and click the question mark.

That should show you what version you are running.

How Do I Handle a Retroactive Salary Increase When Sponsored Funds Are Involved?

By in Finance and Accounting, JHU No Comments Tags: , , ,

HappyOfficeWorker

Let’s pretend it’s March 1, 2015, and you have two JHU faculty members who both received retroactive raises in letters from the promotion committee dated March 1, 2015. Dr. Einstein’s raise is effective November 1, 2014 (more than 90 days ago) and Dr. Watson’s raise is effective January 1, 2015 (less than 90 days ago). Both faculty are paid from sponsored and non-sponsored funds. Here’s how you (in the departments) deal with each situation.

Retroactive by more than 90 days — Dr. Einstein (Raise Date: November 1, 2014)

  1. By the next available payroll cutoff date, submit a Salary Change ISR.
    • The begin date is the date the raise becomes effective.
    • Enter the new actual and semi-monthly pay rates.
    • Leave the cost distribution section “as is.”
    • Add to comments section: Dept. will do E-form to correct retroactive cost distribution amounts and accounts.
  2. At least one business-day AFTER receiving the email from HRSS that the Salary Change ISR is complete and approved:
    • Submit an E-form to correct retroactively and prospectively appropriate cost distributions (as your budgets allow) to match the new semi-monthly amounts.

Retroactive by less than 90 days — Dr. Watson (Raise Date: January 1, 2015)

  1. By the next available payroll cutoff date, submit a Salary Change ISR.
    • The begin date is the date the raise becomes effective.
    • Enter the new actual and semi-monthly pay rates.
    • In the Cost Distribution section of the Salary Change ISR, enter the cost distributions retroactively and prospectively (as your budgets allow) so that they total to the new semi-monthly amount. HRSS will enter these changes (sponsored AND non-sponsored) into the record.
  2. In most cases, an E-form will need to be submitted in addition to the Salary Change ISR, especially if the cost distribution is complex (for instance, if it changes amounts and accounts every month or pay period). You should submit an E-form at least one business-day AFTER receiving the email from HRSS that the Salary Change ISR is complete and approved.

NOTE: The Cost Distribution section of a Salary Change ISR differs from the Cost Distribution section of an E-form. In the Cost Distribution section of a Salary Change ISR, the total of all the cost-distribution lines must equal the semi-monthly amount. In an E-form Cost Distribution section, you may enter multiple periods at different rates for the same account.

In both cases above, HRSS will have the salary difference allocated to the control salary account if the new cost distribution does not match the new semi-monthly amount and/or does not cover all the retro pay periods.

For more information, review the following:

Sponsored funds procedure for JHU semi-monthly faculty, staff, and students

Cut-off dates for ISRs

Cut-off dates for E-forms

 

Change Management

By in Leadership, Learning No Comments Tags: ,

Fireworks_DC

One Fourth of July, I was visiting the National Mall to watch the fireworks display. I was surrounded by happy picnickers of all ages and ethnicities, everyone sitting on blankets with various feasts about them. Toddlers were stumbling onto neighboring blankets, chased by moms and dads. There were East Asian Indians with their curries, Carribeans with their meat patties, a couple on a romantic first date, and a boisterous group of college students. Everyone was enjoying the summer evening and glad the sun was finally setting, cooling the air and heightening the anticipation for the show to come. I felt proud to be an American in that melting pot of the National Mall where everyone was sitting on the same ground, side by side, with blankets and food and family and friends. We were all facing the same direction. I noticed a park ranger slowly making his way among all the blankets and people. I wondered, “Uh oh, is there some security concern? What is he saying to all these people? Is he looking for something?” Soon the park ranger was in our midst. He humbly announced, “Folks, the fireworks are going to go off over there,” and he pointed about 45 degrees from where we were all facing. “You might want to shift your blankets so you don’t miss the first fireworks.” He continued on his way, slowly shifting by 45 degrees all the Fourth of July revelers in our quadrant of the National Mall.

As a new-ish training specialist, and as a member of the Analysis Project Team, I am fascinated by how the adoption of Analysis is progressing. Analysis is the new front-end software that SAP clients need to learn to access the data in the Business Warehouse. The old software BEx is being retired. Financial Quality Control, Enterprise Business Solutions, training staff, and super users are like those park rangers, directing staff to adopt the new software. And the staff? Well, they’re shifting their blankets by 45 degrees to see the show.

Reflections of an Aging Admin

By in JHU, Learning, Navigating Change No Comments Tags: ,

OlderWorker

Last week, I shook hands with President Daniels to celebrate 25 years of service. I have spent the prime of my life administratively supporting hard-science research projects at JHU. I like working beside and with smart, ambitious people on prestigious projects, even if I am “only” an administrative member of the team.

You’ve heard of the “Old Boys’ Network?” I consider myself a part of the “Old Girls’ Network.” We are the generation of admins who say, “Sure, I can help with that and then stay late to finish the task.” We have our strengths, and our weaknesses, we Old Girls! Just the other day, I was commiserating with another lifetime admin about the stress of working for a younger supervisor. I too used to resent having to explain basic business procedures to someone 20 years my junior, whom I imagined was earning, at his/her hire date, more than I made after 20 years on the job! Now, ironically, I spend my days as a trainer, spoon-feeding and/or shoveling knowledge into these youthful bosses so that they can flourish at this institution and help continue the mission of discoveries for the world. Resentment has been replaced by mild anxiety about whether the next generation will be ready and able to step up as we Old Girls contemplate retirement. My bosses are still older than I am, just barely. But my co-workers are all younger, so I still have to refer to some of the tactics cited in the article by Susan Adams, “How to Deal With a Younger Boss.”

After my last class, I jokingly asked the students NOT to text me with questions because I wasn’t good with that medium. One of the young students made this very sweet and telling comment, “Wow! You know SO much about this software [that you are teaching us] and yet you have trouble texting?” And I had to admit that she was absolutely right! I should be texting more. I Need To Evolve. I have two thumbs and a slider phone. Over the past year, I have even learned to deal with punctuation problems and misspellings that used to cause me to recoil in grammatical horror. Now, if I could just not resent the texting during a face-to-face meeting…

Focus!

By in Living Well No Comments Tags: , ,

Mindfulness

Caroline Williams’ article, “Concentrate! How to tame a wandering mind,” on the BBC website is worth trying to focus on. Williams writes that she has been dubbed a “butterfly brain” because she flits from thing to thing. In the article, she poignantly describes how her attention is quantified as “below average” and how she submitted to tests and lab procedures (including magnetic brain stimulation) in order to try and increase her concentration levels. She gives a flittingly brief synopsis of current brain science, and she relates how adult brain training is like physical training — if you don’t use it you lose it. She ends the article on an optimistic note — yes, a “butterfly brain” can be trained.

See how you rank by taking some of the on-line attention-measuring tests at www.testmybrain.org.

Check out the new app that is supposed to increase attention by 400% — thanks to music! Focus@will

Learn to “nudge” your mind from inattention back to attention by studying mindfulness. JHU offers meditation classes at https://benefits.jhu.edu/wellness/healthyliving.cfm

 

Recalling an Emailed Message in Outlook #notreally

By in Technology No Comments Tags: ,

Unhappy_with_email

It’s 11:30 a.m., you have a teensy break before your next meeting, and you are rushing to answer one more email. You push the Send button on that email and less than a split-second later, you realize that you just sent the wrong version or that the auto-correct feature in the TO line included someone who shouldn’t be receiving this particular message.

What to do?

You can try recalling the message in Outlook…

ie contactpage3

However this does not guarantee 100% success because of the reasons listed below:

Limitations:

  • If this email routes to an outside server, the email cannot be recalled. Since many people route/autoforward their work emails via google, smart-phone, or Facebook, there is a large possibility that you cannot recall that message because it’s already at a router off-site.
  • It can be recalled via the recall feature in Outlook — but only if the email only circulates on the local intranet AND has not been read or opened by the recipient.
  • Both the sender AND the recipient should be using Outlook during a recall.

Click here for more information on recalling emails in Outlook.

 

Inspiring Admins

By in Leadership, Living Well, University Culture 2 Comments Tags: , ,

Happy_Admin2

This article on how administrative professionals value the qualities of their leaders really resonated with me. Sometimes people do not understand why we administrative personnel remain happily employed despite the low-ish salaries. If our leaders are good communicators, inspiring, and give clear direction, we can be quite satisfied. We admins have amazing opportunities at JHU to support some amazing people in some amazing projects. I will always remember my one colleague saying, “How many other people have the chance to correct a Nobel laureate’s travel expense reimbursement?” How many other people can come home from work having assisted a grateful scientist win a large proposal that will advance human knowledge on some frontier, not to mention provide funds for attracting and keeping some of the best and brightest in intellectual and social capital in and around Baltimore?

Don’t forget to appreciate and thank your administrative support staff. This second article describes some ways that you can do this.

 

 

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