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The Less is More initiative, originally conceived by Juliana Bueno, MD, during her time as Culture Lead, began with a simple but powerful goal: reduce the administrative burden for UVA School of Medicine faculty so they can spend more time on what matters most: patient care, education, and research. That work resulted in a reduction in time spent on Annual Retraining across the organization. While that initial project concluded, the Less is More mindset continues to permeate our organization and shape our culture. 

Another Less is More effort is now making a meaningful impact: Workday Learning Clean-Up. 

System-Wide Collaboration 

The Workday Learning Clean-Up project has been a collaborative effort by UVA Health Chief Administrative Officer Mary Frances Southerland, JD, MBA, and Office of the CAO’s Special Initiatives Advisor Amy Isakson, MBA, in partnership with the UVA HR Learning Technology and Design team and learning partners across the health system. 

Together, they completed a comprehensive audit of the Workday learning catalog with the help of subject matter experts in HIT Epic Training, Nursing Professional Development, Ambulatory Clinical Professional Development, Nursing Professional Governance, Accreditation and Regulatory Standards, Pharmacy, Office of the Chief Administrative Officer (University Medical Center) and Program Management Office.

The extensive audit included reviewing individual modules within the existing digital learning course catalog to complete missing data, remove duplicates, improve relevance and compliance, and identify owners and subject matter experts (SMEs) to update or inactivate modules. 

Shared Commitment 

Southerland and Isakson laud the support they received on the months-long project from UVA HR Learning Design and Technology team and learning partners across UVA Health. Will Davis, PhD, Manager, Learning Design and Technology; Christopher Birkl, Senior Learning Experience Instructional Designer; and Carrie Payne, Senior Workday Learning Analyst, manage the Workday Learning application: 

“When we launched the Less Is More Initiative, the goal was to make annual retraining more manageable,” they explain. “That work built stronger partnerships and a shared commitment to ongoing refinement. Using that momentum, we worked with health system training teams and leaders to identify gaps in governance and sustainability. We’re now addressing some of those gaps by piloting a coordinated intake process for Workday learning content and putting a regular audit process in place so courses are reviewed, updated, or retired — creating a more coordinated, accountable learning environment.” 

By the Numbers 

The audit included 847 modules created before 2023. The impact of the work is clear: 

• 384 modules have been inactivated, making the catalog a more manageable size.  
• 463 remaining modules now are up-to-date with complete catalog information — and are easier to find. 
• Ownership has been established for all remaining modules.  
• A new, three-year audit cycle has been set up.  

New courses now require ownership information as part of the creation process, and owners will be asked to audit courses at least every 36 months using new Workday automation. The ongoing audit process that’s been established will allow leaders to identify courses under their purview more easily. 

What’s Ahead? 

The Office of the CAO and UVA HR Learning Design and Technology will continue working with EPIC on a pilot roll out for new CBL creation. They are working to put in place a standardized intake process, so the Workday catalog stays efficient. 

This pilot includes a new, electronic intake request form and standardized process in which any new CBL requests will include a consultation with a Learning Team, an evaluation if the content is needed as a CBL, and establishment of an expiration date or review cycle expectations for the current owner. Once the pilot with Epic is completed, the process will roll out to other areas. 

Supporting Our Shared Mission

The Less is More Workday Learning Cleanup is one of many programs supporting our UVA Health strategic plan and mission to transform health and inspire hope for all Virginians and beyond. Our commitment to making daily workflow more efficient for our team members is the guiding principle of all Less is More initiatives.