Manager, Accounts payable/Interim Payroll Manager
Finance and administration, Kent Campus
Near the end of the fiscal year in 2020, when changes in staffing left her department without a few key members, Emily Hermon rose to the challenge and took on the job of interim payroll manager. This was in addition to managing the university’s purchasing card (P-card) program. During the pandemic the P-card program was essential in helping the university procure health and safety equipment and supplies for faculty, students and staff. Hermon helped keep these operations running smoothly while also working to find the best solution to adjust the entirely manual accounts-payable operation to function in a remote environment. On the payroll side, a new system had just been implemented, and Hermon was key in keeping this project on track and moving forward. Even faced with an aggressive timeline, with her guidance the department was able to meet project goals.
Hermon is trained in Lean Six Sigma methodology and uses her experience to find ways to improve processes, especially when facing budget challenges or in spreading the workload appropriately across the staff. As a subject matter expert in many areas, she always makes herself available to answer questions from the university community. Hermon’s colleagues say they appreciate her leadership, loyalty and dedication. They also admire her ability to keep smiling in the face of the challenges that inevitably come with the often overlooked back-office functions of Kent State.