Onboarding for Employees

As part of the hiring process, all new benefits-eligible staff will be automatically registered for new employee orientation, conducted by the HR Benefits team and campus partners. The date for orientation will be included on the official offer letter sent to the new employee by University Human Resources. Similarly, new benefits-eligible faculty will be automatically enrolled in orientation. That date will be shared with both the department and new faculty member.

New employee orientation is an all-day session designed to give new faculty and staff pertinent information regarding healthcare benefits, retirement benefits, wellness programs, parking services, and more. The session also serves as an opportunity for new employees to complete any new hire paperwork that they may not yet have completed with the HR Service Center.

Employees are encouraged to remind supervisors of their orientation date and to make sure that no conflicting meetings are scheduled for that day so as to not miss any pertinent information.

In addition to new employee orientation for benefits-eligible employees, new faculty members who have support from their department leadership to attending New Faculty Welcome.

Hosted by the Office of the Executive Vice President and Provost, the New Faculty Welcome provides critical information, resources, and support for new faculty joining any of Ohio University's campuses. The event offers information regarding critical processes and procedures, student support and success, promotion and tenure, tapping resources that support teaching and research, and key introductions to University contacts.

The first day can be overwhelming for new employees and their supervisors. While supervisors will often plan out the first day(s) to ensure that new employees are given critical information, new employees should feel welcome to ask about any orientation-style topics not addressed from getting office keys to learning about office kitchen protocol. If a new employee is uncomfortable engaging a supervisor or department head about a given topic, they are welcome to contact their HR liaison.

All employees are encouraged to learn about and embrace the mission, values, and strategic pathways of OHIO, their unit, and their department.

While many supervisors will share this information with employees throughout their time at OHIO, employees are also welcome to explore relevant resources found on the University Culture page, Get Involved at OHIO web page, and the Presidential Priorities page from the Office of the President. Individual departments or units may have additional websites or sources of information and employees are encouraged to engage in dialogue with supervisors and department leadership about these topics.

Additionally, we encourage employees to take these high-level focuses into consideration when collaboratively setting goals with supervisors as discussed in the performance management section. 

University-wide, there are a variety of involvement opportunities for faculty and staff such as employee affinity organizations, professional development programs, senates and committees, and a wide-array of campus and community events.

To learn more about possible involvement opportunities, employees are encouraged to explore the Get Involved at OHIO web page and discuss interests with supervisors to see what other department- or unit-wide involvement opportunities may also be available and to discuss how the department normally prefers to manage such time commitments. 

Beyond involvement opportunities, there are a variety of resources available to ensure that employees are supported throughout their time at OHIO. Available resources include, but are not limited to, our Employee Assistance Program; Office for University Accessibility; wellness programs; the LGBT, Multicultural, and Women’s Centers; meditation spaces; lactation spaces and more.

For more information on these and other resources, employees and supervisors are encouraged to visit the Accessibility, Accommodations and Inclusion page or contact their HR liaison.

Aside from mentorship opportunities, many departments or units also have additional internal involvement opportunities such as diversity committees, reading groups, various special events, etc. When welcoming a new employee, supervisors are encouraged to share general information about such opportunities and calendars with new employees prior to their start date. Doing so allows new employees to explore opportunities and be prepared to ask questions or discuss interests upon their arrival.

On the first day, it’s fairly standard for supervisors to introduce new employees to anyone in the office, but we recognize it’s difficult to make any real connection in those brief hallway greetings.

We encourage employees to ask supervisors to identify key contacts such as teammates, research partner(s), department/planning unit head(s), HR liaison, campus partner(s), community partner(s), etc. Some employees may find it helpful to ask supervisors to make such connections via email with a brief introduction, while others may feel more comfortable asking for an opportunity to have face-to-face meetings as schedules allow. Employees are encouraged to keep calendars up-to-date to make scheduling of any introductions easier.

As for getting to know a unit’s HR liaison, employees are always encouraged to read more about the liaison role on the HR liaison page. Of course, both employees and supervisors are welcome to reach out to their HR liaison at any time with questions!

One way to get the ball rolling on any new position is to jump into the performance management model: establishing what both short- and long-term SMART goals are, identifying what resources and/or training may be necessary, and engaging in open, honest check-in sessions to evaluate progress, answer questions, field ideas, etc.

When establishing goals, we encourage both supervisors and employees to engage in an open dialogue about the needs and expectations of the role, where the new employee feels they can best contribute based on skills and interests. As noted above, this is an excellent opportunity for employees and supervisors to work together to articulate how the new employee’s role will align with university, unit, and departmental missions, values, and goals.

Additional information about performance management at OHIO as well as available training opportunities for non-supervisors is available on performance management page. For assistance navigating the performance management model, asking for feedback, or practicing goal-setting, employees are encouraged to contact their HR Liaison.