New Employee Checklist for Supervisors
This checklist is designed to serve as a tool for supervisors in successfully onboarding regular non-faculty staff new hires. Items in the checklist should be addressed as necessary during the 6-month probationary review period.
Preparing for your New Employee’s Arrival
___ The New Employee Onboarding Experience: Once the Office of Human Resources is informed that the new employee has accepted the verbal offer of employment and a start date has been established, an email will be sent from the Taleo Online Application Management System with a copy of the official job offer letter attached for record. The email message will include communication of the new hire’s Intake Appointment at the Office of Human Resources within the first three days of their employment, as well as the scheduled Orientation/Onboarding sessions. The supervisor of the employee will be copied on this email communication.
New Hire Intake Appointment: As mentioned above, the intake appointment will be scheduled within the new hire’s first three days of employment to complete the I9 Employment Eligibility Verification process, as mandated by the Department of Homeland Security. During this brief, 30 minutes or less, appointment, Human Resources will require the new hire to complete verification paperwork, witness signature of paperwork, and observe proof of original personal identification documents. The electronic verification process must be completed within the new hire’s first 72 hours of employment or failure to do so will result in fines to the hiring department. It is critical that the supervisor ensure the new hire attends the scheduled intake appointment with Human Resources.
New Hire Orientation: All new non-faculty staff members must attend the New Hire Orientation and Onboarding sessions offered by the Office of Human Resources. The initial email communication from Human Resources mentioned above will include the scheduled date/time for your new employee to attend New Hire Orientation. Attendance to this session is required to receive important, time-restricted benefits information and related paperwork, as well as other essential information about the University of Tennessee System, UTC organizational structure, and review of HR policies. New Hire Orientation is scheduled on each 2nd and 4th Tuesday of the month from 1:00-4:00pm in the HR Building Conference Room (2nd floor). Employees must attend the scheduled orientation session closest to their first date of employment to ensure that all benefits paperwork is completed, returned to HR, and processed prior to the end of their first 30 days of employment.
Onboarding Sessions: All new non-faculty staff members must attend the monthly Onboarding Sessions offered by the office of Human Resources during their first six months of employment. There are a total of five sessions, including four face-to-face onboarding sessions and a fifth session that will be completed via electronic communication or one-on-one meeting with an HR staff member as requested. The expectation is that all five onboarding sessions will be completed by the Probationary Review Period end date (six months from hire date). Each onboarding session is held on the 3rd Tuesday of the month from 1:00-3:00pm in the University Center Heritage Room. Each session covers a different topic critical to the new employee experience. The four face-to-face sessions are offered in sequence before repeating, resulting in an offer of each session three times in a 12-month timeframe.
___ Office Setup: Office setup and supplies can be purchased in preparation for the new employee’s arrival to provide access to necessary resources needed on the first day of employment. Please use the following list of resources to prepare for your new employee’s arrival.
___Purchasing Office Furniture, Equipment/Machines, & General Supplies: In accordance with Fiscal Policy FI0410-Purchasing-Bidding Requirements, the departmental procurement card can be utilized to purchase any office setup needs/goods under $10,000 in cost without following the official bid process through the UTC Purchasing department. Goods can be purchased from any business desired, but the university has contracted with Staples to provide discounts on items purchased online at www.staplesadvantage.com. You will need to create a Staples account to qualify for the UT discount in advance.
___Purchasing Computers: Please contact UTC Information Technology (IT) at x4000 for guidance in purchasing computers for staff members.
___ Identification of a New Employee Mentor: Being a new member of an organization can be an overwhelming experience. Mentoring is a formal or informal relationship established between an experienced, knowledgeable employee and an inexperienced or new employee. The purpose of the mentoring relationship is to help the new employee quickly absorb the organization’s cultural and social norms, as well as assist the new employee to quickly learn what they need to know to succeed in their job and role. We strongly encourage supervisors to identify a mentor to serve as a point of contact for the new employee during their six month probationary review period and beyond. A mentor may be a peer in a similar role to the new employee, an experienced employee that the new hire may need to collaborate with frequently to complete the responsibilities of their position, or a coworker that can serve as a positive example for modeling the behavior expected of the new hire and provide resources as needed. The mentor(s) can be internal to the new hire’s department, external to the new hire’s department, or both, but it would be useful to identify the individual(s) in advance and inform them of their role in assisting the new hire get acquainted with the organization and their position responsibilities. It is important to seek agreement from the identified mentor(s) to ensure that they will be enthusiastic about their mentoring relationship and provide an appropriate example for the new employee. Establishing a plan for the mentor to address critical pieces of information (policies, procedures, introduction to key personnel, etc.) throughout the initial employment experience may be most effective.
___ Identifying a Communication Plan with the New Employee: It may be useful to meet frequently with the new employee during their first few days, weeks, or months of employment to ensure that they are getting acquainted with their new role, to answer questions they may have, or to identify performance expectations and/or training that may need to be addressed. It is recommended to identify a communication plan prior to the new hire’s arrival to ensure consistent availability. Scheduling daily or weekly meetings in advance can be useful to both the supervisor and the new employee. The communication plan can be relayed to the new employee on day one of their employment.
Day One of the New Hire’s Employment & Beyond
___ New Employee Checklist
Your new hire will be provided with a New Employee Checklist during the Intake Appointment with Human Resources, which occurs within the first 3 days of employment. This checklist should serve as a tool to promote collaboration between the new hire and supervisor to address items as necessary during the six-month probationary period. It is recommended for the supervisor to work through the items on the checklist with the new employee to determine those that need to be addressed and identify an action plan for doing so.
___Training & Development
Communicating a training & development plan for the new hire to accomplish during the initial employment phase may best enable them to be successful in their new role and meet expectations of their position. Training and development opportunities can be informal through peer mentoring/shadowing, participation in work activities and receiving constructive feedback for improvement, etc., or formal through attendance of established training & development sessions offered by professional conferences, other university departments, UTC Office of Human Resources, UT System Office of Employee & Organizational Development, UT Skillsoft Computer-Based Training, etc. Please feel free to contact the UTC Human Resources office with any specific questions related to training & development opportunities. According to HR0128-Human Resources Development Policy, supervisors are strongly encouraged to support employees' participation in a minimum of 32 hours of training and development activities per year. Collaborating to establish a training & development plan with your new employee may be a great way to relay the importance of professional development and support for accomplishment of 32 hours of annual development activities per year.
___ Probationary Review Period/Performance Management
According to the HR0135-Probationary Period Policy, all newly hired regular staff employees, including those converting from temporary or student to regular appointments, shall serve one probationary period of six calendar months in an active pay status with the university beginning with the first day of regular employment. Each regular staff employee shall have his or her work performance evaluated during this period. Supervisors should review the performance standards to be assessed during the probationary period with their new employee for identification and discussion of expectations, goals, and development opportunities. Areas of responsibility found in the employee’s Position Description Questionnaire (PDQ) may be used as a foundation for discussing performance expectations and standards. It is recommended that supervisors review the new hire’s PDQ and probationary review process with the new employee during the initial days of employment to prompt questions and ensure a common understanding of expectations. The Probationary Review form can be found by visiting the link below. A decision to retain or terminate a new employee must be made prior to the end date of the six-month probationary review period. Please contact the UTC Office of Human Resources regarding terminations during the probationary period to ensure that all policies and procedures are followed.
http://www.utc.edu/human-resources/forms.php
In addition to the PDQ and Probationary Review Process, supervisors may want to address the additional performance elements listed below.
___ Attendance Standards (Work Schedule Expectations, Tardiness, etc.)
___ Communication Expectations Regarding Absences (use of annual or sick leave)
___Dress Code Standards
___Professionalism Standards
___Customer Service Standards
Once the decision has been made to retain a new employee, it is recommended that the supervisor collaborate with the new hire to establish performance goals for the remainder of the annual review period (calendar year) for regular, non-faculty staff members. The UTC Goals & Objectives form, found on the UTC Performance Management website below, can be utilized for this purpose. http://www.utc.edu/human-resources/performance-management/index.php
___Performance Improvement Plans
New hires may require assistance in developing the competencies necessary to be successful in their new role and meeting performance expectations. Because the probationary period serves as an assessment period for all new hires, the process for addressing performance improvement needs varies from the progressive disciplinary process utilized for regular employees beyond their probationary period. A Performance Improvement Plan can be implemented at any time the supervisor observes or concludes that improvement in competencies and behaviors is necessary. Addressing performance improvement in a constructive and timely manner may best enable the new employee to understand expectations and pursue avenues for becoming a successful employee. The UTC Performance Improvement Plan form can be utilized to document such discussions and establish related action plans. You may access the form at http://www.utc.edu/human-resources/forms.php
Please contact the UTC Office of Human Resources with any questions related to the use of performance improvement plans, documenting employee performance, and documenting performance discussions.
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