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HR Unity Summit
As a reminder, all HR team members are strongly encouraged to attend the Unity Summit on Friday, Jan 27 from 11:30 - 1:30 pm (which is already on your calendars). It's important that we all take time to reflect on diversity, equity, and inclusion and the role we playing in making this campus a more inclusive environment, particulary during this Walk the Walk Week. We ask that you please register here so that we can plan appropriately for food. Please make every effort to attend this important opportunity for HR to connect with other staff members on campus. Thank you!
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Volunteers Needed - COVID Vaccine Booster ClinicWe will be holding a COVID Vaccine Booster Clinic on Thursday, 1/26, from 10 am to 7 pm and we are looking for volunteers to help. This event is open to students as well as all benefit eligible faculty and staff and excludes retirees, spouses and dependent children.
I know there's a lot going on and everyone is very busy so I appreciate any time you can spare to help out.
Thank you all for your support and consideration. Please sign up here using the format "Full name - netid" Example: Scott Hershberger - shershbe.
**Please note - Masks will be required for this event.
Thank you! - Becky Pike
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Self Service Center Updates
User Acceptance Training: Thanks to everyone who has participated in User Acceptance Training the past couple of weeks. We’re hopeful this has provided you a chance to become familiar with the tool - it has certainly helped the project team identify bugs, ensure data accuracy and make this as user friendly as possible. The project team is taking in all of the feedback and working to make changes or plan future enhancements based on your input.
Timeline Update: As you may remember, we made an adjustment to the rollout timeline in order to ensure the tool is ready and running smoothly. The team will now conduct a soft-launch of the Self Service Center and Agent Workspace features around February 22 for the following divisions - Human Resources, Finance, Information Technology, and Strategic Planning and Institutional Research. Communications to these groups will begin in early February.
Originally, we planned to roll out the position management process with the others in February, but the soft-launch will allow our team to better test the platforms with real cases and scenarios from campus partners, ensure we are fully trained prior to launching to campus in April, and give the team more time to refine the position management process.
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Cognitive Skills Building Learning Program for HROn Wednesday, February 1st, the entire HR team will participate in a Cognitive Skills Building learning program with FranklinCovey partner Dennis Susa. As HR works towards engaging with our stakeholders as a strategic partner, this session will lay the foundation for us to bring a consultative mindset to our day-to-day conversations. We will have the opportunity to sharpen our skills for the many types of interactions we have with campus partners, including planning for meetings or phone calls, asking great questions, anticipating roadblocks, diagnosing partner needs, and clarifying outcomes and action items. Matthew Blazejewski and Kelly McNally have been working with our HR Managers to provide Dennis with real-life examples to help us connect these skills to our work in all areas of HR.
The session will take place from 9:00 am - 4:30 pm, and lunch will be included. The calendar invite will be updated shortly with the location. Please reach out to Kelly McNally with any additional questions about the program.
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WTWW Keynote Event Details
Saturday, January 21, 10:00 a.m. in Duncan Student Center
We are thrilled to be partnering with Student Government and Campus Ministry to address the immediate needs of people who are experiencing homelessness or housing insecurity in the greater South Bend area. You can help in two ways:
Donate toiletries, food, and other essential items (outlined here) in dropoff locations around campus. On-campus students will participate in collaboration with their dorms.
Volunteer with us! Join us any time from 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. on Saturday, January 21, in Duncan Student Center to sort and package donations for local organizations. Food (catered by Soulful Kitchen) and t-shirts will be provided to volunteers while supplies last.
Sunday, January 22, 6:30 p.m. in the Basilica of the Sacred Heart
We are excited to welcome the Most Rev. Michael Bruce Curry, Presiding Bishop and Primate of The Episcopal Church, to preside over this year’s WTWW Prayer Service and candlelight march. Following the service, we invite you to join us in the Main Building for a warming reception of yummy appetizers, a hot chocolate bar, and build-your-own ice cream sundaes!
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Danielle Bartkowiak
People Services Associate
What is one thing your colleagues should know about you?
When I was growing up I really wanted to be a veterinarian, and had taken preparation courses throughout middle school/high school as well as volunteering to prepare myself for a career that would hopefully start at Purdue University. After a few years of having to go through some really hard times of owners losing their fur babies, I knew it was not something I wanted to pursue. I ended up going for a degree in Occupational Therapy and worked as a hand therapist for 6 years before realizing that I was looking for something more. Fast forward to today, and while my path to HR has been a bit of a zig zag, I have found a profession that I am very passionate about and can use skills from my prior positions to assist our campus community.
What is one of your proudest achievements in your career thus far?
Honestly, it would be leaving a career of comfort for the unknown, and then when I thought that was hard I returned to college to pursue my Bachelor’s in Organizational Management while working full time. It has been far from easy, but I am so thankful for the opportunity and to hopefully graduate in April of this year! #GoPilots
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Sleep in Heavenly Peace Service Day Details
Next Wednesday, January 25, is our day of service for Sleep in Heavenly Peace and we wanted to share with you some additional logistics about the day.
When (and where) do we need to arrive? The build will take place at Leininger Farms located at 13504 Douglas Rd., Mishawaka, IN 46545. We will be working in the white barn to the right of the farm house. Parking is open anywhere EXCEPT on the grass. We will begin promptly at 9:00 am with registration, and then move into construction with hopes of being done by 4:00 pm. There will be no buses this year, so you are expected to drive yourselves, or carpool if you would like.
Will there be food/drinks? Please feel free to bring your own morning beverage, breakfast, or morning/afternoon snack. We will break for lunch at noon where pizza, salad, and bottled water will be provided. We will have some gluten free and vegan options available. If you prefer something different, feel free to bring that along. Please note that we will not have access to a microwave or refrigerator for heating or storing of food/beverages.
What exactly will we be doing? For this project we will be building 30 beds, which will entail cutting wood, sanding wood, drilling holes, some assembly using power tools, staining, and branding. There should be something for everyone to do, and you can switch jobs throughout the day.
What should we wear? It is recommended that you dress warm for the day and prepare to get dirty. The barn is heated, but doors will be open periodically and there are some jobs that have to be done outside. We will be working indoors on a cement floor for the most part. However, staining and branding beds will be done outside. Since we will be sanding the wood it will get dusty inside the building, and we may open doors to clear the air. The sand may also stick to fleece, so cotton or performance clothing would be best. You will also likely be on your feet, therefore, comfortable footwear is recommended.
All safety gear such as safety glasses, masks, and gloves will be provided by SHP, but you are welcome to bring your own as well.
What time will we be finished? 4:00 pm
On a side note: we are 7 bed sets (set needs to include: 1 standard size pillow, 1 twin size comforter, twin size sheet set) short from our bedding drive. If you would still like to donate, please feel free to bring it with you on Wednesday and make sure to add it to the spreadsheet.
As we embark as a team on this day of service, we are thankful for all that we have. Even more importantly, we are thankful for the HR family and the opportunity to give back within our community by providing children with a comfortable place to sleep, something we take for granted every day.
-The HR Engagement Committee
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Care for Our Common HomeThis section, written by Sarah Biggs, is designed to help each of us Care for Our Common Home - one of the seven themes of our University Strategic Framework.
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Let’s chat about some general New Year’s resolutions folks tend to make and see what options there are to offer sustainable alternatives. I’m going to start with the one that I find to appear, at least anecdotally, the most frequently. When I think of exercising and sustainability, I think of the categories regarding type of exercise, workout apparel, and workout equipment. In this and the next two blogs, I will briefly discuss some sustainable options for each of these three categories.
First is the type of exercise. Ultimately, moving your body is a great habit, so I will not shame any activity by terming it necessarily unsustainable. However, what would make an exercise less or more sustainable? Some questions to ask would be: What kind of equipment and how much equipment do I need? Is it personally owned or shared with others at a gym/rec center? Does this equipment use energy? What kind of energy does it use? Do I need special clothes, or can I wear what I have? Can I find sustainable gym wear for this activity?
Bearing all of these questions in mind, some of the most naturally sustainable options that come to mind are all outdoor activities that do not necessitate electrical equipment. These options all include very little equipment with sustainable apparel and equipment options (to be discussed in a later blog): walking, hiking, swimming, running, yoga, biking, and dancing. It’s also likely more environmentally friendly to choose equipment at a shared workout facility than owning all personal equipment; and considering the University offers the magnificent benefit of free access to the rec center and low-price workout classes, this can be achieved relatively simply and inexpensively. So, what other sustainable exercises can you think of? What do you think is the MOST eco-friendly option?
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If you have information you'd like included in future newsletters please send those to Emily. Any content received by noon on Thursday each week will be included in Friday's newsletter. Thank you!
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