New Staff Onboarding
Supervisor support and engagement is critical to onboarding success. While each department and position have unique onboarding needs, UGA Student Affairs has established a common division-level onboarding plan (link to Division-Wide Onboarding page) for all new employees.
This website exists to support supervisors in providing a meaningful onboarding experience for their new employees. The UGA Student Affairs Onboarding Checklist (link to PDF) is designed to be used in conjunction with department and position-specific onboarding plans. The pages within this site offer additional context and tips for utilizing the UGA Student Affairs Onboarding Checklist. Further assistance and information is available through Student Affairs Staff Development or by emailing ugasastaff@uga.edu.
UGA Student Affairs utilizes a multi-faceted approach to division-level onboarding, focusing on staff members’ first six months of employment. The division onboarding plan, which is grounded in the Society for Human Resource Management’s Four C’s model for employee onboarding, is designed to supplement experiences offered at the institutional and departmental level.
To supplement the onboarding you provide your new employee, UGA Student Affairs facilitates the following:
Beginning on the first day of employment, UGA Student Affairs staff members receive an automated series of email messages. The messages deliver information and resources that are relevant and common across all position types and departments. The timing and content of the messaging is designed to complement the timing of onboarding tasks contained in the UGA Student Affairs Onboarding Checklist. Full content of the messages is available to supervisors upon request. An overview of Email Engagement topics is available here.
Offered quarterly, New Staff Welcome focuses on establishing connections and preparing staff for a successful future in UGA Student Affairs. The welcome event begins at 9am with a welcome from Vice President Wilson and concludes at the culmination of a Student Affairs “tour” at 3pm. All new staff will receive a personalized invitation to attend the New Staff Welcome. Supervisors are responsible for establishing expectations and making accommodations for attendance at the session closest to their start date. A listing of scheduled sessions is available on the Staff Development Calendar.
All new staff are invited to attend a New Staff Reconnect six months after attending New Staff Welcome. The purpose of this two-hour event is to promote continued success following new staff members’ initial transitions. Staff will continue building connections as they explore successes and challenges encountered during the first six months and engage in conversations to promote continued success. All new staff will receive a personalized invitation to attend New Staff Reconnect. Supervisors should encourage participation.
* Email Engagement messages, the New Staff Welcome agenda, and the New Staff Reconnection agenda are available to supervisors upon request.