Onboarding Toolkit for Supervisors

University-level orientation activities are focused on the general interest to all employees. The purpose is to introduce Mason’s culture, to help employees understand their benefits options, walkthrough essential need-to-know HR & Payroll policies and procedures, increase awareness of the resources available regarding work/life balance, and more.

Activities include:

• New employee orientation (for Classified Staff and Administrative/Professional Faculty)
  • Instructional/Research/Adjunct Faculty participate in orientations organized through the Office of the Provost
• Benefits overview and enrollment
• Introduction to campus resources
• Introduction to employee resource groups, well-being resources as well as other related faculty and staff engagement topics

At this level, employees get to know their department, team members, key contacts, and how their work and that of their colleagues contribute to the mission.

Activities include:

• Department tour
• Team introductions
• Role-specific training
• Intro to support networks

An employee’s position requirements, performance expectations, available resources, and other training opportunities becomes clear through regular communication and feedback between the employee and their supervisor.

Activities include:

• Discuss EWP or PD to clarify expectations & standards
• Schedule regular 1:1 check-ins to support open communication and feedback
• Set goals for the first 90 days and beyond

For a new employee, fully integrating at the department level takes time. One way to assist the new employee through the initial adjustment period is to provide them with a Team Mentor. The role of the Team Mentor is to serve as an informal point of contact for information about the new employee's position and department procedures and social norms. This important relationship supplements, not substitutes, regular interaction with the employee's supervisor. The affiliation with the Team Mentor helps the new employee to feel connected to the team sooner and creates a sense of inclusion, while providing them with support as they learn their new job.

Things to consider when identifying a Team Mentor:

• Has been employed more than one year (recommended)
• Has time or is given time to be accessible to the new employee
• Is a peer of the new employee
• Has patience, good communication, and interpersonal skills
• Is willing to be a Team Mentor
• Is a positive role model and is liked/respected by other employees

Team Mentor Functions

• Serve as an information source for the new employee on policies, procedures, expectations, norms in the department
• Help new employee identify resources
• Help to connect/introduce the new employee with others
• Be a lunch companion
• Help the new employee get to know campus