Tips for Supervisors

For many students, their college job is their first work experience. What seems obvious to you may not be so to your new student employee. An informal orientation to help them adjust to the department and the job might include:

• Letting other employees in the department know who the student is and when he or she will be starting to work.
• Meeting briefly with the student on their first day to:
  • Review job responsibilities (even if you discussed them during the interview).
  • Explain department layout.
  • Outline basic office policies and procedures.
  • Show the locations of fax, photocopier, restroom, etc.
  • Introduce department staff.
• Creating a “workplace guide” or other written resources about the department/college/unit. You might include:
  • Description of offices in your building.
  • General expectations of students, especially department-specific expectations.
  • Dress code.
  • Timesheet procedure.
  • Smoking policy.
  • Commonly used phone numbers.
  • Other important policies and procedures.
• Offering a group orientation or training session, if you have more than one student in the department.
• Reviewing the University’s emergency procedures with the student.

Thoroughly-trained student employees perform their jobs well, become assets to your department, and make your job easier. The time you spend training your students is an investment that pays in the long run.

Remember: you do not need to be an experienced trainer in order to deliver effective training sessions for your students. We are here to help make this part of your job easier. Contact us if you need further help.

Training Students on Specific Tasks

When training students, keep in mind that tasks you find familiar may be new to them. Consider how to break a procedure into explainable steps, as well as how the task fits into the “big picture.”

Preparing to Train

1. Identify the best procedure for performing the task.
2. Analyze the task: identify steps involved, key points, areas of difficulty; define performance standards.
3. Prepare the workplace.

Ten Steps of Training

1. Explain the task to the student, as well as its purpose and how it fits into the “big picture.”
2. Find out what the student already knows about the task.
3. Demonstrate and explain the task, step-by-step, at a reasonably slow pace. Identify performance standards for the task. (Sometimes a written procedure is helpful.)
4. Emphasize any key points.
5. Demonstrate the task a second time.
6. Ask the student questions about his or her understanding of the task.
7. Allow the student to practice the task.
8. Give frequent, specific, and accurate feedback on the student’s performance of the task.
9. Have the student continue to practice until the task is done according to the standards discussed in step 3.
10. Allow the student to do the task independently, but encourage further questions. Check the student’s procedure and results periodically, tapering off over time.

You may use the following training resources as handouts for student training sessions, or use the information in them to create your own training materials.

• Working World 101
  Accountability, reliability, professionalism, initiative, and communication.
• BU Basics 101
  FERPA, BU Policy on Computing Ethics, and accurate reporting of hours worked.
• Customer Service 101
  General customer service issues, including dealing with difficult situations.
• Suggestions for Training Exercises
  Geared toward supervisors who are planning student training sessions; exercises correspond to the above “101” modules.
• Additional Training Tips
  Scheduling issues, paying students for training, facilitation tips, and links to free training resources on the web.

Positive feedback motivates students and encourages them to continue doing their jobs well. Positive feedback is most effective when you:

• Recognize a specific action/behavior.
• Give it as soon as possible after the student’s good work occurs.
• Deliver it in a sincere manner.
• Direct it toward an individual rather than a group.
• Adapt it to the student’s style/preference.
• Keep it proportional to the work being recognized.

It is also a good idea to express general appreciation to your student employees for the outstanding support that they provide. Ways you might do this include:

• Celebrating National Student Employment Week. Supervisors receive information during the spring semester regarding this important event.
• Nominating excellent student employees for Student Employee of the Year. Supervisors receive information in January regarding the nomination process.
• Sending students thank-you notes, or creating a large thank-you note, signed by all staff members, to display in the department.
• Creating awards or certificates to give to your students. (Best Customer Service, Most Professional, Most Likely to Show up in a Snow Storm, etc.)
• Providing students with letters of recommendation for their job searches.
• Offering occasional “treat breaks” such as popcorn, candy, cookies, etc.
• Celebrating the birthdays of student staff members.

Be creative!

For more information on the topic of positive feedback, see Bringing Out the Best in People, by Alan Loy.

Supervisors should attempt to resolve a student attendance or work performance issue before considering termination. Begin with some form of “coaching.” Discuss your concerns with the student and set a timeframe within which you expect to see improvement. If the student does not improve by the end of that time, you may either proceed with termination or continue the coaching process.

Important: This process does not apply to cases of gross misconduct (harassment, misuse of University facilities, timesheet fraud, etc.). These cases should be reported immediately to the Work-Study Manager (for Work-Study students) or Student Job Service Manager (for non-Work-Study students).

The following guidelines are intended to help supervisors resolve concerns about students’ attendance or performance before they become serious enough to warrant termination. Feel free to contact the Work-Study Manager or the Student Job Service Manager directly for guidance.

Four-Step Coaching Process

STEP 1 – Identify the specific concerns.
STEP 2 – Identify what is influencing the behavior, and its impact.
STEP 3 – Discuss your concerns with the student.
STEP 4 – Follow up with the student.