Onboarding a New Employee.

Welcoming new members of the SPH community is one of the most exciting activities we do at the School of Public Health. The onboarding process is designed to provide a consistent experience where new hires feel welcomed, valued, and set for success. Successful onboarding allows an individual to quickly become engaged, assimilated, and impactful, both in their role and across SPH.

New Employee Orientation, Email, and Account Set-Up

All new regular full- and part-time employees working at least 75 percent time are required to attend New Employee Orientation, a training workshop hosted by the Human Resources Office each Monday morning. The New Employee Orientation provides an overview of benefits and employee policies and orients new staff to the university. Each hiring manager works collaboratively with the Talent Acquisition Specialist assigned to SPH to schedule new staff for New Employee Orientation.

Human Resources uses Red Carpet, a streamlined onboarding system, to grant BU email, employee self-service, wireless, and VPN access. Employees automatically receive their account creation invitation to their personal email account once they are officially hired into BU. Managers will receive email notifications of account setup reminders, successful setups, and I-9 reminders.

For general onboarding resources, please review the Human Resources New Employees page.

SPH Onboarding

In addition to the New Employee Orientation led by HR, SPH Administration organizes a meet and greet orientation for new staff, where expectations and resources are shared, in addition to a full introduction to SPH. Participation is mandatory.

Department/Unit Onboarding

Onboarding new employees begins before their first day. Hiring managers should work with the administrative lead in their department/unit and the Director of Facilities and Building Operations to:

  • Identify and prepare workspace and phone line
  • Arrange for a computer and any other necessary equipment. Existing resources should be used whenever possible. If new equipment is needed, administrative leads should follow the asset request process in Section XI.1. Asset Management.
  • Secure keys, name badges, office name signs, and any other physical assets needed

On the staff member’s first day:

  • Hiring managers should send a welcome email to the department, briefly introducing the new staff member, giving a brief description of their previous experience, highlights from their career, and indicating any other key team members with whom they will be working.
  • New staff should meet with the administrative lead of the unit and discuss:
    • school and departmental functions and organizational structure
    • services the department provide to staff, faculty, students, parents, visitors, and the public
    • community events, including Public Health Conversations and monthly staff breakfasts
    • the Staff and Operations Handbook
    • work schedules, proper time entry/hours worked in BUWorks and procedure for reporting sick and vacation time
    • University Information Security and Business Continuity policies and procedures (safe computing, virus protection, security tools, phishing, etc.).
    • environmental health and safety training
    • the physical layout of the unit, building and immediate vicinity, and all other relevant work areas alongside a walk-through of the premises
    • safety and emergency procedures, including Campus Public Safety Tips and RUN. HIDE. FIGHT video
  • The administrative lead of the unit should also connect the new staff member with SPH Marketing and Communications so they can get a headshot and develop their staff directory listing.
  • New staff should also meet with the hiring manager and discuss:
    • a comprehensive job description, highlighting the new employee’s job duties and responsibilities, clearly delineating expectations, deliverables, and timetable where applicable
    • overview of performance review planning
    • applicable protocol for individual research studies
    • system accesses
  • To introduce the new staff member to the SPH community, when possible, the hiring manager and administrative lead should facilitate a meeting with new colleagues from across the unit.