Welcome Aboard!

As a new hire at Finance & Business, we want you to begin your Penn State career with the appropriate life-preserver.

Please submit an application to participate in our new Welcome Aboard program. You will be matched with a coach who can help introduce you to Penn State and ease your acclimation process within your first year as a Penn Stater. In an effort to steam ahead, there will be an event launch that you and your coach can navigate. There will also be a more informal meeting expectation that you devise on your own. Our coaches are chosen from a large pool of seasoned veterans with diverse and varied backgrounds. You will be feeling your sea legs in no time.

For more information, contact Dr. Michele Newhard at 814-865-3315.

Coaches
Our coaches have been selected from a group of effective and well-respected members of the F&B staff. Unit leaders have also recommended members of our dynamic coaching team. Potential coaches can apply to join the crew.

Protégé
Protégés in this program are defined as recently-hired staff with exempt status still in their first two years of employment within F&B. Members of this enthusiastic group are looking for informal learning opportunities that will assist them in their personal journey as Penn State staff within F&B. Potential protégés can take the plunge.

Process

1. The new hire will complete an application, which includes a supporting statement from his or her supervisor, and will submit the application to the subcommittee for processing. Applications will be accepted until two weeks prior to the program kick-off. The applicant is best matched from the pool of coaches previously recruited by the subcommittee.

2. The program will kick-off in September 2014. An initial meeting between the coach and the new-hire protégé will include a rapport-building activity and worksheet on goal-setting for the protégé, as well as a suggested timeline of monthly meetings to be held between the two. The governing ground rules will be discussed (to be provided by the subcommittee). The administrative units will provide release time, as needed, for the coach/protégé meetings.

3. We suggest a minimum of bi-weekly check-ins and monthly meetings, but the coach and protégé can decide what works best for their goals. During the final coach/protégé meeting, the pair will determine how or if the coaching relationship will continue.

4. A formal Program-Ending Workshop to take place in April. An evaluation will be completed by the pair at this last meeting of the year.

The following steps should guide each coaching session:

1. Establish a ground rule of open, honest communication.
2. Follow up on previous session’s goals first and then discuss new issues.
3. Promote and identify community resources, services, and involvement opportunities.
4. Summarize plans to be worked on for future meetings.

2014-2015 Welcome Aboard Program

Launch
September 30, 2014, 12:00 p.m. - 2:00 p.m.
The Penn State Room, Nittany Lion Inn

Strengthsfinder Workshop
October 21, 2014, 1:00 p.m. - 2:30 p.m.
The Alumni Lounge, Nittany Lion Inn

Creamery Behind-the-Scenes Tour
November 6, 2014, 2:00 p.m. - 3:00 p.m.
The Berkey Creamery

Palmer Art Museum Tour: Highlights of the Collection
Day to be announced, January 2015, 1:00 p.m. - 2:30 p.m.
Palmer Museum of Art

Penn State Waste Tour
March 31, 2015, 1:30 p.m. - 3:30 p.m.

Closing Workshop
April 30, 2015, 12:00 p.m. - 2:00 p.m.
The Penn State Room, Nittany Lion Inn