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Welcome to Orientation for New Hires 201

There are a wide variety of learning opportunities available to you as a UBC staff member. In this module, we will be exploring some of these programs and services, and direct you to where you can find more information.

For a complete list of UBC learning resources, please visit the UBC Learning Portal.

We invite you to go through Orientation 201 during your first month at UBC.

Understanding Information Systems at UBC

Data management at a big institution like UBC can be seen as overwhelming. Two of the main systems that you will likely interact with are the university's financial management system (FMS) and human resources management systems (HRMS).

Finance

Are you in charge of tracking and reconciling project accounts? Need to create payment cheques for external vendors? Would you like to understand the structure of the UBC Financial Services Department?

There are many different training opportunities available to help new staff and faculty navigate their financial responsibilities at UBC, provided by the UBC Department of Financial Services at no cost.

Your supervisor or manager can advise you on which courses are most appropriate to help you better understand your duties.

If you work at the UBC Vancouver campus, you can find workshop descriptions at http://www.finance.ubc.ca/Training/descriptions.cfm. Scheduling information is available at http://www.finance.ubc.ca/financecertification/Finance_Training_Schedule_2008.cfm.

If you work at the UBC Okanagan campus, you can find workshop descriptions, scheduling information and registration information at http://web.ubc.ca/okanagan/operations/finance.html

And while you're here...

Do any of the trainings offered by UBC Financial Services Department appear relevant to your new responsibilities? Make a note of the name of at one financial training session that you would like to take.

Human Resources Management System

If you need to check an employee's work history, or to run a report on staff compensation, you may need access to the Human Resource Management System (HRMS). HRMS is the primary repository of information for UBC faculty, staff and student employees, for:

Human Resource/Salary Administration,

Benefits Enrolment and Administration, and

Payroll,

If your role requires for you to access any of the above information, plan on attending an HRMS training session. Faculty and staff at the Vancouver campus can sign up for HRMS training session through the MOST Program. Please note you will need your Campus Wide Login (CWL) to access the system.

Formal HRMS training will be coming soon to the Okanagan campus. Please contact Susan Fukushima for more information.

Pop Quiz!

Which of the following personal information can you update through HRMS?

Employee home addresses

Employee phone numbers

Employee email addresses

Employee transportation preferences

If you chose 1, 2 and 3, you are right! For more information about transportation options contact TREK (604.827.7443).

Personal and Professional Development Opportunities

UBC is committed helping all staff pursue personal and professional development, no matter your place in the organization. If you are interested in gaining new skills, perspectives, or approaches to your career, you can explore a few of the following programs and resources.

BEST Program

BEST is an English program, designed for UBC employees, based on a philosophy that learners become more literate by working collaboratively in a supportive environment. Learners share what they have written around the worktable, so that they can also practice speaking and listening skills.

Professional Development Workshops at UBC

A wide variety of professional development workshops are available to UBC staff and faculty at both the Okanagan and Vancouver campuses. These workshops are hosted by Human Resources and are designed to foster knowledge and skills development, and enhance self-understanding.

Some of these workshops are offered at no cost to you, while others are available at a fee. We suggest speaking to your manager/supervisor to find out if your department has professional development funds available to cover these charges.

Visit our Professional Development Funding page to view employee-group specific funds available on campus.

Vancouver workshops: View the online catalogue of current offerings, or to register for workshops through the MOST Program, at the online MOST Catalog.

Okanagan workshops: View the current offerings, or to register for workshops, at the Okanagan Human Resources Upcoming Events page. See the current listing of lecture series and other learning-related events at the UBC Okanagan Events page.

Suggestion box!

Is there a workshop topic that you would like to see offered that isn't currently available at your campus? Take a minute and send an email to the workshop coordinators (mostreg@hr.ubc.ca for UBC Vancouver and nicole.udzenija@ubc.ca for UBC Okanagan) about what you would like to learn about. Ideas are always welcome!

Coaching Services

Having evolved from the world of athletics, where coaches help elite athletes fine-tune their development and performance, coaching is now being used as a tool for professional and personal development.

UBC's Department of Human Resources offers a no-charge coaching service to all staff and faculty, which allows you to work one-on-one with a professional, certified coach, for work-related or personal goals.

This service is available at both UBC Vancouver and Okanagan campuses.

For more information on coaching, including a list of available coaches and guidelines for accessing this service, please go to the Coaching @ UBC page.

Taking it further

Take a second and scroll through the list of internal and external coaches.

Find one coach who looks interesting and click on their complete profile to find out more about him/her. S/he could be your future coach!

Continuing Studies Programs

UBC's Continuing Studies offers a wide range of courses, workshops, seminars and certificate programs to UBC staff, faculty and the general public. These classes may be of interest to you if you are looking to expand your career options, or to explore topics of general interest.

These courses are at a cost, however, you may be eligible for tuition fee waivers. For more information about this funding source, please see 'the Professional Development Funding at UBC' section in this module.

Vancouver Campus: To find out which courses are currently available, and to register online, visit the Continuing Studies homepage.

Okanagan Campus: To find out which courses are currently available at the UBC Okanagan campus, visit the Okanagan Continuing Studies homepage.

If I had unlimited professional development funds...

If you had unlimited time and money, in which course would you wish to register?

Take a second to browse through the course catalogue at your campus. Don't be surprised if you find yourself inspired!

Managing at UBC

Are you a new manager in your first year? Are you an experienced manager but new to managing within the university context? If so, you may be interested in the Managing at UBC program.

This program is designed to support new managers in their first year, recognizing the significant responsibility they hold for employee performance and engagement and achievement of unit goals. The program has been developed by Human Resources' Organizational Development & Learning and is based on a self-directed learning model that incorporates a variety of learning modalities including e-learning, workshops, studios, lunch and learn, coaching triangles, peer networking, and on-line resources.

Managing at UBC is offered at both Vancouver and Okanagan campuses, however, there are some variations in how the programs operate at each campus. While the Vancouver-based program can presently support only new managers in their first year, the Okanagan-based program is open to all managers and directors, newly hired and ongoing.

For information about registration procedures and deadlines at the Vancouver campus, please visit the Managing at UBC page.

For information about registration procedures and deadlines at the Okanagan campus, please contact Nicole Udzenija. You can find out about other opportunities to develop your leadership by viewing the Okanagan Faculty and Staff Upcoming Events page.

Pop Quiz!'

Which of the following components is not part of the Managing at UBC program?

Jump Start Orientation

Studio Sessions

e-Learning through VISTA

Program Advising

Lunch 'n Learn

Workshops

Coach on call

If you chose all of them, you are right! These learning components are part of the wide range of resources available through Managing at UBC.

Professional Development Funding at UBC

Now that you know what you want to learn, and where you want to learn, the question is 'how are you going to pay for it?' Good news! UBC offers various employee-based funding programs to help staff pursue professional development opportunities. These programs are available to staff at the Okanagan and Vancouver campuses.

Check out the information listed below to see if there is a funding source specific to your employee group (if not, you may want to take advantage of the tuition waiver. As well, don't hesitate to speak to your supervisor or manager to find out if there is a department professional development fund available to you).

CUPE 2950

CUPE 2950 members can access the Job Skills Training Program. The intent of this program is to help you improve the specific skills you need to perform your job at the University. As well, this program seeks to help you access opportunities for transfer and promotion throughout the University.

For guidelines on how to access this fund and updates on how much funding is currently available to qualifying members, please visit http://www.hr.ubc.ca/learning-development/funding/cupe-2950/.

Executive Administrative

Executive Administrative staff can take advantage of the Executive Administrative Professional Development Fund.

The purpose of this fund is to support learning activities that enhance your knowledge and work performance or contribute to your career progression at the University.

For information on application procedures and updates on how much funding is currently available to qualifying members please visit http://www.hr.ubc.ca/learning-development/funding/executive-administrative/.

Management & Professional

All Management & Professional staff (members of the Association of Administrative & Professional Staff (AAPS) as well as Excluded M&P) can access the M&P Professional Development Fund. This funding program is designed to support learning activities which will enhance your knowledge, performance, or career progression at the University.

To find out about application procedures please visit http://www.hr.ubc.ca/learning-development/funding/mp/.

TRA Professional Development Fund (TRA)

This fund is available to Non-Union Technicians and Research Assistants and is intended to support learning activities that enhance the knowledge, performance, or career progression of a member’s work at the University.

For application guidelines and procedures, please visit http://www.hr.ubc.ca/learning-development/funding/tra/.

British Columbia Government Employee Union (BCGEU), Okanagan

Members of the BCGEU at the Okanagan campus can access the Support Staff Professional Development Fund. This fund aims to support learning opportunities which will assist you in maintaining and improving

knowledge and skills relevant to your current responsibilities or those which will support your career development at UBC Okanagan. For information on specific terms of reference, as well as application guidelines, please visit http://web.ubc.ca/okanagan/facultystaff/current-staff/bcgeu.html#sspd.

Tuition Waiver

The Tuition Fee Benefit provides tuition assistance for various staff groups. This fund is different from the professional development funds listed above, in that the benefit can only be applied to UBC courses (i.e. Continuing studies and undergraduate course).

The amount of tuition assistance, as well as what type of courses you can apply for, depends on your employee group affiliation. To find out more, including application procedures, please visit http://www.hr.ubc.ca/benefits/professional-development/.

Show me the money!

Do you qualify for any of the job-specific funding program listed above? If so, how much money is currently available to you? Peruse the appropriate web page to see if you can find out (you can always email the program coordinator if this information is not displayed).