Cal State San Bernardino’s human resources department was awarded the 2016 Human Resources Outstanding Team Award for its work in launching Onboarding at CSUSB, the university’s new employee benefits orientation program.
The CSUSB team received the award at the California State University’s System-wide Human Resources Conference held in Long Beach on June 8. The award honors individuals and teams with the 23-campus CSU that have provided outstanding service, demonstrated significant program improvement, and/or worked in a collaborative manner to solve problems and improve processes. Campuses submitted nominees through a campus-determined process and a system-wide committee selected the honorees.
The CSUSB human resources department launched the first Onboarding program in January 2015 with much success. Instead of the typical information-overload session, the new employee and benefits program was conversational, interactive and sprinkled with a bit of fun and campus spirit, said Rowena Woidyla, manager of training and development.
The monthly Onboarding format is a 3.5-hour session where employees learn about CSU/CSUSB history, the mission, vision, and core values as well as learn immediate actions to take as a new employee. The orientation also allows new employees to learn about benefits, campus services and meet other members of the campus community from their union representative to members of the CSUSB university police.
“Industry data suggests that the first 90 days for a new employee is critical,” said Woidyla. “Our HR office reaches out to the new employee and their supervisor (separately) to understand how things are going. By doing so, we’ve been able to address performance concerns proactively.
“As new employees gain familiarity with their role and the campus community, we invite them back within three to six months to a reception co-sponsored by human resources and the president’s office where they have an opportunity to meet the president and members of the president’s cabinet,” she said.
“The Onboarding team has received tremendous feedback not only from new employees, but also from staff and administrators who participate,” Woidyla said. “We even have existing employees who plead to participate!”
Based on the feedback from each Onboarding session, changes to the program have been made where applicable, said Woidyla. As an example, in 2015, orientation was held in the morning. Based on suggestions received, Onboarding at CSUSB moved to the afternoon so new employees have an opportunity to be welcomed by their hiring department in the morning.
California State University, San Bernardino is a preeminent center of intellectual and cultural activity in Inland Southern California. Opened in 1965 and set at the foothills of the beautiful San Bernardino Mountains, the university serves more than 20,000 students each year and graduates about 4,000 students annually.
CSUSB reflects the dynamic diversity of the region and has the most diverse student population of any university in the Inland Empire, and it has the second highest African American and Hispanic enrollments of all public universities in California. Seventy percent of those who graduate are the first in their families to do so.
For more information on Cal State San Bernardino, contact the university’s Office of Strategic Communication at (909) 537-5007 and visit news.csusb.edu.