Human Resources: Upcoming October Programs
Professional and Personal Development
Improve your skills and get ahead in your career by taking advantage of the many development opportunities provided by Human Resources. You can register for programs by visiting knowledgelink.upenn.edu or contacting Learning & Education at (215) 898-3400.
October 1: Penn Certificate Program in Administrative Excellence Session 1; 9 a.m.-noon; $100. A multi-session cohort program designed for frontline, support and administrative staff. Topics include office organization, communications style and skills, time and stress management, handling interruptions, writing, managing multiple projects, negotiating and working more effectively with your manager. The program will conclude with a session focused on succeeding in the decentralized Penn environment, building your network and clarifying your individual career plan.
October 5 & 6: AMA’s Getting Results Without Authority; 9 a.m.-5 p.m.; $75. Whether you’re dealing with bosses, colleagues, staff members or senior management, the ability to win respect, influence people and cultivate cooperation is absolutely essential to career success. What’s more, in challenging economic times, the people with whom you interact in business can change on a moment’s notice. The ability to adapt quickly and work with anyone to achieve desired results is crucial—especially when you don’t have immediate authority to command their cooperation. At this seminar, you’ll focus on the key elements of influencing others when there is lack of authority—personal power, persuasion and negotiation.
October 9: Your Career @ Penn; 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Assists staff in building careers at Penn by helping to connect your skills and abilities with career opportunities. The focus will include both career resource breakout sessions and Penn Career Panels on ISC, finance and administrative support. All sessions will be facilitated by Penn HR and experienced professionals and career specialists. Topics include: increasing your marketability at Penn, internal job strategies and building a career development plan. For more information see www.hr.upenn.edu/CareeratPenn
October 13: Brown Bag Matinee: Building a Winning Team; 1-2 p.m. This will discuss team building as it specifically relates to attitude, positivity and mission/vision. Explore key concepts explained in the video by Jon Gordon, author of The Energy Bus, that demonstrate why communication is key and that a unifying vision that rallies its members toward a common purpose is the way to successfully unify a team.
October 19: Boot Camp for Front Line Staff; 9 a.m.-noon; $75. Some of you are called customer care professionals; others are student services specialists, receptionists, client service professionals or even the director of first impressions. There are many different titles for this important role. You are the first person the student, customer, patient or client encounters in your organization. This encounter may be by phone or in person, but regardless, it sets the tone and reputation for your organization.
Ensuring that your “soft skills”—those skills you use in customer interaction—are at their best is imperative. What is often overlooked is the equally important need to learn ways to take care of yourself and your self-esteem in stressful, difficult customer situations. To be successful and happy in your work, you need the tools to help you deal effectively with customers.
October 20: Coaching Skills for Managers; 9 a.m.-noon; $75. To remain competitive, organizations need to retain valuable employees, address problems that interfere with productivity, and help employees achieve their full potential. But the traditional “command and control” method of managing employees has been shown to be less effective than involving people in their own development—and the best way to do this is to guide them through improvement using coaching tools and techniques.
October 21: Brown Bag: Getting Work Done; 11 a.m.-noon. How often is your well-planned day disturbed by interruptions? No matter what skills and strengths you already possess, the skill of acquiring more time cannot be one of them. Get more work done by learning how to eliminate time and energy wasters. By the end of the hour, you will have a toolbox full of strategies to cope with your daily distractions.
October 27: Managing Relationships: A Program for Millennials; noon-1 p.m. Are you a Millennial who finds it frustrating to work with your more seasoned colleagues because they simply can’t keep up with you? This just might be the thing holding you back in your career! In this session for Millennials we will discuss the importance of cultivating relationships with those in other generations as a mechanism for learning, growth and career mobility.
October 29: Conflict Resolution—A Win/Win Approach; 12:30-1:30 p.m. Conflict in the workplace should be addressed in order to maintain productivity, increase retention rates and improve morale. Failure to address conflict often leads to an escalation of the problem and may lead to unproductive behaviors such as resentment, displacement or defensiveness. This video will help you find a win-win solution by helping you master techniques such as: recognizing sources of conflict, using the collaborative management method, applying the A-E-I-O-U communication model, assuming the role of a mediator and developing active communication skills.
Quality of Worklife Workshops
Dealing with the demands of work and your personal life can be challenging. These free workshops, sponsored by Human Resources and led by experts from Penn’s Employee Assistance Program and Quality of Worklife Department, offer information and support for your personal and professional life challenges. For complete details and to register, visit www.hr.upenn.edu/myhr/registration or contact Human Resources at (215) 573-2471 or qowl@hr.upenn.edu
October 5: Breastfeeding Support Group; noon-1:30 p.m. Come meet other new moms on campus, get help with breastfeeding challenges or share what’s worked for you. If you are breastfeeding, pumping and bottle-feeding, pregnant and thinking about breastfeeding, or formula-feeding and curious about breastfeeding, this group is for you. This group is open to Penn faculty, staff, students, post docs and their partners. During the fall semester, the group will meet on October 5, November 2 and December 7. Funding for this group is provided by the Division of Human Resources, the Family Resource Center and the Penn Women’s Center.
October 8: Legal Document Planning; noon-1 p.m. Join trust and estate lawyer Margaret Sager to learn about the importance of estate planning, managing your estate during life and disposing of your estate at your death through the use of trusts, wills, beneficiary designation forms and other planning documents. Ms. Sager is a partner with Heckscher Teillon Terrill & Sager, P.C. and is listed as one of the leading trust and estate attorneys by The Best Lawyers in America. Ms. Sager’s practice includes estate planning for high net worth individuals, trust and estate administration, fiduciary litigation and related dispute resolution, guardianships of incapacitated persons and charitable giving.
October 10: Penn Family Day; 10 a.m.-6:30 p.m.; four free tickets to football game and Tailgate Party. Faculty, staff and postdoctoral scholars are invited to bring family and friends to enjoy a free meal and games at the tailgate party. Visit https://www.hr.upenn.edu/myhr/familyday for event details and to reserve Penn Family Day tickets by October 6.
October 13: First Time Home Buyers 101; noon-1 p.m. This is an opportunity for Penn faculty and staff to learn the ins and outs of buying your first home, including tips for gauging financial readiness. Attendees will have the opportunity to receive answers to their questions from representatives of Penn Home Ownership Services and their lending partners.
October 14: Navigating the Penn Tuition Benefit System for Yourself and Your Family; noon-1:30 p.m. Join Penn’s HR Tuition Benefit Manager to learn more about the tuition benefit program and how you can use the benefit for yourself at Penn, or how the tuition benefit can support your dependents or spouse in pursuit of a bachelor’s degree. At this session, you will learn more about coverage, how to request the benefit using the online tuition management system and tax implications if you are using the benefit for a graduate program. Whether you are using the benefit now for yourself or your dependents, or are planning to use it in the future, this session will provide a good overview of the tuition benefit and policies.
October 19: Purposely Planning Your Encore (Retirement) Career with Willo Carey; noon-1:30 p.m. Willo Carey, on-air spokesperson for WHYY and executive director of Wider Horizons, a service addressing the interests of the growing 50+ population, will lead a discussion around planning your retirement time with intent and purpose. “I always find myself invoking Carl Jung,” said Ms. Carey. “I think it’s been a well-kept secret until recently, but the second half of life really is the most interesting.” Nearing retirement eligibility, you’ve been exposed to a great deal of programming and support around financially planning for retirement, but have you considered the psychological and relationship adjustments that accompany retirement? The discussion addresses these issues.
October 29: Setting Boundaries at Work; noon-1 p.m. This workshop will provide managers and employees with the tools necessary to set and maintain boundaries in the workplace to create a healthy and productive work environment.
Healthy Living Workshops
Get the tools you need to live well year-round. From expert nutrition and weight loss advice to exercise and disease prevention strategies, we can help you kick-start your body and embrace a healthy lifestyle. These free workshops are sponsored by Human Resources. For complete details and to register, visit www.hr.upenn.edu/myhr/registration or contact Human Resources at (215) 573-2471 or qowl@hr.upenn.edu
October 2: Gentle Yoga, 10:30-11:30 a.m. Also October 23. Let your body reward itself with movement! Join us for Gentle Yoga. During this session, you will flow into modified sun salutations that loosen those tightened muscles and joints of the lower back, neck, shoulders and wrists. As an added bonus, you’ll get a workout in the process. Mats and props will be provided.
October 5: The first day of Penn’s Be in the Know Biometric Screenings; 9 a.m.-2 p.m. Now in its fourth year, the Be in the Know campaign offers even more ways to learn about your health status and make improvements. In the process you can earn up to $180 (less applicable payroll taxes). Fall Be in the Know biometric screenings are available on campus at various convenient locations, October 5-November 20. All benefits-eligible faculty and staff can participate.
To get started with the Be in the Know campaign, register online at www.hr.upenn.edu/beintheknow for a free and confidential biometric screening. Biometric screenings are conducted by AreUFit Health Services, an experienced worksite health promotion company. The screening should only take 20 minutes. On the spot, you’ll receive your results and learn what they mean from an AreUFit health educator.
October 6: Relaxation Techniques; noon-1 p.m. This workshop will guide participants through relaxation techniques, many of which can be used anywhere—even at work. Techniques covered include: muscle relaxation, breathing techniques, mind imagery and combinations of these.
October 7: Mindfulness Skills Course, October 7 to November 4; noon-1:30 p.m. Also October 16 to November 6; 3:30-5 p.m. The four-week course, offered by Penn’s Employee Assistance Program, is designed to teach the core principles and practices of mindfulness, which include breathing meditation, body scan, sitting meditation and movement meditation. In addition, each class will focus on a theme linking mindfulness, stress and quality of life, and ample time will be devoted to experiential guided meditations. After all, the best way to learn about mindfulness is to practice it ourselves! By answering a few brief questionnaires before and after the skills course, you will have an opportunity to learn if the program has been helpful to you in terms of reducing stress and enhancing mindfulness skills. You may even find yourself more resilient at work and at home. The course emphasizes skill-building and sharing one’s experience with mindfulness practice in a group format.
October 9: Guided Meditation—Take a Breath and Relax; noon-1 p.m. Also October 30. Practice mindful breathing that focuses your attention on the present moment with kindness, compassion and awareness. Self-massage and gentle mindful movements that promote relaxation and reduce stress may also be included in the workshop. No experience is necessary. Sandra Herman, the instructor for the workshop, has 30 years of experience in the fields of social work and health education. She has a special interest and expertise in holistic approaches to stress reduction. Since 2007, she has conducted individual wellness sessions and workshops in stress reduction and smoking cessation for Penn students. These sessions incorporate not only educational and behavioral counseling techniques, but also mind/body awareness practices, including meditation, reiki, guided imagery, self-massage and qigong. Ms. Herman also maintains a private consulting practice with individuals and organizations, where she shares these varied methods for increasing calm and balance in facing life’s many challenges.
October 14: Chair Yoga; noon-1 p.m.; Also October 28. Plenty of people turn to yoga for exercise, but striking a pose isn’t for everyone. If you’ve been tempted to try it but don’t know where to start, it’s time to try chair yoga. Chair yoga is a more moderate form of yoga that’s done while sitting in a chair or using a chair for support. You get the same benefits of a regular yoga workout (like increased strength, flexibility and balance) but don’t have to master complex poses. Chair yoga can even better your breathing and teach you how to relax your mind and improve your wellbeing. Ready to give it a try? Join us for a free Chair Yoga workshop. And don’t worry about your experience or flexibility—chair yoga can be modified for all levels! This workshop will be led by Sergeant John Wylie, Department of Public Safety at Penn.
—Division of Human Resources
Be in the Know Wellness Campaign Begins in October
Be in the Know, Penn’s wellness campaign, kicks off its fourth year this October with even more ways to support faculty and staff in achieving their health and wellness goals. This year, the campaign features the same biometric screenings and online health assessments participants have used in the past to learn more about their current health. New this year, Be in the Know activities will be offered year-round. Participants will also have more Bonus Actions to choose from and more chances to earn cash incentives–up to $180.*
Be in the Know 2015-2016 kicks off with free, on-campus biometric screenings held October 5-November 20. Register today for one of these events at www.hr.upenn.edu/beintheknow
New and expanded features of the campaign help participants make the most of what they learn from the Core Actions (biometric screening and online health assessment):
Year-Round Campaign–Biometric screenings will be held at various times each semester, allowing participants to join the campaign–and earn points toward cash incentives–any time. Be in the Know Bonus Actions will also be offered throughout the campaign year, which runs from October 2015 to August 2016.
Earn Points–and Cash–A new points-based campaign allows participants to earn points toward cash incentives. Complete the Core Actions, and earn $100. The more qualifying Bonus Actions you complete, the more cash you’ll earn. Earn 40 points in Bonus Actions and receive $40. An additional 40 points will get you another $40. In all, you can earn up to $180 with Be in the Know.*
Expanded Bonus Actions–Improve your health and wellbeing (and earn cash) with more qualifying Bonus Actions. They include things you may already do, such as your annual health screening, on-campus Wellness Walks, Penn’s wellness workshops and online educational programs through StayWell, Penn’s wellness partner.
Visit www.hr.upenn.edu/beintheknow for campaign details and updates.
*All cash incentives will be less applicable payroll taxes. You must be an active full- or part-time benefits-eligible faculty or staff member to participate. Bonus Actions may be completed and points earned at any time during the Be in the Know campaign. However, cash incentives will not be awarded until the two Core Actions are completed.