UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — As the inaugural summit of the Penn State University Staff Advisory Council (USAC) drew to a close, the gathered staff members thundered their hands against the table in a dramatic drum roll as communications committee chair Stacie Chandler prepared to deliver the summit’s key announcement.
“USAC presents … Positive Paws!” Chandler declared. “We’ve heard about staff sometimes feeling underappreciated; we know about it, we talk about it. So what we can do about it is lift each other up, be appreciative, and acknowledge what we do for each other.”
The idea behind the new Positive Paws initiative is a simple one: USAC sent each attendee of the summit home with sticky notes emblazoned with a “positive paw,” and encouraged members to use them to write a short note of thanks for their colleagues, whether it’s for help with a project, going above and beyond the call of duty, or just brightening their day with a positive attitude.
“It’s a little thing, but people like knowing that their actions have made a difference in someone’s day,” Chandler said. “Something simple like this can go a long way toward fostering a welcoming and positive environment.”
In addition to the unveiling of Positive Paws, the summit also featured information about resources for employees to start a staff advisory council in their individual units, discussing and brainstorming common issues facing University staff, and reports from staff sharing success stories of using staff retreats and other tools to boost morale and productivity.
“Our first summit has been a huge success,” said Jeanine Hanes, USAC chair-elect. “An event like this helps us individually in realizing that we’re all facing the same kinds of issues and challenges, and allows us to build bridges and work closer together now and into the future.”
Mark Belowski, a member of the campuses committee, shared a presentation on resources available to staff members who wish to form staff advisory councils at their individual units and campuses. The resources available to USAC members include guidelines for getting started, templates and printed materials, contact information for key USAC contacts, and useful web links — making it easier than ever for staff to form an advisory council.
Jennifer Shultz and Matthew White of the Penn State Harrisburg Staff Advisory Council also shared their successes with a new initiative they helped pioneer at their campus: a comprehensive onboarding program for all new Penn State Harrisburg staff members.
“The first 90 days are the most critical for new employees, but, unfortunately, there wasn’t a consistent opportunity for staff at our campus to benefit from an official orientation,” White said.
They responded by developing an online onboarding guide that gathers all the information and resources a new employee might need into a single place, including a step-by-step new employee checklist, setting up new employees for success from day one. To complement this information, they also developed an orientation program offered three times a year that connects new employees to their colleagues, covers a crash course on Penn State history, and walks through the timeline of an average student from the time of their high school graduation to their graduation from Penn State.
“It’s been great because it really grounds them in the sense that, at the end of the day, we are here for the students, and reminds them to bring that into their day-to-day work,” White said. “It also lets us bring in that sense of ‘We are!’ and what it means to be a part of the Penn State community.”
Hanes said that she looks forward to hearing how USAC members implemented the ideas and tools discussed at the summit in their individual areas at next year’s second annual summit.
“Everyone has been very excited to participate and been very engaged, which is wonderful,” Hanes said. “I don’t think we’ll have any trouble filling the room next year.”