Supervising College Work-Study Employees and Part-Time Employees

A. Interview Process

When interviewing decide whether you want someone with skills or without skills.
Do you have the time and patience to teach them?
What will you need them to do?
Put together a job description before the interview.
Decide what skills are necessary for that job.
Create behavioral interviewing questions based on those skills.
Tell them up front what will be expected of them.
Have them tell you examples of work they have done.

B. First Day of Work

Human Resources Paperwork – must be done on their first day
Orientation – will be explained in Part C below
Expectations – will be explained in Part D below
Job Description – give them a copy
Resources – where are the items they will need to complete the work
Any Training – this is always considered work time
Meet with them Regularly – on the first day and then afterwards
Online Training – need to complete the four mandated trainings (EEO, Sexual Harassment, Protecting Social Security Numbers and Computer Usage) you might want to have them take the Customer Service one

C. Orientation

Provide tour or department (staff, positions, responsibilities)
Talk about confidentiality
Provide mission statement of your department
Provide organizational charts (department and UTB/TSC)
Explain procedures (signing in/out, absences, mail routing/delivery, telephone techniques, customer service)
Explain processes (paperwork, web site, FAQs, acronyms for your department)
Show where equipment is located (keys, supplies, fax, copiers, shredder)
Explain emergency procedures (get an emergency contact number from them, fire exits, extinguisher locations, pull boxes, how to contact Campus Police)
Explain reporting (chain of command)
Explain golf cart (must take training and go through Campus Police to become an approved driver before they drive the carts)

D. Expectations (sample to be explained to them)

Provide quality customer service
Learn new skills and enhance basic office skills
Report the same as any other employee
Ask if someone needs assistance if you have not been assigned anything to do
Ask for assistance if you do not understand an assignment
Complete assignments neatly and fully. If you are unable to complete something you need to notify the person who gave you the assignment
Be ethical – make sure they understand what this means
Attend any scheduled training assigned

E. What Not to Do

F. Documenting Progress

Document the good, the bad and the ugly
If there is no progress then you need to express that to them
Bad days (we all have them) – apologize to them for your behavior
When meeting with them give them facts, not opinions
Meet for both good and bad reports and for them to express any questions, concerns or problems.

G. Discipline

H. Termination

Before any termination there should be documented timelines and lack of progress. You don’t have to wait until the end of the Memorandum of Employment or the semester if the employee isn’t working out to your satisfaction.
Unless there is something major (sexual harassment, violence, etc.) then contact Human Resources
Wait until the end of the semester if it is close to it or to the end of the four months on the Memorandum of Employment
Meet with them at the end of each semester to determine if they are coming back
For College Work-Study employees you will need to complete a student employee termination form for the Financial Aid Office

I. Tips from Work-Study employees and Part-Time employees

Let us know who to go to in case you are not there
Show us where to sign in and out
Show us where the supplies are
Let us know who to tell if something should not work properly
Give us examples of past work to use as a guide
Give us a list of acronyms that are used in your office
Tell us the dress code for your department (give us examples of what is appropriate and not appropriate)
Teach us how to use the office equipment properly
Know our school schedules and be flexible during finals
Let us know departmental procedures and rules

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