Author: Megan MacGregor

Performance Excellence Resources

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Do you have a Performance Excellence annual review and/or planning meeting coming up soon? Performance Excellence is a collaborative process between MSU support staff and their supervisors that ensures employees are continually developing their skills to contribute to the success of the university. Employees should be meeting regularly with their supervisors to discuss their Performance Excellence development plan and goals for the year. This encourages everyone to stay engaged and allows goals to be adjusted if needed. Whether you are an employee or supervisor, we have resources to help you get the most out of the Performance Excellence process.

Find Tips and Tools on the HR Website

There is a wealth of information available about Performance Excellence on the HR website including:

  • Detailed info about the process
  • Required training
  • Learning opportunities to help meet performance goals
  • Related forms
  • Tips and tools for success

Visit the Performance Excellence webpage and then select whether you’re looking for resources for employees or supervisors.

Professional Development Courses

Are you looking for resources to help you build skills in certain areas? Organization and Professional Development (OPD) offers a variety of instructor-led courses to help you reach performance goals. Find courses on how to thrive through change, manage difficult customers, or identify and maximize your strengths, among many others! Find a list of all current OPD courses here.

Supervisors can also find courses to help them navigate the Performance Excellence process, including this upcoming course:

And remember, eligible employees have access to Educational Assistance for any course registration fees.

Online Resources through elevateU

No time to attend an in-person course? No problem! elevateU is a free online learning platform available 24/7 for MSU employees with courses, books and videos to assist with skill building. Resources cover a variety of topics and you can print off a learning transcript to show your supervisor a list of resources you’ve completed. Learn more and access elevateU here.

Questions? Contact the HR Solutions Center at SolutionsCenter@hr.msu.edu or 517-353-4434.

Reimbursement for a Non-Credit Learning Opportunity

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As an MSU benefits-eligible support staff employee, you have access to Educational Assistance. This benefit offers financial assistance towards your professional development after you’ve worked at MSU for an equivalent of 12 full-time service months. If you work less than full-time, the benefit is prorated based on your employment percentage.

You may receive up to $900 per year to use towards registration costs for a variety of non-credit learning opportunities, including trainings, seminars, workshops, conferences and courses. You will need to submit an Educational Assistance application to request financial assistance. You can access the Educational Assistance application in the EBS Portal under the My Career and Training tab. The learning opportunity must be considered job-related and from an approved institution/program to be approved for financial assistance.

You will need to upload two documents to your Educational Assistance application to receive reimbursement:

  1. Proof of Payment: The registration costs will need to be paid up front by either you or your department before you receive reimbursement. Make sure to submit proof of payment that clearly shows whether you or your department should be receiving the reimbursement. If you paid for the learning opportunity, you should upload a receipt that clearly shows you paid. If your department paid, you will need to obtain either the procurement card statement or the department operating statement (this would depend on the method of payment that was used) from your department’s fiscal officer.
  2. Proof of Attendance/Completion: There are a variety of documents that you can upload for proof of attendance, including a certificate of completion, formal email/letter of congratulations for completing or attending the learning opportunity, or confirmation of your registration if no other documentation was issued/provided.

PLEASE NOTE: Courses that you register for through the Courses for MSU Employees application in the EBS portal, such as Organization and Professional Development courses or MSU IT courses, do not require an Educational Assistance application. For these courses, you just need to select Educational Assistance as your form of payment when you register.

The Educational Assistance benefit also offers financial assistance for credit courses, which you can learn more about in this previous blog post. Find detailed information about Educational Assistance on the HR website. Questions? We’re happy to help! Contact the HR Solutions Center at SolutionsCenter@hr.msu.edu or 517-353-4434.

How to Get the Most Out of Classroom Training

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This post was written by Kathie Elliott, Sr. HR Professional for Organization and Professional Development.

It’s Tuesday morning, and you realize you’re scheduled to attend a course which you completely forgot about until this moment. You arrive late, and the rest of the class is talking about the pre-work they completed and brought with them. As you grab an open chair, you feel your phone buzz and see a text from your co-worker. You are late and feel unprepared and distracted.

At your table, you contribute very little and try to avoid the facilitator’s eye. Four hours later you leave and feel you were too distracted by the work day’s emails piling up and your feeling of unpreparedness to focus on what you were supposed to learn.

Sound nothing like you? Great! Still, do you have a nagging feeling that you could be getting more out of your training opportunities? Read on for tips.

BEFORE TRAINING

  1. Confirm Logistics: Know the location/time of the course and verify directions. Be sure to add in time for unexpected delays, like confusing Google directions or if you are supposed to be at Nisbet or at the Henry Center, Kellogg Center or other common locations. To be safe, check your email and junk mail for any class updates.
  2. Clear Your Calendar: Leave time for the class and a little time after in case you want to network or ask the facilitator a question. And give yourself time in the office afterward to think about what you learned, digest all that new information, and consider how to apply it. 
  3. Limit Distractions: Let your co-workers and family know that you’ll be attending a course that day and to not expect you to answer any calls or emails right away. Make sure you change your out of office message for your phone and email. Limit physical distractions by making sure you are rested, fed, hydrated, caffeinated, and prepared for fluctuating classroom temperatures. Favorite beverage, special dietary items, comfortable but appropriate clothing can enhance your learning experience.
  4. Bring Your Learning Mindset: Be a co-creator of your learning experience by coming prepared to learn relevant, immediately applicable skills. Many facilitators will send out reminder emails in the days leading up to the class with any prework or final notes. Then, try setting some goals for yourself. What are a few questions that you want answered? Do you want to meet and network with others in similar positions?

DURING TRAINING

Since you’ve taken steps to limit distractions and discomfort, you’re all set to be an engaged learner. If you need a push to stay attentive, try asking one of your prepared questions, offer to be the spokesperson for your table, or jot down a couple notes to share with a co-worker later. If you’re more visually inclined, why not try visual note-taking? Visual note-taking – which uses a combination of images and text to help synthesize info – is a creative way to pay attention and capture/group the info you’re learning in class so you remember it better later.

AFTER TRAINING 

Learning really doesn’t happen until it’s applied. Develop a post-training action plan and stick to it. In the amount of time it would take for you to brew a pot of coffee, you could jot down your top takeaways, action steps and goals, obstacles, resources and strategies, and how to keep yourself on track. Before you know it, you’ll be a hero at work for your willingness to learn new skills and share them with others

Options for Using Your Educational Assistance Benefit

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Are you an MSU support staff employee looking for professional development opportunities? There are a variety of ways for you to learn and grow in your career at MSU. If you find a course or learning opportunity you’re interested in, don’t forget you have access to Educational Assistance! This benefit offers financial assistance towards your professional development after you’ve worked at MSU for an equivalent of 12 full-time service months. If you work less than full-time, the benefit is prorated based on your employment percentage.

You may receive financial assistance for a variety of learning opportunities. For non-credit learning opportunities, you may have up to $800 per year to use towards registration fees. It must be considered job-related and from an approved institution/program to receive assistance. Some examples of learning opportunities you can use this benefit for include:

For credit courses, you can receive up to 14 credits per academic year. Your financial assistance level is determined by your union group, the type of course you’re taking (graduate or undergraduate), and where you’re taking the course (MSU or another university). The course must be considered job-related, degree-related, or career/professional development-related.

Find detailed information about Educational Assistance – including how to apply – on the HR website. Questions? We’re happy to help! Contact the HR Solutions Center at SolutionsCenter@hr.msu.edu or 517-353-4434.

Please note: Academic Specialists have a program similar to Educational Assistance, please see the HR website for details.

Resources for New Supervisors

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Are you a recently appointed or newly hired supervisor or manager? Whether you’re brand new to your leadership role or an experienced supervisor looking for resources to develop your skills, there are tools available to help you. Information is available in various formats to fit your schedule and learning style including in-person courses, online resources and toolkits on the HR website.

Professional Development Courses

  • Fundamentals of Supervision on April 24
    Supervisors are a main determinant of overall performance, retention and morale in an organization. Participants with less than three years of supervisory experience will learn fundamental skills on how a supervisor adds value to the organization, how to move from peer to supervisor, tips to build communication skills and more. Learn more about the Fundamentals of Supervision course.
  • New Supervisor Essentials on May 22
    This course is for recently appointed or newly hired supervisors and managers of support staff. You will learn key tools you can use in your new role as a supervisor and a panel of supervisors will be available to answer your questions and share lessons learned. The Office of Employee Relations will also give an overview of important information that every supervisor at MSU needs to know. Learn more about the New Supervisor Essentials course.
  • Foundations of Student Employee Supervision Certificate Series starts June 19
    This four-session certificate series is designed for MSU professionals looking to enhance their skills in supervising and leading student employees. The series focuses on skill building and understanding the unique needs and challenges inherent in overseeing the work of student employees. These courses can also be taken individually, but you’ll need to attend all four to receive the certificate. Learn more about the Foundations of Student Employee Supervision Certificate series.

Online Resources with elevateU
The elevateU portal is full of online resources including eBooks, videos, courses and more – all available to you for free 24/7. Want to learn more about optimizing team performance, cultivating creativity or processing change? You’ll find resources on these topics and much more in the elevateU portal. Use these tools to help you build your own skillset as a new supervisor or share these resources with your team to help them reach their professional goals. Learn more about elevateU and access here.

Toolkits on the HR Website
The HR website contains a wealth of information useful to those in a supervisory role, including toolkits for various processes. Whether you have questions about how to hire support staff, want an overview of benefits options or need to know deadlines for payroll processing, these toolkits are available to assist you. Find toolkits for supervisors on the HR website.

Don’t Wait to Start Saving for Retirement

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For younger MSU employees, creating a comprehensive retirement savings plan may not be a top priority. Why should you plan for your retirement now when that day is 30 to 40 years in the future? But the young have a huge advantage when it comes to saving money for retirement: more time. This additional time allows the young to potentially benefit the most from compounding, which may lead to greater savings down the road.

How Compounding Works
Compounding basically means allowing an investment to earn money while continually reinvesting those earnings over time. The more time you have, the smaller your original investment may need to be. In the hypothetical example below, a 25-year-old starts saving $5,000 annually ($416 per month) and a 40-year-old starts saving twice as much but waits until age 40 ($833 per month). 

The 25-year-old ends up contributing less money over time – $200,000 versus $250,000 – but ends up with a higher balance: $798,735 versus $566,317. In other words, the 25-year-old contributes $50,000 less but ends up with $232,000 more than the 40-year-old who waited to save.

As this example shows, younger investors may benefit from saving as much as possible as soon as possible. MSU offers two voluntary savings plans: the 403(b) Supplemental Retirement Plan and the 457(b) Deferred Compensation Program. Starting to save earlier in either plan means contributing a smaller percentage of income and potentially earning more than if you wait until you’re older to contribute. So while retirement may be a long way off, the choices you make today can have a dramatic, long-lasting difference.

You can learn more about MSU’s voluntary savings plans on the HR website, including information about how to enroll or make changes to your retirement plan contributions. MSU employees can change their contributions at any time throughout the year. Reference this Retirement Plan Comparison document to see the differences between the 403(b) Supplemental Retirement Plan and the 457(b) Deferred Compensation Program.

Of course, remember that investment returns are not guaranteed and will fluctuate — in some years you may have gains, and in other years you may have losses. But over time, any investment that has a net gain will have benefited from compounding.

Important Information: Please note, the example above is a hypothetical illustration only and is not intended to represent the past or future performance of any investment. The example assumes contributions are made monthly at a 6% annual effective rate, compounded monthly. and no withdrawals. Actual performance will vary with market conditions. Investing involves risk. There is no assurance that the goals will be met or that the solution or strategy will be successful.

Questions? We’re here to help! Contact the Solutions Center at SolutionsCenter@hr.msu.edu or 517-353-4434.

This article was written in partnership with TIAA.

Job of the Week – Editor/Graphic Designer

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This weeks’ job of the week is an Editor/Graphic Designer (#563294) for the Intercollegiate Athletics department.

The responsibilities for this role include determining and creating content, promotional materials and graphic elements to design and produce materials that reflect the mission and image of the MSU football program. The individual must be able to maintain contact with printers, editors, and clients to monitor production deadlines and budgets. Other responsibilities would include training student employees, recommending the reprinting, revision or discontinuance of publications, and coordinating the distribution of materials.

The ideal candidate would possess knowledge acquired by completing a four-year college degree program in Journalism, English, Graphic Design, Public Relations, Marketing, or related Liberal Arts program; three to five years of related and progressively more responsible or expansive work experience in reporting, writing, editing, proofing, graphic design, photography, research, public relations; or an equivalent combination of education and experience.

For more details on the responsibilities of this position, and to view all our current postings, visit careers.msu.edu. Internal applicants should access postings through the Careers @ MSU tile in the EBS Portal.

Register for Upcoming Roadmap to Retirement Courses

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Are you thinking about retiring from MSU in the next 1-2 years? Thank you for your years of service to the university! We want you to feel prepared for this next stage in your life. To support you, we offer courses, tools and resources to help you plan for your retirement, including the Roadmap to Retirement course.

“We know it can be overwhelming to think about all of the things to consider when retiring. Based on our years of experience helping MSU employees, we’ve designed the half-day Roadmap to Retirement course to provide you with some of the most important information you will need as you prepare for this exciting transition to your next chapter in life,” says Dan Mackey, Human Resources Manager and Retirement Administrator.

This course gives you a chance to ask retirement experts questions and covers a range of topics critical to your successful retirement, including:

  • Your MSU benefits in retirement
  • An overview of Social Security
  • Financial preparation tips for retirement.

This half-day course is free to MSU faculty and staff. There are two Roadmap to Retirement courses available on Wednesday, August 7: a morning session from 8:30 am – Noon and an afternoon session from 1:00 – 4:30 p.m.

Ready to Register?

To register for Roadmap to Retirement, login to the EBS Portal and click on the My Career and Training tab, then the Courses for Employees at MSU tile. Find a complete list of available OPD courses on the HR website.

Retirement Resources on the HR Website

If you are unable to attend the Roadmap to Retirement course detailed above, there are a variety of webinars and online tools available on the HR website. The webinars on this page include the same presentation slides that are shared during the Roadmap to Retirement course.

Questions? We’re here to help! Contact the Solutions Center at SolutionsCenter@hr.msu.edu or 517-353-4434.

Courses in February to Improve Workplace Communication

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Being able to communicate effectively with your co-workers is key to a successful and engaged workplace. When you can share your ideas openly and understand your co-workers’ views in return, you’re more likely to feel happier at work. Yet, oftentimes there are certain barriers that can make communication difficult, like personality or work style differences. If you have a better understanding of your own work and personality styles – and can identify different styles in others – you can start to bridge any gaps of misunderstanding and ultimately communicate more effectively.

We have a variety of courses available in February for MSU employees related to improving communication:

Everything DiSC: Behavior Styles at Work
Have you ever had a co-worker or boss who you could not even begin to understand? Even when you ask them questions, you’re still unsure what they need or want. Most of us have felt this way at one time or another. The course EverythingDiSC: Behavior Styles at Work is designed to help you understand yourself and other people better by giving you an understanding of different behavioral work styles.

Before the course, you will take a simple online assessment to learn your DiSC style, which is your unique work behavior style. During the class, you’ll gain a deeper understanding of how your style relates to others and tools to help you connect better with co-workers whose priorities and preferences differ from yours.

Honing Your Emotional Intelligence
The essence of emotional intelligence (also known as EQ or EI) is our ability to identify and manage our own emotions and to identify emotions in others. In today’s high-stress, multi-tasking workplace, having a high EQ can lead to better stress management, stronger relationships with better communication and increased job satisfaction. The Honing Your Emotional Intelligence course will show you tools to master the principles found within EQ. Specifically, this course will focus on:

  • Why EQ is an essential competency in today’s work world.
  • How to fully engage the four fundamental areas of EQ: self-awareness, self-management, social awareness and relationship management.
  • How to increase your EQ.
  • Why EQ has a direct impact on job satisfaction and performance excellence.

Thriving Through Change
Change is inevitable and being able to communicate effectively through change will help ease the transition process. This course will define what change is and help you understand the stages and reactions to change. Learn techniques and strategies to help you cope with stress and manage the process successfully.

Ready to Register?
To register, login to the EBS Portal and click on the My Career and Training tab, then the Courses for Employees at MSU tile. Find a complete list of available OPD courses on the HR website.

Creating Professional or Personal Development Goals that Stick

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Did you make a New Year’s resolution? The start of a new year inspires people to make big changes to improve their lives. Unfortunately, that goal we set on January 1 can start to look pretty daunting a couple weeks later when the initial buzz of new year motivation wears off. It’s not uncommon for goals to be forgotten or abandoned. In fact, for those who make New Year’s resolutions, 80% fail to stick to their goal by February (Jantz, 2018). If you’re struggling to maintain your New Year’s resolution, don’t give up hope yet. This just means it’s time to recalibrate or redefine your goal, and we’ve got tips and tools to help.

Identify Why a Goal is Meaningful to You
At the start of a new year, people are inspired to commit to lofty goals they’ve previously never been able to achieve. Common goals include lose weight, save money, learn a new skill and find a new job (Economy, 2019). Unfortunately, that initial rush of inspiration is only temporary, which is why most end up losing interest after a couple weeks. Motivation alone cannot push you to achieve a goal, learn a new skill, or change a habit. And if your goal is too vague, you’re likely to forget about it come February.

When you’re curious about a goal, you must ask yourself why you want to achieve it – and then keep asking yourself why until you get to the root of why this goal is meaningful to you. Leadership and career coach Lisa Rogoff explains, “You’d be surprised at how many [goals] are grounded in values and purpose. And when you can surface that meaning and give it a voice, a simple goal shifts into a mission. With your why front and center, it’s almost impossible to turn your back and not go after it.” When you identify the personal value and meaning behind a goal you increase your likelihood of achieving it. Read Rogoff’s full article.

Get help identifying a meaningful professional development goal by visiting the Explore Your Learning Needs page or the Sample Goals for Different Roles page on the HR website.

Get SMART.
After you’ve identified your goal and why it’s meaningful to you, it’s time to make it SMART: Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Timely. The SMART method helps you make a detailed plan with clear objectives to achieve your goal. Learn more about SMART goals.

Be Accountable.
If you have a professional development goal, try sharing it with your supervisor or incorporating it into your Performance Excellence plan (for support staff). Check in with your supervisor periodically to make sure you’re hitting your objectives and making progress. If you’re not sure how to broach the subject, visit the Requesting and Accepting Feedback page for tips to start the conversation.

Stay Inspired with Resources on Campus.
As an MSU employee, you have a variety of resources available to help you create lasting change and achieve your goals:

  • Take a professional development course on one of the many subjects offered through Organization and Professional Development. For support or academic staff with 12 full-time service months, don’t forget you can use your Educational Assistance benefit for any fees.
  • Use the FREE online elevateU resources – books, videos, courses and more!
  • The WorkLife Office offers tons of resources and programs to help MSU employees navigate the workplace, their careers and life transitions.
  • The Academic Advancement Network provides programs, opportunities, and events for faculty, academic staff and academic administrators.
  • The MSU Health4U program offers health-related articles, cooking classes, coaching, and health/wellness events.
  • The MSU Library provides events and classes on a variety of interesting subjects to staff and faculty.

Economy, P. (2019, January 01). 10 Top New Year’s Resolutions for Success and Happiness in 2019. Retrieved from https://www.inc.com/peter-economy/10-top-new-years-resolutions-for-success-happiness-in-2019.html

Jantz, D. G. (2018, January 03). This Year’s Resolution. Retrieved from https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/this-years-resolution_us_5a4cff60e4b0d86c803c7b1b

Rogoff, L. (n.d.). The Best Goals Start With ‘Why’. Retrieved from https://advice.shinetext.com/articles/the-best-goals-start-with-why/