Introduction Hiring good people to work on your research projects is paramount to project success. The Research Office has compiled information on what you need to do during the hiring process and created a section on onboarding for professional staff, many pieces of which can apply to student workers as well. One of the aims of the required New Project Kick-off Meetings is for researchers to discuss planned staff and student hires for their projects. Inside you’ll find information on: • Hiring graduate research assistants • Hiring student hourly workers • Hiring professional staff • Onboarding professional staff
Notifications of new employees should be sent to the following individuals as soon as an offer has been accepted and a start date confirmed: Position Assistant to the Dean Administrative Assistant Senior for SSW Assistant Dean IT Administrator Business Director Marketing Director Associate Dean for Research
Name Vicki Keling Cheri L’Ecuyer Kristin Trendel Todd Isaac Elenor Buffington Valerie Hawley Amy Mendenhall
How Involved Information to the dean Management of keys Office space Office space, access, equipment Coordination with HR, payroll Website Head of research
University of Kansas School of Social Welfare
Hiring & Onboarding on Research Projects
Hiring Students Students at the undergraduate and graduate levels provide a valuable resource to investigators on sponsored projects. Their contributions not only teach them valuable skills but also further the research aims of the project(s) they are working on. Here are steps on hiring students to work on your project(s).
Graduate Research Assistants
Annually each winter, there is a School planning meeting to discuss doc student funding for the following academic year. An email is sent out to all researchers to determine their plans for continuing to fund current students and potential for funding new students. Additionally, a call for GRAs will go out prior to the start of each semester. Respond to that email with hiring intentions for GRAs so that the paperwork can be started in the system. The information requested will include:
Dates of employment - entire semester or other dates?
Appointment details – either the FTE or the number of hours the student will be working weekly
If research is funded, which project should pay the student’s wages and tuition
How the duties of the appointment relate to the student’s education. The following statement will be used for GRAs unless you supply something different: The GRA position will increase the student's knowledge about research processes and will assist the student in further developing the research skills necessary for dissertation research.
Once hired, provide GRAs with a copy of the GRA Orientation Guidebook for onboarding purposes. NOTE: All students will receive the offer via their KU email, so it’s important they are checking that account. They cannot begin working until the onboarding is complete.
Student Hourly Workers
Student hourly workers can be hired on sponsored projects without Dean approval, however, if the plan includes a pay rate of higher than $11/hr the Dean will need to review for equity. Send a request to hire a student worker via email to Elenor Buffington and Amy Mendenhall. When the position is ready to post, reach out to the SSC HR contact. They will need: 1. A position description 2. Funding information 3. Timeframe for posting the position - minimum posting is 3 days For all student positions, the SCC HR contact will put the posting together and notify the supervisor once it’s posted. After all of the interviews have been conducted and a candidate chosen, email the HR student hiring summary to the HR contact so they can put the job offer out to the chosen candidate. For GRAs: Once hired, please refer to the GRA Handbook for guidance on employment matters and provide a copy to the student worker. NOTE: All students will receive the offer via their KU email, so it’s important they are checking that account. They cannot begin working until the onboarding is complete.
atwoodj |S:\Research\Research Office\1 Research Toolbox\3 Research Policy\Hiring and Onboarding on Research Projects.docx
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University of Kansas School of Social Welfare
Hiring & Onboarding on Research Projects
Hiring Professional Staff Professional staff members help elevate any team and provide a valuable resource to students and colleagues working on sponsored projects. They are often able to leverage past experiences to add expertise to the project(s) they are working on. Here are steps on hiring professional staff to work on your project(s).
Roles
SCC HR faculty/staff coordinator (HR contact): Individual at the SCC who takes care of all HR matters & serves as a resource for questions during this process. They do all job postings, collecting all paperwork and answering any questions you may have.
Hiring committee coordinator (hiring manager): Typically the supervisor, they are responsible for liaising with the SCC HR contact, writing the position description, contacting candidates for interviews, contacting chosen candidates, negotiating salary and, if the supervisor, ensuring smooth onboarding for the new employee.
Hiring/Search committee: A group of faculty/staff the candidate would be working for or with. These members should attend all interviews and stay consistent throughout the process.
Steps to Hiring
Professional staff members help elevate any team and provide a valuable resource to students and colleagues working on sponsored projects. They are often able to leverage past experiences to add expertise to the project(s) they are working on. Here are steps on hiring professional staff to work on your project(s). The hiring of any staff positions, regardless of funding source, must be reviewed and approved by the Dean. Send all requests to Elenor Buffington & Amy Mendenhall. When the position is ready to post, reach out to the HR contact. They will need: 1. A position description 2. Staff Posting Form/Search Checklist 3. Timeframe for posting the position- minimum posting is 10 days 4. Names and emails for the search committee members so they can access Brass Ring The HR contact will put the posting together and notify the supervisor of the position once it’s posted. They can screen for complete applications upon request (resume, cover letter, references). The hiring committee will have access to the applicants in Brass Ring and will need to review the materials, decide who to interview, set up interviews and conduct interviews. Wait until after the posting has closed before you contact candidates for interviews. Please give interviewees plenty of date/time options for their interview and provide free parking via KU Parking if they are not already located on campus. All interviews should include the same people from SSW and ask candidates the same questions. A written list of questions provided during the interview is a good idea. As is providing the names of everyone who will be interviewing with the candidate when the interview is set up. After a candidate is selected for hire, email the HR contact so they can put the job offer out to the chosen candidate. After the position has been filled, the hiring committee coordinator needs to contact anyone who was interviewed to let that person know the outcome of the process. The SCC HR contact will send out a system notification to any of the candidates who were not interviewed to let them know the position has been filled. The hiring manager should collect interview materials from the rest of the group, scan them & send them to the SCC HR contact. KU policies require materials to be kept for 62 years, which the SCC can do. NOTE: The employee cannot begin working until the onboarding is complete.
atwoodj |S:\Research\Research Office\1 Research Toolbox\3 Research Policy\Hiring and Onboarding on Research Projects.docx
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University of Kansas School of Social Welfare
Hiring & Onboarding on Research Projects
Onboarding Professional Staff It’s important that new employees feel welcome when they begin work with a new organization. Studies have shown that a strong onboarding process is key to overall employee retention. Here a few tips from a seasoned supervisor on some steps you can take on behalf of your new employee.
Before They Begin Work
Once a new hire has been selected, the supervisor should make a space request to assign that person to a work area. That form can be found at: swintranet.ku.edu/resources/space-request-form Check their new office before day one to make sure the basics- a chair, desk, computer- are there. Make sure they have all the furniture items needed in their office and connect them to KU surplus if there’s anything they need. Contact KUSSW IT so that all technology needs can be addressed before their first day. Also, set-up a time with them to meet with KUSSW IT during their first days to train on any new/unfamiliar systems. Creating an agenda for their first week or two is helpful as they try to learn their new job. If the supervisor won’t be available during those first few days, delegate a mentor for your new employee to go to with questions. Schedule time for them to meet with key contacts once they start
First Day
Ensure the employee is able to complete all onboarding with central HR before beginning any actual work. This many times means they will need to visit HR on their first day.
Take them around and introduce them to the people in the building and others they will be interfacing with often. It’s also customary for the supervisor to take the new employee out to lunch on their first day. Maybe lunch with the entire project or group would be a good idea.
First Weeks – Share Policies & Procedures Around Basic Items Like: School of Social Welfare specifically
Details on key contacts they’ll need Make sure they know how to print to the nearest copier Ordering office supplies KUSSW intranet Reserving a conference room at KUSSW If research staff, make sure they know where the Research Toolbox is located on the S:drive. Basic information on KUSSW (strategic plan, org chart, employee directory)
University of Kansas in general
Information on Parking at KU: www.parking.ku.edu Filling out Time Sheets How the KU My Talent system works How to set up items like Zoom, Skype & Qualtrics through the KU systems Make sure they know about training and professional development opportunities through KU IT, Human Resources & KU Libraries Information on KU in general, especially if they are not coming directly from another department within KU. Access to Staff Handbook: www2.ku.edu/~irsurvey/hlc2015/Handbooks_KU_USS_Handbook.pdf or policy.ku.edu/sites/policy.ku.edu/files/FacultyandUnclassifiedStaffHandbook_20170119_0.pdf Information on Benefits: humanresources.ku.edu/benefits Information on the Ombudsman Office: ombuds.ku.edu
atwoodj |S:\Research\Research Office\1 Research Toolbox\3 Research Policy\Hiring and Onboarding on Research Projects.docx
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