PULLMAN, Wash. – Orientation sessions offered to new Washington State University employees, and hosted by Human Resource Services, are being enhanced starting this month. Originating in Pullman, sessions are regularly available to employees statewide via AMS Videoconferencing Services. Schedules are posted at http://hrs.wsu.edu/OrientationSchedule.
It is important to remember that new faculty and staff have 30 days from their hire date to make many of their benefit decisions, including selection of their medical/dental plans and retirement benefits.
* New Employee Orientation (NEO) has been revised to incorporate the PEBB benefit package review, which includes medical, dental, life and disability insurance information.
NEO sessions occur 8:30 a.m.-noon on scheduled dates. They provide new employees with an overview of WSU processes and resources, as well as information on payroll, employment basics, leave processes and benefits.
* New Employee Retirement Orientation (NERO) has been created to cover information about retirement plans available to new employees. Plan offerings have changed, and they differ based on employee classification.
To best accommodate new employees, NERO will offer separate sessions based on employee type. Faculty and administrative professional employee retirement information will be covered during sessions 1:30-2:30 p.m., while civil service and hourly employee retirement information will be covered during sessions 3-4 p.m.
* Two custom online courses have been developed to assist new employees in the early stages of their WSU careers. To further assist with reaching new employees and to allow for flexibility with schedules, they are available to all employees 24/7 and at all work locations through the WSU Online Training System (http://www.hrs.wsu.edu/skillsoft).
Employee Benefits Orientation provides complete information on the available medical and dental plans as well as life insurance, long term disability and dependent care assistance options. New Employee Orientation includes information regarding payroll, parking, leave policies, systems access, safety and other areas of significance to new hires.
It is important to note that the online sessions do not include retirement information. New employees accessing NEO or EBO online should still participate in the new employee retirement orientations.