With nearly 6,000 full- and part-time faculty and 16,800 students, Dalhousie University is bigger than most Nova Scotian towns including Amherst, Kentville, New Glasgow and Truro.
And, like those places, Dal strives to maintain a friendly, small-town feeling where people know each other and are proud to say where they work and study.
One of the ways the university does that is by rolling out the welcome mat for new employees with orientation sessions. The informal sessions are held monthly and provide an overview of the institution, with facilitators imparting information on everything from Dalhousie President Tom Traves’s strategic focus and the university’s brand to where to park and how to get a Dal card. Generally held the last Friday of each month, the sessions are put on by Human Resources.
Personal greeting
Depending on attendance, there’s “a big show or a little show,” explains Janice Godin, who tag teams the sessions with Angela MacMaster. The smaller, more informal sessions take place around a large table; the bigger sessions often have guest speakers and include a campus tour. In either case, Dr. Traves or one of the vice presidents are on hand to greet personally new employees.
“We decided to hold the sessions each month, as opposed to once every three or four months as it was in the past,” says Ms. Godin, with Human Resources’ Employee and Organizational Development office. “Whether there are three new employees or 30, they’re all important to us.”
The idea is to make everyone feel welcome. “We want to introduce them to the institution and help them to feel connected, so that they can see where their contribution fits in with the university’s larger goals,” she adds.
There’s a lot of information to go through. Besides the items already mentioned, other topics discussed include who’s who in senior administration, Dal’s Faculties and Colleges, services for employees, university policies and how to stay connected through services such as Dal News and Notice Digest.
In her new job for four weeks, Ayse Dai-Gammon is thrilled to be working at Dalhousie.
“Dalhousie is a great employer,” says Ms. Dai-Gammon, who works in Management Career Services at the Faculty of Management. “The things that Dal stands for—striving for excellence, developing students, teamwork, professional development—are all things I identify with.”
“Because Dal is so large, there are so many things to learn about the organization,” she says. “I think the organized welcome is a good idea.”
Graphic designer Brenna MacNeil says the session illustrated for her that while Dal is large, it is not impersonal.
“What I realized is that Dal has so much to offer beyond my small office,” says Ms. MacNeil, who has worked in Creative Services, part of the Communications & Marketing Office, since January. “Yes, Dal is a big place but if you need info, there’s a person to talk to. They want to help and they’re quick to respond.”
If there’s any criticism of the sessions, it’s that they didn’t offer even more information. Ms. Dai-Gammon suggests additional sessions depending on employee group for details about benefits, pension and professional development opportunities. She also thought a meet-and-greet session between new and not-so-new employees would be helpful.
Input welcome
And perhaps some of those not-so-new employees could check out an orientation session too?
“Everyone’s always welcome to attend,” says Jim Neale, director of Employee and Organizational Development, Human Resources. “After all, things may have changed since you first arrived or maybe you need to reignite the flame or there are things you’ve always wanted to ask about the institution. If so, we’d love to have you.”
The next new employee orientation takes place Friday, May 27 from 9 a.m. to 12 noon. (There’s also a session on Wednesday, May 18 in Saint John, N.B. for employees of Dalhousie Medicine New Brunswick.) Registration takes place online. Please see the full list of Learning and Development Opportunities at: https://events-eod.dal.ca/.
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