The On-Boarding Ambassador's Role

 

The "GO TO" PEOPLE Your department will assign an On-Boarding AMBASSADOR who will serve as the “go-to person” for all admin and basic logistical orientation to work questions including logistical issues, show you around, introduce you to people in the department, escort you to payroll, HR, and other designated areas.   Your Ambassador could be your chair, division director, department administrator, administrative assistant or anyone within your department best qualified to handle this responsibility. Once on-board your chair should assist with finding you a MENTOR, the faculty member who will be your “go-to person” with professional questions and career issues.  In many situations more than one MENTOR is assigned but only one will oversee your career through promotion.

On-Boarding Ambassadors should hold an "administrative support position" in the department if someone other than the administrator.  The individual does not necessarily need to be the new hire's administrative assistant, just someone who is personable and eager to assist a new faculty member with becoming comfortable and productive in their new role and environment.

The primary role of the Ambassador includes:

• Guiding the new faculty member through all the logistical “red tape” of getting started in their new position.
• Helping the new faculty member become aware of anything and everything they should know about on campus related to faculty needs and interests that may not be a requirement of their on-boarding process.
• Sharing department and campus experience -- scuh as who’s who, easy ways or "short cuts" to getting around the campus, resources for information, avoiding the “land mines”, how to navigate the balance of completing their remaining on-boarding steps with their new job responsibilities once they have arrived and begun their work.
• Social networking -- such as introducing the new faculty to colleagues in their own department as well as those who may be of help in other departments.
• Assisting the new faculty member with general information about Kansas City, or pointing them to someone who may be a better help with local information.
• Making the new faculty member feel secure with knowing they have one person who they can turn to and count one for basic, logistical job related questions, or at least provide them with the security of knowing their ambassador can find the answers if they do not already know the answers.
• Encouraging department members to invite their newest member for lunch.

Delegation of specific Internal Checklist steps is entirely up to the administrator and or their chair. PDFA created both checklists as a communication tool for the convenience of each departments and neither document is expected to be turned in. However, if any department would like to use one or both checklists as documentation in the new faculty members file, they are welcome to do so.