myHR: September 18, 2013

Enjoy the Fun at Penn Family Day

Bring your family and friends for a day of fun at this year’s Penn Family Day on Saturday, October 26. Thousands of Penn faculty, staff, and families gather for this annual celebration on campus. It’s a chance to show off Penn’s unique environment, where you can watch a football game, visit a world-class museum, go ice skating, and more—all in the same day!

This event is open to Penn faculty, staff, and postdocs. Keep in mind that you need tickets to attend some of the events. You can get up to four tickets for free, and additional tickets are just $8 each. The ticket order deadline is Wednesday, October 16, so be sure to order yours before time runs out.

The fun centers around the tailgate party (11:30am-1pm) at the north side of Franklin Field, where you can find free food, face painting, a moon bounce, and games for all ages. Then head inside Franklin Field at 1pm to cheer on Penn’s football team as they battle Yale. Don’t forget to order your tickets for both of these events.

And there’s plenty more excitement throughout the day. Explore the Penn Museum from 10am-5pm, enjoying special activities and exhibits like the 100th anniversary celebration of the museum’s ancient Egyptian Sphinx. Watch Penn’s soccer and field hockey teams take on Yale, and head to the Penn Ice Rink from 5:30-7pm for discounted skating and skate rentals. All of these activities are free to PennCard holders along with their family and friends.

Free parking will be available with your PennCard at two University lots: the Penn Museum lot at South Street and Convention Boulevard, and the Chestnut 34 lot at 34^th and Chestnut Streets.

Find more details, including how to order tickets and where to find free parking.

Help Us Find Models of Excellence

Over the past 14 years, the Models of Excellence program has recognized more than 500 staff members for their extraordinary achievements. As we prepare for the 2014 Models of Excellence awards, we need your help to find this year’s winners.

Through the Models of Excellence program, Penn acknowledges and rewards exceptional staff accomplishments and inspiring role models. You can help honor these individuals by nominating them for Models of Excellence recognition.

In addition to the Models of Excellence Award and the Model Supervisor Award, we’re adding a brand new recognition category this year called Pillars of Excellence. This category is designed to recognize the important support our non-exempt, weekly-paid staff members provide to promote Penn’s success. These staff members provide the fundamental services that keep the University running. Learn more about this award.

Help us celebrate the remarkable work Penn staff do every day! We’re looking for nominations for all Models of Excellence categories:

• If you know weekly-paid staff members who provide over-and-above service, show them how much their work matters by nominating them for the brand new Pillars of Excellence Award.
• If you know staff members whose work reflects exemplary initiative, leadership, efficiency, collaboration and commitment to service, help us recognize their achievements by nominating them for a Models of Excellence Award.
• If you know a supervisor who’s an exceptional manager, a strong leader and a valuable team player, show your support by nominating him or her for a Model Supervisor Award.

All nominations are due by Monday, November 11. If you have questions or need assistance writing the nomination, contact Human Resources at Models@hr.upenn.edu or 215-898-1012.

Also, keep in mind that there’s another component of the Models of Excellence program that doesn’t have a nomination deadline: Commitment to Excellence. Commitment to Excellence nominations can be forwarded to Human Resources anytime someone in the Penn community provides outstanding work and commitment to University goals in the face of unprecedented external circumstances.

Learn more about the Models of Excellence program. And save the date: the 2014 awards ceremony and reception will be held on April 3, 2014 in Irvine Auditorium.

Use Your Personality to Your Advantage

Are you an extrovert or an introvert? Do you use your senses more than your intuition? Do you put more weight on facts or feelings? Do you prefer structure or flexibility?

The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) can help you answer these questions and understand how to use your personality traits to your best advantage, both personally and professionally.

The more you understand about yourself, the more effectively you’ll be able to communicate with others. The MBTI can help you understand why you—and others—do things a certain way, and how you can use this knowledge to improve your chances of getting what you want. You’ll learn how to leverage your natural strengths, improve teamwork, adapt to different leadership styles, and communicate more effectively.

Join us on October 10 from 9am-12pm for Enhancing Your Personal & Professional Career Development with Myers-Briggs Type Indicator. This three-hour interactive session will introduce you to the MBTI test and help you analyze your personal results. Prior to the class, you’ll be asked to complete an online self-assessment. Your department will be charged a nominal fee of $75 for this course. Click here for more information and to register.

Connect with Your Customers

Whether you deal with external or internal customers, high-quality customer service is a critical skill. Effective customer service can help breed customer loyalty, increase productivity, and improve interdepartmental communication and cooperation—among other benefits.

Customer service involves developing relationships and connecting with people. And when you build strong relationships and deliver superior customer service, you get noticed.

Learn more on Thursday, November 7 with Beyond Service Excellence: Connecting with the People We Serve. This three-hour workshop (9am-12pm) will show you how to make a positive emotional connection with your customers. You’ll find out how to leverage opportunities to make a connection as well as what behaviors can strengthen that relationship. 

Your department will be charged a nominal fee of $75 for this course. Click here for more information and to register.