myHR Archives
myHR: September 2, 2020
Reframing Feedback
Feedback isn’t just the noise you hear on conference calls when someone forgets to hit “mute.” The feedback process between coworkers plays an essential role in interpersonal communication and management. It allows you make sure you’re on the right track and your team members are all pulling together. Yet, many managers view feedback as an administrative chore--or worse--a source of dread that too often leads to misunderstanding. But when you reframe
feedback as an opportunity to give and receive invaluable information, you open yourself and your coworkers to greater engagement, better results, and more satisfying work.
If you’d like your comments and assessments to be more signal and less noise, register for The Gift of Feedback virtual workshop on September 22 from 12:30 pm to 1:30 p.m. This no-cost online session on feedback fundamentals for supervisors will be facilitated by Amma Napier, Senior Training and Development Consultant, HR Talent Development.
Napier says, “Feedback has to be given regularly. It has to support the staff member’s development. Also, it must be specific and actionable.” When feedback doesn’t meet these needs, it can go ignored or become distorted. Even praise can be unheard if it’s delivered and the wrong place without the staff specific member’s development in mind.
Successful feedback also requires give-and-take from managers and their staff. According to Napier, if leaders want their teams to accept feedback from them, they need to welcome feedback from their direct reports. “Effective supervisors model the solicitation they want to see from their staff. It also gives supervisors, as well as staff, the opportunity to improve. That’s called leadership.”
To help leaders build a respectful and productive feedback practice, Napier recommends these actions.
- Asking questions to open the conversation so there is a shared understanding of what happened
- Avoiding “blur” words and using precise language
- Clearly expressing the impact of the team member’s actions on you or others
- Bringing it back to a question to see what the receiver thinks about what was just said
The Gift of Feedback session will explore these techniques and concepts in depth as participants share their feedback experiences. You’ll practice rewording generalizations such as “nice job” or “You did this wrong” into clear, useful assessments that improve and reward performance. The session also offers guidance for when you’re on the receiving end of an assessment, even if it’s negative.
Criticism can make anyone feel judged, sad, or angry; but adjusting your mindset can help you make the most of it. “If I receive criticism, my first inclination is to be curious,” says Napier. Instead of reverting to fear, she suggests finding out more about what the person is really trying to say before you respond. “Often we get defensive before we are clear about the real gist of it.”
For more positive insights on interpersonal communication in the workplace and beyond, register for The Gift of Feedback now.
For more professional development programs, visit the Learn & Grow pages of the Penn Human Resources website.
PennOpen Pass Helps Protect Ourselves and Each Other from COVID-19
We share a collective responsibility to protect ourselves and each other from COVID-19. That’s why more than 18,000 faculty and staff members have enrolled in PennOpen Pass to
date. PennOpen Pass is a daily symptom tracker designed to reduce the risk of COVID-19 spreading within the Penn community. PennOpen Pass enables early detection of COVID-19 by:- Identifying individuals whose health may be at risk or may pose health risks to others,
- Supporting those individuals to receive assistance, which may include COVID-19 testing, self-isolation, contact tracing, and medical care, and
- Monitoring trends related to COVID-19 to enable timely allocation of resources for campus health and safety.
Throughout the summer, schools and centers have introduced PennOpen Pass to their faculty, staff, postdocs, and students. After a one-time enrollment process, users can complete a quick, web-based survey each day. Users who report no symptoms and no recent contact with someone who may have COVID-19 get a Green Pass. Users who receive a Red Pass are directed to assistance and follow up tailored to their individual needs.
PennOpen Pass for Whole Penn Community
Faculty, students, postdocs, and staff with PennKey or UPHS credentials and visitors, vendors, and contractors are currently supported to use the tool.
Present your daily Green Pass from PennOpen Pass to enter University buildings and board Penn Transit. As always, each facility may require other credentials for access, such as your PennCard. Please follow the building and vehicle entrance and occupancy policies, which are especially important for maintaining physical distancing.
For Regularly Scheduled On-Campus Work
Faculty, students, postdocs, and staff returning to full- or part-time work on Penn’s campus, the New Bolton Center, and all University locations are required to complete daily symptom checks using PennOpen Pass. Symptom checks must be completed before the start of each day, including on weekends, to reduce the risk that any COVID-19 case could lead to an outbreak. Daily symptom tracking enables PennOpen Pass to act as an early warning system of potential COVID-19 infections on campus. If COVID-19 cases are diagnosed, clinical staff and contact tracers will respond quickly to contain spread and connect individuals at risk to care in an expedited manner. For example, if you work on campus Monday and Tuesday and develop symptoms while off-campus on Thursday, PennOpen Pass staff can initiate contact tracing shortly after you report symptoms. This could prevent people you worked with on Monday or Tuesday from potentially infecting others over the weekend.
For Remote Faculty and Staff
For persons working or learning remotely 100% of the time, PennOpen Pass can provide access to expedited clinical guidance should a need arise.
If you need to return to campus briefly or occasionally, be prepared by coordinating your return with your supervisor and coworkers and using PennOpen Pass. You are required to enroll in PennOpen Pass before your return. When entering Penn buildings, present your daily Green Pass from PennOpen Pass and be sure to use the symptom tracker for at least seven days following your time on campus.
For Campus Guests, Vendors, and Contractor
Visitors, vendors, and contractors are required to complete symptom checks using PennOpen Pass on the days they visit campus buildings. Visitors, vendors, or contractors who routinely report to campus should use PennOpen Pass on a daily basis. Contact your school or center PennOpen Pass representative for details.
It will take participation from all to help slow the spread of COVID-19. When you wear a face covering, practice physical distancing, use proper hand and workspace hygiene, and complete your daily symptom check on PennOpen Pass; you promote the health and safety of everyone around you and advance Penn’s mission of excellence in education, research, and patient care.For information on how it works, answers to frequently asked questions, the privacy policy, and other resources, visit the PennOpen Pass website.
SEPTA Key Reminder for Penn Commuters
Penn Commuters who currently place a monthly paper pass order with Health Equity/WageWorks must transition to a SEPTA Key Card no later than Thursday, September 10 to have your October commuter benefits continue uninterrupted.
SEPTA has announced that its legacy magnetic-stripe paper passes have been retired. The September monthly passes are the last transit fare paper products distributed by mail.
SEPTA Key and Commuter Pass Programs are managed by SEPTA and WageWorks, respectively.
To help you navigate SEPTA and WageWorks processes, Penn Transportation and Parking offers the following quick tips. Penn has also compiled instructions from SEPTA and WageWorks, available at Penn’s SEPTA Commuter Passes page.
Converting
to the SEPTA Key reloadable transit fare card requires a three-step process:
- Buy a SEPTA Key Card at any of these locations listed at septa.org/key/resources/sales.html. There is also a SEPTA Key Kiosk at the Penn Bookstore, 3601 Walnut Street, ground floor.
- Register / activate your SEPTA Key Card at www.septakey.org.
- Log in to your WageWorks account to transition your pass to SEPTA Key.
Notes for Your Change to SEPTA Key
There are some charges associated with getting a SEPTA Key card. For example, the card registration fee is $4.95. Also, to activate your new card, you will need to add funds to your card in the minimum amounts of either $1, if activating at a Fare Kiosk, or $5, if activating in person at any SEPTA Sales Office. The total amount will be credited to your SEPTA Travel Wallet. SEPTA has advised us that funds in the wallet can then be used to purchase a weekly pass, ten-trip tickets, or pay as you go for the days you will be commuting that month.
It is critical that you write down the Card Reference ID number. This number is found on the “My Account” page on the SEPTA Key website, not on your SEPTA Key card. You need to enter this number during the WageWorks online process required to switch your paper pass to the SEPTA Key. Visit Penn’s SEPTA Commuter Passes page for details.
You must log in to your WageWorks account in order to complete the transfer of your commuter transit order from a physical paper pass to a SEPTA Key card. WageWorks will load your monthly transit fare product onto the key card. Reminder – commuter orders for the next monthly cycle must be filed by the 10th of the month prior to the intended use.
If you have any questions about the SEPTA Key Card registration process, or the use or balance of your SEPTA Key Card, please contact SEPTA at 1-855-56-SEPTA (1-855-567-3782).
If you have questions regarding your commuter order, please contact Health Equity/WageWorks at 1-877-924-3967 and follow the prompts.
Healthy Meals: Pan Baked Tilapia and Roasted Vegetables
This one pan meal, complete with protein-packed tilapia and colorful veggies, makes prep and clean-up easy.
Did You Know: Return to Campus Guide Is Online
While many staff members continue to work remotely, some have resumed on-site work along with essential employees.To support the well-being of the Penn community and our neighbors in this transitional time, Penn’s COVID-19 Return to Campus Guide for Faculty and Staff provides workplace health and safety guidelines.The online version of the guide is updated regularly.and available at www.hr.upenn.edu/returnguide.