myHR: April 26, 2023

Models of Excellence Live Today

Today hundreds of members of the Penn community will gather at 4 p.m. in Irvine Auditorium for the 2023 Models of  Excellence Awards Program Ceremony. There will be a reception following the program from 5 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. Penn’s premier campus-wide staff recognition celebration is a unique opportunity to connect with coworkers from around campus to mark staff achievements in an array of professions.

Watch this sneak preview featuring this year’s honorees.

This year, four teams and 11 individuals were chosen from schools and centers across the University to receive Models of Excellence honors. 

See them in person, hear their inspiring stories, and share your gratitude with fellow coworkers at the April 26 ceremony, featuring:

President Liz Magill
Senior Executive Vice President Craig Carnaroli
Interim Provost Beth Winkelstein
Senior Vice President of Human Resources Jack Heuer
Musical guests the Penny Loafers

Registration is still open for the Models of Excellence ceremony and reception, so sign up now.

Be in the Know Wellness Campaign Reminders

Penn’s Be in the Know 2022-2023 wellness campaign continues through June 30, 2023. Whether you are a new hire or long-time staff or faculty member, you can still get in on the fun, improve your health and well-being, and rack of rewards of up to $300. 

Be in the Know is open to all benefits-eligible staff and faculty. There are many activities you can participate in, so here are some reminders about what is available and the deadlines so you can be sure not to miss out on the excitement. 

Biometric Screenings

Biometric screenings are the first step towards earning rewards in the Be in the Know Steps for Success design, and the only activity required to receive Pulse Cash rewards this year. On-campus biometric screenings will be held on May 16 and May 17, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., at Houston Hall, Hall of Flags. Advanced registration is required, so sign up for your appointment online at the Health Advocate website. 

• Log in with your PennKey.
• Select Schedule a Health Screening.
• Look for Attend an Onsite Health Screening Event, then click Schedule.
• Search by available date and preferred screening time, then follow the steps to confirm your appointment. You will receive a confirmation email from Health Advocate, plus important details and directions to cancel or reschedule.
  

At the on-campus biometric screening, a Health Advocate representative will measure key components of your overall health including blood pressure, total cholesterol, HDL cholesterol, and blood sugar/glucose.

These are not fasting appointments. On a limited basis, fasting screenings may be available in the morning, but are not guaranteed. Please bring your PennCard or other valid photo ID to your biometric screening appointment. Masking is still required in all University healthcare spaces, including temporary biometric screening areas. Visit Penn’s Public Health Guidance page for the latest safety updates.

Once you complete your biometric screening, Health Advocate will process your results and send credit to the Virgin Pulse wellness platform. If you are enrolled on Virgin Pulse, you will earn your first $50 in Pulse Cash. To visit the Virgin Pulse platform, earn rewards, and enroll if needed, go to https://join.virginpulse.com/penn.

If you can’t attend one of the on-campus biometric screenings, review the Biometric Screenings Options form for other ways to get a screening and the deadlines to submit your results. 

Qualifying Activities

Once the biometric screening has been completed, you are eligible to receive earned rewards up to an additional $250 by completing a range of qualifying activities. As you complete qualifying activities, your points accumulate on the Virgin Pulse platform. Your goal is to reach the next designated points total to earn your next-level reward:  

• Reach 5,000 total points to earn another $50 (Level 1 reward)
• Reach 15,000 total points to earn another $75 (Level 2 reward)
• Reach 30,000 total points to earn another $125 (Level 3 reward)
• Reach 50,000 total points to earn VIP special recognition (Level 4 reward). You must also complete a biometric screening to earn VIP status.
  

This campaign year there are over 90 “Ways to Earn” activities you can do for additional points. A few popular activities include preventative health exams, a COVID-19 vaccine, ongoing wellness and work-life events such as wellness walks and well-being workshops, and a multitude of online Virgin Pulse offerings. To review the complete list of qualifying activities, download the “Ways to Earn” chart or visit the Virgin Pulse platform and select My Rewards.  

Redeem Your Rewards

With Virgin Pulse’s rewards program, you can redeem (i.e., “spend”) your earned rewards right on the platform, choosing from gift cards, fitness items, and charitable donations. To redeem your rewards*, sign in at https://join.virginpulse.com/penn. Click the Home button on the main page then select Rewards from the drop-down menu. On the Rewards page, click the Spend tab to bring up three categories of reward options:

• Shop the Store (buy select fitness items)
• Get a Gift Card (buy a VISA gift card or a card from available retailers)
• Donate it (make a charitable contribution)
  

Follow the prompts to choose the amount you wish to spend from your available rewards.  Be sure to click Submit to confirm your purchase. A confirmation email will be sent to the address you used to register on the Virgin Pulse platform. You will need this confirmation email for gift card purchases and charitable donations. 

What Happens to Rewards and Points on July 1?

• Pulse Cash rewards earned this year (July 1, 2022-June 30, 2023) – but not yet redeemed – will roll over and continue to be available next campaign year. 
• Points earned this year (July 1, 2022-June 30, 2023) will not roll over. Your points balance will reset to zero on July 1, 2023. 
  

If you have questions, please contact the Virgin Pulse Member Services Team by using the Support button found at the top right of the platform. You can also call Member Services at 1-855-920-2290, Monday-Friday, 8am-9pm ET.

For complete Be in the Know details, visit www.hr.upenn.edu/beintheknow.

*Per IRS guidelines, all Be in the Know rewards are subject to applicable payroll taxes at the time they are earned and rewarded to participants - even if rewards have not yet been redeemed (i.e., spent). While the rewards are provided through Virgin Pulse's Rewards Program, mandatory payroll taxes on the value of earned rewards will be processed through participants' paychecks. For the 2022-2023 campaign year, taxes will be processed in October 2022, and January, April, and July 2023 paychecks. Participants will see applicable rewards taxes deducted from their paychecks in these months, if rewards were earned during the prior time period. Paystubs will note "Imputed Income: Wellness" plus the amount of earned rewards for that particular tax cycle.

Where Are They Now? 

Over the next several months the Division of Human Resources is going to provide a special series of podcasts that feature former HR staff who have retired. In these conversations, we will talk with retirees about life after Penn, their favorite Penn memories, and ask them to give some advice to current staff about navigating the University.

In the first episode, we talk with Sharon Moorer Aylor, a former Executive Director of Staff and Labor Relations. Aylor worked at Penn for more than 40 years in various roles and retired in 2018. She’s still very engaged with the University. In fact, you may have seen Aylor on Shoemaker Green last fall during President Magill’s inauguration picnic. 

Episode 1 of this special podcast is now available on the Retiree Podcast webpage. There is more to come so stay tuned and find out how some of your former coworkers are enjoying retirement. 

Take Action During Mental Health Awareness Month

May is Mental Health Awareness Month, a time to raise understanding of mental health conditions and the impact they have on the physical, emotional, and mental well-being of children, families, and communities. Penn’s personal development programs and supportive benefits are available year-round to Penn faculty and staff. Our schedule of work-life and wellness events serves as a reminder of the University’s comprehensive, proactive approach to emotional well-being and behavioral health care access.

Here are a few highlighted events and resources to help you take action to enhance your own emotional well-being and support your family, friends and colleagues.

Mental Health and Me
May 9, 12:30 p.m. – 1:30 p.m.

This program is an opportunity to take time to reflect, understand and explore how to care for your own mental and emotional well-being. It is important to prioritize your own health before you can support and help others.

In this webinar, you will explore strategies to manage mental/emotional health as well as utilize available resources to help. The program will also take a look at early warnings signs to seek help and techniques to maintain positive mental health and wellness.

Mindfulness and Anxiety: Turn Your Anxiety into Your Superpower
May 11, 12 p.m. – 1 p.m.

Mindfulness leader Jennifer Schelter teaches three simple ways to turn anxiety into courage. In the virtual workshop you will practice mindfulness meditation, journal and set intentions for focus, and create a growth mindset.

Monthly Wellness Walk: Mental Health Awareness Month
May 17, Meet at 12 p.m.

Meet the team at 12 p.m. on Locust Walk, by College Hall and the Ben Franklin statue. The Penn Public Health team will lead you on a two-mile walk on/near campus to help you increase physical activity and steps, plus build community with participating Penn staff and faculty. Be sure to wear sneakers or comfortable shoes, bring water, and invite a colleague to join the celebration. To support Mental Health Awareness Month, you are encouraged to wear green.

Finding Balance in Busy Lives
May 23, 12:30 p.m. – 1:30 p.m.

Finding balance between our personal and professional lives is something many people strive for. However, consistently striving to achieve total balance can lead to feelings of guilt. By setting and working towards attainable goals at work and home, we can find ways to reduce guilt and feel more balanced. This webinar offers daily tips and long-term strategies to find the work/life balance that works for you, minimizing stress in the process.

Time and Energy Management: Ideas for Sustainable Life Balance
May 31, 12:30 pm – 1:30 p.m.

As part of our Ideas for Sustainable Life Balance series, this interactive workshop defines energy management in terms of its relationship to work-life balance asserting that time is finite, but energy is not. Several traditional tools are presented but the focus is largely on the need for sustainable practices of working and living in the midst of a pandemic. Individuals will be asked to do a personal energy assessment and to consider a habit that will serve them.

Self-Defense and Self-Empowerment Workshop
May 31, 5:30 p.m. – 7:30 p.m.

Tracey Cardella, a Victim Advocate with Special Services, has been teaching self-defense and self-empowering classes with Penn for 14 years. She is also the founder and lead instructor of Fight4U, LLC.

Build your confidence with situational awareness while you learn a few basic self-defense moves. The goal is to raise awareness in vulnerable situations, utilizing realistic scenarios. No weapon defense is taught in this class. Please join us for a session that will raise awareness and empowerment – a reminder of how strong you are! If there are no spots left and you’d like to join the waitlist, please email ericah@upenn.edu.

Be in the Know and Virgin Pulse Resources

Additionally, Penn’s Be in the Know wellness campaign offers access to mental health resources available on the Virgin Pulse platform. 

Journeys provide Be in the Know participants with daily self-guided courses to help you build healthy habits. On the Virgin Pulse platform you will find Journeys that focus on emotional balance. Log into Virgin Pulse and scroll down to the “Find Emotional Balance” section for a list of mental-health related Journeys, including “Caring for Yourself While Caring for Others” and “Growing Emotional Awareness.” The Media Library page also provides videos that can help you improve your emotional well-being. Also, visit the Programs page to view RethinkCare emotional well-being videos. 

You can view a complete list of Mental Health Awareness events on the www.hr.upenn.edu online calendar.

Visit the MindWell at Penn pages for more emotional well-being, behavioral health coverage information, and other mental health resources, including the Penn Employee Assistance Program available 24/7, at 1-866-799-2329.

Use Your SMARTS

SMARTS is the acronym for the six characteristics of well-designed performance goals: Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Results-oriented, Time-bound, and Stretch. Penn encourages staff to use these proven principles to achieve and demonstrate their success on the job. When you write goals and expectations remember to use the SMARTS criteria.  Goals and expectations should be:

• Specific: Give details on the end results expected.
• Measurable: Outline measures that will be used to determine when a goal is met.
• Achievable: Set a realistic expectation.
• Results-oriented: Goals and expectations should focus on the end results desired.
• Time-bound: Identify deadlines and milestones.
• Stretch: Some, but not all goals, may present a challenge to support professional development.

Workday provides a tool which allows you to track goals throughout the year, not just at the mid-year and year-end performance review periods. The tool also lets either the manager or the direct report to enter these goals. This flexibility gives schools, centers, or departments the choice to provide guidance of who enters goals. 

Contact your manager, or school or center human resources leadership for additional information about the expectations for goals and performance management in your area. Workday is the tool to accomplish many of the HR, payroll, and other processes established by the University and school or center, but communication outside of Workday remains equally important.

Helpful Workday Hints

• Goals can be created or updated within a performance review, and goals can also stand alone outside of the performance review process to track objectives and primary responsibilities of an employee throughout the year.
• When a manager adds or updates a goal, the employee will get a notification in Workday. When an employee enters or updates a goal, the manager will get a task to review and approve the goal.
• If you are an employee adding or updating more than one goal, make all your changes before submitting. In that way, all changes will be bundled for a single review by the manager.
• Goals are automatically pulled into the performance review for evaluation if their due date falls within the review period. When completing the review cycle, both the employee and manager can add new or load existing goals to the review.
• Managers can view all goals for their employees at any time (outside of the review process) by running the report called My Team’s Goals.
• Consider using the optional Workday check-in feature to document some of your regularly scheduled meetings or project updates with your manager.

Consult the updated Goals and Check-Ins and Performance Management for Managers and Employees tip sheets, or take advantage of Penn HR’s resources to learn and grow your career at Penn. 

Healthy Meals: Black Bean Fajita Skillet

This EatingWell recipe is a versatile Tex Mex-inspired way to cut down on dinnertime prep. The sliced fajita vegetables sauteed with black beans and Southwest seasoning make for a quick and tasty meal. You can easily personalize your skillet by adding some cheese, sour cream, or other toppings.

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 (12-ounce) package sliced fajita vegetables (bell peppers and onions)
• 1 (15-ounce) can no-salt-added black beans, rinsed
• ½ teaspoon salt-free Southwest-style seasoning blend
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• ¼ cup coarsely shredded Cheddar cheese (1 ounce; optional)

Instructions: 

1. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add fajita vegetables and sauté until tender, about 10 minutes.
2. Stir in black beans, seasoning and salt; cook, stirring, until heated through, about 1 minute.
3. Divide the vegetables and beans between two bowls and top each with 2 tablespoons cheese, if using.

Meet With a Registered Dietitian Today!

• One-on-One, virtual sessions you can schedule at any time that works for you
• 100% covered under many insurance plans
• Available to spouses and dependents&
• Fill out the Nutrition Counseling Sign Up Form or call 800-484-7720.

Did You Know: Working Dog Puppies Need Foster Homes

The Penn Vet Working Dog Center (PVWDC) seeks volunteer fosters to help raise and train future detection dogs, including Urban Search and Rescue Dogs and Law Enforcement Dogs. Fosters range from suburban singles to Philadelphia families with children. PVWDC provides all the food, crates, toys, and veterinary care. To learn how you can foster a pup, please fill out the PVWDC Foster Family Survey or contact Foster Program Coordinator Sarah Gally at sgally@upenn.edu or 215-898-2200.