myHR: March 6, 2024

Be in the Know On-Campus Biometric Screenings This Spring

Penn’s 2023-2024 Be in the Know wellness campaign provides an array of programs and resources to focus on your health and well-being, connect with the Penn community, and earn up to $300* in Pulse Cash rewards.

Be in the Know is open to all benefits-eligible faculty, staff, and postdoctoral researchers and fellows eligible for the Penn Postdoc Benefits Plan. This spring, the Penn Healthy You team, in partnership with Health Advocate, will again offer quick, no-cost on-campus biometric screenings on April 2 and 3, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., Houston Hall in the Bodek Lounge. Advanced registration is required, so sign up for your appointment online at Penn’s Health Advocate portal. Registration is open. Log in with your PennKey and password, and follow these steps:

• Click on the “Schedule a Health Screening” tile.
• Look for “Attend an Onsite Health Screening Event.”
• Click “Schedule.”
• Search by available location and follow steps to make your appointment.

Rewards Start with Your Biometric Screening

Completing a biometric screening is an essential step for Be in the Know 2023-2024. It is the only activity required to receive Pulse Cash rewards this year. Biometric screenings also provide you with key indicators about your health and professional feedback on the meaning of your results. 

Once you complete your screening between July 1, 2023 and June 30, 2024, you’ll earn your first $50 in Pulse Cash rewards. Health Advocate will automatically send biometric screening results and credit to Virgin Pulse on your behalf. You’ll also be able to earn an additional $250 in Pulse Cash rewards when you complete your choice of over 90 qualifying well-being activities from our 2023-2024 “Ways to Earn” list. All Pulse Cash rewards are redeemable on the Virgin Pulse platform allowing you to choose from gift cards, wellness items, and charitable donations. 

If you are not enrolled on the Virgin Pulse platform, get started today at https://join.virginpulse.com/penn.

What to Expect at the Screening

Please bring your PennCard or University ID card to your biometric screening appointment. At the on-campus biometric screening, a Health Advocate representative will measure key components of your overall health:

• Blood pressure
• Lipid panel: Total cholesterol, HDL cholesterol, LDL cholesterol, and triglycerides
• Blood sugar/glucose, with optional A1C

More Biometric Screening Options

• On-campus screenings are an easy way to earn biometric screening credit for Be in the Know 2023-2024, but there are other choices to fit your schedule:
• Submit screening results from your healthcare provider: Obtain a screening between July 1, 2023, and June 30, 2024. Download the Consent to Release Results form, then follow the instructions to submit your confidential results to Health Advocate.
• Two Labcorp options are available through Virgin Pulse: Sign into the Virgin Pulse platform, go to Programs tab and “Biometric Screenings Options, 2023-2024” page for the order links. Click the “START NOW” button and choose from:
  • Labcorp Patient Service Center (download a screening voucher)
  • Labcorp OnDemand Home Test (order a home test kit)

For all options, screening credit and your results will automatically be forwarded to Virgin Pulse on your behalf. Please allow 2-3 weeks for credit and rewards to appear on the Virgin Pulse platform. To earn rewards for the 2023-2024 campaign year, we recommend completing your screening orders and submissions by June 1, 2024.

If you’ve received credit for a biometric screening during this campaign year, you won’t need to complete another one until the 2024-2025 campaign launches on July 1, 2024.

For complete Be in the Know 2023-2024 campaign details, including more ways to support your health and earn rewards, visit www.hr.upenn.edu/beintheknow.

New Workday Feature Creates One-Stop Shop

Whether you want to change your benefits elections, download a tax document, or view your most recent pay, you can do it all in Workday. Now, the University has made navigating your way through the platform much easier with the new Benefits, Comp and Pay Hub.

This feature provides a single location for benefits-eligible faculty, staff, postdocs, and temp workers to conveniently review and change benefits, and for all workers to view payment elections, tax documents and compensation history.

Through the hub, you can:

• View current benefit elections and listed dependents
• Change benefits for an eligible life event
• Make Open Enrollment elections
• View pay, deductions, and tax documents
• Access the Pay app
• View compensation history and total rewards
• Access the Model My Pay feature

To access the Benefits, Comp and Pay Hub in Workday, click on “View All Apps” or “Menu” from your homepage. Then, select “Benefits, Comp and Pay Hub” from the apps menu.

Please note that the stand-alone Benefits app will be eliminated from Workday on March 9. The Pay app, where you can find links to tax forms and other payroll announcements and reports, can be accessed both through the current stand-alone apps menu and the new hub.

For more information about the Benefits, Comp and Pay Hub, visit the Workday@Penn website. 

Penn EAP’s New Digital Legal Center

When legal issues touch your life, the Penn Employee Assistance Program (EAP) has confidential resources to help you address basic law questions. Penn’s EAP provider, Health Advocate, recently updated its Digital Legal Center at www.healthadvocate.com. (Log in with your PennKey and select “Legal Center.”) This website now offers eligible faculty, staff, and postdocs access to informative articles as well as personalized legal documents and contacts for your state. Penn EAP legal resources cover contracts, divorce, custody, wills, identity theft and other common law-related matters.

To learn more about Penn EAP legal support, register for a Virtual Tour of the EAP Digital Legal Center on March 20 from 11:30 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. This 45-minute session shows you how to navigate the free digital legal resources provided through Health Advocate. The new Digital Legal Center enables you to create legal documents and forms quickly and to store them on a secure service for 24/7 access.

Plan ahead and learn what Health Advocate’s legal and identity theft resource center can do for you and your loved ones. Register for the virtual tour today.

To schedule a counseling session, contact EAP at 1-866-799-2329 or EAPinfo@healthadvocate.com.

These EAP resources are designed to provide general information and self-directed tools regarding legal matters. They are not meant to replace the counsel and advice of licensed professionals for your specific matter.

---

How to Create Effective Virtual Training

When you prepare to lead an online training session, having the right apps and gear in place is important, but technology is just one aspect of a successful session. The most important element is understanding how to engage with participants to create a learning experience, especially since staff may be inundated with virtual meetings and vulnerable to “Zoom fatigue.”

To make online training effective and engaging, Training and Development Consultant Sam Sonet will present Virtual Training 101 on April 11, from 12:30 p.m. to 1:30 p.m. This session provides a step-by-step method to help you develop your next training session or translate an in-person training program into an online class. Sonet will examine:

• Phases of training and how those are structured for a virtual training
• How to reformat course activities and communication to participants
• Tips for using video platforms, and
• Best practices for facilitating your course

An ideal virtual training allows participants to engage with one another, share experiences, ask questions, and interact with colleagues. Here are four tips to help you shape online classes that will keep participants attentive and motivated.  

1. Keep training concise and schedule breaks. During virtual training it can be very easy for learners to get distracted or lose focus. To help, streamline your training so that it is concise while also highlighting key takeaway points. If your session is long, make sure to include plenty of breaks for participants to step away, refresh, and come back engaged.  For a three-hour class, try to include a 10-minute break at the top of every hour.
2. Supplement training with other materials. Are there pieces of your facilitation that could be swapped out for an article, a video, an assessment, or a worksheet? If so, you can provide these materials as pre-work or homework for independent learning. These options may be a way for learners to understand the content without having to digest all of it during the class. You can then use the instructor-led sessions to debrief and discuss the activities and materials.
3. Engage learners often. It is hard to read body language or non-verbal cues during a virtual meeting. You may not be able to see all the participants, or some may have their video turned off. Make sure participants are following along with the class and understand the content, incorporate activities, and discussions.
   
   Get your participants involved every 3 to 4 slides by using a probing question, poll, breakout room, or screen annotation. These are especially good tools to use for the introverted learner, who may be more comfortable discussing ideas and opinions with a smaller group than the full class. The breakout room feature provides smaller size discussion and chatting with groups as small as two. The polling and annotation features allow learners to engage without speaking out. You may also want to place a “Questions?” icon on your PowerPoint or slides, signaling to the class that they are welcome to ask for more information.
4. Pay it forward. While you may structure your sessions to finish at the top of the hour, many participants may have another meeting immediately after. When possible, try to end your training 15 minutes before the scheduled end time to help the participants reset for their next session. A small break like this can make a difference in their daily schedule. This can be a healthy habit for ongoing virtual meetings and can help avoid virtual burnout.

Register today for Virtual Training 101 and learn a real-time model that you can apply to a variety of teaching needs.

For more information about Penn’s Talent Development programs, visit the Learn and Grow webpage.

Discover Workday Learning at One-Year Milestone

Today, as the University marks the one-year anniversary of Workday Learning at Penn, more staff are discovering that Workday Learning can also deliver personalized learning suggestions for professional development and growth opportunities. These suggestions are found in the Discover section of the Workday Learning app.

The recommendations are based on individual learning history, the skills and skill interests entered in a Workday career profile, and a comparison to those who have similar positions. When you maintain current information on your skills, skill levels, experience, and interests, Workday automatically matches key words and descriptions with courses offered at the University and in LinkedIn Learning. It displays those courses in the Discover section under “Based on Your Skills to Develop,” “Recommended for You,” and “Based on Your Interests.” Accurate matches are increasing as learning histories, career profiles, and course data at the University become more robust.

Managers can also identify courses for their direct reports by accessing their direct reports’ pages in the newly launched Manager Insights Hub, available on the manager’s app menu. When their direct reports enter skill interests in their career profiles, managers can see potential matching learning opportunities available to them within Workday Learning. These courses provide another layer of engagement between managers and direct reports as they discuss development opportunities.

For step-by-step instructions to update career profiles, access the tip sheet, Self-Service: Your Career Profile.

In place since March 6, 2023, Workday Learning offers solutions that University training providers use to help staff, faculty, postdocs, students, contractors, and others stay safe, secure, and compliant with regulations and policies. Workday Learning is also the University’s recognized single administrative learning management system of record.

For more information, including links to tip sheets and short demonstration videos, please visit the Workday Learning Guide.

Healthy Meals: Creamy White Chili with Cream Cheese

Get set for March Madness parties or dinner in a flash with this quick-cooking, zesty chicken chili from Eating Well. Mashing some of the beans acts as a fast thickener when your soups don't have a long time to simmer. A touch of light cream cheese adds richness and tang to this protein-packed crowd pleaser.

Ingredients

• 2 (15 ounce) cans no-salt-added great northern beans, rinsed, divided
• 1 tablespoon canola oil
• 1-pound boneless, skinless chicken thighs, trimmed and cut into bite-size pieces
• 1 ½ cups chopped yellow onion (1 medium)
• ¾ cup chopped celery (2 medium stalks)
• 5 cloves garlic, chopped (2 tablespoons)
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• 3 cups unsalted chicken stock
• 1 (4 ounce) can chopped green chiles
• 4 ounces reduced-fat cream cheese
• ½ cup loosely packed fresh cilantro leaves
  

Directions

1. Mash 1 cup beans in a small bowl with a whisk or potato masher.
2. Heat oil in a large heavy pot over high heat. Add chicken; cook, turning occasionally, until browned, 4 to 5 minutes. Add onion, celery, garlic, cumin and salt. Cook until the onion is translucent and tender, 4 to 5 minutes.
3. Add the remaining whole beans, the mashed beans, stock and chiles. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium and simmer until the chicken is cooked through, about 3 minutes. Remove from heat; stir in cream cheese until melted. Serve topped with cilantro.
   

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 Ramp Health Nutrition Counseling Sign Up Form or call 800-484-7720.

Did You Know: RAMP Health Open House on March 19

March is National Nutrition Month. Penn Healthy You and RAMP Health will hold a virtual event on March 19 from 12 p.m. to 1 p.m. to talk about the benefits of meeting with a registered dietitian. RAMP Health offers one-on-one virtual nutrition counseling that is 100% covered under many insurance plans, including all of Penn’s plans. If you do not have a Penn plan, sign up for a free consultation to check coverage or call 800-484-7720.