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HR Pulse Summer 2021
Baker College System Human Resources 1020 S. Washington Street, Owosso, MI 48867 [email protected] [email protected]
Inside This Issue
What’s New to Benefit You?
o New Benefit Rolling Out: Active&Fit Direct
o Active&Fit: Enrolling is Easy
o Savings Guide: Goals and Strategies
Supporting BC Employees
o Transition from Remote to On-Site Work
Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
o June is Pride Month!
o First Series: DEI Foundational PD
New Hires
Human Resources Contact List
It is starting off to be great weather for the summer ahead and summer always gets me thinking about sun protection with my fair skin. SPF (sun protection factor) protects us from a sunburn on these beautiful sunny days. So, in that same way, I would like to use the acronym SPF to get us prepared for returning to
campus this fall.
S - Self-care is critical after coming out of a pandemic. It is
critical for each of you to take time to realize that you are not alone if you are feeling unsure about the next steps of returning back to the “new normal.” We have gone through an unprecedented period of time where uncertainty caused stress, anxiety and fear for many. Self-care includes your emotional, physical, and psychological well-being. Be sure to reflect on what you individually need to prepare yourself to return to work and if you have questions or need additional information reach out to the HR team or your supervisor. We are here to help.
P - PTO is an important part of self-care and resilience. Time
away from work allows for renewed energy, reduces stress, provides for opportunities to rest and have fun with your family and friends. What better medicine than laughter and relaxation. BC encourages work life balance and we encourage you to use your PTO.
F - Formulate a plan that works for you and your family as you
adjust to your “new normal” and return to campus this August. Returning to campus will not look the same for all employees. Some employees will return back to working daily in the office environment, while others will get used to working from home a Continued on page 4
A Note from Dr. Dana Clark
2021-2022
Holiday Calendar
On July 1, 2021, Baker College will begin the partnership with Active&Fit Direct. The Active&Fit Director program provides access for all employees to join a self-pay fitness
program that gives members access to 11,000+ fitness centers nation-wide and 4,000+ workout videos for $25 a month – with no long-term contract. All Baker College employees are eligible to enroll themselves under the Active&Fit Direct program. Spouses of Baker College employees can also take advantage of this benefit under their own account for a separate $25 a month.
What does the Active&Fit program provide me?
4,000+ Digital Workout Videos so you can work out at home or on-the-go
Unlimited Lifestyle Coaching in areas such as fitness, nutrition, and stress
11,000+ Standard Fitness Centers with the ability to change anytime
5,000+ Premium Fitness Centers and Studios
250+ Wearable Trackers and Apps to keep your goals on track
No Long-Term Contract
New Benefit Rolling Out: Active&Fit Direct
Can I try it out before I enroll?
Yes, employees can try out the program before they enroll a few different ways:
1. Join a variety of workout classes available anytime on YouTube and Facebook, designed for all levels!
2. Enjoy 200 free digital workout videos available to all eligible members.
3. Many fitness centers offer a free guest pass through the Active&Fit Direct program. Use the Fitness Center
Search tool to select a location and click the ‘Request a Guest Pass’ button. Bring the letter to your selected
location to make sure you find the fitness center that’s right for you.
Page 2 What’s New to Benefit You?
Stay tuned for additional
information coming your way in July, including a promo code to
waive the
enrollment Fee!
What if I am already a member at one of the gyms included under the Active&Fit Direct program? Employees can cancel their current membership with $0 cancellation fee and immediately transition over to the
Active&Fit program. o For example, Jane is an Anytime Fitness member currently under a 12 month contract paying $40.00/month. o Jane can enroll under the Active&Fit benefit, cancel her Anytime Fitness contract for $0, and begin paying the
$25/mo through Active&Fit to continue using Anytime Fitness in the same capacity.
Jane will gain the 4,000+ digital fitness workout library, unlimited live coaching, and free daily workouts on YouTube/Facebook under the Active&Fit program.
Additional information on page 3
Starting on July 1, 2021, all employees will be able to access the Active&Fit Direct live link, which will be available on the Baker College website. This will allow interested employees to create an account with Active&Fit Direct and set up their profile and payment information:
● Initial Registration = $75.00
$25 Enrollment Fee (waived* using Promo Code)
$25 First month
$25 Second month followed by $25 recurring monthly fee;
cancel anytime
During the months of Jan/Feb and Jul/Aug, the College will have a
promotional code available to employees to waive the $25 initial
enrollment fee. Stay tuned for more information on July 1, 2021.
Once enrolled, you will receive your virtual fitness card.
● Newly enrolled members will receive a fitness card with their
“Fitness ID” number. This must be provided to their fitness center
to get a standard membership fab to use for future gym check-ins.
Do you have additional questions? Check out the Frequently Asked
Questions web page to learn more about Active&Fit.
Active&Fit Direct: Enrolling is Easy
Savings Guide: Goals and Strategies
What lies at the heart of achieving financial wellness and stability?
Saving. It’s the practice that leads to stability in day-to-day living,
achieving life goals like home ownership or a college education, and
securing an adequate retirement.
Yet, many have trouble with saving even for short-term needs, much less
retirement. According to the Federal Reserve, about 30 percent of
Americans would have trouble covering a sudden $400 expense. And
only 42 percent of those approaching retirement age (45-59 years old)
think their retirement savings are on track.
So, what’s to be done? For individuals, it becomes a question of deciding:
What are your savings goals?
Where do you currently stand?
What strategies and plans will get you there?
Page 3 What’s New to Benefit You?
What are your savings goals? No doubt, most people would like to be rich enough not to worry about personal finances or retirement needs. The question becomes what do you want to realistically accomplish in terms of savings? This involves both short and long term goals. For some, setting savings priorities can be relatively easy. For others, the task can present challenges. There are various strategies and tools that can help:
Setting Financial Goals: Savings
Calculator: 5-10-15-20 Financial Goal Guidelines
Goals can change overtime, so it is important to know where you stand in terms of your savings. Where do you currently stand? There are various rules of thumb –based on multiples of annual income –suggesting where savings levels should be at certain stages of life. Income-based estimates are popular because they assume that most people will be able to live on a similar or slightly lower income in retirement. This makes such guidelines more helpful for most people than absolute dollar figures. Below are suggestions on where your savings should be in your:
30s
40s
50s
Continued on Page 4
Page 4
Page 4 What’s New to Benefit You?
What strategies and plans will get you there?
Once you figure out where you want to be and where you are in your savings plan, the question becomes:
How to get there? Just like a road trip, you need to consider sort-term needs as part of the long-term
objective. To that end, budgeting and money management are crucial during this trip:
How to be on a budget and follow it
Emergency fund basics
How to make a financial plan for your family A crucial part of setting up financial plans is understanding how some financial tools –like life insurance or
disability income insurance – can help act as a safety net.
Why should you get life and disability income insurance
Buying life insurance on a budget
Calculator: How much life insurance do I need?
What if your road map indicates you are behind on where you should be in your savings trip? There are
avenues that can help you catch-up or at least make up some of the lost distance:
Saving in your 40s and 50s: It’s never too late to get started
Rebuilding retirement savings after COVID-19
The concept of saving is a simple one, but for many people it is often difficult to execute. A range of
challenges exist –from student debt loads to day-to-day living expenses to entertainment temptations –can
derail the best intentions. Identifying your savings goals and measuring where you stand against them rare
the first steps in tackling the challenge.
MassMutual/Allen Wastler 2021
Savings Guide: Goals and Strategies cont.
A Note from Dr. Dana Clark cont.
few days a week or being 100% remote. Regardless of your schedule, returning to campus will be an adjustment for all. A distributed workforce requires excellent communication skills and different ways to stay connected to colleagues and your work. We know it will be an adjustment and it will take planning, but we are confident in the resilience of our BC team to adjust to these changes and take the time provided to prepare yourself before August. Take the time to familiarize yourself with the return to work protocols that the Pandemic Response Team (PRT) has put in place to assure ongoing safety of our BC employees. We are all in this together and as the summer progresses we will be getting more information out about protocols for fall and share resources for assisting with the changes this may bring to you and your families. I look forward to our return to campus in August and hope that all of you are as excited as I am to hear the excitement and buzz when we kick off fall with students and employees returning to on campus operations. Have a safe, healthy and fun summer!
Page 5 Supporting BC
Employees
As many employees may have found it tough to transition so quickly to remote work back in March 2020, it may be more challenging to move back into their workspace on campus as of August 9th. Below are some helpful tips, by Rachell Buell, that will hopefully make the transition as painless as possible: 1. Make Yourself at Home
One of the most jarring things about leaving the comforts of your home office is losing the conveniences you became accustomed to, like having a coffee pot within arm’s reach or wearing sweats all day. Employees can ease the transition back into the workplace by making your office feel more familiar. Things like bringing a small plant, stocking your drawer with tea or snacks, or bringing a blanket from home (to feel more comfortable as the air conditioner blasts) may help make employees feel closer to home.
2. Stick to your Routine Every effective remote employee has a routine they follow each morning – coffee, shower, breakfast bar and email catch-up! A routine is a necessary structure in an otherwise totally unstructured setting. Even as employees transition back to the world of drop-bys and impromptu meetings, trying to stick to some resemblance of the familiar routine will help employees remain as productive as possible. If you typically designate your first hour to review industry news or tackle emails, stick with that!
3. Be Transparent Being productive when you’re working remotely pretty much demands constant and proactive communication
Back to the Office:
Transitioning From Remote to
On-Site Work
The Baker College Pandemic Response Team (PRT) has been actively planning for the return to campus for the fall 2021 semester. While all plans to return will follow CDC and the State of Michigan COVID-19 safety recommendations, this means that many employees will be leaving the comforts of their home and returning to their campus.
with your team members, since they can’t drop by and ask questions. This means that every email and phone communication needs to be perfectly detailed and clear. When employees return to the confines of brick and mortar, it can be tempting to relax your communication a bit and assume that people will just ‘pop in’ if they need something. Don’t fall into this trap. Continuing with the detailed communication employees have been accustomed to for over a year now will help prevent misunderstandings among colleagues.
4. Branch Out, Within Reason Perhaps the biggest shift of all is going from total isolation (if the kids aren’t around) to an office buzzing with activity and chatter. While catching up on the juicy reality TV show can be a welcomed change, it can also be tough to keep up the same level of productivity when suddenly surrounded by side conversations. Incidentally, a little self-discipline is critical to the onslaught of new workplace socialization. Try blocking out time to connect with colleagues and being clear when you need time to focus and be by yourself.
There’s no doubt that working remotely is great. Remember though that many of the benefits – autonomy, routine and comfort, to name a few –are totally transferrable. While the adjustments of returning back to campus may initially be overwhelming, with practice and patience you can find success and satisfaction on ‘the inside’ too. TheMuse/Rachell Buell 2021
June is Pride Month! A month dedicated to celebrating and supporting the voices and rights of the LGBTQ+ community. Take a few minutes to read a special blog submitted by Baker College’s very own, Chef Justin Raha, Adjunct Faculty- Instructor for the Culinary Institute of Michigan. Check out a sneak peak of the blog below:
Living Life Outside of the Closet
Equality. What does that mean? Equal rights are so often disregarded by a person who has never faced oppression. That is, of course, until that person becomes oppressed or has their rights revoked. When rights are stolen away, a person will most often fight for them to be returned. What about never having had them in the first place? A caucasian, cis-gendered, heterosexual male most likely has never had to grapple with such issues. To fully comprehend my feelings and emotions about the Supreme Court’s ruling to protect gay and transgender people in the workplace, I have to tell my story…
Read more stories by checking out the DEI blog today! As always, DEI is looking for students, staff, and faculty who are interested in becoming more involved with DEI efforts and events, both virtual and on campus. Visit my.baker.edu/diversity for more information.
Are you passionate about a DEI topic? Please submit your story
to be featured on the DEI Blog Spot!
June is Pride Month!
Page 6
Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
First Series: DEI Foundational PD Did you miss any of the DEI Foundational Professional Development first series? If so, faculty and staff can view the asynchronous training videos on the DEI Resources & Professional Development webpage. Topics include:
Implicit Bias and Stereotypes Microaggressions & Allyship and Advocacy
Race, Power, and Privilege Intersectionality
What’s in the Data?
Page 7 New Hires – As of March 2021
New Staff Members Elizabeth Ealy (PH) Safety Officer Mercedes Mancilla (MU) Barista Madeline Ringvleski (PS) Admissions Assistant
New Adjunct Faculty
Albert Geukes (MU) Kristen Schoenborn (MU) Kristen Smith (MU) Rebecca Voelker (OL)
Dana Clark Chief Human Resource Officer
[email protected] 989-729-3955
Human Resources Deanna Brandon Director of Compensation and Benefits [email protected] 989-729-3952
Bethany Brown HR Generalist [email protected] 989-729-3953
Tracey Rigdon HR Operations Manager [email protected] 989-729-3956
Kathy Stowe HR Generalist [email protected] 989-729-3958
Tammy Stehle HR Coordinator [email protected] 810-766-2178
[email protected] [email protected]
Contact List Page 8
