Plan to Attend a Human Resources Knowledge Sharing Session
During the months of July and August, representatives from the Division of Human Resources and the Office of General Counsel will be holding Human Resources Knowledge Sharing sessions at various locations throughout the Kent Campus.
Faculty and staff are encouraged to attend one of these informational sessions, which will include the following topics:
- An overview of the Office of General Counsel.
- Introduction of the new Wellness Coordinator, Michelle Igleheart. Igleheart will provide updates on the university’s wellness plan, partnership with Be Well Solutions and the Movable wellness challenge.
- IMPACT Employee Assistance Program and Right Direction.
- Learn about upcoming training and development offerings.
There will be two one-hour informational sessions during each time period. The first hour will be designed for supervisors/managers, and the second hour will be information sharing for all employees.
Please see the Human Resources Knowledge Sharing website for times and locations. For more information, please contact Karen Watson, manager, Employee Relations, at 330-672-4636 or kswatson@kent.edu.
Right Direction – New Workplace Depression Awareness Campaign
The Division of Human Resources plans to launch a new mental health initiative, Right Direction, which raises awareness of depression in the workplace. The goals of the campaign are to promote early recognition of symptoms, reduce the stigma surrounding mental illness and direct employees to resources for free counseling.
Right Direction offers a multitude of turn-key resources that can be customized to communicate with employees about depression, the symptoms, its effects on personal and work life, and available resources to help employees. The asset library includes posters, fact sheets, pocket cards, infographics, intranet articles, etc. The website, , serves as the employee portal, offering educational information on common symptoms of depression. Online resources include a screening tool for depression that can be shared with a healthcare provider, resources for how to discuss depression with family, how to talk with your employer about job accommodations and additional resources to access for help.
Depression is a leading cause of lost productivity in the United States with an estimated annual cost of $44 billion to employers. Depression is very common – one in 10 people struggle with depression. Each year, clinical depression affects more than 14 million Americans and affects people during their prime working years. Despite advances in treatment, only one-third of people with diagnosable mental health conditions seek care. Researchers have found that absence, disability and lost productivity from depression costs more than four times the cost of medical treatment.
Mental health is an important part of individual wellness, and Right Direction promotes help-seeking behaviors among employees.
Implementation Strategy
The Division of Human Resources, in collaboration with Right Direction and the university’s employee assistance program, IMPACT, will employ a variety of strategies to implement an internal awareness campaign. Newsletter articles, co-branded posters, pocket cards and intranet content will serve as outreach tools for launching the campaign. Management team training will be held to include topics to help supervisors and managers recognize the symptoms, reduce the stigma and share appropriate resources including the IMPACT employee assistance program.
The Right Direction campaign is one of the main agenda items of the face-to-face Human Resources Knowledge Sharing sessions. Human Resources Knowledge Sharing sessions have taken place on the Regional Campuses during May and June. Kent Campus Human Resources Knowledge Sharing sessions will run July and August (see article in this update). In addition, all partners will work in conjunction with University Communications and Marketing to ensure accurate and effective communication to the Kent State employee population.
Additional information will be forthcoming to all Kent State employees in the upcoming weeks. If you have questions, please contact Mark McLeod, university benefits manager, at 330-672-0392 or mmcleod3@kent.edu.
Annual Personal Health Screenings Continue in July
Please share the below information with your staff members. All screening dates are posted on the OneWellU website.
The Division of Human Resources is pleased to partner with Be Well Solutions and University Health Services to enhance our commitment to support and promote the health and well-being of the university community.
All full-time, benefit eligible employees are invited to participate in a FREE comprehensive wellness assessment. Be Well Solutions, in collaboration with University Health Services, has been offering on-site health screenings and will continue to offer this valuable benefit throughout the summer and fall.
Note: Screenings will begin in the fall for Kent State Regional Campuses.
Employees are invited to register for their screening appointment on the Be Well site at . All information regarding an employee’s registration and screening results are strictly confidential. All eligible employees received a letter via campus mail and an email with complete instructions for registering on the Be Well website. Instructions are also available on the OneWellU website.
Employees should allow 30-45 minutes for the entire screening and results process. Screenings will include the following:
- Glucose
- Total cholesterol, including HDL and LDL
- Triglycerides
- Blood pressure
- Body mass index
As part of the assessment process, Be Well Solutions will offer free health coaching services to those employees that are at high risk or those requesting assistance with a specific health goal or condition.
All employees who complete the personal health risk assessment and screening will receive a free MOVband. MOVbands are wrist-worn activity trackers that are a fun and easy way to monitor physical activity throughout the day. Physical activity challenges (MOVchallenges) will be coordinated by the wellness team in the Division of Human Resources to encourage employees to achieve individual and group goals.
If you have questions, contact Michelle Igleheart, wellness coordinator, at 330-672-8368 or miglehe2@kent.edu.
Beyond Compliance in 2014-2015
The Beyond Compliance Initiative will provide annual training for Kent State faculty and staff during the 2014 year to ensure they are fully up to date and aware of the relevant laws and university policies related to discrimination, harassment and violence prevention. An initiative such as this keeps us compliant with Title IX and The Campus SaVE Act, part of the 2013 reauthorized Violence Against Women Act. While regular training regarding other forms of discrimination and harassment is not required by law on an annual basis, a practice such as Beyond Compliance is considered a "best practice" for effective prevention. All current ºÚÁÏÍø staff will be expected to complete a minimum of two hours of HR Compliance Training for each fiscal year. Details on topics, dates and how to register will be coming soon. If you have questions, contact Bob Hall at 330-672-0894 or rhall4@kent.edu.
Equipment and Vehicle Request Form Goes Paperless
Requests to Fleet Services for the purchase of equipment, vehicles or vessels can now be done through an electronic workflow. The workflow replaces the paper request form, and submissions should be made electronically. The questions required on the request form remain the same.
You can access the Equipment, Vehicle or Vessel Workflow link and training document in the My Action Items tab ofFlashLine. It also is available on the Fleet Services website at .
Any questions about the new workflow should be directed to Darwin Friend, Fleet Services superintendent, atdfriend@kent.edu or 20818.
Dates to Remember:
National UV Safety Month
July 3 Summer classes end for first-year podiatric medicine students
July 4 Independence Day (university closed)
July 10 Wellness Health Screening. See the OneWellU website for registration and all screening dates.
July 12 Summer I classes end
July 14 Summer III classes begin
July 16 OneWellU Lunch and Learn. Get Active! See the OneWellU website for details.
Tell Us What You Think
This e-newsletter is designed to keep you, the managers and supervisors, informed. Please take a few minutes to let us know what you think of it, along with any comments or suggestions. You may contact us atmanagersfeedback@kent.edu. We look forward to hearing from you.
For information about events and programs for university employees, please check out the Faculty and Staff calendar and share the information with your staff.