SEPTEMBER 2007 - EMPLOYEE
FOCUS
HR TRAINING
Beginning September 1st, there will be a new
registration process for HR training
courses. Employees will now be able to
enroll themselves in the workshop of their
choice using the PASS (People Advantage Self
Service) site. If you have additional
questions, please contact:
hrtraining@central.uh.edu.
NEW
Training Enrollment Instructions
1.
Click here to be directed to PASS
(Employee Self Service) site.
2. Log on to PASS using your 7-digit
PeopleSoft ID# and password. If you do not
have a password or have forgotten your
password select the “Forgot Your Password”
link and follow the prompts.
(Contact customer service at 713-743-3988 if
you are unable to log onto PASS.)
3. Click on the “P.A.S.S. Site” link at the
top left corner of your screen.
4. Select the “Training” link from the menu
on the left.
5. Click on the “Request Training
Enrollment” link.
(It may take up to two (2) minutes for the
next screen to appear.)
6. Select “Search by Course Number” from the
enrollment screen.
7. Enter the course number in the Course
Number field and click “Search.”
8. Once the course number and description
appears, select “View Available Sessions.”
9. Select the appropriate session number.
10. Verify the session detail, then click
“Continue.”
11. Review the Submit Request screen, then
select “Submit.”
12. Click “OK” on final screen.
For detailed
directions and screen shots click
here.
September Courses
Idea Contest
This month’s newsletter idea
comes from Lisa Mahon of the Graduate
College of Social Work.
Lisa suggested an Out of Office Etiquette
reminder. “It helps tremendously when we
reach voicemail that clearly indicates the
“out of office” status of an employee.”
For more on Out of Office Etiquette see this
month’s article!
Lisa will be receiving a $10 flex card for
her idea.
Put your thinking caps on…the next idea will
be published in December’s Employee Focus.
Send your thoughts to
scarter@uh.edu
by December 17th. If your idea is published,
you’ll receive a $10
CougarOne Flex Card.
Who’s Who on Campus
We’ve got a lot of great people
on campus, and we thought you’d like to get
to know more about them. These individuals
have been selected by their colleagues as
people you should know on campus. In fact,
there’s so many wonderful UH employees that
we’ve decided to highlight two of them this
month.
Please continue to nominate your outstanding
colleagues, and we will continue to publish
them in order of receipt.
CLICK
HERE TO
NOMINATE NOW!
Who:
Harriet Yim
Senior Graphic Designer
Years of UH Service:
6 years
Department:
Engineering
How to Contact Me:
hhyim@uh.edu
Where to Find Me:
E316 Engineering Bldg 2
When to Call Me:
I work for the Office of
Communications in the Engineering
College. We design and produce all
print and electronic publications
for the Cullen College of
Engineering, including the
Parameters magazine and the
College's website.
Contact me for any comment regarding
the Engineering
publications/website.
A Helpful Hint:
UH IT department offers a large
selection of discount software
available for purchase for students,
faculty and staff.
What I Like Best About My Job:
UH is very supportive in career
development. I get chances to attend
seminars and conferences where I can
get inspiration and learn new
technology.
What Hariette’s Colleagues Say:
Lindsay Lewis describes Harriet as
“a model employee. Not only has her
incredible talent as a graphic
designer led to the development of
our college brand identity, but she
has been honored with numerous
awards because of her design work.
She is always very enthusiastic
about every assignment and has gone
over/beyond our expectations to
complete special projects on
extremely tight deadlines. In
addition, she designs and develops
the college’s website and enjoys
learning and mastering new
technologies that will improve our
overall communications effort. She
deserves a mountain of recognition
for her excellent work and spirit!”
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Who:
Lisa Martinez Mahon
Financial Coordinator 1 (GCSW
Contract Administrator)
Years of UH Service:
3 1/4 years
Department:
Graduate College of Social Work,
Business Office
How to Contact Me:
*38138 or lmmarti2@central.uh.edu
Where to Find Me:
Social Work Building, Room 235
When to Call Me:
Call me…when you need to smile. On
a more serious note…call me if you
are GCSW Staff or Faculty and need
to work with a vendor to acquire
goods or services (contract),
execute an affiliation, travel or
rental agreement, generate invoices
for revenue agreements, hire GCSW CE
employees, or process GCSW student
fees.
A Helpful Hint:
Always, always, always check
compliance in MAPP when expending
university funds. Contracts are
often required and are the last
thing people tend to think about
when in a rush to meet a deadline.
(I have a form that I will gladly
share; it is called a Contract
Completion Request Form and it
allows me to know vital details for
completing contracts.)
What I Like Best About My Job:
My job is wonderful because it
provides a sense of fulfillment when
I can follow a task from its
inception to its completion. My job
presents progressive tasks that
require tracking through each
mandatory step. Watching contracts
begin as painstaking formalities, to
ensure compliance, evolve into a
finished product is very rewarding.
I love knowing that when colleagues
put a Contract Completion Request
Form in my hands they don’t have to
worry about something that may
hinder them from shining in their
area of expertise! My job allows
others to focus on what they do best
so that I can focus on what I do
best. I love U of H, I love the
people, and I love my job.
What Lisa’s Colleagues Say:
Marsha Christ says “Lisa has a very
unique job within UH. She is the
Contract Administrator/Guru for our
college. She has been with UH for 3
years now and has developed many
relationships across campus. Not
only does Lisa know everything there
is to know about contracts, but she
knows, or can find the answer to,
just about any question (for any
topic) you have for her. Her ever
changing hairstyles and quirky
sayings keep it interesting around
here!”
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What is CAM?
CAM is the Complementary Alternative
Medicine Program from Blue Cross Blue Shield
of Texas.
As a Health Select member, you are
automatically eligible to receive discounts
of up to 30% off services such as yoga,
Pilates, massage therapy, acupuncture, Tai
Chi, nutritional counseling, vitamins, as
well as discounts for spas and
wellness/fitness centers.
How easy is CAM to use?
* No referrals are needed.
* No preauthorization is needed.
* No claim forms to file.
You simply pay the discounted member rate
directly to participating vendors.
If you are already using these types of
services and/or want to learn how you can
save money, visit the link to the
BCBSTx CAM Information
Flier.
You can also visit their website at
www.bcbstx.com/hs then click on Blue Extra's
to learn more.
CAM participating vendors can be found by
selecting Blue Access for Members (BAM) and
clicking on My Coverage.
Your BCBSTx ID card has always been your key
to good health; now it’s more valuable than
ever!
Changes to TRS effective 09/01/07
Retirement eligibility criteria changed for
individuals who established TRS membership
on or after September 1, 2007. Anyone who
becomes a TRS member on or after September
1, 2007, will be required to meet one of the
following eligibility requirements to
qualify for an unreduced annuity at
retirement:
• Age 65 with 5 years of service credit, or
• Age 60 with at least 5 years of service
credit and meets the Rule of 80
(combined age and years of service credit
equal at least 80).
Current members who terminate TRS membership
by withdrawing TRS contributions upon
termination of employment will also be
subject to these new eligibility
requirements if they resume TRS membership
on or after September 1, 2007.
Members who are subject to these new
eligibility requirements and who retire
before age 60 will have a 5% annuity
reduction for each year under age 60, if
they meet the Rule of 80 at the time of
retirement.
Members with at least 30 years of service
credit, but who do not meet the Rule of 80
also will have a 5% reduction for each year
under age 60.
NOTE: Members who plan to terminate
employment, request a refund of their TRS
member contributions, and then resume TRS
membership on or after September 1, 2007,
should take
note of this change. Even if they reinstate
the TRS service credit that was earned for
service rendered before September 1, 2007,
they will be subject to the new retirement
eligibility criteria.
BlueCompare - BCBSTX's Physician Comparison Tool
We understand that choosing a doctor
can be difficult. That’s why Blue Cross Blue
Shield built BlueCompare - an exciting tool
that gives you helpful information about the
doctors and other health care professionals
(providers) in the HealthSelect network (not
ParPlan). Members and non-members can obtain
affordability and performance information
for physician services through BlueCompare.
BlueCompare uses their claims and member
data to help you compare doctors in two
ways:
Evidence Based Measures and
Affordability. You can also view a
BlueCompare tour to see how it works.
BlueCompare is not meant to tell you what
doctor you should select. This is a very
personal choice, and you should not base
your decision on BlueCompare information
alone.
For more information on how to take charge
of your health care, you can read the
"Guide
to Healthcare Quality - How to know it when
you see it" from the Agency for Healthcare
Quality and Research. To compare hospitals, log in to
Blue Access
for Members and use the Hospital Comparison
Tool found under the My Health tab.
Note: BlueCompare results will be available
when conducting searches in Provider Finder,
but not available through the downloaded
regional directories.
Human
Resources August Quiz Results
Congratulations to Betty Manuel, Betty was
randomly chosen from all the employees who
submitted the correct answers to the August
HR Quiz. Betty selected the $10 campus
ice-cream parlor certificate as her prize.
Correct Answers for August HR Quiz:
1) The newest member to HR Employment team
is Clausezette ______?
L) Davis
2) The University of Houston’s Internal
Hiring System is OJS. What does OJS stand
for?
E) Online Job System
3) A document used to summarize your
knowledge, skills, abilities, and previous
work history is called a ___________
D) Resume
4) A face-to-face meeting with a
potential/future boss is a(n)
_____________________
T) Interview
5) The document required for an applicant to
submit is a __________.
E) UH Application
6) Two of the forms new hires must complete
on-line through PASS are the W-4 and
__________.
T) Direct Deposit
7) The four campuses in the UH system are UH
(Main Campus), UH Clear Lake, UH Downtown
and UH _____.
A) Victoria
8) The following athletes are all graduates
of UH except __________.
N) Barry Bonds
Employment is dedicated to seeking T A
L E N T E D people to join the UH
team
Human
Resources September Quiz
Circle the 14 hidden words in the graph
above (Bolded words only).
Hint: Words can be found diagonal,
horizontal, vertical or in reverse.
Employment Representative
Personnel File
Benefits
Roar (New Hire Orientation)
Policy
Cougar one Card
Timesheet
Mysafecampus (Online Anonymous Reporting
System)
Faculty
Achievements
Service Award
Joycene Roussell (Newest Member of the
Compensation Team)
Monthly Payroll
Shasta (UH Mascot)
Complete the entry form below and submit it
to Human Resources via campus mail or
electronically to cpelletier@uh.edu by July
20, 2007. All correct entries will be
entered into a random drawing for their
choice of one of the following Prizes:
$10 Starbucks Gift Card or $10 Campus Ice
Cream Parlor Gift Card
Only employees of the University of Houston
are eligible to enter.
The correct answers along with the name of
the winning employee will be published in
next month’s issue.
UH Health Center
Since 2002 the University of Houston’s
Health Center has been benefiting faculty
and staff with their amazing service and
affordable prices. While the center does not
accept our employee health insurance, there
are plenty of reasons to visit them. They
are conveniently located within walking
distance of your office. No appointments are
necessary. And the Health Center maintains
an onsite laboratory, pharmacy and x-ray
machine.
Staff pay $35 for general physician services
and additional discounted rates apply to
blood work, prescriptions and x-rays.
Employees often spend less money purchasing
a prescription at the UH Health Center’s
pharmacy than they might using their
insurance co-pay elsewhere.
The Health Center is also an active campus
member. They offer free HIV screenings every
June and December. (Last June employees
participated at the highest rate ever!) This
month is Prostate Cancer Awareness Month and
on Sept. 21st, men can visit the Health
Center to receive a free PSA screening. For
more information about their services and a
calendar of events, please visit the Health
Center’s website at
www.uh.edu/admin/hc.
Out of Office Etiquette
Remember to notify your colleagues of your
absence by setting your voice and e-mail to
their out of office settings.
To change your voice mail settings:
1. Log into your voice mail account.
2. Select option “4” - Personal
Configurations.
3. Select option “1” to change your
greeting.
4. Option “2” allows you to edit your
Extended Absence Greeting.
5. Once you have saved your greeting, the
system automatically applies the Extended
Absence setting to notify callers of your
unavailability.
6. Once you return to work, log back into
your voice mail.
7. The system notifies you that the Extended
Absence Greeting is activated.
8. Select option “2” to deactivate Extended
Absence and return your voice mail to the
normal settings.
9. For more information, please
click here.
To change your e-mail settings from
Microsoft Outlook:
1. Open your Outlook program.
2. Select “Tools” from the header menu.
3. Click on “Out of Office Assistant.”
4. Select the button indicating you are out
of the office.
5. Enter the reply you would like to have
automatically emailed to senders.
6. Click “OK.”
7. Once you return to work, open your
Outlook e-mail.
8. You will receive a pop up message
indicating that the Out Of Office is Turned
On.
9. Select “Yes” to turn it off.
To change your e-mail settings from the
exchange website:
1. Log into your exchange account at
http://exchange.uh.edu.
2. Your user name and password are the same
as your Cougarnet account.
3. Click on “Options” from the menu on the
left-hand side.
4. An Out of Office Assistant section
appears in the center of your screen.
5. Select the button indicating you are out
of the office.
6. Enter the reply you would like to have
automatically emailed to senders.
7. Click “Save and Close.”
8. Once you return to work, log into your
exchange email account.
9. Click on “Options” from the menu on the
left-hand side.
10. Select the button indicating you are in
the office within the Out of Office
Assistant section.
11. Click “Save and Close.”
September Calendar
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