Welcome! You may have started today, or last week or perhaps even a month or so ago and either way, you will start to navigate the who/what/when/where/why and how of our great workplace. Perhaps you want to learn more about the various campuses and what campus life has to offer? Each campus location has maps to help you navigate the site, its buildings, and some of the key features like parking, services and food/drinks! You probably want a cup of coffee or tea and maybe a donut? How about a White Spot burger or snack? We’ve got it!
You may also be curious to learn about the internal UFV Classifieds – a “secret” for employees to buy and sell things like tickets, goods, services and more. You’ll find this in your Outlook email by navigating to your Personal folder.
For news and events, you can check out the UFV Events Calendar, the UFV News blog and weekly e-bulletin, the ufv.ca homepage, the Human Resources website, your departmental webpage (if available) and if you are a union member, the Faculty and Staff Association site. There are always things to do, see, learn about try. We even manage to capture some of the fun in the UFV Flickr photo feed and other social media channels. Watch out! You may be featured there yourself one day!
Like to get in a workout during the day? You may want to check out the Campus Recreation website and read more about the employee fitness pass and programming offered at both the Abbotsford (King Road) and Chilliwack (Canada Education Park) campuses. Or, if a formal workout is not your style, try a UFV walking tour – grab a new colleague ‘buddy’ and take a short stroll during the day. It’s a great way to meet people and get some fresh valley air!
If you are interested in getting into the UFV spirit (literally), the UFV Bookstore has all sorts of merchandise from T-shirts, sweatshirts, socks, mugs, keychains, mousepads and more that you can “deck out” your desk and yourself in! Fridays are often more casual in the office for many so don’t be afraid to show your UFV spirit and sport a piece of UFV swag!
Our Bookstore sells select name-brand software (e.g., Microsoft; Adobe) at discounted academic prices. Other educational discounts are available to university employees through the Apple Education Store.
Finally, if you haven’t dropped by Human Resources to introduce yourself, please do! Our office hours are M-F from 830 – 430 and we would love to meet you and answer any questions you may have.
Welcome to UFV and we hope to see you soon!
Guest Blogger: Mark Pearson, Manager, Recruitment Services