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Student Supervisor Toolkit

UW-Green Bay recognizes the impact that all supervisors have on the quality of work, level of productivity and work attitude of the employees they lead. Supervisors contribute greatly towards the growth, loyalty, motivation, retention, team spirit and development of employees within our institutional community. The below toolkit has been designed to support supervisors through all aspects of the employee career cycle and provide leadership development resources to further their own career growth.

The Office of Human Resources is excited to partner with Career Services and Financial Aid to launch a Student Supervisor Training Series. This 4-part series is designed to aid Student Supervisors in the full life cycle of student employment. Please note that these sessions were recorded before the Workday implementation. For any references to UW Portal in these sessions, please see the "Recruitment & Hiring" and "Onboarding Students" sections in the tabs below for updated instructions.

Recorded Training Sessions for Student Supervisors

LinkedIn Learning
All employees (including supervisors) have access to over 16,000 courses with LinkedIn Learning, available on your schedule, anytime, anywhere. Employees can access LinkedIn Learning through Workday under the "Learning" tab in the main menu. Please see the following resources for more information on using LinkedIn Learning in Workday: 

The following modules have been recommended for supervisors by UW-Green Bay leadership to align with the University's strategic initiatives:

UW-Green Bay recognizes that employees are its most valuable asset, and that the people we hire will have a direct impact on students, faculty, staff, alumni, external customers and neighboring communities. We want to encourage the learning and development of our students not only in the classroom but also through employment opportunities.

For assistance with recruiting and hiring talented, qualified students while ensuring fairness and equity, review the resources provided within the links below and contact Human Resources with any questions:

Onboarding for each new employee is crucial to the success of the employee, your department and the university. Giving a structured introduction to your organization will help new employees understand and adjust to the culture and expectations in the department. A well-designed onboarding experience goes beyond the initial introductions and the first few days. Continued support throughout the transition signals to the employee their value and importance to the university, aids in retention and results in stronger performance and contributions.

An Onboarding Setup task will be sent to direct supervisors once a student employee is entered into Workday. In this task, supervisors will be prompted to create a personalized message that the new student hire will see as they log into their Workday onboarding dashboard. Supervisors will also indicate people/contacts that may be helpful for the student to meet as they begin their work in at UW-Green Bay. The Onboarding Setup Task should be completed at least three days in advance of the student’s hire date. 

Once the Onboarding Setup task is completed by the supervisor, the Onboarding Dashboard will be sent to the student in Workday. Supervisors should encourage student employees to complete the following tasks in a timely manner:

  • Complete Form I-9 Section 1
    • Section 2: Verification of acceptable document(s) must be presented to the HR Office within three days of the start date
  • Complete Federal Withholding Elections
  • Complete State Withhold Elections
  • Payment Election Enrollment
  • Review Documents
  • Veteran Status Identification
  • Disability Self-Identification
  • Photo Change
  • Update My Talent Profile
  • Update Public Profile Display Preferences

Check out the Student Onboarding Checklist for more helpful onboarding steps to take once your student starts work.

As a leader, your main role is to monitor the performance of each team member, acknowledge and celebrate their good performance while addressing any deviation from good behavior and performance. The process has a few important components: 

  1. Clear expectations
  2. Fair and objective assessment
  3. Timely and effective feedback

Imagine a world where highways have speed limit signs like the one shown here and only police officers knew what the speed limit was, and they could change those limits at any time. In a similar fashion, performance and behavior expectations should not be a mystery. They must be clearly shared with employees as soon as they start their assignments and any time they change.

Following this metaphor, in order to determine how fast motorists travel on the road, a police officer relies on a radar gun to establish any deviation from the speed limit expectation. As a supervisor, you also need a reliable process to assess your team member’s performance.

Finally, just like you don’t receive a traffic violation notice one year after you committed the infraction, any deviation from good behavior or job performance is most effective when given soon after it takes place.

How to document your feedback:
While you may provide verbal feedback on a regular basis, please use this Performance Evaluation form to document your assessment at least once every semester.

In its broadest sense, employee relations is about creating a positive environment where employee and supervisor work together to create an engaging, productive and healthy work community. From welcoming a new student employee to celebrating their graduation, we either contribute to positive or negative employee relations. 

When an employee’s performance and/or behavior deviates from expectations or appropriate workplace conduct, supervisors must provide guidance, coaching, and in some instances, disciplinary actions. The purpose of any corrective action is to turn performance around and reestablish a positive and thriving employment experience. A few best practices include:

  • If the policy violation is severe, please contact Human Resources immediately.
  • Document situations where student employee does not meet expectations.
  • Meet with student employee to:  
    • Address lack of performance or policy violation
    • Remind them about the job responsibilities and expectations
    • Set a timeline for improving performance 
    • Issue a Corrective Action Form 
  • If performance does not improve, issue a second Corrective Action Form .
  • If performance still does not improve, meet with the employee to consider termination.
  • Complete Student Employment Change Request if termination takes place.

Please complete a Student Employment Change Request Form for terminations.

UW-Green Bay student employees work over 100,000 hours each year. As a student employee's supervisor, we encourage you to show appreciation for their work all year long. Creativity is encouraged— and appreciated!

Ideas for Supervisors & Departments:

  • Treat Week: Bring something different each day– cookies, popcorn, candy, etc.
  • Certificates: Buy low cost, blank certificates and make up silly awards for students: best telephone voice, best web-surfer, etc.
  • Friendship Plants: Take cuttings from a plant in the office and give to each student as a live "connection" to the office.
  • Good Egg Award: Buy plastic Easter Eggs, fill with goodies and give out with "Good Egg" certificates. List what the student did to deserve this award.
  • Bright Ideas: Spray paint a light bulb gold, screw into a jar of play-dough and make a label around the jar naming who is receiving the “Bright Idea” award.
  • Recognition Banner: Make a banner to hang in your office, or decorate an office bulletin board or door in recognition of your student employees.
  • "You Rock" Award: Print "You Rock" on a rock and present it to someone when they go a good job. Encourage the student to pass it on to another member of the staff when they observe someone doing a good job.
  • Picture Recognition: Take student pictures, post them and list what wonderful things they do.