Community Desk Procedures Chloe Beck Residence Hall Director Mell and Lipscomb Halls Azura Morgan Residence Hall Director Family and Graduate Housing Fall 2014 Training

The following information is verbiage you can use when training and supervising Desk Assistant (DA) and Office Assistant (OA) staff. This information can be found in the Community Desk Procedures Manual.

Community Desk Procedures The Department of University Housing has established standards for situations employees may encounter as they work the community desk to ensure that consistent service is provided to our residents: Professionalism, Customer Service, & Telephone Etiquette Accountability & Resignation Shift Coverage Tracking Work Hours Documentation Building & Room Access Key Inventory Items Found at the Desk

 Radios  Handheld radios  Weather radios  Lost & Found  RICs (building specific)  Equipment Check Out  Mallets  Carts  Cleaning supplies (building specific)  Recreational items  Cameras, Fire Panels, & Door Alarms  Do not hold personal items for residents and/or guests at the front desk. Items Found at the Desk

Professionalism Maintain a professional demeanor at all times when working  Dress neatly and appropriately for each shift. Supervisors can also develop their own dress code expectations.  Maintain eye contact at all times.  No horseplay.  Maintain confidentiality regarding incidents, staff, etc. Many things you may hear or come in contact with are not for public knowledge. Always use good judgment and respect the privacy of our residents.  No guests are allowed behind the desk. Only the staff on duty of the community in which you work are permitted in the desk area.  Remain mentally alert at all times. No sleeping at the desk, no drinking at least eight hours before your shift, and no being under the influence of other drugs.

Professionalism  Actively participate in maintaining a clean and tidy work space. Please keep things tidy and inviting to anyone who may come to the front desk for questions, etc.  No personal calls are to be made or received while working. There may be courtesy telephones located in the lobby or by the access doors for residents and their guests to use. No talking on cell phones or making personal phone calls except in an emergency.  Soda and snacks are allowed at the community desk. Consult with your supervisor for more specific guidelines.  Carry out additional tasks as assigned by GR, RHD, SC/AC and Community Administrative Assistant.

Customer Service  Service with a smile  Things to remember:  Get to know your resources  Promptly recognize the customer  Keep the desk area and yourself neat and clean  NEVER say “I don’t know”

Holding DAs Accountable  Suggested Accountability Sanctions  Immediate Termination  Resignation

Resignation If the time should arise when an employee decides they no longer wish to be employed…  University Housing requests employees to give two-weeks notice, in writing, if circumstances arise that would cause you to resign.  Staff will be released from obligations immediately if a replacement is found before the two weeks have elapsed.  Separation paperwork must be done and at that time the employee must turn in their Housing staff identification badge and any keys to the appropriate supervisor when employment is terminated.

Shift Coverage A shift is a specific block of time, the length of which is determined by the community desk supervisor, that a person or persons are to work. Typically, a shift duration will last from two to four hours. For example, if your community has two-hour shifts and you work from 2pm-4pm on one day, you have worked one shift. As a staff, we are responsible for the coverage of all shifts in our community. Supervisors may choose to fill shifts in a variety of ways. If someone does not show up for a shift, follow the following procedures: Check the schedule and call the person responsible for the shift according to the schedule. If they do not respond, document the no show in the logbook, complete an Incident Notes Form (INF) and place in your supervisor’s box.

Tracking Work Hours  Students may only work 20 hours/work week (Thurs-Wed).  If school is not is session, students are able to go over 20 hours, but no more than 40 hours.  Examples of Breaks:  Fall Break  Thanksgiving Break  Winter Break  Spring Break  Some residence halls stay open during breaks:  Reed Hall  East Campus Village  Family & Graduate Housing  Health Sciences Campus

Documentation Document thoroughly and neatly! The logbook is the lifeline of the community.  Note all happenings in there.  Rely on the log book to see what has happened before you arrived so you know what to expect on your shift.  Leave detailed information when you leave so the next person is prepared as well.  Some incidents may require an Incident Notes Form (INF).  Those should be placed in your Supervisor’s mailbox within 24 hours after the incident or by 8am the next business day, whichever comes first.  Always document in the Log Book after an INF.

Documentation Some examples of what should be documented are:  Tardiness  Missed shifts  Events involving policy violations  Arrests and/or transports to a hospital  Complaints  Uninformed officials entering the building  Strange occurrences, suspicious individuals and security concerns  Any time staff members are called or consulted for duty purposes This list is not all inclusive of things that should be documented. If ever in doubt, document it in the log book. For more information, speak to your supervisor. Be sure to write everything in the log book legibly!

Key Inventory 1. Look at all hooks, counting number of keys per hook. 2. Make note on Key Inventory form when keys are missing. The number of keys that should be on each hook will vary by building depending on room set-up (single, suite-style, double, etc.). 3. Every room that has a key checked out can be crossed off the list. 4. Circle the room numbers which have keys missing that aren’t accounted from in The Dawg House. These are rooms that have keys missing for an unknown reason. A list of these keys should be placed in your supervisor’s box. If appropriate, place a key tag on any rung where you have noted a key to be missing.

Special Notes on Room Keys  No staff members except GRs, RHDs, SCs/ACs and Administrative Assistants may obtain room keys.  CA-RA staff must checkout keys to their room, in addition they may NOT check-out keys to residents’ room without the approval of the GR/DI or RHD on duty.  During Finals Week, checkout time is shortened to 15 minutes to ensure that all keys are turned in before residents leave for break.  Residents can only check out a key for 24 hours. After the 24 hours, a resident will be charged a $45 fee for the Lock Security Program. This fee will also be assessed to a resident’s student account if key is lost.  If a mailbox key is lost, the resident will also be assessed a $45 fee for the Lock Security Program.  Residents are allowed six (6) room key checkouts each academic year. After the sixth, they are charged $5.00 per check out.

Lock Changes When new keys are issued as a result of a lock change:  All new keys will be given to the Community Administrative Assistant by the Locksmith.  Place all keys in the key box (temporary and permanent keys for the residents). This is for safekeeping. Do not leave keys lying on the desk.  When the resident comes to claim their key, they must pick it up through The Dawg House.  Place the old key in the designated area for your community.

You’ve Got Mail

Telephone Etiquette  The desk phone is to be used for business and emergency calls only.  The lines should be kept open  No personal calls should be made or received  No collect calls may be accepted  When answering the phone, desk staff should say:  “Thank you for calling (building name). This is (name). How may I help you?”  Answer the phones quickly and within three rings.  Callers should be put on hold if staff need to search for additional information.  Staff should never screen calls.

Telephone Etiquette  Transferring a call:  Say who or where the call is being transferred to and give the customer the number. If staff know that the person requested is not in the office they should ask the customer if they would prefer to leave a message or be transferred to the person’s voic .  While still on the line (the call CANNOT be on hold), press the “TRANSFER” or “FLASH” button, then hit the location to where you are directing the call, and “TRANSFER” or “FLASH” again. This process will connect the call.

Hand Reader Access Residents who do not have their student ID/PIN:  May be permitted in after verification of:  Their student ID number  Resident room number  DAs will need to use The Dawg House in order for a student to gain access to the building  All personal information can be found using The Dawg House UGA ID cards are to be used only by the resident for whom the card is issued. Use by another person constitutes misuse of University property and may result in disciplinary action.

Hand Reader Access If a student damages or loses their ID:  They must obtain a new card from the Tate Student Center.  Then the student must see the Community Administrative Assistant or DA (in buildings that don’t have an Administrative Assistant present) for a new building hologram sticker If the access control system is malfunctioning, staff should report this to the Community Administrative Assistant during business hours or to the GR/DI or RHD on duty after 5p and on weekends. They in turn will contact the appropriate staff to repair the system.

Escort Policy, Solicitation, & Visitation Guests of residents must be escorted at all times. Unescorted persons will be asked to leave. The only delivery persons allowed into the halls are the vending machine suppliers.  Solicitation is prohibited in University Housing. Any flyers advertising non-University or Community activities should be placed in the distribution area after first being approved by the Administrative Assistant in the Residential Programs and Services (RPS) Office located in Russell Hall.  Reports of solicitation should be made to the GR/DI/RHD on duty or the Community Office. In addition, fill out an INF and notify the police of the activity, and any specific details (description of the person, location, etc.). Any person selling door-to-door must be confronted and escorted from the building.  Delivery persons must wait in the lower lobby or outside the building.  For special situations, please refer to the Building Access policy and/or the Community Office.

Escort Policy, Solicitation, & Visitation There are varying visitation policies in each of the residence halls. The policy includes the following options:  Option I: Visitation permitted Monday through Thursday from 10:00am – 2:00am and 24-hour visitation permitted beginning at 10:00am Friday through Saturday, ending at 2:00am Monday (Sunday night). Buildings that have this option include: Boggs, Brumby, Church, Creswell, Hill, Lipscomb, Mell, Morris and Russell Halls.  Option II: Visitation permitted 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Buildings that have this visitation option include: East Campus Village, Mary Lyndon, Myers, 1516, Oglethorpe House, Payne, Reed, Rutherford, Soule Halls, Health Science Campus, and Family & Graduate Housing.

Information Requests Public directory information can be provided to residents and guests. Information regarding confidential matters and FERPA restrictions should not be shared. Desk staff should not give out phone numbers or duty cell phone numbers of GRs, DIs, RHDs, ACs, SCs or Community Administrative Assistants. If a resident or parent is insisting to speak directly to a GR, RHD, SC or AC between 8am and 5pm, desk staff should refer them to the Community Office. After 5p and on weekends desk staff should get the necessary information from the caller and inform the individual that they will call the staff member so that the staff member can call them back.

Community Operations Manual  Overview of the sections  What’s new?  Day-to-day operations  Resources

Questions?