Nope. Not Zoom or Teams. The Krieger School's end-of-semester get-together was a full-blown in-person bash, with 100 faculty and staff members converging on Homewood's Glass Pavilion in early June for two hours of festive food, party games, and good old-fashioned conversation.
The clear message to employees, which had come via email invitation: Take a Breather, KSAS!
"We are being intentional about supporting and building a stronger sense of community among our employees across the school," says Janna Chavis, KSAS' director of human resources. "This event signifies that the health and well-being of our faculty and staff are critical to our success and highlights the importance of finding opportunities to take a break and recharge throughout their day."
The event, she says, was funded by the university's new annual team-building fund, which was created during the pandemic as part of its Future of Work initiative and is to be used by divisions and departments to create on-campus events and activities that foster engagement and collaboration.
Adds Julie Kuhn Sanchez, the inaugural employee experience specialist in the school's HR office, "We are grateful for the gift of the team-building fund. The timing [of its availability] could not have been better because it allowed us to dream even bigger than we had first started imagining. I was thrilled for the opportunity to create a space for our employees to kick off the summer together. It was a huge success with smiles all around the room—and many conversations that had nothing to do with work."
Posted in Happenings
Tagged hr newswire
