The University of Colorado Employee Services introduced a new library of training videos and guides to acquaint new employees with their benefits and payroll options.

The orientation videos acquaint new employees with their comprehensive benefit package.  Covered topics include CU health plans, pretax savings accounts, life and disability insurance and mandatory and voluntary retirement plans.

Accessibility and portability were crucial considerations in developing the new content, which debuted on July 1, said Deborah Lowe, Employee Services outreach program manager. Segmented by topic and presented in numbered order, new employees can watch them in order or pick individual topics. The mobile-friendly courses are available 24/7 for employees to watch or re-watch at their convenience.

The courses include a navigation menu, glossary of terms and scripted notes as well as closed captioning and screen-reader compatibility for employees with hearing and visual impairments. Each video includes a dedicated “Resources” module with links to relevant PDF guides and supplemental material.

The online resource library also includes newly updated written benefits guides for Faculty & University Staff  and for Classified Staff. New Spanish language guides for Faculty & University Staff and Classified Staff were developed with the help of a Diversity and Inclusive Excellence grant.

These new resources come at a critical time when a significant proportion of CU staff are working remote, including new hires. Prior to this, new employees accessed this information during an in-person benefits orientation training, which ran anywhere from 90 minutes to 2 hours.

The creation of new resources began earlier this year, before the COVID-19 pandemic necessitated work-from-home protocols. Originally, the development of digital resources was intended to make the benefits learning process more digestible and accessible for those who couldn’t attend an orientation session. The breakdown of individual topics and addition of written notes and glossary terms were designed to facilitate easier ASL and foreign language interpretation.

Lowe credits the new course development and supporting materials to her team, Rebecca Derr and Marita Vieth, who helped her put all the courses and guides together and met the July 1 goal despite the unprecedented disruption to operations.

New employees can get started on the New Employee page and access all courses and guides on the Payroll and Benefits Orientation page.

If you have questions, contact the benefits team at benefits@cu.edu.