A welcoming place to find answers for HR questions

“It’s helping us reconnect with our customers,” says HR administrator Michael Ginsburg, (right), with Stefan Young (from left), Mary Cable and Susan Balmes. – Photo: Roberta Dupuis-Devlin

Visitors to the UIC Human Resources Building will find friendly faces waiting to assist them with their employment questions.

The UIC HR Welcome Center, which opened Dec. 1 in Suite 109 HRB, offers guidance for current employees, campus visitors and job applicants.

“The campus has responded to the opening of the UIC HR Welcome Center in a very positive way and it’s helping us reconnect with our customers,” said Michael Ginsburg, interim associate vice chancellor for human resources.

The idea for the center arose after the reporting line for UIC Human Resources changed in June from the Office of the Chancellor to the Office of the Vice Chancellor for Administrative Services. As part of the transition, Chancellor Michael Amiridis directed UIC Human Resources to examine its practices and identify opportunities to improve its delivery of services, said Susan Balmes, human resources associate.

“We’re looking for a way to enhance the level of service we’ve been delivering,” Balmes said.

Employees and prospective employees can visit or call the Welcome Center to ask employment-related questions, get help applying for campus jobs or be directed to the appropriate human resources or another campus subject matter expert who can answer their question.

“Our Welcome Center team can answer general questions and give employees the right tools to tackle complicated situations,” Balmes said. “They play a key role in our service delivery so we can have positive interactions with our customers.”

Two human resources employees, Stefan Young and Mary Cable, welcome guests and answer calls on the general information number, 312-996-0840. The center is staffed from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday.

“We wanted to develop that space as a ‘welcoming’ center to our building,” Ginsburg said. “It’s not just a front desk and a number, it’s something that’s going to grow and support UIC Human Resources and the whole campus.”