The Manager Role at SMU

SMU knows that Managers play a key role in living out the mission and achieving the goals of the University.  In order for each Manager to be successful in their role, SMU offers a Manager Orientation Program for the following employees:

• those newly hired into a managerial position
• those recently promoted to a managerial position
• those aspiring to be promoted to a managerial position. 

Objectives of Manager Orientation

The objective of this orientation program is to assist new manager's transition to management roles and functions; either from outside the University or from staff positions within the University.  Managers will benefit from understanding University policies and procedures, knowing the right people to contact and being able to identify available resources within the University. These workshops will provide you with the basic information needed to manage policy and people in order to be an effective Manager at SMU.

The New Manager's Responsibility

As a new manager, you will be required to understand what is expected of you and what you need to do to succeed.  The Manager Orientation workshops are to be completed within the first calendar year of the employee's new role with the University. It is the new Manager's responsibility to ensure that they are completing the requirements for Manager Orientation.  Employees may view completion of all Professional Development Workshops by logging into Access.SMU and navigating to Self Service> Learning and Development>Training Summary.  A summary of workshops completed, enrolled in or cancelled out of will be generated. 

Manager Orientation Requirements and Enrollment Procedures

There are two components of Manager Orientation:  Required and Optional.  Required workshops are those which must be completed.  Optional Workshops are those which the employee may choose to complete based on their own and their manager's assessment of areas for development.