HR welcomes feedback on UT Advantage. Send an e-mail to Workforceprograms@uthscssa.edu.
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The Human Resources (HR) office at the UT Health Science Center San Antonio announced Jan. 27 its new UT Advantage Faculty & Staff Assistance & Worklife Solutions program.

Mike Black, M.B.A., senior executive vice president and chief operating officer; Sherry Wilson, assistant vice president for HR’s Workforce Programs; and Priscilla Castillo, worklife coordinator in HR, explained the new services available to all faculty and staff during a special program over the lunch hour.

Related stories: Wilson managed similar worklife program at UT Health Science Center Houston

“Worklife” is the HR industry’s term for programs that help employees balance what they do for a living with their personal lives.

UT Advantage offers a variety of services
The new program, implemented Jan. 1 by HR, offers faculty and staff a wide array of free services including online information resources, financial and legal advice, a personal assistant service, as well as a new counseling service. A sampling of these services includes:

• Budgeting, debt consolidation, and college and retirement planning advice
  
• Tax preparation and advice
  
• Legal services, such as simple wills, identity theft recovery assistance and consumer rights services
  
• Personal assistant services that will help employees “outsource” their “to-do” lists to save valuable time and effort
  
• Faculty and Staff Assistance Program that will give faculty, staff and their immediate families access to a network of 36,000 master’s-level therapists located throughout San Antonio and the United States

“This is a brand-new program and we think that faculty and staff will be amazed at what it offers,” Wilson said. “This is a large network of free information, professional and consulting services, and counseling. It significantly improves the value of being a Health Science Center employee.”

Leading worklife provider
The program is being offered through Workplace Options, one of the leading national worklife providers. According to company literature, Workplace Options is the largest worklife service provider serving 18.5 million employees. The company provides worklife services to 54 of the organizations named to Working Mother magazine's "Top 100 Companies," 41 of Fortune "Best 100 Companies to Work For" and more than 196 universities in the U.S., including the UT Health Science Center Houston.

One employee’s experience
HR Office Manager Anne McGee, who is retiring at the end of January, recently tried the personal assistant service. “I want to stay active by volunteering with children or the elderly,” she said. “I decided to give it a try and got onto the live chat. They responded right away and asked me a few more questions, like my address and how far I’d be willing to travel to volunteer. Within 24 hours they sent me links with tips on retirement and a search engine with a list of local agencies that need volunteers. The search engine gave the job descriptions, the hours, number of volunteers they need and who to contact. It was a great experience. It really is like having your own personal assistant.”

Wilson headed similar program at UT Health Science Center Houston
Wilson, who joined the Health Science Center in July 2007, headed a similar worklife program at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston.

The services offered through the UT Health Science Center San Antonio program address many of the issues faculty and staff identified through an online survey conducted several months ago.

New wellness and weight-loss programs available
“We have already initiated several programs employees said they wanted,” Wilson said. “We’ve expanded the courses we offer through the Knowledge Center, we’re offering a wellness program that encourages exercise and a weight-management program through Weight Watchers. In just a few months, the 40 people in the Weight Watchers program have collectively lost more than 300 pounds. In fact, our Weight Watchers program has been so successful that we are about to open two more classes.”

Employee discount program on the way
“And we will soon be offering an employee discount program,” she said.

For more information, please sign in to the portal and click on either the "Employees" or "Faculty" tab in the blue toolbar at the top of the Web page.

To access the Faculty & Staff Assistance Program counseling services, call (866) 320-2593.

HR welcomes comments about UT Advantage and suggestions for additional programs. Send an e-mail to Workforceprograms@uthscsa.edu.