2014 Winter Internship

For three weeks during winter session, 2014, twenty-two undergraduate FSA student employees worked full-time to develop a presentation that would communicate, from their perspective, the FSA student employee experience. These students came from a variety of FSA services, including the Seawolves MarketPlace, Campus Dining, Provost’s Liaison, and Student Staffing Resources. Supporting the students were four professional staff members and one graduate student. The student interns were divided into six groups, each charged with developing a training session for student employees. Three broad topics “Focus on Yourself”, “Focus on Co-Workers”, and “Focus on Customers” were presented to the interns for further development. Within each general category were two sub-categories, as follows:

Focus on Yourself

• Knowing your own goals for your job = reduced stress
• Understanding that your daily workplace experience = experience on your resume

Focus on Co-Workers

• “Owning your shift” = respecting your co-workers
• Teaching and learning from each other = appreciating our diversity

Focus on Customers

• Customer care = awareness and promotion of health and safety
• Customer communication = “listening” + “speaking” + “understanding”

During the first week students began researching topics, developing outcomes and creating relevant icebreakers, team building games and supporting materials. Week two focused on developing the presentation in a way that would be easily understood and interesting, as well as communicating the “why” for items being presented. Videos, brochures and surveys were created during this time. Week three included putting the finishing touches on the presentations, and practice, practice, practice. Spring opening weekend was the culmination of the winter internship, when two, three hour training sessions were presented to returning students. In total, 133 FSA student employees attended one of the two sessions, more than 1/3 of all FSA student staff.

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Survey

FSA Training Evaluation

January 25 and 26, 2014
N = 114

The questions below were responded to using a five point scale.
(5 = Strongly Agree, 4 = Mostly Agree, 3 = Somewhat Agree, 2 = Mostly Disagree, 1 = Strongly Disagree)

• 1. The presenters were professional
  5 – 66
  4 – 40
  3 – 7
  2 – 1
  1 – 0
  Average Score: 4.5
• 2. I understood the objective of the presentations
  5 – 78
  4 – 31
  3 – 5
  2 – 0
  1 – 0
  Average Score: 4.64
• 3. I will apply the information learned today to my everyday life
  5 – 41
  4 – 46
  3 – 22
  2 – 4
  1 – 1
  Average Score: 4.07
• 4. These sessions would be useful for new student employees
  5 – 67
  4 – 30
  3 – 13
  2 – 3
  1 – 1
  Average Score: 4.39
• 5. This was a valuable experience for me
  5 – 31
  4 – 34
  3 – 34
  2 – 12
  1 – 3
  Average Score: 3.68
• 6. Attending these sessions provided me information I was not aware of prior to attendance
  5 – 19
  4 – 30
  3 – 35
  2 – 24
  1 – 6
  Average Score: 3.28
• 7. My interest was held throughout the sessions
  5 – 17
  4 – 32
  3 – 46
  2 – 15
  1 – 4
  Average Score: 3.37
• 8. The videos used throughout the presentations were entertaining and to the point
  5 – 44
  4 – 49
  3 – 18
  2 – 2
  1 – 1
  Average Score: 4.16
• What did you like most about this training?
  • Helped me realize and learn more about how I should handle my time.
  • That the presenters incorporated student involvement and tried to actively engage students’ attentions while remaining informative
  • Resume builders
  • Learn about the rules of how to work correctly.
  • The excitement of the presenters
  • I like the panels were done by students
  • I like the techniques used to prove the points they wanted to.
  • How interactive some of the activities were, some of the videos.
  • The interactive lessons such as Jenga and FSA feud.
  • The videos and interactive presentations
  • It had a lot of interactive programs that kept me engaged.
  • How the students were able to meet others from different positions at FSA
  • I like that they incorporated a lot of visuals in their presentations.
  • Learning how to make the most of my time at FSA.
  • I liked the socially interactive portion.
  • The games incorporating the lessons being taught.
  • The videos and skits.
  • I liked the videos (especially Frozen’s “Let it Go”)
  • The effort of the presenters
  • The games and student made videos
  • I liked learning about the stickers for those food certified and the videos.
  • I liked that students came up with and presented the ideas.
  • Funny videos, games, sorbetto
  • How it was a group experience with fellow co-workers.
  • The visual presentations like videos.
  • Videos, interactions made the training more engaging
  • A lot of useful information was presented
  • The presenters explained things in our terms (student terms.)
  • The videos provided an entertaining twist. The game played was great (FSA Feud)
  • The videos (2)
  • The presenters
  • Interactive, not just lecture.
  • The interaction and videos.
  • That it was presented by students who are understanding to us employees who are students.
  • Family feud. Option to complete it before classes started.
  • I liked the personal examples the presenters gave
  • Activities
  • The interactive games
  • The videos that showed us day to day examples
  • Interactivity
  • The interactive games.
  • I enjoyed the interactive games.
  • It was presented by students.
  • Giving real life problems through games, helps it seem reliable.
  • The trainers
  • Students organized it and made it interesting.
  • LEAF, Diversity presentation
  • The skits performed by the students.
  • The general knowledge of things I never knew before.
  • It was directed/focused on me as an employee, appreciative.
  • The “Frozen” video in 25 different languages
  • The hands on activities that tied into understanding/learning the material.
  • Informative
  • The activities such as Jenga which was more hands on.
  • Way informative and interesting.
  • The presenters were well prepared.
  • Made it interesting with games and videos
  • Knowledge of areas outside my office but also under FSA.
  • Games (2)
  • It’s informal
  • It helps remind you of workplace skills necessary to flourish.
  • The saboteur game was fun
  • This training was very informative and useful on situations students might face while working.
  • I really liked the videos. They were really well made.
  • The videos (2)
  • I liked how informative and helpful it was for the workplace.
  • The student managers
  • The Sponge Bob video, Jenga
  • The presenters seemed to have fun and a good attitude. It’s nice to see so many student managers from different departments sharing their knowledge.
  • Interactive activities to pique my interest in the subject matter.
  • I liked the explanation about working with coworkers in an environment.
  • It was very informing. They tried to make it fun.
  • It was more engaging than past sessions.
  • Interaction
  • The interactive games
  • It was run by students.
  • The upstairs portion was more engaging and organic, whereas the downstairs portion seemed more like a genetic HR presentation.
  • The skits the presenters created.
  • The Power Point was to the point
  • The interactive activities
  • Active presentation
  • I enjoyed the activities
  • The activities involved to test the objectives.
  • I enjoyed learning about time management.
  • Time management and resume building
  • The games and interactions made me stay interested and really listen to everyone.
  • I liked the creative videos that the presenters created. They clearly showed the information that they were trying to teach us.
  • I learned things that were never told to me when I first started out.
  • The presentations were broken up in sectors
  • I got to learn what I didn’t know/confused about.
  • The games were fun
  • The diversity video and Frozen, the vital information we were provided with.
  • Got paid, fun exercises.
  • I liked the variety of different presenters
  • The information being presented by students.
  • The presenters were very professional and kept it entertaining.
  • It was clear and straight to the point.
  • It created a sense of unity amongst employees.
  • The interaction with the trainees and trainers.
  • It was nice to see coworkers from other concepts
  • I love how we had games to get everyone more engaged.
  • How important our responsibilities are and how big of an impact we have in our community.
  • More informed about Campus Dining and communication in general.
  • I liked how there were different presenters throughout the training.
• What did you like least about this training?
  • There wasn’t hands on job specific training.
  • A little dry, way too long
  • I think it’s all good.
  • Was long duration
  • Could have made it a little shorter.
  • Some of the speakers could not be understood or they sped.
  • The timing that it took. More concise sessions so it can end on time.
  • Nothing, this training was useful.
  • Reading off slide/notes. Speaking too fast.
  • The training was a little long
  • The amount of time it took
  • A few of the presentations went way over time.
  • The Power Point presentations
  • It was long (2)
  • The seating
  • That is was long
  • A little too long.
  • Too long time
  • It was very lengthy.
  • The length of this training, but it can’t be helped.
  • Having to sit down and listen.
  • The length of time (2)
  • Ice breakers
  • It was a little long
  • The long repetitive parts
  • The resume filler
  • A lot of things mentioned were obvious.
  • Too long
  • Sometimes boring – ran late.
  • It was very long (3)
  • Too much geared towards Campus Dining and food locations.
  • It was a bit long
  • Death by Power Point
  • Length, certain groups rambled too much and were not well spoken.
  • Length, boring, this could have been done in half the time.
  • Long presentations that didn’t keep me interested.
  • Some videos were a little loony.
  • It was long, but it didn’t feel that way because my interest was engaged.
  • Sometimes the presenters were repetitive
  • I dislike the overly long presentations.
  • Sitting and listening
  • The longevity.
  • It was too long and repetitive. A lot of the info. I was already aware of.
  • Lecture portions
  • The length.
  • Its date and time (7 p.m. is too late.)
  • Very long
  • I was cold.
  • Location and length
  • The lack of an actual sabatore.
  • I already knew a lot of the information presented.
  • Too lengthy
  • Too long (3)
  • I disliked the obvious info. That did not need to be stated.
  • I didn’t like how some of the presentations addressed issues that people already know about like stress. Addressing allergies was really useful.
  • Redundant information for someone who has been working with FSA for 3 years.
  • Nothing (2)
  • The group activities
  • The time
  • It was pretty long. Just wish it kept being more fun hands on.
  • Some of it was repetitive, but most of the presentations were unique.
  • The redundancy
  • Early start time
  • Nothing
  • The length
  • Time was too long
  • Hungry
  • The length
  • The duration
  • Most needed to speak louder
  • Long (9)
  • Presenters need to speak louder.
  • Not helpful for someone been working with FSA for 3 years, basic concepts and nothing about development.
  • The information was pretty obvious
  • None
  • It was a little too long.
  • Some of it was common sense.
  • Everything was well planned. I have no dislikes for this training session.
  • How long and early it was.
  • Videos and games
  • The videos
• Did this session enhance your knowledge of FSA?

  Yes – 97 (87%)
  No – 15 (13%)
  No Answer – 2

• What were the key points you took from today’s presentations?
  • Health and safety
  • Presenters randomly calling on people.
  • LEAF, How to turn negative situations into positive ones, what to say to the customer, health and safety regulations, time management
  • The D.E.A.L and L.E.A.F acronyms
  • It was sometimes long
  • The concept of communication
  • I think as an employee we need to do better on working.
  • Responsibility
  • Improve on work ethics
  • FSA is more worried about appearance than effectiveness.
  • The key points I took away is the protocols to follow when dealing with calling out
  • Own your shift. We are students and customers.
  • A healthy work environment includes respect and communication.
  • How to take care of myself and things I should do at work.
  • Cooperation, teamwork, stages of work
  • We are the customer and the worker – how we should treat others.
  • Resume building and differences in ethnicity.
  • I learned how to write my resume better.
  • Tips to maintaining a healthy and happy working environment.
  • Time management, diversity and respect for each other or co-workers.
  • Communication is vital
  • Own my shift, how to be a better worker and student manager and how to become more knowledgeable about my job.
  • Communication
  • To be respectful, caring and professional
  • Respect, adaptability, punctuality
  • Communication and team work. (2)
  • Time management and awareness of stress.
  • The campus is diverse and from that we should understand each other’s differences.
  • How to build resumes, the different dietary needs of different students and also time management.
  • Practice good customer service, do your best in FSA and school, treat others with respect.
  • Communications is always preferred to confrontation.
  • Skills learned while working with FSA can help later on in life.
  • Treating each other with respect
  • To be aware of common sense things to apply towards working.
  • Was aware of most of the behavioral aspects as I came in with prior experience. Food and nutrition were very informative.
  • Time management, diversity is important.
  • Pretty much everything, but the most important thing is time management and its importance.
  • Resume building
  • To be respectful and caring
  • How to work in a workplace
  • Be considerate.
  • L.E.A.F. (Listen, Empathize, Apologize, Fix)
  • It’s important to be able to communicate with those in your workplace
  • 3 C’s
  • Respect diversity at work. Cover up for coworkers.
  • What responsibilities to maintain during this experience.
  • Communication and teamwork
  • Own your shift
  • K.C. (Key Concepts)
  • Having a food handlers license is important
  • Communication, professionalism
  • Communication and responsibility
  • Time management, food safety, FSA policies, customer care, resume.
  • Trying to be stress free balancing school and work.
  • The importance of working as a team, communicating and how to improve as one employee. What it means to be professional.
  • Decrease stress
  • Adaptability is pretty important.
  • Customer appreciation
  • Adaptability in the workforce
  • To be a better employee and student by balancing my workload.
  • Customer care and self-management
  • We are all a team
  • LEAF, Respect, Diversity
  • Time management, owning one’s shift. (2)
  • L.E.A.F., teamwork and owning your shift.
  • Time management, resume skills.
  • Diversity
  • The four phases of employment (excitement, frustration, looking, recommitment.)
  • Communication and respect are essential to a happy and healthy work environment.
  • How to treat customers
  • Customers should always be treated as guests and with respect. I also learned how to deal with time management.
  • Enjoy working
  • Respect and teamwork
  • Resume building, diversity
  • The importance of respect for diversity in the workplace.
  • Team work, engage customers, communication
  • Treat customers and coworkers with respect, work hard, be proactive and adaptable.
  • Time management
  • Leadership, diversity, key concepts.
  • You can affect your workplace and you should be proactive in your experience as an employee.
  • Respecting others, owning your shift, all about balance
  • Diversity in the workplace is essential. Having an open mind is important and treat your fellow employees and customers as you’d like to be treated.
  • The information provided was important
  • Time management, customer service, commitment.
  • The adaptability lesson, how this can help me grow as a person and increase my experience for my resume.
  • Own your shift, LEAF
  • Resume and certain ways to put skills on a resume
  • Respect, approach managers, take action
  • Respect each other and do your job
  • Communication, time management
  • Types of allergies and knowing exactly what vegans and vegetarians eat.
  • How to be a responsible worker, how to treat customers and co-workers, benefits of working for FSA
  • How to deal with unhappy customers
  • Own shift, 3 C’s
  • To be professional and positive
  • To be professional
  • Work is about respect and team work.
  • Communication, leadership are important for a better service and healthy service.
  • LEAF, Time management, resume tips
  • Balancing life, be team player, be respectful
  • To manage my time better.
  • LEAF
  • Own shifts, communicate, be attentive to customer service as well as individual needs, respect everyone you interact with, take care of yourself.
  • Respect co-workers
  • Respect and responsibility
  • Respect patrons
  • It’s important to time manage and it’s a great resume builder.
  • Student managers are required to become food safety certified.
  • The key points that I received from today’s presentation was learning how to deal with customers when they were in distress and how to deal with our stress.
  • Food allergies is important to be aware of.
  • Time management
  • How to handle stress and achieve a proper balance.
  • Learning that everything starts with me and my actions.
• Please list any ideas for additional topics you think should be covered in future sessions:
  • Examples of customer service issues frequently occurring at locations apart from Campus Dining.
  • None, this is good
  • Labor laws (when you must be paid, how raises work, direct deposit, etc.)
  • Safety awareness
  • Sexual harassment
  • Workplace conflict resolution
  • Drugs (2)
  • How to build leadership
  • More about during your shift and hard work.
  • Constant lateness
  • Something for seasoned workers who may know these things.
  • Money managing
  • None, everything was covered.
  • Most were covered
  • Language barriers between customer and employee
  • Focus more on office work.
  • Promotion opportunities
  • How to properly write a resume
  • Student rights (pay raises, bonuses)
  • Raises/bonuses (how/when they work.)
  • The job descriptions
  • Did great
  • Cut down on the presentations.
  • Parking/commuter opportunities for students
  • Workplace professionalism and respect for managers.
  • Specific training on each workplace.
  • Practical training – how to work a line, how to make a latte, how to make a wrap, how to use a POS.
  • Emotional intelligence can be touched upon. Keeping personal and professional lives distinct and separate, irrespective of your coworkers or supervisor. Individual practice is important. It can really help reduce stress at work.
  • You pretty much covered it all. Maybe emphasizing how to deal with customers more.
  • Interactive customer service!!! Many employees lack in this area.
  • More games and hands on activities! Those were the most fun.
  • Harassment on the job.
  • Sexual harassment
  • Nothing else
  • How to deal with issues with professional staff, salary negotiation skills, more dedicated section about time management skills.
  • More on leadership
  • More specific topics about what to do in certain situations in the workplace.
  • Maybe a general idea of what each department does.
  • Learn more about what foods different religions can eat.
• How could we improve these sessions?
  • Perhaps more involvement from other professional managers.
  • Make them more interesting or shorter.
  • Shorten them (3)
  • Stop reading off slides and notes.
  • Have job specific training for each organization (Starbucks, Red Mango, Wendy’s, etc.)
  • Hands on sessions
  • Shorter, more to the point.
  • Less boring, more interactive
  • More visuals to engage students’ attentions. Louder, more enthusiastic speakers.
  • More unknown facts about nutrition.
  • K1eep it short (2)
  • Short and concise
  • Microphones, the presenters say “FSA does this, this and this” but doesn’t tell you how. FSA helps you distress…how??
  • Two different sessions instead of one.
  • A little shorter. Only suitable for new employees
  • They were good.
  • Food (3)
  • More information on safety
  • Condense it
  • Make it more concise and shorter
  • It is good as is but it’s a little too time consuming.
  • Better time management
  • Make them more interesting, interactive.
  • Shorten a little bit.
  • More icebreakers
  • Send an email with the information instead.
  • Make them shorter.
  • Shorten some of the reading off of prewritten speeches.
  • Try implementing hands on, job specific section.
  • Maybe making them slightly shorter and more interactive.
  • Speak louder
  • Better seating
  • By making them shorter
  • Increased notice before presentations.
  • Shorter and sweater, encompassing more information about office work vs. food service.
  • Keep it shorter.
  • Make sure time is right
  • Lessen the amount of time presenters spend simply speaking
  • Shorter presentations
  • Eye catching slides would keep interest more.
  • Less lecturing
  • Train the speakers.
  • Should be for new employees. Shorter session. Keep it to 1.5 hours
  • Make it short and concise.
  • Make them more interactive and engaging.
  • It’s good
  • Have a question and answer session
  • Focus more on the students’ needs and wants.
  • Try not reading directly from the slide.
  • All presentations to have more interaction, less quizzes.
  • Give mid-semester ones for progress.
  • Include job specific sessions
  • More moving around, sitting for so long makes me so tired
  • Make them more interactive
  • Be more engaging
  • Staying the way you are.
  • Just keep every presentation active. It’s good when we get involved in a presentation.
  • Make them mandatory for all new hires
  • More hands on activities.
  • Make them shorter. (2)
  • Making them shorter, but the material was interesting.
  • Shorten a bit.
  • Keep it more concise, don’t repeat, hands on training.
  • Host during campus lifetime, not the weekend before school starts.
  • Make them in the afternoon
  • More interactive, serve food.
  • Better location
  • It’s during lunch and I was absolutely starving.
  • More engaging activities.
  • More activities, less lecture
  • Make it more interactive
  • Offer some snacks, especially if at such an early time.
  • Good enough
  • More activities, quicker
• Other comments:
  • In general, the food options for people with allergies, particularly gluten in my case, are slim and I think there should be a separate menu available at each location which specifies allergens.
  • Great Job
  • Less group activities. Give presentations and handouts, students respond better.
  • I would like to see some inter-FSA recognition of all the departments. I think food staff don’t know about office departments.

Results

Eighty-five percent of those who attended completed a survey based on their experience. Overall student impressions were positive. More than 85% stated this session enhanced their knowledge of FSA and was a valuable experience. Seventy-four percent of respondents said they were provided with information they were not aware of prior to attendance, and 96% said they would apply the information learned to their everyday life. Student employees who attended the training pointed out that one of the things they liked most about the training was that it was presented by fellow students. They also enjoyed the interactive games and activities. Areas for improvement included reducing the time commitment, offering food, and making it even more interactive. Some ideas for future sessions were communicating with professional staff, promotion opportunities and leadership. Additional sessions will be offered throughout the semester for employees who were not able to attend.

Recommended outcomes of the winter internship include:

• Requiring that all FSA student managers become Suffolk County Food Safety certified;
• Promoting the number of Campus Dining employees who are food safety certified by developing a visual that can be worn on the uniform and communicating through carefully placed register signs;
• Educating the public on matters such as food borne illness myths, food safety, super foods and dietary options through pamphlets and posted in all FSA locations;
• Developing student employee recognition program;
• Communicating university large scale events in all FSA operations;
• Implementing student survey related to student employee satisfaction;
• Continuing to develop “Own your Shift” by ensuring all FSA operations have a policy in place that requires students to know what it means and the implications for not adhering to the policy.
• Executing the LEAF philosophy in all FSA locations (Listen, Empathize, Apologize, Fix.)

These outcomes will be followed up on by professional management so they become part of the FSA culture for many years to come.