Desk Receptionist Manual: East Stroudsburg University
Desk Receptionist Manual: East Stroudsburg University
MANUAL
2012-2013
Page
1
I. ATTITUDE AND APPEARANCE
Your role as a Desk Receptionist has two functions with respect to University rules and
regulations. While working at the desk, it is essential that you respond to all violations of
University policy according to established procedures. While off duty, your
responsibilities are the same as that of any student on campus. You should be supportive
and available to provide assistance to any residence life staff member.
The Desk Receptionist is vital to the efficient and effective functioning of a residence
building. Desk Receptionists are employees of the Residence Life & Housing
Department and as staff employees their appearance, attitude, enthusiasm, and interest are
important factors. (Shirts with alcohol or other drug messages may not be worn to work.)
Casual but, professional attire must be worn.
You are the first person people meet when they enter the hall. Remember, first
impressions are important.
A positive attitude is necessary if you are going to be successful at your job. A Desk
Receptionist who displays a patient and helpful attitude will project a positive image to
others. Being alert and exhibiting good posture are important. Look directly at people
and address them when they enter the building. Do not prop your feet on the desk or be
anywhere but in the reception area. You are to refrain from using vulgar, foul or
derogatory language. Laptops and i-pods are permitted only with the approval of your
supervisor. Cell phone use for personal calls is not permitted while on duty.
A well-organized reception area is important. Familiarize yourself with the entire lobby
area, desk materials and emergency telephone numbers. If a situation arises where you
need immediate assistance, call a Resident Advisor (RA) for help. KNOW WHICH RA
IS ON DUTY AND HOW TO CONTACT HIM OR HER AT ALL TIMES. A duty
RA is available from 7:00 PM 7:00 AM Sunday through Thursday, and starting at 7:00
PM Friday straight through until 7:00 PM on Sunday evening.
As an employee of the Residence Life & Housing Department, you will be privy to
information which is not public and must be kept confidential, such as disciplinary
reports, police reports, grade reports, etc. This responsibility is very important and must
not be taken lightly.
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III. MAINTAINING A WORKING KNOWLEDGE OF THE DESK
The following information will give you a working knowledge of desk policies and
procedures. The list is not all-inclusive since you may be assigned other duties or
responsibilities by the Resident Director or Graduate Assistant of the building. These are
our expectations of you. Know them and if you have questions, ask your supervisor.
The Desk Receptionist serves three basic functions: reception, administration and
security.
2) Cover the desk at all times. Do not leave the desk area unless it is
absolutely necessary! Absolutely necessary does not mean getting
something to eat, going back to your room for something you might have
forgotten, or doing laundry. You may leave your shift early only if you
have a scheduled class. Speak with your supervisor to see how early you
may leave.
5) Likewise, you should not make personal calls on your cell phone while
working at the desk.
6) All emergency phone numbers are posted near the phone. There is always
an RA on duty after 7:00 PM (24 hours on the weekends); he/she should
be contacted immediately if problems arise.
7) Assume charge of the Public Address system when appropriate. Only the
Desk Receptionist or another staff member is permitted to use the system.
At no time should anyone else be permitted to use the PA system. General
announcements must be approved beforehand by the Resident Director,
Graduate Assistant or RA on duty. Do not make announcements unless
they have been approved.
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8) Solicitation of any kind must be approved by the Residence Life Office in
Hemlock Suites. This includes the sale of food, tickets, and anything else
various campus organizations may sell. If the organization does not
have a Solicitation/Concession Permit, they may not have been
granted permission to solicit and should be asked to leave. Under no
circumstances will door to door solicitations be permitted. Call the
RA on duty or University Police if problems arise.
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8) There are snack, beverage, laundry, and vending machines in each hall.
Refunds may be obtained at the Campus Card Center. Do not allow
anyone to abuse these machines.
Visitation hours will be canceled when the front desk is not staffed.
Announcements should be made and appropriate signs posted.
**Note: Failure to follow any of these guidelines will result in your termination
from the desk job.
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IV. DESK RECEPTIONISTS INDIVIDUAL RESPONSIBILITIES
There are some responsibilities that are not mechanical in nature. They include such
things as attending meetings, reporting on time for shifts, exhibiting role model behavior,
maintaining confidentiality, and dealing with rumors or misinformation appropriately.
SHIFTS Be PROMPT in arriving for your assigned hours. When you are unable to
work your assigned hours, it is your responsibility to make sure the shift is covered.
You only may ask another Desk Receptionist from your building to work for you. If no
one is available, then inform the Resident Director or Graduate Assistant. You cannot
have anyone work for you, or even temporarily take your place, if they are not a Desk
Receptionist. If the desk worker following you does not show up, you should try to call
that person; if you cannot reach him/her, notify the RA on duty of the situation. The RA
on duty is required to cover the desk when a desk worker fails to show up for work.
Enter your e-time for each shift you work after it is completed. Indicate the correct time
that you worked, if you have permission to leave early. DO NOT enter your shift times
before you have worked the shift. (See Worker E-Time Information Sheet in Appendix
B.) Falsification of hours is grounds for dismissal. You are paid only for time YOU
work. (You may NOT work someone elses hours and have them pay you.) After your
shift, be sure that the office area is in order and the office door is shut and locked, if
appropriate.
MEETINGS Periodically your staff will have meetings to schedule hours and to discuss
any problems or concerns that have come up. ATTEND THE MEETINGS. Missing a
meeting without an approved excuse is the same as missing a shift.
DESK RECEPTIONISTS AND THE RUMOR MILL The rumor mill feeds on half-
truths, statements taken out of context and incomplete information. It is a harmful and
dangerous form of communication. As a Desk Receptionist, part of your job is to
communicate accurate information. If you are not sure about information, do not pass it
on. Check it out with your Resident Director or Graduate Assistant. (Rumors are easily
spotted in that they begin with statements like, I heard that or They say that
Please be cautious and think twice about the consequences of passing along inaccurate
information.)
The Special Desk Receptionists serve the same three basic functions as the regular desk
workers reception, administration and security. In addition, Special Desk
Receptionists must swipe their e-card at the desk four times during their assigned
shift. A log of these swipes is sent to your supervisor by the Campus Card Center.
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Special Desk Receptionists are assigned to work the following weekend shifts:
They are assigned an average of two weekends per month for a total of 32 hours/month at
a rate of $9.00 per hour. Because of the higher rate of pay, Special Desk Receptionists
cannot substitute or be utilized to work any other shifts.
NOTE: At 7:45 AM the special desk workers should call the regular desk workers
scheduled to replace them to make sure they are awake and ready to work at 8:00 AM.
A. All student employees are given a specified number of hours for the academic
year (usually 270 300 hours). The number of hours is indicated on your
Financial Aid Notification Letter. It is your responsibility to make sure you do
not work more than the hours allotted.
B. It is the sole responsibility of each student employee, not his or her immediate
supervisor, to enter his or her own hours worked on the e-time system. If the
student fails to do so, zero hours will be reported to the Payroll Office. This could
delay your paycheck up to 2-4 weeks.
C. Desk Receptionists must utilize direct deposit through the payroll department (See
Appendix E). Please complete the Direct Deposit Authorization form and submit
it to the Student Payroll Office in Reibman, G-1. The payment dates are listed on
the Student Pay Schedule located (see Appendix C).
D. Paychecks are two weeks behind the time you submit the hours you have worked.
If you notice any problems or discrepancies, please speak with your supervisor.
There will be times when emergency situations will arise while you are working. Calm
thinking and quick action are important factors in dealing effectively with these
situations.
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Listed below are some emergency situations that might occur:
A. FIRE ALARMS When you are working the desk and a fire alarm
sounds, do not attempt to determine whether the alarm is real or false.
Merely close the office area and leave the building. Take ID box and hall
roster with you.
Report the situation to the RD, GA, or the RA, on duty as soon as
possible.
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VIII. SECURITY (ALARMED DOORS)
In order to reduce the opportunity for unauthorized persons to gain access to the building,
alarms are installed on all exterior doors with exception of the main door/front entrance.
2) Turn off and then reset the alarm with the key that is available at the front
desk.
3) If the key cannot be located, ask the RA on duty for assistance. If the RA
cannot be contacted, ask the Resident Director or someone from the
Custodial Staff for assistance. As a last resort, contact University Police.
Undercover student workers will attempt to gain entry into your building. If they successfully
gain entrance past the front desk without you asking them for their ID, or without you enforcing
the escort policy, it will be reported to your supervisor. Two reports over the span of one
semester will result in your termination from the desk receptionist position.
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STUDENT QUESTIONS: WHERE TO GET ANSWERS
(570) 422 -
12
REMEMBER: WHEN IN DOUBT, CALL YOUR SUPERVISOR OR
UNIVERSITY POLICE (EXT. 2000).
unauthorized persons also violates the schools policy and could constitute
Student MUST
Timekeeper
ENTER Time MUST
Pay Period Pay Period and SIGN by Approve by
Pay Beginning Ending 1159 pm 1200 noon
Number Saturday Friday FRIDAY MONDAY Pay Date
19 08/25/12 09/07/12 09/07/12 09/10/12 09/21/12
20 09/08/12 09/21/12 09/21/12 09/24/12 10/05/12
21 09/22/12 10/05/12 10/05/12 10/08/12 10/19/12
22 10/06/12 10/19/12 10/19/12 10/22/12 11/02/12
23 10/20/12 11/02/12 11/02/12 11/05/12 11/16/12
24 11/03/12 11/16/12 11/16/12 11/19/12 11/30/12
25 11/17/12 11/30/12 11/30/12 12/03/12 12/14/12
26 12/01/12 12/14/12 12/14/12 12/17/12 12/28/12
1 12/15/12 12/28/12 12/28/12 12/31/12 01/11/13
2 12/29/12 01/11/13 01/11/13 01/14/13 01/25/13
3 01/12/13 01/25/13 01/25/13 01/28/13 02/08/13
4 01/26/13 02/08/13 02/08/13 02/11/13 02/22/13
5 02/09/13 02/22/13 02/22/13 02/25/13 03/08/13
6 02/23/13 03/08/13 03/08/13 03/11/13 03/22/13
7 03/09/13 03/22/13 03/22/13 03/25/13 04/05/13
8 03/23/13 04/05/13 04/05/13 04/08/13 04/19/13
9 04/06/13 04/19/13 04/19/13 04/22/13 05/03/13
10 04/20/13 05/03/13 05/03/13 05/06/13 05/17/13
11 05/04/13 05/17/13 05/17/13 05/20/13 05/31/13
12 05/18/13 05/31/13 05/31/13 06/03/13 06/14/13
13 06/01/13 06/14/13 06/14/13 06/17/13 06/28/13
14 06/15/13 06/28/13 06/28/13 07/01/13 07/12/13
15 06/29/13 07/12/13 07/12/13 07/15/13 07/26/13
16 07/13/13 07/26/13 07/26/13 07/29/13 08/09/13
17 07/27/13 08/09/13 08/09/13 08/12/13 08/23/13
18 08/10/13 08/23/13 08/23/13 08/26/13 09/06/13
D
Procedure for Starting Desk Computer in Traditional Halls
Plug computer cable (thicker cable) into blue jack marked lobby
Plug swipe cable into green jack marked ecard
Plug power cables into the electrical outlets
1. Turn on PC
2. Windows Login: swipe; Password: swipeithere (no spaces) and press enter
3. Double Click TMON 64 icon
4. Enter Operator ID & Password, hit enter
5. Click OK
6. Go to File and Select (hall name) interior swipe access, double-click to open
If you have any questions or problems, please contact the Campus Card Center at X2273
E
DIRECT DEPOSIT AUTHORIZATION
I have an established account at the Financial Institution indicated above, and authorize
the State System of Higher Education to initiate credit entries and to initiate d3ebit entries
and voided check (see attached) solely for the purpose of verifying my account number
and the Financial Institutions routing number. My authorization will remain in effect
until revoked by me in writing or I terminate my employment with the State System of
Higher Education.