New Employee Orientation

Any new UCLA employee, that is not serviced by the HRPOC, needing to attend a NEO, can visit the UC Learning Center, search for a course titled, “New Employee Orientation – Live Online”, and enroll in a virtual NEO session. Please note, all new employees are required to attend a NEO session as soon as possible following their date of hire.

In-person attendance is expected for Administration new hires working remotely. If there is an extenuating circumstance where an Administration new hire is not able to attend the in-person NEO, the HRPOC will review the exception request, which must include department head approval, on a case-by-case basis.

Non-Administration client departments will have the opportunity to opt into the HRPOC New Employee Orientation (NEO). If the in-person option is not elected, new hires will be directed to the virtual New Employee Orientation offered by Campus Human Resources Learning & Organizational Development (CHR L&OD).

The university will not be covering the travel or accommodation expenses for new hires attending an in-person New Employee Orientation (NEO). New hires will need to arrange and pay for travel to and from their NEO session. Departments are asked to advise their remote new hires of hotel accommodations, directions from airports, etc. For information on rates and services available to UCLA travelers please visit https://travel.ucla.edu/air-car-hotel.

In accordance with the Office of the President guidance, employees who are approved for fully remote status can be expected to work onsite on occasion where the cost of travel is to be paid by the remote employee, with limited exceptions and prior senior leadership approval. For more information, please refer to the Work Location and Travel Reimbursement (Section C.II.d) of the UCLA FlexWork Principles 2023 circulated to the Human Resources Advisory Group (HRAG).

The HRPOC will register new hires for the onsite NEO according to the new hire’s start date. New hires will receive communications from HRPOC on the date, time, location of the NEO, as well as instructions on parking. New hires will have the opportunity to complete an Event Registration Form to indicate if they have accessibility or accommodation needs for the event. The hiring manager will be notified by the HRPOC of their new hire’s attendance at the NEO.

If new hires have any questions about the NEO, they can email HRPOC Ticketing System or askhrpoc@chr.ucla.edu.

As a best practice, departments are also encouraged to engage with new hires to check in prior to the NEO.

All Administration new hires need to start their first day of employment aligned with the NEO session schedule of Monday, 8am-4pm. If your new hire’s regular work schedule does not align, they can begin their regular shift schedule after they attend the NEO which is their first date of employment.

For questions about how to enter the NEO into the time and attendance system, please consult with the HRPOC.

Please refer to this NEO website to view a schedule of the NEO sessions.

The HRPOC recommends 30 days before a new hire start date to allow for all of the necessary pre-employment requirements and processing to be completed, as outlined below.

• Once a final candidate is chosen, they must complete their paperwork, background checks, and any pre-employment testing. These results can take up to 5-10 business days, and timing of the results is contingent on the candidate completing these requirements as soon as possible.
• For background checks, the HRPOC submits fingerprints to the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI), Department of Justice (DOJ) or Universal Background Screening (UBS), which have their own processing timelines. (Please note, if an ineligible candidate situation occurs and a Notice of Pre-Adverse Action is issued to a candidate, this will add additional time to the process.)
• For pre-employment testing, the HRPOC coordinates with our medical partners, and results typically take up to 3-5 days.
• Once the candidate has successfully completed and passed all background checks and pre-employment testing, the department is responsible for issuing the final welcome letter and notifying the HRPOC to begin processing the hire. This time estimation is solely dependent on the department.
• Once the HRPOC is notified by the department, the hiring transaction is processed by coordinating with UCPath and sometimes the Central Resource Unit (CRU). UCPath takes approximately 5-14 business days to complete the hire process and issue a University ID (UID).

To allow for all the maximum timeframes mentioned above, including any potential delays such as the candidate’s delay in completing their paperwork or pre-employment requirements, the HRPOC recommends at least a 30-day approximate start date.

Yes. All Administration new hires are expected to attend the NEO.