Building Community at Bennington College

Human Resources, with the support of the Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion and the College’s Staff Council, introduced onboarding programs to assist new staff with building connections across the College and cultivate a sense of belonging in our community. These efforts also engage current staff in reconnecting and fortifying existing relationships on campus.

Bennington College offers a range of onboarding programs to enhance the employee experience.

New Hire Welcome Breakfast

New Hire Welcome Breakfast Quarterly Schedule 

  • April 4, 2024 | 9:30–10:30 am
  • July 18, 2024 | 9:30–10:30 am
  • October 11, 2024 | 11:00 am - 12:00 pm
  • January 9, 2025 | 9:30–10:30 am
  • April 3, 2025 | 9:30–10:30 am

Quarterly welcome breakfasts are social events to bring together a group of new hires so they can begin building relationships across the College. This is a fun, relaxing moment for new employees to come together in a safe, welcoming space. Each new hire attending will have the opportunity to bring along a plus one guest from their own office. The plus one guest will be assigned by the new hires manager at the time of onboarding. New hires will be assigned to the respective quarterly event during the onboarding process. 

Engaging and Supporting Hybrid/Remote Employees

  • Hybrid Employees 
    • For those living in close proximity (within one hour to the College) we invite them to attend in person
    • For those living further than one hour away from the College, we encourage them to attend in person, if possible, but also offer the option of joining virtually. If joining virtually, we will send the employee an electronic $10 VISA gift card for breakfast (to be sent to their Bennington work email).
  • Remote Employees 
    • We encourage the employee to attend in person, if possible, but offer the option to join virtually. If joining virtually, we will send the employee an electronic $10 VISA gift card for breakfast (to be sent to their Bennington work email).

Bennington Buddies

The College offers the Bennington Building Community Buddy System ("Bennington Buddies"), a program that allows new hires to meet and engage with staff across the College and develop deeper understandings of how their role connects to other roles on the campus. 

Bennington Buddies is an opportunity to create moments for a new hire to be able to build relationships and community both within and outside of their own office. The buddy system allows current staff to be ambassadors for new hires. By creating deliberate moments for meaningful connections we allow a new hire to create departmental and interdepartmental relationships. Bennington Buddies is a series of three specific touch points during which a new hire will engage with other community members. These touch points are organized by the hiring manager during onboarding and will take place over the new hire's first two to three months of employment. 

Engaging and Supporting Hybrid/Remote Employees

  • Hybrid Employees
    • Manager discretion: Virtual/in-person, with recommendation that at least one meeting (or connection) is in-person
  • Remote Employees
    • Virtual may be the most reasonable option, but there may be opportunity to flex timing of meetings to coincide with scheduled campus visits