Newsletter

Human Resources “Things to Know!” Newsletter

Welcome to the Fall 2024 Newsletter

As we continue working toward making Liberty an employer of choice, we are thankful for each of you and the gifts you bring to this university. Thank you for working alongside us as we Train Champions for Christ together.

In this month’s newsletter, you will learn about Recruiting as a Service (RaaS), the Christmas holiday paid time off, policy updates, and more! We hope you find this newsletter helpful, and if you have any questions or concerns, you are welcome to contact us at (434) 592–7330 or HR@liberty.edu.

A Message from HR’s Executive Vice President

Thirty Years! That’s how many years I will have been here at Liberty as of September 7, 2024. There is no way that I could have written the script that has kept me here for this many years, but I am glad that someone else did. God, in his sovereign way, made a path for me. Even though it hasn’t always been easy, and I haven’t always been happy about it, I am truly grateful that God’s plan for me won out. Proverbs 19:21 says, “You can make many plans, but the Lord’s purpose will prevail (NLT).” God can only be true to his word and this Proverb has been very true in my life.

As I think about the thousands of students that have descended upon campus and the more than one hundred thousand online students, I reflect on their dream of completing a degree. That’s what brought me to Liberty from the San Fransisco Bay Area in July of 1993. Liberty was my second attempt at college and the first since becoming a Christ-follower. At the time I thought I wanted to be a counselor and worked toward a degree in psychology as a first step. Along the way, I realized I didn’t really want to be a counselor. When a professor here at Liberty suggested I pursue a seminary degree to become a pastor, that honestly didn’t appeal to me either. Little did I know that my career path would take me into the world of Human Resources. Strangely enough, I found that being in HR at Liberty gave me the opportunity to use both my psychology and pastoral experiences to help people. I honestly do not know if the path I took is the one that God wanted me to take, but I do know that the path I took, He used.

Recently I spoke to a group of about 30 students and asked how many of them had changed their major since they began Liberty. Nearly every student raised his or her hand. I don’t know if it was God who directed them to a different major, but it wasn’t a surprise that along the way students changed their minds.

Proverb 16:9 says, “We can make our plans, but the Lord determines our steps.” I’ve made my plans and at times have wrestled with the reality that God was taking me in another direction than what I thought was best. What if God didn’t determine our steps? I have no idea where I may have ended up, but there was no way I could have known after 22 years in HR at Liberty, that it would have led me to the position I’m in today.

God is taking his followers on a journey; the question is do we trust him with it? People have come into HR saying, “God told me I was supposed to get a job here and I’ve applied to 20 positions, but no one will hire me.” My reply, “Apparently”, He hasn’t told anyone else.” I know that sounds cold, but don’t we sometimes think we know the plans He has for us when in reality, these are the plans we hope he has for us.

My pastor told me he used to make plans for the whole year and ask for God to bless them. When he realized what he was doing, he thought it was foolish to think God would bless his plans. So, he began asking God for His plans and if he could join Him in them. You can do everything right in preparing for a trip to the beach; swimsuit, sunscreen, beach towel, umbrella, but if we get on Highway 460 and go west, you aren’t going to end up in Myrtle Beach. You must go in the right direction and only God knows the right direction for you.

One of the directions Liberty has always had was Training Champions for Christ. As far as I know, this has always been our mission. Dr. Falwell knew that the call of every follower of Jesus was to “go and make disciples” (Mt. 28:19). So, he set our mission to be in line with God’s call to his church. This is like “true north” for Liberty, where no matter what we do, it must be to this end and for the purpose of Training Champions for Christ. I love that I get to work for an organization with a value that parallels with God’s call to every follower.

Several years ago, my daughter called me and told me, “Dad, I think I’m supposed to go to Uganda, but how do I know?” I told her to just confess to God that she was sensing this was his direction for her and that she was going to start taking steps toward it. Say to God that you want to be obedient to Him and ask that if you take any steps that are not His will and plan for you, for Him to stop and redirect you. The point of this is that you are submitting your plans to Him and trusting His plan for you. She watched God answer her prayer as she raised funds, and a few months later went by herself to serve people with the love of Jesus. Believe me, my wife and I had to trust Him too!

Perhaps the most famous Proverb is 3:5-6; “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths” (ESV). Many followers of Jesus have made this their life verse, myself included. It is a simple path toward trusting God and letting him be in control of your life. No matter the path you are on, God will guide you. My suggestion for you is to just ask Him if this is the path you are meant to be on and if He can direct you to wherever you are supposed to go. Make your plans but submit them to Him. He has something for you for which you were uniquely created to do. The only way you may find out what it is is by asking God to be in control.

Introducing Recruiting as a Service (RaaS)

In a continuous effort to enhance our services, Human Resources is pleased to unveil Recruiting as a Service (RaaS), which will launch on Monday, Sept. 30.

RaaS provides departments with dedicated recruiters who will learn your department’s unique hiring needs. Recruiters will utilize tools like Workday Recruiting, LinkedIn, and GoodTime to ensure swift, efficient hiring processes, ultimately reducing time to hire and enhancing new hire success rates. This improvement will provide cutting-edge technology and dedicated support for departments.

In preparation for this launch, starting Sept. 2, we will stop accepting new job postings. Then, on Sept. 9, we will freeze incoming applications.

This will not affect any current applications during and after the freeze, but any departments wishing to move forward with an existing candidate will need to ask that individual to resubmit the application. This freeze will end on Sept. 30. We will be providing more information as we approach the launch date.

Summer Temp Employee Transition

Students have returned and the Fall 2024 semester is in full swing! The deadline to move all Summer Temp employees was on August 19, 2024. However, if you still have employees in Summer Temp roles, please submit a termination or Change Job for these employees as soon as possible (you must terminate or process the change job for all summer temps regardless of the end date selected). 

By moving or terminating your employees to the correct role, you help us ensure that employees are correctly classified. Correctly classifying employees is important for many reasons including any tax implications as well as compliance-related factors. 

Job Change Reasons 

• Lateral Move – Change in Responsibility: This is simply changing the job profile from Summer Temp back to Student Worker and the employee type back from Summer Temp to Student Worker. 

• Lateral Move – Move to Another Position: This is changing the position number in addition to changing the job profile from Summer Temp back to Student Worker and the employee type back from Summer Temp to Student Worker. Use this if you moved the student into a Summer Temp position number. They remain in the same sup org. 

• Transfer – Lateral Move: This is used when the student is changing sup orgs. 

Managing Summer Temps 

A few reports are available to you in Workday to assist in managing your summer temporary workers and positions. To access these reports, type the appropriate title from the list below into the Workday search bar: 

• All Active Summer Temporary Employees: This report will show you all active summer temporary employees. 

• All Summer Temporary Positions: This report will allow you to find all of your summer temporary positions. 

Important Reminders for Transferring Student Workers: 

• Ensure that any job profile you will be using is complete and up to date. If not, please submit a Job Profile ServiceNow request as early as possible. 

• Employee type must be set to “Student Worker”. 

• Default Weekly Hours and Scheduled Weekly Hours must match and should be changed to 20 hours or fewer.  

Additional resources can be found at www.liberty.ued/workday. Check out the Workday Walk-Throughs webpage for quick guides and instructional videos on various Workday business processes. 

Workers Compensation Insurance Program

Liberty University provides a comprehensive workers compensation insurance program at no cost to employees. This program covers any injury or illness sustained during employment that requires medical, surgical or hospital treatment. Subject to applicable legal requirements, workers’ compensation insurance provides benefits after a short waiting period or, if the employee is hospitalized, immediately. 

Employees who sustain work-related injuries or illnesses, regardless of severity, should inform their supervisor and the Human Resources Office immediately. This will enable an eligible employee to qualify for coverage as quickly as possible.  

Still have questions about Workers Compensation or filing a claim? Please email us at employeerelations@liberty.edu or watch the instructional videos here. 

Christmas Holiday Reminder

Christmas will be before you know it and we wanted to make sure you’re up to date on how the university will be managing Paid Time Off (PTO) during the extended Christmas holiday. 

Earlier this year the university announced an updated holiday calendar that impacted the Christmas holiday. The university will be closed from Monday December 23 to Friday December 27.   

All full-time staff will receive 3 additional holidays for a total of 5 days (40 hours) of holiday time that will be automatically added to your absence calendar in Workday. You can expect these days to be loaded onto your Workday Absence calendar on November 1. You will also receive an email confirmation once these days have been loaded. Although the university will be closed, there will be some employees required to work during the closure. If you are required to work, you can expect more information from your Vice President as we get closer to the Christmas Holiday. 

Policy Updates

Maternity Leave 

As of July 1, 2024, maternity leave has been made available to eligible employees for the birth and care of a newborn child. The eligible mother may only use this benefit once per rolling calendar year and the amount of leave given does not increase based on multiple births. View the maternity leave policy (section 6.12) in the employee handbook for more details. 
 

Adoption Leave 

As of July 1, 2024, adoption leave is available to eligible employees for the adoption and care of a newly adopted child under the age of 13. The eligible employee may only use this benefit once per rolling calendar year and the amount of leave given does not increase based on the number of children involved in the event. View the adoption leave policy (section 6.13) in the employee handbook for more details. 
 

Bereavement Leave 

Up to 3 days of paid bereavement leave will be provided to eligible employees in a benefited position. View the bereavement policy (section 6.9) in the employee handbook for more details.  

Lactation Room Updates

The Employee Relations Team has worked diligently to improve and automate the Lactation Room request process to improve a mother’s experience when returning to work. New moms can now view available times within each lactation room and submit their requests all in a few clicks through the following Lactation Room Request Link.  

The request will then be routed to the employee’s manager, access control, and then to HR for final approval.  For questions, please contact employeerelations@liberty.edu.   

New Employee Orientation (NEO)

Human Resources hosts New Employee Orientations (NEO) to facilitate a positive onboarding experience for new full-time employees of Liberty while providing essential content in a welcoming environment.  

Orientations are held every other Monday (unless otherwise specified) at Green Hall, Room 1572. If the NEO date falls on a university holiday, the orientation will be moved to the following Tuesday. New employees will receive an email invitation from HR with instructions on how to attend. 

View the upcoming NEO dates 

We have also created a New Employee Resources webpage to help our new employees find information regarding their onboarding steps and about other topics covered during orientation.  

View New Employee Resources page 

Employee Bulletin Board

Did you know that you can find information about all of Liberty’s upcoming events in one easy location? The Employee Bulletin Board is your one-stop shop for important announcements, special events, and great discounts. Don’t miss out. Visit the Employee Bulletin Board today. Interested in advertising an event or need to make a campuswide announcement? Contact your project coordinator or email marketing@liberty.edu for more information.