Newsletter

Human Resources “Things to Know!” Newsletter

Welcome to the Fall 2024 Newsletter

With the excitement and busyness of a new academic year underway, let’s remember Who we serve each day and determine to reflect Him in all that we do 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 have been with Liberty University as of Sept. 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, and I am truly grateful. 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.

Thinking about the thousands of students who have started this new year with the dream of completing a degree reminds me of my own journey to Liberty from the San Francisco Bay Area in July of 1993. Liberty was my second attempt at college and the first after 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. When a professor suggested I pursue a seminary degree, that course didn’t appeal to me, but I gave it a shot. Little did I know that my career path would take me into the world of human resources, but God knew that being in HR at Liberty would give 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 at 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, most of them changed their mind.

Proverbs 16:9 says, “We can make our plans, but the Lord determines our steps.” I’ve made my plans and have wrestled with the reality that God was taking me in another direction than what I thought was best. But 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 I would be in the position I’m in today.

God takes 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. I’ve applied to 20 positions, but no one will hire me.” My usual reply is, “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 that he used to make plans for the whole year and ask God to bless them. After a while, 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. This is the approach we should all take. After all, you can do everything right in preparing for a trip to the beach — swimsuit, sunscreen, beach towel, umbrella — but if you 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.

Liberty’s direction has always been to Train Champions for Christ. Dr. Jerry Falwell knew that the call of every follower of Jesus was to “go and make disciples” (Matthew 28:19), so he set our mission to be in line with God’s call to His Church. No matter what we do, any decision must be to this end and for this purpose. I love that I work for an organization with values that parallel God’s call to every follower.

Several years ago, my daughter told me, “Dad, I think I’m supposed to go to Uganda, but how do I know?” I told her to confess to God that she sensed this was His direction for her and that she was going to start taking steps toward it. She should say that she wanted to be obedient to Him and ask Him to stop and redirect her if she took any steps that were not His will. The point of approaching God in this way is that we show Him our submission and trust in His plan. As a result, my daughter watched God answer her prayer as she raised funds for the journey, and a few months later, she left to serve people with the love of Jesus. Believe me, my wife and I had to trust Him too!

Perhaps the most famous is Proverbs 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, including me. 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 ask Him if this is the path you are meant to be on, and if not, seek His direction on wherever you are supposed to go. Make your plans but submit them to Him. He has created something unique for you, but the only way to discover what that is is to ask God to be in control.

Steve Foster
Executive Vice President of Human Resources

Introducing Recruiting as a Service

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 unique hiring needs. Recruiters will utilize tools like Workday Recruiting, LinkedIn, and GoodTime to ensure swift, efficient hiring processes, ultimately reducing hiring timelines and enhancing new hire success rates. This improvement will provide cutting-edge technology and support for departments.

We will provide 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 Aug. 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 terminating or moving your employees to their correct role, you help us ensure that they are correctly classified. Correctly classifying employees is important for many reasons, including any tax implications and 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 will remain in the same sup org.
• Transfer — Lateral Move: This is used when the student is changing sup orgs. 

Managing Summer Temps

Several reports are available in Workday to assist you 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 less.

Additional resources can be found at Liberty.edu/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 in the course of 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 Human Resources 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 found on our webpage.

Christmas Holiday Reminder

Christmas will be here 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 during the extended Christmas holiday.

Earlier this year, the university announced an updated holiday calendar that impacted the Christmas holiday. For 2024, the university will be closed from Monday, Dec. 23, through Friday, Dec. 27.

All full-time staff will receive 3 additional days 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 Nov. 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

Liberty University recently updated its leave policies regarding maternity, adoption, and bereavement. Be sure you understand these new updates and how they can impact you.

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 in 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 request in just a few clicks through the Lactation Room Request Link. The request will be routed to the employee’s manager, access control, and HR for final approval. For questions, please contact EmployeeRelations@liberty.edu. 

New Employee Orientation

Human Resources hosts New Employee Orientation (NEO) to facilitate a positive onboarding experience for new full-time employees while providing essential content in a welcoming environment. Orientations are held every other Monday (unless otherwise specified) in 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 the 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.