Filling a Vacancy | LSU Human Resource Management

Filling a Vacancy


HRM’s Compensation and Talent Acquisition teams will work closely with the Hiring Managers and HR Analysts to ensure the necessary steps are taken to allow for a smooth recruiting process and to create a welcoming candidate experience. 

who is my compensation consultant?

The Compensation team provides technical advice to departments for staffing and reorganization. Compensation Consultants work directly with departments regarding classification and pay matters, including requests to create and fill positions, title classification, job descriptions, qualifications, salary adjustments, overtime, additional compensation, and flexible scheduling. 

compensation consultants

who is my talent acquisition partner?

The Talent Acquisition team acts as a strategic partner to the departments and serves as a resource for recruiting and sourcing top talent at LSU. We do this through intentional recruiting, consulting, and marketing to fill entry-level to executive positions. Talent Acquisition offers several services that you may find useful during this time including: job advertising suggestions, mock interviews, Critical, Difficult, and Visible (CDV) recruitment and more!

talent acquisition

Steps for Filling a Position 

Whether the position has previously been filled or is new, you must create or update the job description depending on the position’s needs. Determine the qualification requirements for professional or academic positions, and identify the core competencies/skills required to succeed in the position. Distinguish which education, training, and/or experience develops or demonstrates those competencies/skills. Qualification requirements for classified positions are already established by the State Department of Civil Service and can be found on the Louisiana State Civil Service Website. 

After the job description is created or revised, the HR Analyst can proceed with creating the position (for new positions) or editing position restrictions (for existing positions). The HR Analyst will need to include any special instructions for applicants, application requirements, and advertising requests at this point. After the 'Create Position' or 'Edit Position Restrictions' (EPR) is submitted by the Analyst, the HR Department Head, Compensation Finance Partner, and the HR Compensation Partner will need to approve the position's job title, description, qualifications and compensation. New positions will route to the HR Analyst to assign a costing allocation then the Cost Center Manager for approval. After the Cost Center Manager approves the new position, the Talent Acquisition Partner will create a requisition and post the job in Workday. Since a budget line will already be assigned to an existing position, the EPR will route directly to Talent Acquisition for creating the requisition and posting, after the Compensation Partner has given approval. 

Quick Resources:

Job Description Template 

List of Action Verbs

List of Competencies

A search committee can be set up for any requisition that is not an Evergreen requisition. There are two ways to request search committee can be created in Workday: standalone task or through the Create Position action. Please utilize the Search Committee Request job aid for step-by-step instructions. 

Quick Resources: 

Search Committee Workday Functionality

Member's Roles and Responsibilities

Chair's Role and Responsibilities

In an effort to increase the number of applicants and diversify applicant pools, hiring departments may be interested in advertising their position. The Where to Advertise Guide provides pricing and descriptions for recommended sites. All external job advertisements must be purchased through the Office of Human Resource Management. Individual departments are not authorized to make these purchases. Please contact  your Talent Acquisition Partner for further advertising assistance. 

Quick Resources: 

The hiring decision should be based on a set of job-related selection criteria. Use the job description to identify essential functions and competency requirements and develop specific selection criteria by which applicants will be evaluated. Hiring Managers will receive applicants in their Workday inbox as they apply (civil service applicants cannot be released until the posting is closed). At that time, Hiring Managers have the option to either Move Forward or Decline the candidate in Workday.

Check out this linked video to see a demo of the Hiring Manager Process in Workday.

Interview questions for employment should be developed by the hiring department and used consistently for all candidates interviewing for the same position. Interview questions allow candidates to demonstrate their ability to meet the established selection criteria for the position. At LSU, we encourage the usage of “behavior-based questions.” This method of questioning allows the candidates to demonstrate specific actions they took in past experiences as opposed to what action they would take in hypothetical situations. Avoid questions that could be interpreted by any applicant to be an attempt to discover protected personal information. If needed, please refer to our resources below for guidance during your interview process. Hiring departments may contact their Talent Acquisition partner for further assistance.

Quick Resources:

Sample Telephone Interview Form

Sample Interview Questions 

Questions to Avoid 

Hiring Managers should conduct reference checks on the final candidate(s) and those results should be relayed to the HR Analyst for Workday entry. Employment decisions are vital to the successes of a department and the university.  Everyone involved in the hiring process is responsible for ensuring that we are conscientious in our processes for hiring new employees.  Thorough references checks are required on all candidates prior to an offer of employment being extended.  Reference checks provide valuable information on a candidate’s past work history that assist the manager in making a hiring decision. Please refer to the Reference Check Guidelines for instructions on how to execute successful reference checks for External Candidates, Former employees, Internal Candidates, Faculty Candidates, and for suggested questions to ask during a reference check.  

Quick Resources:

Reference Check Guidelines and Sample Questions

Once a final candidate is identified, the Hiring Manager should contact the department’s HR analyst and the HRM Talent Acquisition Partner to review the offer. Once approved, the Hiring Manager can offer the position. Please keep in mind that an offer should not be made while the position is still being advertised. 

Quick Resources:

Hiring Manager Offer Checklist

Sample Academic Offer Letter

Sample Academic Administrator Offer Letter

Sample Academic Administrator Offer Letter - Internal Appointment

Sample Professional Offer Letter

Sample Internal Offer Letter

Academic Contract (PER-25)

Professional/Unclassified Contract (PER-40)

Temporary Employee Contract (PER-40)

Once the final candidate has accepted the offer, the Hiring Manager will notify the department’s HR analyst and the HRM Talent Acquisition Partner and the background check process will be initiated. The incumbent will receive an automated email from HireRight to electronically complete the form. Background checks usually take around 2 weeks to process.

Quick Resources:

Background Check Authorization Form

Background Checks for Analysts Job Aid

Once the hire has been finalized, the new employee will automatically be registered for New Employee Orientation! 

Quick Resources:

Required Attachments on Hire

Additional Resources

Recruiting and Hiring Guide - Job Application and Candidate Communication

Manager's Checklist for Hiring 

HR Specialist Job Aids

Hiring Manager FAQs

Click on the box next to the candidate’s name. At the bottom of the screen, there is the option to Move Forward or Decline. Select Decline and choose the corresponding disposition reason to remove them from your inbox. 

Search for the requisition number and once it appears, click on the job requisition title. The candidate pipeline will then appear. Click on the Screen stage, then select Candidate Actions. The candidate list will appear-Click on the name of the candidate to view their application package. 

If the position is a Classified position, the maximum number of days the requisition can be posted for is 14 days. Once that limit has been reached, then the HR Analyst will have to complete the Edit Position Restrictions action on the position. For any other employee type, the Hiring Manager and HR Analyst should work with the appropriate Talent Acquisition Partner and Compensation Consultant to review the job description and discuss recruitment strategies before reposting the job.

Once the background check and any other mandatory screening results are received the hire can be finalized in Workday, and the new employee can start as soon as the following Monday. Background check return times vary based on the candidate’s residential history, and usually take around 2 weeks to process. Additionally, for degrees earned outside of the United States, the official transcripts (translated version, if applicable) must be accompanied by a credential evaluation attesting to the U.S. earned degree equivalence.

The course of action depends on several variables, such as, the change that is being requested, the length of time the job has been posted, how many candidates have applied, how will the change impact the minimum qualifications and compensation, etc. If there is a change that needs to be made, please consult the appropriate Talent Acquisition Partner and Compensation Consultant to discuss the change and potential solutions.

Background check return times vary based on the candidate’s residential history. HR Analysts/HR Originators can contact the appropriate Talent Acquisition Partner for any updates the background check vendor has provided. Also, be sure that the background check has been initiated. In Workday, the Offer step has to be completed prior to the Background Check step can be completed. If the background has been initiated through Workday or through another electronic avenue, the HR Analysts/HR Originators should be certain the candidate has completed the electronic background check before reaching out to the appropriate Talent Acquisition Partner.

contact us

8:00 a.m - 4:30 p.m.
Monday - Friday
110 Thomas Boyd Hall

hr@lsu.edu

225-578-8200

HR DIRECTORY

 

Recruitment Toolkit